We do not know at what stage in our Lord's intercourse with the
publican he 'stood and said, Half of my goods I give to the poor,'
and so on. But whensoever it was, it was the sign of the entire
revolution that had been wrought upon him by the touch of that
loving hand, and by the new fountain of sympathy and love
that he had found in Jesus Christ.
Some people have supposed, indeed, that his words do not mark a vow
for the future, but express his practice in the past. But it seems
to me to be altogether incongruous that Zacchaeus should advertise
his past good in order to make himself out to be not quite so bad as
people thought him, and, therefore, not so unworthy of being
Christ's host. Christ's love kindles sense of our sin, not
complacent recounting of our goodness. So Zacchaeus said, 'Lord!
Thou hast loved me, and I wonder. I yield, and fling away my black
past; and, so far as I can, make restitution for it.'
The one transforming agency is the love of Christ received into the
heart. I do not suppose that Zacchaeus knew as much about Jesus
Christ even after the conversation as we do; nor did he see His love
in that supreme death on the Cross as we do. But the love of the
Lord made a deep dint in his heart, and revolutionised his whole
nature. The thing that will alter the whole current and set of a
man's affections, that will upset his estimate of the relative value
of material and spiritual, and that will turn him inside out and
upside down, and make a new man of him, is the revelation of the
supreme love that in Jesus Christ has come into the world, with an
individualising regard to each of us, and has died on the Cross for
the salvation of us all. Nothing else will do it. People had frowned
on Zacchaeus, and it made him bitter. They had execrated and
persecuted him; and his only response was setting his teeth more
firmly and turning the screw a little tighter when he had the
chance. You can drive a man into devilry by contempt. If you want to
melt him into goodness, try love. The Ethiopian cannot change his
skin, but Jesus Christ can change his heart, and that will change
his skin by degrees. The one transforming power is faith in the love
of Jesus Christ.
Further, the one test of a true reception of Him is the abandonment
of past evil and restitution for it as far as possible. People say
that our Gospel is unreal and sentimental, and a number of other
ugly adjectives. Well! If it ever is so, it is the fault of the
speakers, and not of the Gospel. For its demands from every man that
accepts it are intensely practical, and nothing short of a complete
turning of his back upon his old self, shown in the conclusive
forsaking of former evil, however profitable or pleasant, and
reparation for harm done to men, satisfies them.
It is useless to talk about loving Jesus Christ and trusting Him,
and having the sweet assurance of forgiveness, and a glorious hope
of heaven, unless these have made you break off your bad habits of
whatsoever sort they may be, and cast them behind your backs. Strong
emotion, sweet deep feeling, assured confidence in the sense of
forgiveness and the hope of heaven, are all very well. Let us see
your faith by your works; and of these works the chief is--Behold
the evil that I did, I do it no more: 'Behold! Lord! the half of my
goods I give to the poor.' There was a young ruler, a chapter before
this, who could not make up his mind to part with wealth in order to
follow Christ. This man has so completely made up his mind to follow
Christ that he does not need to be bidden to give up his worldly
goods. The half given to the poor, and fourfold restoration to those
whom he had wronged, would not leave much. How astonished Zacchaeus
would have been if anybody had said to him that morning, 'Zacchaeus!
before this night falls you will be next door to a pauper, and you
will be a happier man than you are now!'
So, dear friends, like him, all of us may, if we will, and if we
need, make a sudden right-about-face that shall alter the complexion
of our whole future. People tell us that sudden conversions are
suspicious. So they may be in certain cases. But the moment when a
man makes up his mind to change the direction in which his face is
set will always be a moment, however long may be the hesitation, and
the meditation, and the preparation that led up to it.
Jesus Christ is standing before each of us as truly as He did before
that publican, and is saying to us as truly as He said to him, 'Let
Me in.' 'Behold! I stand at the door and knock. If any man open ...
I will enter.' If He comes in He will teach you what needs to be
turned out if He is to stop; and will make the sacrifice blessed and
not painful; and you will be a happier and a richer man with Christ
and nothing than with all beside and no Christ.