The Transforming Power of Love

How many of you have seen the classic 1980s movie “Back to the Future”? The soundtrack for the movie includes a song by the group Huey Lewis and the News called “The Power of Love”. The lyrics point out an important truth about love:

The power of love is a curious thing

Makes one man weep, makes another man sing

Changes the heart to a little white dove

More than a feeling, that’s the power of love.

You’ll notice that the lyrics talk about how love is “more than a feeling” and that love can actually create change in people. Love is a force that can transform a person. We can see this transformational process at work in the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, which we find in Luke 19:1-10. Let’s read:

Luke 19:1–10 NIV

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

First, a bit of background: Under the Roman system, tax collecting jobs were given to people who purchased the right to collect taxes. In other words, tax collecting was a business, sort of like a franchise. As a business owner, Zacchaeus could set taxes at a rate that covered what he had to pay to Rome, cover business expenses, and pay himself a handsome salary. Add to that, Zacchaeus was a “chief tax collector,” which meant he presided over other tax gatherers, adding to his profit status. Luke tells us Zacchaeus was a wealthy man—he had done well in business.

Contrary to popular opinion, the Bible does not state that Zacchaeus was dishonest. Zacchaeus’ statement to Jesus was

“If I have been dishonest, I will pay back four times as much.” The Bible does let us know Zacchaeus was considered a sinner because of his business choice—and his greed. One can determine Zacchaeus was more concerned about wealth than reputation simply due to the fact he chose to work for the enemy, and he chose a career he knew his fellow countrymen despised.

Jews not only hated being governed by Rome, paying taxes to Rome was just another thorn. Then to have some of their own countrymen collecting those taxes just added fuel to their fire. Tax collectors (publicans) were not liked by the people in any community and were presumed to be dishonest, corrupt and they were despised. So for Jesus to call out Zacchaeus and then say he wanted to share a meal with him was more than many people could handle.

“He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.”

Let’s consider some interesting ideas found in this passage:

Zacchaeus was desperate to see Jesus

He was short, and he had to climb a tree to see. Zacchaeus may have even been putting his own safety in jeopardy by showing up in the crowd trying to see Jesus. People despised him because of his profession.

Jesus called him by name.

Jesus honoured Zacchaeus by calling him by name. This implies that he knew him and his story, how he was excluded because he worked for Rome. Jesus knew his reputation, and he knew the truth about Zacchaeus’ business practices—whether or not they were dishonest.

We observe that Jesus’ first words to Zacchaeus were not about the type of business Zacchaeus chose—knowing that it was a business that was despised—but he asked to spend time with Zach. How do you think Zach felt when Jesus said he wanted to stay at his house? Someone who was important, respected, loved and received as the Messiah wanted to hang out with him? How would you feel if you were in his place? Everyone else rejects you. No-one wants to hang out with you, come to your house except your tax collector friends. Your wife gets hassled at the market, your kids get excluded and perhaps even bullied at school, and they come home to your beautiful house to complain to you. Yet Jesus didn’t even wait for an invitation. He called you by name and said he wanted to stay at your house. This is incredible!

Can you think of a modern day equivalent to a tax collector? What if you were a CRA agent whose job it was to chase down evaders? You might have a short supply of friends. What if you were a bylaw officer who wrote tickets all day? What if you were Prime Minister? Some might love you, and some might hate you. Let’s take it further. What if you were a member of the Mafia or another gang that preyed on the innocent? An inmate who committed murder? A cheat? A homeless addict? Jesus comes along and says he wants to hang out with you. He doesn’t give you a list of changes you need to make first. He just wants to hang out. How would you feel? Amazed? Overwhelmed? Unworthy? Joyful? Zach probably felt this way too. He came down out of that tree right away and welcomed him warmly.

Those who grumbled did not understand why Jesus came.

Many assumed that Jesus was going to break the control Rome had on Judea and that he would become the new king. Hanging out with a tax collector implied approval of Rome and its system. They didn’t realize Jesus’ mission was to show that God’s kingdom operated with different rules, and that love and grace were at the top of that list.

Has there ever been a time in your life when you expected God to work in a certain way, and he chose to handle it completely differently? Were your feelings and thoughts quick to change and adapt, or did it take a while? Losing singing voice.... I didn’t understand why God didn’t just heal me so I could continue to serve him through music. That’s what I expected him to do. It took time for me to adapt. I brought on Bryce as a 11 year-old to help with singing, and God raised up another worship leader. God’s mission in my case wasn’t to heal me right away; it was to raise up another worship leader.

Jesus didn’t come to overthrow Roman rule in Judea. He came to reveal God’s kingdom where love and grace were the rules.

Zacchaeus’ offer of restitution was more generous than required by the law.

