Zacchaeus's Story
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Chuck Colson’s Story
Chuck Colson’s Story
By 1974, Chuck Colson had accomplished a lot.
He had graduated with honors from Brown University in 1953, and from George Washington University Law School in 1959.
He served as a Marine, reaching the rank of Captain in the Corp.
By 1961, he had started a quite successful law firm, practicing in both Boston and DC.
Then in 1969, Colson left the law firm and joined the staff of the newly elected president Richard Nixon as his special counsel.
Colson had an office next to the president. Quite a position.
He was quickly labeled President Nixon’s hit man. One reporter writing he was "the 'evil genius' of an evil administration. He was valuable to the President ... because he was willing ... to be ruthless in getting things done."
Colson hired E. Howard Hunt who, along with G. Gordon Liddy, planned and orchestrated the Watergate scandal.
Though not directly involved in the scandal, Colson was indicted in 1974 for trying to cover it up.
Up to this point, everything Colson touched seemed to turned to gold, but now he faced arrest and conviction of crimes that could ruin all that he had accomplished.
Colson had no moral compass for the first 41 years of his life.
He was so unchurched that he had no idea who the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son were.
The only recorded example of a conversation about faith during his political career ended with Colson telling his first Christian interlocutor Fred Rhodes, "Oh, I think religion is fine, provided one has as little of it as possible."
One night in 1974, Colson went to the home of a client and friend, Thomas Phillips, who had just recently became a Christian.
Tom shared with Chuck about attending a Billy Graham crusade in Madison Square Garden and the word penetrating his heart and leading him to give his life to Jesus.
Colson was moved by his words, but remained skeptical until Tom pulled out C.S. Lewis book “Mere Christianity” and read this passage to him:
“. . . it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. Other vices may sometimes bring people together: you may find good fellowship and jokes and friendliness among drunken people or unchaste people. But Pride always means enmity— it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God. In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that—and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison—you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
“Suddenly I felt naked and unclean, my bravado defenses gone. I was exposed, unprotected, for Lewis’s words were describing me.”
He walked out of Tom Phillips house and just after the door closed, tears began to flow.
He only made it a hundred yards out of Tom’s drive when he pulled over and prayed his very first REAL prayer:
“God, I don’t know how to find You, but I’m going to try! I’m not much the way I am now, but somehow I want to give my- self to You.” I didn’t know how to say more, so I repeated over and over the words: Take me.”
This man who was known for his grit and fearlessness, who had accomplished so much as such a young age, had come face to face with the depths of his sin and magnitude of his pride.
The God he had never thought he needed had now become the one he could never live without.
Chuck Colson’s story is one I think Jesus had in mind in Matthew 16:26
26 For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?
By all the standards we know to judge by in the world, Chuck Colson had checked all the boxes.
Rich, powerful, accomplished, bold, connected...
But he, admittedly, was empty and lost.
There is no greater person in the life of Jesus to connect to Colson’s story then Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 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.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector.
He was powerful and connected- A tax collector was someone who was given the responsibility by the emperor and the protection of the emperor to collect taxes from the people within their region.
Zacchaeus was responsible for collecting taxed amongst the Jewish people, and he was in charge of the others who did the same.
He was Rich- They made money by exhorting the people for more than they were contracted to collect, so the tax collectors were both some of the wealthiest of those in their towns,
But they were also the most hated by the people.
Zacchaeus was the chief in both regards (rich and hated).
He was short- this might not seem like an important detail, beyond him not being able to see Jesus above the crowd.
Here are 2 men that most of us in this room can’t really relate to:
We aren’t powerful
We aren’t connected like they were (to the most powerful men in the world).
We aren’t rich
And we aren’t short (well some of us are…)
When we look a little deeper, into the roots of who they are, we will see that we have a whole lot more in common than what meets the eye.
Like Zacchaeus...
Like Zacchaeus...
We are battling against INADEQUACY.
We are battling against INADEQUACY.
3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.
We aren’t told how he got his position or how he became so successful at it.
Perhaps his success as a tax collector came from his drive to be powerful and rich to compensate for his height.
Luke says “he was seeking to see who Jesus was”.
I can’t help but think Zacchaeus had reached the top of what he had worked over time to accomplish
He was a chief tax collector, a role he had worked for likely for some time and had finally accomplished.
But it just wasn’t what he thought it would be.
He probably dreamed of getting there, finally getting the respect and accolades he didn’t get because of his small stature.
I can’t help but think he had gotten to the point financially where he realized there is likely no amount of money that will ever fill up the huge hole he felt in his life.
