Zacchaeus

Today’s study is called “Zacchaeus,” and it deals with an individual who is mentioned in the Bible only once. His story is found in Luke 19. We read:

Luke 19:1-9

Now, I do not remember very many things being taught from this passage. I remember a song that we sang in school when I was very young about him, but I cannot remember the words, or what we were supposed to learn from it. Despite the fact that it is a commonly overlooked passage, I believe it contains a principle that is a key one for Creation Seventh Day Adventists, for anyone who wishes to be among the 144,000.

From the few passages that talk about the 144,000, we find… in fact, let’s read it:

Rev 14:4

We do not know very much about the 144,000 directly from Scripture. We can tell very much about them, however, by this very fact, that they “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” Now, while this may have a literal application depending upon what the redeemed Saints, particularly those of the last generation, will be doing in Heaven, we believe that the most important part of “following” Yahshua has to do with the spiritual meaning.

During His earthly mission, Yahshua said:

Mat 16:24

This was clearly meant not only for those who heard Him on that specific occasion, but thereafter as well, upon His return to Heaven.

Paul, for another example, says:

1Cor 11:1

This is a statement he repeats several times, to several people, for example in 1Cor 4:16, Phil 3:17 and 1Th 1:6.

There is a lot that may be said about being a “follower” of Yahshua and His way. We follow Him in terms of repeating His words. We follow Him in our actions, to teach the Gospel to all who will hear. We follow Him in trials, for as we are told:

2Tim 3:12

But most importantly, we “follow” Him by imitating His character. We view the opportunities and challenges that come to us as opportunities to develop our spiritual selves, to put aside those things that have made us separate from Him, and we draw near.

At the same time, it is not a coincidence that while we are told this most important thing about the 144,000, that they follow Yahshua wherever He goes, we are not directly told much else.

As I mentioned, because we know this “following” characteristic, we can say with certainty that they will possess the Fruit of the Spirit, for it is that same Spirit in us that was in Christ Yahshua. Therefore, the redeemed of every generation, but the 144,000 to a perfected degree, will have, and let’s read it from Galatians:

Gal 5:22-25

Let’s read the next verse, because this is where all these concepts return us to the Gospel record of Zacchaeus:

Gal 5:26

“Desirous of vain glory” in that verse is a single word, and “vain glory” means exactly what it sounds like. It is taking pride in something that is unreasonable for us to take pride in. As we have discussed in studies past, having a sense of “pride” as in a sense of accomplishment, and an awareness of one’s own skill, is not a bad thing. False modesty is just as deceptive as vain glory, and while we always give the ultimate praise to Yahweh – because none of us have anything that we have not received – we can rejoice in the fact that we have been born with, or have been given the opportunity to develop, some talent or other.

We read from the Bible:

Jer 9:23, 24

Going back to the story of Zacchaeus we can list the few things we know about him. From Luke 19 we read that he was “Chief among the publicans,” or the tax collectors, and Luke takes the time to point out that he was rich. We find that he was short, and probably extremely short from the fact that he had to climb a tree in order to see Yahshua above the crowd of people around Him. We also know that in his business dealings, he was not always honest, for he later says, “if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” Someone who has not done this would not say such a thing.

When, however, he heard that Yahshua was passing, we find that he did some interesting things. As mentioned, he climbed a tree to see Christ. Now, I may not remember much about the song we used to sing in school about Zacchaeus, but I do remember that his climbing that tree was the prominent feature of it. It’s the thing that distinguished him enough from the crowd in Jericho that he got a place in the Gospel. But why? What is it that we can learn about this from Luke’s record?

I am sure that if a child heard about someone important coming to town, and there was a crowd around Him, that child would climb a tree if necessary to catch a glimpse. But what about an adult? What about a government official that apparently had great respect? What about a rich man?

Now, we know that among the government officials, the tax collectors, even among those who were in the Sanhedrin, such a Nicodemus, there were some who followed Yahshua in secret. Nicodemus came to Yahshua at night, and spoke with Him about being born again. Joseph of Arimathaea was called an “honorable counselor,” which the concordance tells us was a title of a Sanhedrin member also, and he “also waited for the kingdom of God.” (Mark 15:43)

But Zacchaeus, for all the short passage devoted to him, did better than these. He was determined to see, only to see, Yahshua, and to do this he was willing to openly display this desire in front of a crowd of public citizens. And climbing a tree in a robe is certainly not a dignified-looking prospect.

Now when we had some interest from the Adventists in Australia, one of the issues that came up was whether or not Yahshua was omniscient in His human form. Some thought he was, and others thought he was not. The ones who thought He was not agree with Scripture, and with Adventist traditional teachings – and also with what we know of the plan of Salvation. We know that He was surprised, even amazed at some of the things He found in the places He visited.

We also know that Christ knew more things than a regular human being. A few examples of this include:

Mat 4:1

John 4:17, 18

Here is a good one also:

Mat 7:5-13

The way in which He knew these things, however, was only in a way that could be an example for us, for this was an integral part of His purpose on earth. He knew what He needed to know about His mission at any given time, because the Spirit led Him to this knowledge. In this sense He was exactly like a “regular human being,” because even the most ordinary of humans, once he or she begins to serve Yahshua, will receive the spiritual insights necessary for completing the assigned task.

It was the Spirit that led Yahshua to look upwards and see this chief publican, this rich man, who climbed up a tree in the full sight of Jericho in order to see Him as He passed. It was the Spirit that revealed to Him this man’s heart. Something about what he had heard, some aspect of the reports going around about Yahshua’s work had touched his heart.

