Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Between my graduation from seminary and my first ministry, I was a security guard for an older Jewish woman.  “Sarah” had a kind heart … encased in a hard shell. She was about 70 years old and divorced.  But while married, she and her husband made millions by investing in an optical company.

Their residence was located in affluent “North Dallas.”  Never before (or since) have I seen such opulence:  over 28,000 square feet (at that time estimated to be the largest house in Dallas, Texas, and possibly the state):  nine bedrooms and 17 bathrooms … three kitchens … three dining rooms … two dens … a barbershop … a sauna … an exercise room … a massage room … an office suite … countless closets … (and 27 television sets).  There was a heated indoor swimming pool and another one outside.  And on the walls throughout the house hung pictures of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, Frank Sinatra and other celebrities of the 1960’s and 70’s, all taken there in that house.  Ross Perot was their neighbor.  (He only had one swimming pool.)  When the owner showed me her cedar-lined closet in which were hanging her many mink coats, I just stood there and gawked.  Sensing that I could not fathom her wealth, she tried to help me out.  “Martin, don’t you understand?  We were multi-millionaires!”  (That did not help me out.)

To this day I sometimes think about this dear – but calloused – woman; and when I do, I see her house in my mind’s eye.  But not its warm luxuries.  No, there was something cold about that house.  Its rooms were full, but its “soul” was vacant.  You could feel it.  It was an emptiness that overshadowed its extravagance.

That same vacancy could be seen in Sarah’s eyes.  There was a blank stare in those eyes … a drained look that mirrored a drained soul.  Perhaps that same empty gaze was in the eyes of Zaccheus … that is, until he heard that Jesus was about to pass by.

Zaccheus

It may be that when some of us hear the name Zaccheus, we think of that little song children sing, “Zaccheus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.  He climbed up in the sycamore tree; the Lord he wanted to see.”  But we should be careful not to miss the outcome of his encounter with the One “he wanted to see,” for it describes the moment an empty soul was gloriously filled to the brim … and then overflowed.

And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.  Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.  So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.  When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”  And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.  When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”  Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”  And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:2-10)

The account of this meeting between Jesus and Zaccheus is positioned in a most interesting place in Luke’s Gospel:  chapter 19.  To accomplish his Holy Spirit-directed purpose, the author inserted it immediately after the Lord’s encounter with a “rich young ruler” in Luke, chapter 18.  These two chapters present back-to-back accounts of two men who were seeking an audience with the Savior.  This was no haphazard decision on Luke’s part, for they offer an interesting contrast between one whose soul was prepared for salvation and another whose soul was not.

How Zaccheus and the Rich Young Ruler Were Different

• Although both sensed that something was “lacking” in his life, only one felt the utter poverty of his soul.

The one described as “a ruler” was likely a leader in one of the nearby synagogues.  If so, he would have been known for observing – to the letter – the Law of Moses.  In fact that is how he described himself:  “Teacher, all these (commandments) I have kept from my youth up ….”  This ruler had great confidence in his own righteousness.  He was rich in spirit.

On the other hand Zaccheus, because he was a tax collector, was considered by the crowd to be “a sinner,” worthy of contempt.  And apparently, that is how he saw himself.  This tax collector had no confidence in his own righteousness.  He was poor in spirit.

• Although both believed that Jesus was somehow able to provide what he lacked, only one believed that Jesus Himself was the missing “Piece.”

The young ruler believed that Jesus could point him to that “one good thing” he was not doing.  Once he started doing it, then he would inherit eternal life.

Zaccheus, however, believed that Jesus Himself was the Solution to his emptiness.  For him, the answer was not in a law but in a Person.

• Although both were “rich,” only one no longer depended on his wealth to satisfy his soul.

As it turned out, the ruler’s soul was just as satisfied with his riches as it was with his righteousness.  When he was challenged to give it all away, that was too much to ask.  Forfeiting his wealth was not the one “good thing” he was willing to do.

