
I love beginnings. Perhaps the excitement of what’s ahead draws me to beginnings. What lies ahead renews hope, excites my passion, and leads me to believe this “fresh beginning” will be better than where I have been.
The Bible has many stories that remind us of fresh beginnings. Abraham left the familiar and headed for a new beginning. God promised a mighty nation, blessings and that Abram’s name would be great in Genesis 12. I am confident that Moses felt a fresh beginning when he saw the burning bush described in Exodus 3.
One of my favorite stories we learned in a Sunday school song. It’s the story of Zacchaeus. We made fun hand motions and shook our fingers in the air at the perfect time toward the end of the song.
You are probably already singing the song if you were raised in the Church of Christ. You know what I mean by shaking the finger, part of the song, “Cuz I’m going to your house today.”
Let’s look at Zacchaeus’s story and see what the enthusiasm for fresh beginnings meant to him.
Luke 19 tells us the story in relatively few words.
“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was but could not see over the crowd because he was short. 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.”
In verse 2 of Luke 19, “pure and wise” would not have been words used by the Jewish Community. A tax collector was not what you wanted for your occupation. Tax Collectors were despised because they collected taxes for Rome. They worked for the bad guy! The taxes were already high, and one could bid for the position of the tax collector and get rich off their own people by adding extra fees on what was owed. Generally, they were considered an unclean people because of their close association with Rome. Jesus saw tax collectors as potential followers. Matthew 9 Jesus pursues a tax collector named Matthew. Jesus went a few steps further and ate dinner at Matthew’s house. Guess who was around the table? The people Matthew hung with and none other than other tax collectors. Jesus saw these moments as opportunities for fresh beginnings. The Pharisees didn’t quite see it the same.
Zacchaeus. He was short. Some friends would tell me the preferred word to say would be “height challenged.” It doesn’t change the truth. Zacchaeus was not tall. He could not see. Sometimes, I get in the back of a tall person in the church, and all I see is the back of their shirt. I understand Zacchaeus. No ladder. There is no forklift to boost him up. He used creativity and climbed a tree. Sometimes, I can’t see someone, and I don’t care. I am not climbing a tree to see what the fuss is about. I don’t care. Zacchaeus cared. Zacchaeus climbed. I can see him peeking out from the leaves of the sycamore tree, trying to see but maybe not wanting to be seen. Zacchaeus got caught, or rather, he got seen. Jesus stopped under his tree and looked up. I can imagine Zacchaeus’s look when he realized Jesus was talking to him. I’m unsure if anyone else was up the tree, but Jesus called him by name. He didn’t say what I would have said. “What are you doing up there?” Are you hiding from someone you stole money from? Did you think we wouldn’t see a short, bald man sticking out of a tree?” Yes, I added the bad man part cuz that’s how I think of Zacchaeus.

Jesus gave Zaccheaus the chance to do more than start over. Starting over is different than fresh beginnings. Starting over is doing it again. The excitement of fresh beginnings indicates something is different than just doing it again. When Jesus touches your heart, you don’t start over; you embrace fresh beginnings. Surface change wasn’t in his mind. Zacchaeus flipped his world upside down because of his encounter with Jesus. Wisdom comes from seeing the past, understanding the need for change, and embracing a new life. Starting over might have looked like Zacchaeus getting a different job. Perhaps he may would move past what he had done to hurt others financially and trying to do better in the future. He could have started over. That’s not what Zacchaeus did, according to Luke.
8 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.”
Zacchaeus was excited, and to him, a fresh beginning meant his heart had changed, and he made a change. He didn’t just say sorry; “I won’t do that again.” He didn’t just say, “Thank you for realigning my focus on what’s good.” Zacchaeus flipped the switch from starting over to enthusiastic fresh beginnings. When God gets ahold of our possessions and Visa card, he can do something with our hearts. Where our treasure is, there our heart is. (Matthew 6:21) The enthusiasm for fresh beginnings makes a difference in other people’s lives. There is a bounce in the steps of our forgiveness, sugar-filled vs sugar-coated words of kindness, and moving forward with acts of mercy.
Zacchaeus could have hung a plaque over the chair where Jesus sat and told everyone about it when his friends and family visited him. Zacchaeus could have, but he was transformed, and his fresh beginnings propelled him like a bolder falling down a mountainside.
What does this do to my heart? Perhaps I am not looking to climb a sycamore tree. Maybe I have been lulled into complacency, and it’s just another beginning, not a fresh one. Or, it’s a fresh beginning, but there is no enthusiasm as this has happened before, and it went belly up quickly.
Isaiah 40:31 reminds me that when my strength is in the Lord, in the Jesus encounters, something happens. “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”
Lamentations reminds us in 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” In essence, the excitement of new beginnings greets us every day.

Embrace new beginnings with enthusiasm as they are opportunities given by God. Be willing to climb a tree. Be ready to have an impromptu lunch at your home. The most crucial part of Zacchaeus’ story is being transformed with enthusiasm. Embrace how Jesus is changing you from the inside out, and let it be manifested in your behavior toward others, for others, and with others. I can imagine many dropped jaws when Zacchaeus walked up with a handful of cash to people’s front doors. I can also bet they heard an enthusiastic retelling of the new beginning Jesus started for Zacchaeus.
This was a very good telling of Zacchaeus. Thank you for the message.