Nothing Wasted

Have you ever seen the commercial with children picking teams for a basketball game? One of the choices is Charles Barkley. A pretty easy decision, right? Who wouldn't pick the most obviously talented, most obviously suitable player first? Jesus. I've spent a couple days reading Luke's account of the meeting between Zaccheus and Jesus. I have to be honest, here. For a long time, I have thought of this passage as nothing more than a cute, quirky story about a tiny guy who met Jesus. Zaccheus was a wee, little man, and a wee, little man was he! However, nothing in the Bible is trite or trivial. Someone once said, "All Scripture is God-breathed and God doesn't waste His breath." The Bible tells us, even the wrath of man brings God praise and the wicked have purpose. Nothing gets wasted, not even the story of a "wee little man." So, what is the larger point? (See what I did there? 😉)

Look at verse 3. The Amplified version says, "he was trying to see Jesus, which One He was," and the NLT says Zaccheus "tried to get a look at Jesus." (emphasis mine) This doesn't sound like some deep spiritual quest. It sounds more like curiosity to me; as though Zaccheus had heard some things about Jesus, perhaps was a little skeptical or wondered why all the fuss, and was simply curious. Which One? Based on Isaiah's words, Jesus wasn't much to look at. Was Zaccheus disappointed when he finally came face to face with Jesus? Maybe he was relieved Jesus wasn't "all that." I mean, Zaccheus was either so small or was so known for being so small, Luke makes a point of it. Maybe it made him feel more comfortable.

Speaking of Zaccheus' stature, what did he do for a living? Did you catch that? He was a tax collector-- chief tax collector (v.2). Tax collectors had terrible reputations. They were Jewish employees of a Gentile government, collecting money from their own people. They were authorized to charge whatever price so long as the Roman government got its cut. Anything Zaccheus and his boys demanded over and above the actual Roman tax was theirs to keep. To the Jews, this was evil on so many levels, and they looked down on such people. Couple that with Zaccheus' physical appearance, and he had become quite accustomed to everyone looking down on him. Everyone except Jesus. Luke tells us in verse 5, Jesus looked up when He reached the spot where Zaccheus had perched himself for a bird's-eye view. Imagine the scene: Jesus can barely take more than a step or two at a time for the crowd pressing in to Him, people are shouting, and Jesus stops. He's not looking down at His feet, making sure He doesn't step on someone's cloak or any of the people falling before Him. He's looking up. Was He the first person to ever look up at Zaccheus?

And Jesus speaks. "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." The people are incensed! How could He eat with someone like that? You know what? I don't think it was as much about who Zaccheus was as it was about who they thought Jesus was. They'd heard so much about Him. They'd wanted to see Him and, as with any famous celeb, be seen by Him. What would it do for a Pharisee if Jesus honored him? What would it do for a paralytic if Jesus healed him? But He didn't. He chose a tiny, vile lackey of the unclean who oppressed them; and He looked up to him. Maybe Jesus wasn't as holy or respectable as they'd heard. And they threw the baby out with the bathwater. He didn't pick me, so how great can He be? 

Well, Jesus did pick me. But He hasn't always picked me first or picked me best-- at least, not the way I wanted it. Why couldn't I have been picked to shoulder the burden of a worldwide ministry, or a huge home where I could host "God things," or a small fortune with which I could bless others, or a family that serves God together, or...? Maybe you've thought some of those things. God doesn't waste anything, remember? Not a tragedy, not a valley, not a troubled past, not even an ordinary life. He has chosen you according to His purpose. What will He do with you? Only what you're willing to allow.