Money, a Little Man, and Jesus

By Steve DeWitt

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. (Luke 19:1-3 ESV)

Here is the infamous Zacchaeus. Luke includes three details about him. First, he was a chief tax collector. This is important to the story. The Romans financed their empire through a vast network of taxes which required there to be local employees of Rome who collected those taxes; the Roman IRS. The rules were loose regarding what the tax collectors could exact and this led to such widespread corruption that tax collectors were considered the very bottom of the social barrel. They were essentially thieves and traitors. Why? They worked directly for imperial Rome. They took money from the Jews to give to the Romans.

Second, tax collectors became personally very wealthy as they played favorites, worked deals under the table, could punish whomever they liked, and skimmed money off the top. All of the taxes were collected through three hubs in Israel: Capernaum, Jerusalem, and Jericho. Presumably, nearly one-third of all the taxes collected in the whole nation passed through Zacchaeus’ fingers. Think Jon Gotti or Tony Soprano. He was the head of the cartel and he didn’t get to his position because of his perfect Sunday school attendance. Zacchaeus was ambitious, greedy, corrupt, and a traitor to his own people.

The last detail that Luke adds is his height. He was small in stature; vertically challenged. When there is a huge crowd on a flat surface, you can’t see. Zacchaeus didn’t become the head of the tax cartel without being a resourceful guy.

So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. (Verses 4-6)

There is so much raw human experience here. We don’t know Zacchaeus’ spiritual background. He was a Jew, so presumably he was raised in proper Jewish teachings. Yet, he was clearly a fraud and a thief. However, John the Baptist ministered near Jericho and he may have heard him preach. He may have heard of Jesus’ miracles. Clearly, there was a spiritual curiosity or stirring in his heart. We see it in his actions. He wanted to see Jesus. He “ran” ahead. That’s not the kind of dignified action of a wealthy aristocrat. He “climbs a tree.” I am going to guess all of us have climbed a tree in our lives. Do you see a lot of adults up in trees? No. I don’t think it’s too hard to understand this man’s personal pain.

Long ago he sold his soul to power and money. His greed was greater than his patriotism and greater than his moral sensibilities. The temptation to financial gain was so powerful to him that he gave up his standing as a Jew and a citizen, and he probably lost his family and friends. Who brings cookies or hangs out at the tax collector’s house? Yet he was very wealthy and powerful. So think big house, lots of money, no friends, lonely. And as we all know, money doesn’t buy you happiness.

So for a man like this, he may be thinking, “Who cares if I run? Who cares if I climb a tree? The Jerichonians hate my guys anyway so why put on airs?” But he wanted very much to see Jesus.

The text says that Jesus walks by that sycamore tree, looks up, and says, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down for I must stay at your house today.” (Verse 5) The emphasis of the Greek word “must” is surprisingly strong. He’s not saying, “I’d like to,” he’s saying, “I have to.” It’s as if Jesus wasn’t passing through Jericho randomly but actually went to Jericho to meet the chief tax collector and to stay at his house.

Zacchaeus is overjoyed. I wonder how long it had been since anyone wanted to come to his house. Yet, this Jesus who everyone was talking about and seeking an audience with, wants to spend time with Zacchaeus. He received Jesus “joyfully.”

And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” (Verse 7)

This is important to Luke’s purpose in telling the story. The crowd understands the significance of this. Zacchaeus is a notorious man and criminal in their eyes. He was the worst sinner in town. Yet, of all the people crowding around him, Jesus chooses the traitor in the tree as the person he wants to be with. Jesus will say why in a moment.

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Verses 8-10)

Zacchaeus’ words are shocking. First he stands. There is a formality here. An official statement. Zacchaeus has something to get off his chest. He confesses his sin and makes two vows as signs of his repentance. First, he gives to the poor half of everything he has. Remember, Zacchaeus was a man who had a lot. This was no small commitment. Secondly, he says, “If I have defrauded…,” presumably he had defrauded many. He will pay it back times four. The law only required restitution plus 20%. Zacchaeus goes way beyond the law. Amazing what grace does with rules.

Jesus’ response is to declare that Zacchaeus is a true son of Abraham, meaning he was a true son of faith. Then adds this, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Zacchaeus is held as an example of the kind of person Jesus came to save—a sinner who knows he is a sinner—not a person who is righteous in his own eyes, or looks down on sinners like the crowd did. Rather, Jesus came for the broken and spiritually shattered. I wonder how many years and how many nights Zacchaeus, in the privacy of his home, had cried out, “Is this all there is? I am rich! I am powerful! But I am so empty.” The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost, meaning those who know their lostness and their need. Zacchaeus did.