Zaccheus, on the other hand, was more than willing to release his wealth.  His bankrupt soul had already done so.  When Jesus expressed an interest in spending time with him, that’s all it took.  He gladly made restitution with those he had robbed in gratitude for the abundant life he had just received from Jesus.  And he was not even told to do so.

• Although both longed for life to be more than it was, only one trusted in Jesus to satisfy his soul. Whereas the rich ruler “went away grieved” (Matthew 19:21-22; Mark 10:21-22; Luke 18:22-23), we are told that Zaccheus “received Him gladly.” (Luke 19:5-6)

To the rich, young ruler, Jesus was a law-giving teacher whose yoke was exceedingly heavy.

To the tax-collector, Jesus was a grace-giving Savior whose burden was exceedingly light.

The Eternal Results of Their Choices

For the rich young ruler, eternal ruin.

For Zaccheus, eternal glory.

For Sarah.  A few years ago, on one of my last visits to Dallas, I drove by to see the mansion in which I had once lived.  To my surprise, it had been bulldozed to the ground.  There was nothing there but an empty lot.  The empty house was gone … and so was the empty soul that once roamed its halls.

Sarah is now in eternity.  She died in 1998.  But as I sit here and think of her, I do not know where she lives.  (The Lord knows.)  What I do know is this:  the very thing most of us bend over backwards to have more of had not satisfied her soul any more than it had Zaccheus’.

Beloved friends, to what are you clinging to satisfy your soul?

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A certain ruler … began asking Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”  And Jesus said to him, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  He said to Him, “Which ones?”  And Jesus said … “Do not commit murder; Do not commit adultery; Do not steal; Do not bear false witness; Do not defraud; Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  And the young man said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth up; what am I still lacking?”  And when Jesus heard this, He … said to him, “One thing you still lack; if you wish to be complete, go and sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”  (Luke 18:18-30)  (See also Matthew 19:16-20:16 & Mark 10:17-31)

When I was in seminary, I took an evangelism class.  One day we considered this conversation between Jesus and a man we have come to call “the rich, young ruler.”  We read that when he asked Jesus, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responded, “Keep the commandments.”

Does that answer startle you?  I remember the professor saying to us (with a smile), “If I had asked you this question on a test and you had given me that answer, you would have failed the course.”

What’s going on here?  Haven’t we been taught to answer the question, “What must I do to be saved?” with “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”?  But that’s not what Jesus said.  In fact, the words “mercy” and “grace” and “faith” and “believe” and “not of works” were not even mentioned.  Instead, Jesus gave a legalistic answer, a “righteousness-is-earned-by-good-works” reply.  Why did He do that?  Surely, He knew that this young man could not live up to God’s standard of perfection.

Yes, Jesus knew that … but this young man did not.  To him eternal life was something worked for, a wage that was earned by doing “good things.”  Believing he could save himself, he had no need for Jesus to do so, and the Savior knew it.  He knew this man’s soul was not ready to plead for God’s mercy.  Only the “poor in spirit” are ready to do that.  This man, however, was too rich for that.  (Not rich in stocks and bonds.  Wealthy people can be saved.  The tax collector Zaccheus was saved; and “he was rich.”)  No, this man was “rich in spirit” … wealthy in the righteousness of his religion.  “All these (commandments) I have kept from my youth up.”

It is ironic.  This man’s high view of his own morality was preventing his salvation.  And so, as an act of love, Jesus seeks to lower that estimation of himself by knocking out from under him the props of his self-righteousness.  He wants this young man to know that he cannot reach his goal of eternal life through moral perfection.  So, He unveils his moral failures.

“One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

And then we read one of the saddest statements in all of Scripture:  “But when the young man heard this statement, his face fell, and he became very sad and went away grieved; for he was one who was extremely rich and owned much property.”  In telling him to do this, Jesus meant to expose his idolatrous heart, a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments:  “You shall have no gods before Me.”

Jesus did not handle this situation the way most of us are taught.  He did not rush into “the Good News” of His death and resurrection.  No, Jesus confronts him with some bucket-of-cold-water-in-the-face “Bad News”:  “You are not as righteous as you think you are.”

