Honesty of Zaccheus

Have you ever joined a large crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of a celebrity? Why do we do that? After all, they are just people. Perhaps we see the famous person as he flashes by and then he’s gone. But we captured that blurry video and posted it online to prove we were there!

Luke tells us only that Zaccheus “was trying to see who Jesus was,” (NASB, Luke 19:3) on that life-changing day in Jericho. We are not told why he wanted to see Jesus. We do know that Jesus changed his life, though. A man regarded by his brethren as corrupt was soon letting everyone know that his new life would be one marked by living honestly 

The implication from this narrative is that Zaccheus had become wealthy by taking advantage of his position and defrauding people. Perhaps we have a little trouble relating to Zaccheus because we aren’t in a position to defraud other blatantly as he did. Yet it’s important to remember that our Christian walk must be marked by honesty in all of our dealings. From putting in an honest day of work for our employer, to being truthful when we file our tax return, people must see honesty in the way we live.