How about you today? Can you resonate with ambitious Zacchaeus? And yet, the whole thing feels so empty. There must be something more! Would you climb a tree to maybe find what your soul is longing for?

Don’t misread this to say gifts to the poor and restitution save us. Salvation is entirely by faith in Jesus. Zacchaeus wasn’t saved because he made financial restitution any more than he was saved because he climbed the tree. Salvation came to Zacchaeus’ house because Jesus came to Zacchaeus’ heart. Like so many others who met Jesus, Zacchaeus was convinced that this man was utterly unique. He was the Messiah. God’s Savior to the world. Zacchaeus believed.

The power in this story is the effect this new relationship with Jesus had on Zacchaeus. Money had always been the real god of his life. To get it, he gave up friends, family, morals, and self-respect. Money was his obsession.

Does that sound familiar? Any echo in your own story? Of all the idols and gods in our culture, money reigns supreme. Not that it’s money itself. The Bible says money is neutral, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. (1 Timothy 6:10) For a sinner, money is so easy to love. It provides what we want. Security. Self-worth. A sense of superiority over others. Self-reliance. Zacchaeus would fit well in the American way of life. Ambitious. Materialistic. Craving money and status. While money is neutral, where money sits in our priorities reveals just who is our god. Jesus put it this way, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

There is only one throne in the human heart. Something or somebody has to reign. His whole life, money reigned on the throne of Zacchaeus’ heart. Until one day, when Jesus came into town. What happened that day in Zacchaeus’ heart was a spiritual revolution. Money had always been his king and god. But Jesus reached out to him. Went to his house. Spoke with him about his spiritual condition. And his words and life were so transformational and wonderful, how could he live for money anymore? With eyes of faith and by the power of God through Jesus in his heart, money was out and Jesus became his treasure, his worship, his Savior, and God.

How do we know that? Look at what happens to the old idol money. He uses it to right past wrongs and he freely gives it away to meet the needs of others.

“Half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (Luke 19:8) When greedy people become generous, something radical has happened. When drug abusers throw their drugs away and sexual idolaters throw their porn away and tax collectors give back money, something radical has happened. When a new affection takes over, the old idol becomes disposable.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt is senior pastor of Bethel Church in Northwest Indiana, Founder and Teaching Pastor for the media/radio ministry The Journey, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He is also the author of Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two girls.

On Mission with (My) Money

By Steve DeWitt

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)

This is part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. His sermon begins in chapter 5 and goes through chapter 7 and addresses so many of the misperceptions of genuine faith at that time. The people were probably bewildered because it’s almost like Jesus is playing “the opposite game” with them. He is teaching the opposite of most of what they were taught at the time: they believed the act of adultery was wrong, but not the thoughts. They thought you must love your neighbor, but not your enemy. And here was a big one: material wealth and accumulation was a sign of God’s blessing. You may recall Jesus befuddling the disciples when he said it was hard for a rich man to be saved. They had been taught the rich were “in” as their riches were a sign of God’s acceptance. So the culture was materialistically oriented as a sign of God’s blessing. It’s kind of a first century version of the present health and wealth heresy taught on TV today. The more they had, the more they accumulated, the more they thought they had divine blessing.

Jesus here says the opposite. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. This may seem kind of harsh or monkish to us Americans where keeping up with the Joneses is a national obsession. Jesus, why are you raining on our party? We live in the richest country in the history of the world! Why can’t we have heaven and earth too? Jesus says, because having earth is a mirage.

Every Material/Financial Resource I Have/Keep is Fleeting/Passing Away

“…where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19)

Jesus’ financial advice here is as relevant as ever. Money and investments and capital assets are all subject to risk. He says moth and rust destroy. We call this depreciation. The house breaks down. The valued car gets old. Everything new and shiny eventually gets old and rusty. If it doesn’t change, our perspective about it does.

I remember when the first iPhones came out. There was so much buzz about them and those who had one thought it was the coolest thing ever. People would ask to see it and hold it. To have a smartphone meant you were a smart person and really hip…until the iPhone 5 came out. The same person who just a day before the iPhone 5 release said, “This iPhone 4 is so cool!” the day the iPhone 5 came out, looked at his iPhone 4 and thought, This is a piece of junk! Did the iPhone 4 change in 24 hours? No. What changed? I did.

