In these three passages, Luke examines who gains entrance into the kingdom of God.  Is it reserved for the ultra-religious, for the highly esteemed, for the rich and powerful?  Or is it counterintuitively open only to those who understand they have no qualifications at all?  In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the story of the rich young ruler, and the story of Zacchaeus, we discover that the kingdom isn’t reserved for the religious with their impressive works or for the rich who love the world.  It’s reserved for the repentant with their utter dependence on the Son of God.

Ultimately, these are stories of the gospel, told from different angles.  The glorious message of the gospel is that while we can’t earn our place in the kingdom, a loving and merciful Savior has provided all we need to gain entrance.

The Religious (18:9-14)
The first narrative is a parable.  Jesus tells the parable to address those who think they’re righteous AND view others with contempt.  The two always go hand-in-hand.  If we’re proud of our righteousness and have no appreciation of our fallibility and sinfulness, then others look like poor sinners in comparison.  The self-righteous find all the faults in others they can’t see in themselves.  And that’s who they trust for their salvation – themselves.  This will be a recurring theme throughout the text.  The self-righteous place all their faith in themselves and their works.

In the story, a Pharisee and a tax collector go into the temple to pray.  [Isn’t it interesting that Jesus doesn’t hesitate to use a Pharisee as a negative example even while Pharisees are almost certainly in the crowd listening?]  Jesus doesn’t choose the two randomly.  They represent essentially the top and bottom of religious society.  The Pharisee is at the top in terms of righteousness, prestige, and respect.  The tax collector is the opposite.  He’s at the bottom of a society that despises him for his role in collecting taxes for the hated Romans.  Not only does he work for gentiles, he also profits off the backs of his own countrymen.  His entire profession is predicated on disloyalty to his people and contempt for the Law.  There’s no way for two people to be more culturally opposite than the two in the story.

The Pharisee prays first.  He addresses God but the entire prayer is focused on him.  He thanks God for what a righteous man he is.  He keeps all the commandments; he fasts twice a week (when the Law only requires once a year); he tithes out of ALL he receives.  He’s not like other men and he’s certainly not like the tax collector standing nearby drowning in his sins.  He doesn’t ask for anything in his prayer because he doesn’t need anything; he just recounts to God how worthy he is of God’s acceptance.

The tax collector prays very differently (and more briefly).  He prays about himself but not to extoll himself.  He doesn’t list his accomplishments because there aren’t any.  His only works are sinful.  Thus he simply cries out for mercy while hanging his head and beating his breast.  Far from justifying himself, he won’t even lift his eyes to heaven.

Jesus gives the epilogue to the illustration.  He says the tax collector is the only one who goes away justified.  The Pharisee who justified himself is in fact lost.  The tax collector who didn’t justify himself but threw himself on God’s mercy is saved.  The lesson is that everyone who exalts himself – depends on his own merit and assumes he is worthy of entrance into God’s presence – will be humbled (damned).  Everyone who humbles himself – does not depend on his own merit and understands that he’s wholly dependent on God’s mercy – will be exalted (saved).  Humility now or humiliation later.  The one who doesn’t think he needs to be saved won’t be.

This epilogue is what we’ll see fleshed out in the following stories.

So first answer: the religious don’t get in.

The Rich (18:18-30)
Leading into this story, Jesus points to children (brought to him by their parents so He can touch them) as an example for His disciples.  He says that only those who receive the kingdom of God like a child will enter it.  Hearing this, a ruler – we don’t know what he rules, but he’s likely some kind of religious official – approaches Jesus and asks Him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

We know from Matthew’s account that this man is young (Matt 19:20).  And since Luke calls him a ruler and all three gospel writers who record this event call him rich, we can say that this is a man who has life where he wants it.  He has youth, wealth, prestige, and respect.  From a cultural and worldly standpoint, he has it all.

It’s not exactly clear what makes him ask the question or what his intent in asking it is.  There’s nothing in the text to make us think he’s insincere or testing Jesus.  It could be that he’s truly searching and knows there’s something missing in his life.  Or perhaps he’s just looking for reinforcement of what he already believes – that he’s a righteous man who deserves eternal life.

Jesus initially doesn’t answer the question.  Instead, He picks up on the ruler’s way of addressing Him.  The ruler called Him “Good teacher” and Jesus doesn’t overlook it.  He says to the man, “Why do you call Me good?  No one is good except God alone.”  In one statement, Jesus does two things (and the ruler may be taken aback at Jesus drilling down on what was probably a throw-away attempt at flattery and courtesy).  First, He claims equality with God.  If the ruler called Him good and only God is good, then Jesus is on equal footing with God.  Second, He shows that the entire premise of the ruler’s question is flawed.  Only God is good; so if you think there’s anything you can do to earn your way into His presence, you’re cosmically mistaken.