According to Leviticus 6:5 he was only required to restore the original value plus one-fifth if he had taken too much money. Only premeditated and violent robbery required fourfold restitution (Exo. 22:1). Zacchaeus shows that he is willing to go above and beyond if he has cheated anyone. Then he goes even further and declares he will give away half of his possessions. This is a bold move of a wealthy person, indicating to us that Zacchaeus really is changed by Jesus’s loving acceptance.

Jesus’ love and acceptance of Zach made him want to live differently, to be a better person, to be more generous. What about you? Can you think of a time when someone’s belief or confidence in you made you better or stronger than you would have been by yourself? Maybe it was a teacher. Maybe it was a coach. Maybe it was a parent or friend.

When I helped at Nightshift Street Ministry for a while I met a man named Dave. He didn’t look like much, in fact, it wasn’t long ago that he was a homeless addict like most who come to Night Shift. Because he received a free meal every night in addition to love and acceptance by the volunteers as the representatives of Jesus, he wanted to change, live differently. He got help with his addiction, found an apartment and a job, and started to volunteer at NightShift to help his friends and others who needed grace. Dave was transformed by the loving acceptance he received.

Jesus makes it clear that everyone belongs, regardless of their career choice or any mistakes they make.

Jesus calls Zacchaeus a “son of Abraham,” reminding the others that he has a place with them. He may be a brother who chose a despised career, but he is first and foremost a brother.

How can we convey that same loving acceptance to our own family when they make choices we don’t agree with? It might be your siblings, your parents, or your own children who make these choices you don’t agree with. Can you still extend loving acceptance like Jesus did?

This brings to my mind a long-time GCI leader and has wife who have 3 beloved daughters and 1 beloved son. One day the son informed his parents that he is gay. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the situation. There must have been many tears shed and wrestling with God. What I saw from them was loving acceptance of their son—unconditional love—that honoured God. They didn’t approve of his choice, but they made it their choice to love him unconditionally.

How can we convey that loving acceptance to our church family? Let’s be slow to judge, quick to forgive, extending the grace we’ve desperately needed ourselves.

Jesus states his mission.

Contrary to what the crowd thought, Jesus’s mission was not to become a king and create the type of government they were familiar with. Jesus’s mission was to “seek out and save the lost” by showing how all people were valuable in God’s sight, not just the “cool” ones, or the rich ones, or the religiously perfect ones. He was ushering in a system that was based on grace, not merit. He chose to spend time with those marginalized by the culture they lived in—women, the poor, those who were despised by others, those who had made mistakes. He honoured those the culture said were nobodies because in God’s world, there are no nobodies.

What more can we learn from this story for our lives today?

Transformation can only happen in the context of loving acceptance of a person where they are at right now.

Jesus didn’t tell Zacchaeus that he needed to make any particular changes. He said, “I’d love to spend some time and get to know you better.” In our relationships, we must put loving acceptance first and leave the job of transformation to God and his perfect timing. Consider how this impacts your relationships with family, coworkers, and other church members.

I am SO desirous of my family members having a personal and ongoing relationship with God, yet there is absolutely nothing I can do to make this happen. My job is to show loving acceptance—an unconditional love that supersedes anything my family member, coworker or friend does. It’s God’s job to draw them and transform them in his perfect timing.

What about other church members or people who call themselves Christians? Are they struggling with some sin you happen to know about—maybe lying, cheating, sexual sin or something else? Does this knowledge keep you from expressing loving acceptance? It shouldn’t. Our job is to show loving acceptance--love unconditionally. It’s God’s job to transform them in his perfect timing.

What else can we take away from this story?

Everybody is somebody in God’s kingdom.

Everyone matters. Everyone has a place and a purpose. We cannot judge a person’s contribution or value because all are invaluable in God’s sight. All are included and loved.

In a few days a new movie starring Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers will be released. It’s called “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, and I can’t wait to go and see it. You see, generations of children were touched by this kind, God-fearing man who made it his prayer every day as he walked in the TV studio door, “Dear God, let some word that is heard be Yours.” He made all of his viewers, young and old, feel safe, secure, and valued.

Fred Rogers was a man transformed by his relationship with God. He was known by everyone for his kindness, acceptance and warmth, and one friend shared that she even “...saw cameramen on assignment in the Neighborhood moved to tears by his kindness.” One woman remarked to her husband upon meeting Fred for the first time, “I think I just had a religious experience.” He had that unique transforming presence: Mother Teresa in a cardigan—Jesus in a cardigan. I want to be like that! Mister Roger agreed with Jesus that everyone matters, because everybody is a somebody in God’s kingdom.

So, as we consider the transformation of Zacchaeus’ heart, we are reminded that love and acceptance create the conditions for transformation to occur, and this transformation will come from God, within a person, not from concerned onlookers. “The power of love is a curious thing,” say the song lyrics. Indeed, the effects of loving acceptance can be far-reaching and life changing.