And something in that heart had responded. There is an element in human beings that exists, or is absent, depending upon how they have responded to the grace of Yahweh. While all have a natural tendency to avoid things that are holy, Yahweh, through the blood of His Son, has shed grace upon all. As the Scripture says,

Titus 2:11, 12

And here in Luke 19 we have a perfect example of what can happen to a heart that is willing to receive and respond to Yah’s love. We find an individual like the devout Hebrews in Acts 2 that heard that their leaders had betrayed them into sin, and asked the faithful preachers of the truth, “What shall we do?” It is for hearts such as these that the Elijah people are seeking in the last days, to turn them back to the Father, and to turn the Father’s heart back to them.

But the Elijah people must first perfect hearts such as these. The Elijah people must themselves have responded to, and fully yielded, to, that perfect agape love. And to do so we must be willing to “follow” Christ Yahshua in every sense of the word. We must be willing to turn away from worldly praise, even from the respect of the world if necessary.

Of course, respect of others is never something to be thrown away unnecessarily, for we – if we are despised for any reason other than strict adherence to the principles of Heaven – are wasting a powerful testimony. Let me repeat that idea again to make sure that it is emphasized in your minds: If we do anything that loses the respect of other people for any reason other than strict obedience to Yahweh’s directions, we are losing powerful potential witnessing opportunities.

But the important thing is that we must be willing to do so if necessary. We must be able to do so if called.

Zacchaeus certainly demonstrated the ability and willingness to sacrifice earthly considerations just to witness the Messiah, not even to witness for the Messiah; and it is clear that he received Him as such, for he accepted the statement “This day is salvation come to this house.”

The 144,000 must be willing to truly “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth,” and this will include praying in public. This will include witnessing to friends. This will, at times, include singing aloud with conviction and power. This will include standing up and taking a firm stand on moral issues, even when the people around you are eagerly choosing a wrong path. In short, this will include making no attempts to hide your faith, and denying with both your words and your actions the often repeated idea that “Religion is a private thing.”

It may be true that some religions are a private thing. If you are ashamed of your beliefs, or the things you say you believe, then yes, your religion may well be a private thing. If you are afraid that you will be easily converted to some other set of beliefs that will cost you reputation or friendships, then your religion is probably something you are going to protect from others’ knowledge. If you are worried that someone will ask you a question you cannot answer about why you believe this or that, and you will be found a shamed workman (and Paul tells us to study to avoid this in 2Tim 2:15) then you will probably defend your beliefs from those who may disagree with you.

But the faith of Yahshua is a public thing. We seen in several studies the verse that tells us we overcome the deceptions of the last days and the power of the Beast by the blood of Yahshua, yes, but also our willingness to testify to our faith, and to maintain that testimony, even unto the death.

When Yahshua was undergoing His trial before the combined power of Judaism and Rome, we find that Peter made the decision that his religion was a private thing. We read:

Mat 26:69-75

Peter, of whom we had heard much, denied the Master because he did not want to face a public reaction to his beliefs. He let fear of penalty discourage him from declaring his faith. Let us pray that this example provides us with an opportunity to do better when we are faced with the choice between potential punishment and making our religion into a private thing. Zacchaeus, of whom we have heard little, demonstrated his love of integrity and truth; and while the penalties he was facing were probably much less than what might have happened to Peter, He had not been with Yahshua, witnessing the miracles, and hearing Him teach for months and months.

I hope that what I am saying here is clear to you. Peter made a grave error, demonstrating the fact that his conversion was not yet complete, because he feared a heavy penalty. Zacchaeus succeeded at overcoming the fear of a much lesser penalty; however, he had less of a reason to trust Yahshua because he had not been with Him. Essentially, we are all tested at different levels, but the test is always one that we are able to pass if we rely fully on all that we have thus far received from Heaven.

All of us have had, or will soon have, trees to climb. We will come to a place where our religion is called into question, and we have to decide if we are going to try to preserve our reputation, and dignity, and other earthly possessions, or if we will defy the will of man and keep our religion public.

For the 144,000, religion is the very center of their experience in this world and in the world to come. They are not ashamed of the testimony they bear, regardless of the pressure that will be exerted on us to change our message, change our methods, change our name as a Church; these are all the Beast’s efforts to weaken our testimony, because he knows that this is one of the tools we use to defeat him.

But Zacchaeus prevailed over the “beast” of his generation, preferring to openly declare his worship rather than keep his place in the minds of the citizens of Jericho, and the Roman government that had thus far employed him. We will prevail over the beast of our generation. The specifics may have changed, but the principles have always been the same in the way that Satan attacks the followers of Yahshua.

What I would like us to do, as Creation Seventh Day Adventists, is to examine ourselves both individually and on a corporate level, and to ask, “What can I do to make my faith more public?” And I don’t mean public just for the sake of being public, but this is an evangelism issue.

For his one act, Zacchaeus got his name mentioned in a book that will stretch into eternity. There are few higher honors than that. We also must do acts that will make an impact, and an impact in the minds of those who see us performing them. This is the only way we are going to reach people, we have to make lasting impressions, and being a part of the crowd walking around Christ as they were in Jericho – I am speaking metaphorically – will do nothing to help that.

To truly follow Yahshua sometimes involves standing out from the crowd that say they are following Him, and that appear to be following Him. To truly follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth sometimes involves climbing a tree, and looking different for the things we truly believe are best.

David.