Undoubtedly, the tone of the Lord’s voice and the countenance on His face reflected His love for this young man.  Yet, even the Savior’s love does not lower the demands of Yahweh’s Law.  We should not miss that.  Though God loves the world, the sins of the world must still be dealt with.

Every time Jesus addressed the self-righteous (usually they were religious leaders), His words were never intended to relieve a soul distressed over sin.  Why should they?  A self-righteous soul is not distressed over sin … but it should be.  His words to those “rich in spirit” were never meant to comfort a soul riddled with guilt.  Why should they?   There is no sense of guilt within a soul that is rich in righteousness.  No, these words of Jesus were intended to

lovingly break a soul satisfied with itself

This young man is not alone.  Many today are just like him.  On Sunday morning some of them are sitting in church pews while others are sitting in coffee shops.  Nevertheless, whether religious or not, they all share the same belief of this rich young ruler:  “My decency satisfies God.  It is my ticket to heaven.”  Noticeably absent from their souls is a felt-need for the mercy of God.

In our evangelistic efforts perhaps the Church is rushing too quickly to give this kind of person the solution to his sin problem before he senses he even has a problem.  But until he is convinced that he is a moral criminal on God’s death row, he will have no need for God’s pardon.  Clinging to his works, he has no need to cling to “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.”

We should take note of that.  God’s mercy means nothing to a person who is not first convinced of God’s justice.  Believing in himself, he has no need to believe in the Savior.  To offer the grace of God to the self-righteous is like handing a parachute to one who thinks he is standing on the ground.

Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling.

Naked, come to Thee for dress; helpless, look to Thee for grace.

Vile, I to the fountain fly.  Wash me, Savior, or I die.

Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.

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Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.  And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.

Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner” … And turning toward the woman, (Jesus) said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.  For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven … Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  (Luke 7:36-39, 44-48, 50)

There are two kinds of sinners present around Simon’s dining room table this afternoon.  But only one of them had taken a good, long look in the mirror that morning.  Only one of them had seen the awful truth staring back.  The other had not.  In his mirror he had seen only what he wanted to see.

The awful truth confronting this prostitute and this preacher was that both of them were moral failures who deserved to die.  Both were terminally ill, sick with a spiritual cancer that plagues all of Adam’s sons and daughters.  Both needed to be healed by the Physician reclining at the table.  But only the street-walker accepted that reality. The Pharisee would not allow himself to believe it.

Perhaps you see yourself at this table in Simon’s dining room.  If so, there is something you should know.  Immorality will never satisfy an empty soul; and religion will never deliver one from eternal death.  Not in a million years.  But the One reclining at this table, the One Who bore our sins on the Cross, can.  His rescue from sin’s grip of misery and its curse of death is offered to all … no exceptions:  to the reprobate who live in a street’s filth … to the religious who sit in a church’s pew … and everyone in between.  The mercy of God is greater than all our sins combined … past, present and future.  All of them.  Not one of your sins is too great to exclude you from this invitation:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden … and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

On that day both the preacher and the prostitute needed to be forgiven.  But apparently only the uninvited guest – poor in spirit – was repentant.  The host – rich only in the outward righteousness of the Mosaic Law – remained in his state of denial, rejecting his own need to be pardoned by his Judge reclining right in front of him.  The forgiveness Jesus offered meant nothing to Simon for his soul was satisfied by the self-righteousness of his religion.

Not so with this “woman who was a sinner.”  Unlike Simon, this woman of the street knew quite well what a worn out soul felt like.  She had experienced firsthand the tyranny of sin’s lordship.  She was acquainted with its misery … and its emptiness … and its shame.  But she also had some level of understanding as to Who Jesus was and what He was offering her.  And when she left that afternoon, her soul was filled with the relief of His forgiveness and the refreshment of His peace.

Do you know anyone like that, one who knew he deserved to die because of his sins but has, instead, accepted Christ’s death in place of his own?  One whose empty soul has been flooded with the forgiveness and peace of Christ?  If you know someone like this, the next time you are with him in a worship service, stand as close to him as you can.  And then watch him as he sings to his Redeemer.

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