So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully (Luke 19:6).

Clearly, we can learn from the people we read about in the Scriptures. There are good examples for us to follow, and then there are bad examples. An example of the latter is the Jews at Kadesh Barnea. We are told specifically that we should not follow their example of unbelief in Hebrews 3-4.

Two Men

Recently, a good friend, Bill Fiess, pointed out to me that in Luke 18-19, Luke places two examples in proximity. One man is found in chapter 18 and gives a bad example. The other man occurs in chapter 19 and is a good example to follow.

We know the man in chapter 18 as the Rich Young Ruler. We know the name of the man in chapter 19 is Zaccheus. These men have some things in common. They are both men, both are Jewish, and both are very rich.

But they also are different.

The Rich Young Ruler does not yet believe in Jesus, at least in chapter 18.

Zaccheus clearly does believe in Him in chapter 19.

We could say that they provide us an example in the area of faith: one is a believer, and one is not.

But it appears that in these two men there is another area in which they give us an example to follow and an example to reject. This area seems to be the most important aspect of the stories of these two men. That area is how a man views riches in this world versus riches in the world to come.

What To Do With Wealth

In Jesus’ conversation with the Rich Young Ruler, He offers him eternal riches in heaven if he would follow Him. Of course, before the Rich Young Ruler could do that he would have to believe in Him.

But we clearly see the attitude of the Rich Young Ruler towards riches in this world. When Jesus tells him there are riches in the world to come, but to receive them he must let go of his riches here, Luke tells us how the man responded:

But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich (Luke 18:23).

Zaccheus’s Attitude

In chapter 19, we see that Zaccheus has a completely different attitude, even though he too had an abundance of such riches.

We are told in Luke 19:5, that Jesus went to the home of Zaccheus. We can be very confident that in his house the Lord told him about the coming Kingdom of God and rewards in it. We know this because of Zaccheus’ reaction to the Lord (19:8) and the parable that follows the Lord’s encounter with Zaccheus (19:11ff). In that parable, the Lord speaks of money and how if we use money wisely we will be rewarded in the world to come.

And how does Zaccheus respond?

We are told that he gives away vast amounts of his riches to please the Lord. He does what the Rich Young Ruler was not willing to do.

We should also notice Zaccheus’ attitude in all of this. While the Rich Young Ruler was “sorrowful” at the words of the Lord, we are told that Zaccheus “received Him joyfully” (19:6). One rich man heard the teaching of eternal rewards and was sad. The other heard the same teaching and was full of joy.

Examples to Us

Surely these two men give us examples of how we are to see riches in this world versus riches in the world to come. One is a positive example. The other is a negative one.

We may never be as rich as these two men. However, when we look at their attitudes, we can ask ourselves: Am I more like the Rich Young Ruler or Zaccheus?