Jesus continues to respond and now answers the ruler’s question.  We expect Him to say, “Follow Me” or “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” – answers He’s given others who have come to him with similar questions.  Instead, knowing the man’s heart, He tells him to keep the commandments.  He goes on to list some the man needs to keep.  Interestingly, He names only horizontal commands (seventh, sixth, eighth, ninth, fifth). [The Ten Commandments break into two parts – the first four commandments address our relationship with God; the last six address our relationship with each other.]  He’s building a case and knows where the conversation will go, but for now He gives the ruler requirements that are right in his wheelhouse.  Keep the Law and you’ll inherit eternal life. [Which essentially goes along with what Jesus said about only God being good.  If you want to inherit eternal life, be perfect and sinless.]

The ruler loves Jesus’ answer.  He confidently says that he’s kept all the commandments from his youth.  He says this without hesitation and without qualification.  He’s a religious man and he’s never committed adultery, murdered anyone, stolen anything, lied, or dishonored his parents.

Jesus again doesn’t respond as we’d expect.  If this were one of us, we’d say to the man, “No way!  You’ve never lied even ONCE in your life??  Really?  You’ve never stolen anything EVER??”  That’s not, however, how Jesus responds.  [According to Mark, Jesus looks at him and loves him (Mk 10:21).  Jesus doesn’t just see a religious young man before Him; He sees a man who is dying without knowing it.  He doesn’t just see a wealthy man; He sees the heart of a man who is being killed by the very thing he loves more than anything else.]  When He answers, He seems to accept the man’s claim at face value.  He simply says, “One thing you still lack.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 

At this, the ruler’s confidence turns to sadness and he goes away very discouraged.  This isn’t what he expected at all.  He’s very wealthy and to say that he has to give it all away in order to inherit eternal life asks too much.  His righteousness and his wealth define him.  Jesus has just asked him to give away what makes him who he is.

It’s important to understand that Jesus isn’t saying that anyone who gives his wealth to the poor has eternal life.  What He means instead is, “Put Me on the throne of your life.”  His instructions to the ruler expose the ruler’s deluded perspective.  He thinks he’s kept the Law, but he’s not kept the most vital part of the Law.  He’s violated the first commandment by putting his riches and prestige on the throne of his life instead of God.  His claim to have kept all the commandments comes up empty in the harsh light of his idolatry.  He won’t inherit eternal life because the price is too high.

The ruler really becomes a tragic figure, doesn’t he?  He’s offered ETERNAL life and instead chooses earthly riches.  He makes the ultimate foolish choice.  There’s a lesson for us here, though, isn’t there?  When we sin, we make the same choice the ruler does.  We say, “This is better than anything God has for me right now.”  If we’re a believer, it doesn’t have the same dire ramifications, but it’s the same foolish logic.  It’s why we must pray every day for an eternal perspective.  “Father, please put eternity in the forefront of my mind and help me to see the circumstances and people in my life through that lens.”

So second answer: the rich who love the world don’t get in.

The Repentant (19:1-10)
Jesus passes through Jericho where He’s met by a very large crowd.  In the crowd is a man named Zacchaeus, described as a chief tax collector (a title used nowhere else in the Bible).  We don’t know exactly what chief means but presumably he’s in authority over other tax collectors in the area.  And if that’s true, it’s likely that he’s despised even more than a garden variety tax collector.  It’s also fair to assume that since tax collectors are typically wealthy, Zacchaeus is very wealthy.

Interestingly, Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus but can’t because he’s small of stature and can’t see over the crowd.  To remedy this, he runs ahead and climbs a sycamore tree (Luke likes detail and so makes sure the reader knows what kind of tree it is) where he knows Jesus will pass.  That he climbs a tree gives us more information about Zacchaeus.  He must not be too old, and he’s not concerned with how he looks to the crowd.  A grown man in Jewish culture likely doesn’t make it a habit to climb trees.  Zacchaeus, however, wants to see Jesus and doesn’t care how he looks.  Plus, since he knows he’s hated by pretty much everyone, he likely long ago stopped worrying about others’ opinions (there’s a certain freedom in knowing without a doubt that everyone DOES hate you).

Jesus comes to where Zacchaeus is and speaks to him in the tree.  He tells him to come down “for I must stay at your house today.”  Notice that Jesus makes it sound like He’s not just going for a meal but will actually be a houseguest of Zacchaeus.  That Jesus says must implies that it’s part of His divine mission.  He comes to bring salvation to sinners; as part of that mission, He must bring salvation to one of the chief sinners of Jericho.

