Some have questioned whether Zacchaeus was the scoundrel we sometimes make him out to be. It seems that all tiers of the ancient Roman Empire Taxation Department were tarnished by some degree of corruption. Supervisors, managers and front-line workers did not have the greatest of reputations. People’s dislike for tax collectors was worsened because the Jews resented having their country under the thumb of the Roman Empire. They hated having their own resources being siphoned off by the powerful empire. To them, Jewish Zacchaeus had betrayed his people by collecting taxes for the empire.
Zacchaeus was the head honcho of the tax collecting office in Jericho. The people openly referred to him as a sinner. So when Jesus came to town and called Zacchaeus to Himself, the locals were shocked that Jesus would have anything to do with such a sinner. In their minds, he was a notorious sinner. Why would Jesus be interested in him? Why would He stop and call Him down out of the tree? Why would He ever go to stay at Zacchaeus’ house? But when Jesus called him, the Bible says:
Zacchaeus received Him (Jesus) joyfully.” Luke 19:6.
The moment a person faces the reality of their sin and welcomes and receives Jesus into their life, they are saved; they are converted; they are born into the family of God.
… to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
The skeptics of the day probably scoffed at the breaking news of Zacchaeus’ conversion and said: “Likely story. I’ll believe it when I see it.” They didn’t have long to wait. It seems that one of his first impulses, as a converted sinner, was to right any wrongs he had committed before he met Christ. Their jaws must have dropped, and their eyes bulged with shock when the despised head-tax-honcho stood and announced:
…Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.” Luke 19:8
One of the signs of a sinner being truly converted or saved is their sense of shame over past behaviour and their desire to live a new life that’s totally different – yes, totally different! They want to apologize and express regret to those they have hurt or wronged in their unconverted days. They want to tell their friends they’re sorry for the ‘bad things’ they did. And yes, they want to tell them about the change and their humble desire to do right things in the future.
A genuinely converted sinner has the desire to pay back and to make restitution. Do you need to pay someone back for something that belongs to them? Do you need to say you’re sorry? Yes, it may mean facing something ugly, but you won’t make progress as a believer until you deal with these matters.
Conversion means change! If someone who hurt you fifteen years ago finally said: “I’m extremely sorry,” you would say: “Wow, what a change!” Making restitution is a sign of a life transformed by the Holy Spirit.
Saul of Tarsus (the abuser of Christians) was converted to Christ, and he became known as the Apostle Paul. He lived the rest of his life with a keen sense of indebtedness to everyone he met. He couldn’t undo his past, but he gave every ounce of his energy and minute of his time to the Lord in the future, ensuring that he shared Christ with as many as possible and showing kindness and love to all who crossed his path.
For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:9-10
Regrettably, there are some choices and wrongs that have been committed in our past that we can never reverse or undo. Our only option is to focus on our new life in Christ and to ensure our behaviour in the future is consistent with a life that pleases, glorifies and reflects Christ.
As someone else said so eloquently:
Paul's regrets defined his past, but they did not dictate his future.
No matter how dark our past may be, the grace of God is not hindered in refracting the beauties of Christ through our lives.
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