Zaccheus (An unlikely convert)
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I. A Pertinent Question
I. A Pertinent Question
18 A ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Have you ever asked a question that you did not really want to know the answer too? OR ask a question you thought you knew the answer too. This seems to be the case here.
This young ruler seemed to ask a question that may have been intended to publicly make himself look good but instead the answer left him humbled.
II. A Peculiar Answer
II. A Peculiar Answer
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone.
20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother.”
21 “I have kept all these from my youth,” he said.
22 When Jesus heard this, he told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 After he heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich.
Is Jesus suggesting because the man is rich he is lost? Is the mere selling of ones riches and distributing it to the poor enough to save someone? Well of course not. If this was the case, than the poor would not have the same opportunity to inherit eternal life. So then what is Jesus saying.
The clue to understanding this saying is found not in what was said but what was not.
look at verse 20 again
20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother.”
What commandment is missing from this list?
I’ll give you a clue
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
38 This is the greatest and most important command.
39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
Now look again at Luke 18:22
Luke 18:22 (CSB)
22 When Jesus heard this, he told him, “You still lack one thing: ...
The command to sell all that he had was a command to remove the very thing that was keeping him from fully loving God.
This man believed himself to be righteous Jesus was showing him he was guilty and in need of Salvation.
His reaction
23 After he heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich.
24 Seeing that he became sad, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
Whether this man understood completely the point that Jesus was making was probably dependent on whether or not he wanted to understand, but either way he was unwilling to allow his heart to Love God more than his wealth. So then he walked away sad.
Notice that their is no joy in loving something more than God. His love of wealth would cost him everything. He knew it and yet he walked away depressed. The Secret to Joy was right in front of him. Yet he walked away from it because he did not want to let go of his love of things.
III. The Problem of Salvation
III. The Problem of Salvation
24 Seeing that he became sad, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?”
27 He replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Those hearing this hyperbole were confused. The camel was the largest of the common animals in Israel and a sewing needle one of the smallest tools. A Camel is not capable of entering through this tiny opening. Yet Jesus said it is easier for this impossible action to take place than for a rich person to be saved.
Does this mean there will be no wealthy people in heaven? Is Jesus saying that in order to be saved one must give away his wealth?
No , but he must change to what or to whom he has given his heart.
It is not possessing riches that keeps people out of heaven, for Abraham, David, and Solomon were wealthy men. It is being possessed by riches and trusting them that makes salvation difficult for the wealthy. Wealth gives people a false sense of success and security, and when people are satisfied with themselves, they feel no need for God.
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 250.
Salvation is not about action, but rather about a heart that changes it allegiance to God as a result of recognizing are own inability to save ourselves. We recognize our fallen condition. we recognize that we are condemned before a holy God. Yet the same God who condemns us out of the necessity of his Holiness has provided a way through love. This way is Jesus Christ.
When we recognize this love are hearts are forever changed by it.
This man walked away sad because he could not love God more than his riches. He left with his heart unchanged.
By now you all are probably wondering did I miss-title the sermon. What in the world does this have to do with Zaccheus?
Before we get there I want to remind its important that we do not miss what takes place before it. Jesus once again tells his disciples that this trip to Jerusalem will result in His Death.
31 Then he took the Twelve aside and told them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.
32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked, insulted, spit on;
33 and after they flog him, they will kill him, and he will rise on the third day.”
34 They understood none of these things. The meaning of the saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
Now to see the big picture of the story account of Zaccheus, we must remember what just took place. A rich man rejected salvation due to his love of riches. Jesus said how hard it is for the rich to be saved but....
27 He replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man.
4 So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way.
If you have ever wondered what a sycamore tree looks like there is a picture on the screen. The variety that we have in the US looks similar and is one of the taller trees you will see in the northeast.
5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.”
6 So he quickly came down and welcomed him joyfully.
7 All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.”
9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham.
Zaccheus was the lowest of the low. Zaccheus was a tax-collector. He was traitor to his own people. He worked for the provisional government. Not only that but tax collectors were known to defraud the people from whom they collected taxes. In other words Zaccheus loved wealth enough to betray his own people and rob them along the way. In the minds of the Jewish audience Tax collectors were seen in the same social circles as prostitutes and heathens.
So then what is the purpose of this account being recorded for us today?
Is it just so we could 2000 years later sing a cute song about a “wee little man?” Is there nothing more to this story than a short man climbing a tree? Of course not!
Zaccheus is the contrast to the rich young ruler. The rich young ruler walked away from Jesus burdened by his love of wealth. Giving up the prestige and comfort of wealth was too much for him. He created for himself great sadness When Christ was offering him eternal Joy. Then people ask this question,
25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?”
This account of Zaccheus is to show us in a very real way verse 27
27 He replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
We see that when Zaccheus encountered Christ something impossible took place.
A very rich man’s heart was moved from the chain and death of his riches into the freedom of love and life in Jesus Christ.
So often we look at this world and think no one wants to come to church anymore. no one believes the bible. No one listens when we share the gospel. So then we become discouraged and stop sharing or even worse we become ashamed of being a Christ follower.
Yet we see in this passage that what was impossible for man is possible with God.
When Zaccheus encountered Christ. The power of Christ love was enough to change the vilest sinners heart.
Don’t you see it. This is an account of hope. There are those who we think would never come to Christ. There are those in our own minds that, if we are honest, we see no path to redemption. This maybe an individual or a even an entire culture. Yet what is impossible with man, is possible with God.
Church family the scriptures even tell us, promise us. The fields are ready to be harvested. There are people all over this world that if they were to encounter Christ through His word would repent. But who is willing to tell them? Who is willing to go?
This work that we are expected to do is not to bring about the harvest. We cannot change mankind. God is already doing that.
We are just told to go and spread the good news. What if your neighbor, friend, or family member is one encounter with Jesus away from receiving Christ?
What if you are the one sitting in the middle of the field full of fruit that is ready to be harvested but because of your unbelief in the power of God you never see it.