The years long battle to feel like he was valuable, accomplished, and adequate had brought him to the pinnacle of the world’s mountain, but he still felt like he was on the bottom.
We might not be rich, powerful, or short, but most of us can relate with feeling inadequate, just not good enough.
Like Zacchaeus, we look to money and stuff to make us feel adequate and valuable.
Or we look to accomplishments. Feeling good when things are going our way, but crashing hard when the don’t.
And, of course, we look to the approval and acceptance of others for our adequacy and value
Do the like me? Do they respect me? Do they think I am a good mom/dad? Do they see my clothes/my car/my house/my kids?
The cool thing about Zacchaeus’s story is that he has already been down this path, if we are listening, we can learn from him that it is just a dead end.
We are battling against THE CROWD.
We are battling against THE CROWD.
4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
There is an eagerness in Zacchaeus we see in vs 4.
He is a prideful man, who would have demanded respect from those around him.
But Luke says “he ran on ahead” of the crowd. Which would not have been something someone like Zacchaeus would have done. It would have been considered childish.
And then he “climbed up into a sycamore tree”, again something that would have again seemed childish and improper for someone like him.
But there was something in Zacchaeus that just HAD TO see him, whatever giggles, nasty comments, or dirty looks came his way.
It wasn’t unusual for Zacchaeus to be forced to battle against the crowd.
Most of the time his was battling for their attention and for their respect, even if it was negative attention and forced respect.
But today, they were keeping him from Jesus.
We aren’t any different than Zacchaeus in this regard either.
Maybe it is just me, but I constantly battle the desire to be accepted, liked, appreciated, paid attention to, approved.
I want people to think I am smart, funny, thoughtful, and good looking.
I don’t want people to think I am weird, unkind, ugly, fat, lazy, or anything else.
These feelings and desires motivate things I say and don’t say; things I do and don’t do; people I speak to and don’t speak to....
People and their perspective of me become like gods in my life that I feel like I have to appease.
They keep me from seeing and hearing Jesus.
They keep me from knowing who He is and who He is making me into.
They keep me from following Him.
And for some here today, they are keeping you from coming to Him.
What would they say if you did?
What would they think of you?
How would they treat you if you admitted you had never came to faith in Jesus?
Maybe they would call you a sinner like they did Zacchaeus.
We are searching for something WORTHY.
We are searching for something WORTHY.
Zacchaeus has been on a search from something that is worthy, something worth giving himself to that is actually valuable.
He didn’t find it in power, money, or position.
Maybe he will find it in Jesus.
He thinks he needs to get to Jesus.
He runs ahead to get ahead of the crowd, so maybe he could hear him, perhaps even talk to him.
He climbs a tree, at least he could catch a glimpse of him, hear his voice, maybe make out something He was saying.
He is searching...
Jesus had not been to Jericho based on what we read in the Gospels.
He had not known Zacchaeus before, wasn’t looking for him because He had talked to him last time he came through.
But Jesus looked up in the tree, right where Zacchaeus was and called out to him.
Zacchaeus had been searching, but Jesus was the one that found him.
Jesus said “I must stay in your house today”
It was necessary, not because Jesus didn’t have another place to stay, but to show Zacchaeus and all those watching a real life example of what He speaks in verse 10
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
That’s my story too. Is it yours?
I was searching for something worth living for and then Jesus found me.
There is a reason you are here today, perhaps this is your sycamore tree.
Have we found a TREASURE worth SELLING EVERYTHING for.
Have we found a TREASURE worth SELLING EVERYTHING for.
8 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.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
We don’t get to hear the conversation. We don’t really even know how much time passes between vs 6 and vs 8.
But something is dramatically different about Zacchaeus.
This encounter comes just a few verses after another encounter Jesus had with a wealthy man.
In Luke 18:18-25 a rich, young ruler comes to Jesus to ask how he can get to heaven.
He has kept the law, done all the right things, but wants to know what he is missing.
Jesus tells him
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
But that man turned and walked away “for he was extremely rich.”
His treasure on earth was greater than the treasure Jesus was offering him.
But not for Zacchaeus...
It doesn’t seem like Jesus told him he had to sell everything and give it to the poor.
Zacchaeus understands just how deep and dark his sin and how he had worshipped money and power at the expense of others.
Jesus doesn’t say “because you are willing to do good now and pay for your sins, you are saved.”
No Zacchaeus is saved because of his faith in Jesus.
Jesus has become a treasure worth more than every dollar he has ever earn, every connection he has ever made, and ever position he has ever held.
He has finally found something worthy of his whole life.
Have you found that thing?
Have you found that thing?
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.