The cars, the house, the clothes, the status symbols we value are constantly changing. The moth of decay and the rust of time show that what I have and value is in a perpetual state of depreciation.

On top of that, thieves break in and steal. My possessions are constantly at risk. The government is constantly taxing it. The unscrupulous investment manager mismanages it. Other forms of loss can take it at any time. Houses flood and stocks tumble.

So in just a few words, Jesus describes the futility of hoarding and accumulating money and the things money can buy. All of it is constantly at risk. Proverbs says it can sprout wings and suddenly fly away (Proverbs 23:5). Laying up treasures on earth and living for them is incredibly short-sighted. The Parable of the Foolish Rich Man gives the ultimate reason—death comes to all of us and then what comes of all our earthly treasures?

We could spend some time on what a “laying up treasures on earth” lifestyle would look like. What do you think? Let me take a stab at it. Meaning and happiness would be generally derived from how things are going financially. Everything would be monetized and prioritized based on whether or not it increases my financial status. People who help me get there, I love. People or activities or ministries that don’t, I avoid. Since self-worth is financial, I resent or envy those with more money, bigger houses, or nicer cars than me and especially so if I think they think they are worth more than me. Family is inconvenient and children are liabilities. And don’t even talk to me about a building program at the church…. Am I close? That sounds like a real quality disciple of Jesus, doesn’t it?

This is why we have to see that Jesus loves us enough to point us from a life lived for the superficial to a life of eternal meaning and impact.

Every Material/Financial Resource I Give is Mine Forever

This sounds a little like an oxymoron. What I keep I lose but what I give I keep? Exactly. That’s the way it works. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20)

In verses 25-34, he goes on to address the central issue that keeps us from living and giving for eternity—trust. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25) He points out the birds and the flowers which don’t sow or harvest yet have all they need because God provides it. When our trust is in God, it frees us from fear and frees us to “seek first the kingdom of God.” (verse 33) Jesus says, Lay up treasures in heaven. What are these?

Eternal Treasure = God’s rewards to us individually for our faithful service and sacrificial giving to Him.

This is why Jesus adds this, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (verse 21) Money is spiritual. What we do with it is a greater spiritual indicator than anything else—more than preaching, evangelism, Bible study, etc. Money and what we do with our money is so spiritual that Jesus indexes our hearts and spiritual condition to how we handle it. That’s strong and it may be uncomfortable for us, but realize that it was uncomfortable in that culture too. Our issue is that we try to separate what we do with our money from our spirituality. So I can think I am doing really well spiritually, sing the songs about Jesus as Lord, be in my small group, regularly attend church, be viewed as a devout Christian and quietly NOT invest in any substantive way in God’s work. How we handle our money smokes out the spiritual pretenders and posers. When God has our hearts, he has our pocketbooks as well.

This is why it’s so helpful. I can’t see my heart but I can see my checking account; it provides me with one objective, measurable indicator of what I really love. That’s why Jesus talked about money more than heaven and hell combined. Think through your balance statement, what does it indicate?

Was this not the point of the widow and her two mites (Luke 21)? Jesus was at the temple and watching the rich drop their heavy bags of gold into the giving boxes. Boom. BOOM. Wow! Big gift! Then he sees a widow and, as God, he knows her total net worth is two mites—less than a cent. And she drops those two small coins in. Plink. Plink. He calls the disciples over and says, “Did you see that? She gave more than anyone else.”

“Jesus, your math is off….”

“No, your math is off. I know what she has and she gave more than anyone else.” Her heart and her faith showed in her generosity.

Over the years, as I have spoken on money, it seems to me that there are generally two kinds of responses. People are either upset about it or are humbled by it. I can talk about almost anything else and it is warmly received. But people weird out about money and I have to think that the reason is that we love it so much. We don’t want it connected to our faith.

“Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other single thing because, when it comes to a man’s real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index of a man’s true character. All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a man’s character and how he handles money.” (Richard Halverson)

Take a look at your emotions even as you read this. What do your feelings possibly reveal about how important money and the keeping of it are to you?

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt is senior pastor of Bethel Church in Northwest Indiana, a host of the media/radio ministry The Journey, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two girls.

The Foolish Rich Man

By Steve DeWitt

In Luke 12:13-21 we see a familiar and contemporary struggle – a family fighting over inheritance money. My extended family has had a drama like this. Maybe you can relate.

