Rules of the Game

5 minute read

A few months ago, I opened my first credit card so that way, when I finish college, I’ll have built up some credit in my name. This will be helpful if I want to rent an apartment, buy a house, apply for a loan, or try and get a job. And the rules of a credit card are (fairly) simple: you make a purchase and pay off what you charge every month on time. I’m a person who likes following the rules and hates getting in trouble, so as I wrote the first draft of this blog I went and checked on my credit card statement to make sure I was on track. I was (whew).

Credit cards are a financial tool that is necessary in today’s world. They have rules, outcomes, and consequences. If you get into trouble with one, you can figure out what went wrong and why in a very cause-and-effect sort of way.

The financial world of Zaccheus did not operate like a credit card. It didn’t operate like a bank either, or most of the financial systems we’re familiar with. When a nation was taken over by Rome, the conquered people had to pay taxes to Rome, always at a rate much higher than Roman citizens. And Rome went about it in a very clever way: instead of appointing Romans to collect the taxes from a beaten and angry people, they hired the natives.

So Zaccheus wasn’t just an annoying person.

We sometimes have the tendency to view him as the ancient equivalent of a parking meter enforcer. But he was in a whole different category. Zaccheus was someone who sold out to The Man, who compromised everything he was supposed to hold dear, and who prospered while everyone else suffered.

“Prospered while everyone suffered” is still too mild a way to put it. Zaccheus skimmed money off the top (as was the right of a tax collector of the time) and became rich off it. So not only were Israelites paying more than they could afford, living on the edge of starvation, but one of their own was getting rich. Not during their time of oppression, but because they were in a time of oppression.

That’s the worst kind of traitor.

The one who wears expensive perfume because you haven’t been able to afford new shoes for a year. The one who eats fresh meat and vegetables while you get by on stale bread. The one who sends his kids to private school while yours have to work in the streets. This was Zaccheus.

The big idea for the growing season is still,

“How do Jesus’ friendships with unexpected people transform the way we love each other?”

Similar to the story of the Centurion’s servant, friendship with Zaccheus doesn’t make sense because he just plain doesn’t deserve it. And that’s putting it nicely. All the rules that we play by tell us that a man like Zaccheus doesn’t deserve mercy, or friendship, or love, because he’s the worst kind of traitor.

But similar to the difference between a modern credit card system and the tax collecting system of Rome, the love of Jesus doesn’t play by the rules. I’m not drawing a comparison here to tell you that Jesus is an oppressive system of government that exploits people, I’m saying that Jesus doesn’t play by the rules that we think make sense. Humans can agree that if you pay your credit card bill on time, you avoid interest fees, and if you screw over your fellow countrymen, don’t expect friendship from any of them.

Jesus, thankfully, isn’t like you and me. So when he sees Zaccheus up in the tree, he calls out to him.

Now, I say “thankfully” from the perspective of a 21st-century college student sitting on a second-hand chair in her overpriced apartment. I have clothes to wear, nutritious food to eat, plenty to entertain myself with, and no sense that I’m in physical danger. None of that would have been true for the average Israelite in Zaccheus’ time, and I’m assuming it would have been a lot harder to understand why Jesus would call out to someone who was part of the problem. And not just part of the problem, but getting stupid rich off the problem.

The crowd would have every right to grumble, to feel betrayed and confused and upset and everything in between. They probably did. Jesus was going against the rules of right and wrong, and he was “rewarding” someone who didn’t deserve it. No good could come from fraternizing with the enemy.

Actually, a lot of good did come from it. Luke 19:8 tells us that once in front of Jesus,

Zaccheus says, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor— and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages” (Matt’s translation).

Jesus rejoices!

Here is a beloved son who was lost, now found, understanding his sins and turning from them. Not only turning away but repaying the damage back! What kind of love could do this?

Jesus’ love, and the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a love that doesn’t play by the rules, and doesn’t make sense to us. By all rights, no one would deserve love, and we’d spend our lives measuring each other up and falling short.

A recurring theme for this season is that God sends invisible people to disciple us. In this story, we learn that God can send very visible people as well, people visible for the wrong reasons.

This Sunday, Andrea is going to give the message on the story of Zaccheus, and how God can transform the way we love each other through people we don’t see coming, like this tax collector. She’s going to take a deeper dive into the crowd’s reactions, as well as explore why Zaccheus even climbed the tree in the first place.

As always, email us at info@springchurchbellingham.com if you have any questions. We hope to see you this Sunday!

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