Verses 6 and 7 give an interesting contrast.  Zacchaeus hurries down the tree (once again showing he’s in decent shape) and receives Jesus joyfully.  The Jews around Jesus, however, grumble when they hear His words.  They say (presumably among themselves), “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”  It’s easy to condemn the self-righteousness and hard-heartedness of the crowd when they say this.  But it pays to remember that Zacchaeus is considered a traitor as well as a liar and thief.  If we saw someone who had become rich by betraying his fellow citizens rewarded by being selected to host the foremost leader of the faith, it might be hard for us to swallow too.  On the other hand, the contrast in responses shows the difference in how a sinner sees Jesus versus how the self-righteous do.

There’s no way to know if Luke leaves some details out of the story (for instance, has Zacchaeus heard any of Jesus’ teaching?), but Zacchaeus is apparently so overwhelmed by Jesus’ actions that he makes an astonishing pledge.  He tells Jesus that he will give away half his possessions to the poor and restore fourfold to anyone he’s defrauded.  The numbers here are staggering and show both his incredible change of heart and his amazing wealth.  For him to give away half and still have enough to pay back everyone he’s defrauded times four means he has quite the net worth.  This also shows how revolutionary Jesus’ actions are.  Zacchaeus can’t get over that the Messiah is willing to be his houseguest and it completely changes his life.  Jesus goes TO the sinner and the sinner repents and completely changes course.

Notice what true repentance looks like.  Zacchaeus could’ve pledged to clean up his life going forward at little cost to himself.  But he instead backs up his words with actions (and note that he doesn’t ask Jesus what he has to do to make things right – he voluntarily states what he wants to do).  He gives away half of everything and restores to others more than what the Law requires (the Mosaic Law calls for restoration plus 20%).  He now has higher goals than wealth and comfort, and he proves it with his actions.

Jesus responds just as strongly as Zacchaeus.  He says, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.”  Zacchaeus’ actions don’t save him, but they show what’s happened in his heart and soul.  His pledge to give and restore is the result and proof of his salvation.  This is what James means when he says “…I will show you my faith by my works” (Jas 2:18).  And Jesus says he is a son of Abraham to show that those who follow Abraham’s faith are his true descendants (Rom 4:10-16).  He also may say this for the sake of those around Zacchaeus.  Yes, he cheated and betrayed his countrymen in the past, but he now is a true child of Abraham because he repented.

Jesus finishes His declaration by saying that Zacchaeus’ salvation is the very reason He came.  He came to seek and to save the lost [Note the TWO verbs – He didn’t just come to save; He came to SEEK and save.]  This answers the question as to why Jesus said He must stay at Zacchaeus’ house.  Zacchaeus was a sinner who needed found and saved.  This is the whole point of the Messiah’s ministry.

So third answer: the repentant get in.

Summary
The rich young ruler and Zacchaeus essentially act out Jesus’ parable from Chapter 18 (likely why Luke records the stories in the order he does).  The ruler may not be a Pharisee but he’s a religious official who fills the role of the self-righteous man who depends on his own credentials to gain entrance into the kingdom.  Zacchaeus, like his fellow tax collector who couldn’t lift his eyes to heaven when he prayed, knows he has no credentials and so throws himself on the mercy of Jesus.  The ruler sees no need for repentance and can’t imagine life without his wealth, so he goes away discouraged and lost.  Zacchaeus fully understands his need for repentance and joyfully gives away his wealth and goes away justified. 

No one earns his place in the presence of God.  The rich and the religious who depend on their righteousness and assume wealth is a sign of God’s approval miss their chance at salvation.  Conversely, the sinner keenly aware of his sin and his need for a Savior is joyfully welcomed into the kingdom. 

This is the gospel.  We don’t bring anything with us that qualifies us for the kingdom.  The Savior has done it all; it is only through Him that we gain entrance.  Those who trust in the work of the Son are saved.  Those who trust in the work of themselves are lost.

Closing Thought
Everything about the gospel gives reason for hope.  Notice again how Jesus describes His mission – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  If you would’ve predicted who in Jericho would follow Jesus, Zacchaeus likely would’ve been toward the bottom of the list.  It would’ve been laughable to think that a chief tax collector would give up everything that makes his life meaningful, everything that essentially defines him, just to follow Jesus.  A man whose whole profession is predicated on sin isn’t going to suddenly care about salvation and acceptance by God.  Yet that’s exactly what a Spirit-infused Zacchaeus does (he climbs a tree to see Jesus because he sees a chance at redemption, a chance to turn his life around).  There is NO ONE beyond the hope and power of the gospel.  The worst sinners lost in their sin are exactly who our Savior came to seek and save.