“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:13-21)

In this parable, Jesus describes a man who is living the American dream. He has had a windfall crop; so much grain that he doesn’t know what to do with it all. In our world, our company is bought out and we get a windfall. A stock we own goes through the roof. The point is that here is a man who suddenly is rich toward earth. Notice what he’s thinking and what he’s not thinking. He’s not thinking, What good can I do with this? Who can I help? How can I give back to God? His only thoughts are for himself. Eat, drink, be merry. Relax. Retire. Just sit back and count my money. He’s living the American dream.

But wait – there’s something he doesn’t see. He doesn’t realize that that very night is his last. Now what happens to all that money? Does he take it with him? What is it worth now?

Jesus calls him a fool, but realize why. It’s not because he was rich. The Bible never condemns the accumulation of wealth or financial success. It does condemn living for it and being foolish with it, which in this parable, is his failure to understand what real worth is. Death reveals the stupidity of his life.

Is anyone out there being stupid? Is there anyone out there who Jesus would point to and call a fool? Is anyone out there assessing things like the rich man, living so foolishly merely for the here and now? “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20)

The answer to that question is, NOT his. It seems about every week there is some successful person in our culture who dies. This week it’s Hall of Famer Gary Carter. Last week it was Whitney Houston. Steve Appleton of Micron Tech died in a plane crash…Etta James…Joe Paterno. Every week someone rich and famous dies. Remember I said that for whomever it is this week.

What do you think about when you hear it? I often think about what the death moment is like for someone who has lived in luxury and fame. What is it like to go from that to being face to face with God? To be suddenly ushered into an eternal destiny? Eternal life or death? Heaven or hell? To look at your life from the perspective of eternity and what could have been. As Ryle said, “Hell is truth discovered too late.” How many millions must there be in eternity thinking, “What a fool I was!”?

May I ask you, are you laying up treasure in heaven? Are you rich toward God?

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To hear the message of this excerpt in its entirety,

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt is senior pastor of Bethel Church in Northwest Indiana, Founder and Teaching Pastor for the media/radio ministry The Journey, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He is also the author of Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two girls.

The Eighth Command: The Generous Life

By Steve DeWitt

The Generosity of God Seen in Salvation

“You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15 ESV)

The generosity of God is most evident to us in salvation:

• “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

• “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:4-8)

Both of these emphasize the generosity of God to us through Jesus. The gospel is the exact opposite of stealing. Not only does God not steal, he gives to the undeserving. Jesus gave by emptying himself of the glorious privileges that were his as God. This includes his humiliation in becoming human. Not only did God become one of us, but he gave his very life for us. Romans 8:32 says, “[God] did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all.”

The picture at Golgotha is so very poignant to the eighth command. There were three crucified on crosses. The one in the middle was Jesus. What crime had those on this right and left committed? They were thieves. We don’t know what they took but they must have defrauded in a substantial way to be sentenced to death for doing so. On the right, was a thief; a taker. On the left was a thief; a taker. In the middle is the one who created everything and owns everything, yet on the middle cross is the greatest giver of all time. Two takers and one giver.

This is love. Hate robs and steals. Love is not simply the absence of taking but the presence of self-giving. Remember, every negative command has a corresponding positive one. When is a thief no longer a thief? “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” (Ephesians 4:28 NIV)

When is a thief no longer a thief? Not simply when he doesn’t shoplift or cheat on his taxes but when the taker becomes a giver. Not only does he stop taking what others have, but he isn’t selfish with what he does have. In this we reflect the very character of God, not as a taker but as a giver.

We are all thieves and robbers. We rob God of his glory every day. We take. We scheme. We rob God of his right as our Creator to rule our lives. We live for money and things and lie and cheat to get them. We steal from him in some way every day. Yet in the midst of our stealing from him, he gives grace to us. He gives and he gives and he gives. Thieves can be saved if they will believe and turn from their sin. Exhibit A is the thief on the cross:

“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’” (Luke 23:39-43 ESV)

The eighth command, like all the others, condemns us. But thieves can be saved by the lavish generosity of our self-giving God in Christ, if you will believe. Beware: God turns takers into givers.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Additional Scripture quotations taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt is senior pastor of Bethel Church in Northwest Indiana, Founder and Teaching Pastor for the media/radio ministry The Journey, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He is also the author of Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two girls.