"911. We Have a Report of a Man in a Tree"

Luke 19.1-10

June 18, 2023

K. Adrian Scott

Introduction/Context.

First, let us remember that Luke’s Gospel presents Jesus as the personable Savior. Luke emphasizes the empathy the Lord Jesus displayed during His earthly ministry as He met persons in a variety of circumstances and while in their dire circumstances they represented great personal needs.

It is also in our context that Jesus was teaching and providing instruction on a variety of subjects. Jesus calls out the hypocritical Pharisees’ blasphemy (Chapter 11), while in the previous (Chapter 10) Jesus praised a hated and marginalized Samaritan because he had done a commendable deed of caring for a mercilessly beaten and immobilized man whom two Jewish persons whom were afforded the same opportunity to prove neighborly, ignored the victim and refused to help.

In chapter 11 Jesus pronounces no less than six ‘woes’ or judgments upon the Pharisees for a variety of transgressions.

Jesus teaches against covetousness (Chapter 12), He heals on the Sabbath in both (Chapters 13 and 14), in Chapter 15 Jesus teaches on thee lost things - lost sheep, lost coin and a lost Son. In Chapter 16 Jesus teaches via the parable of the Unrighteous Steward, the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus; Chapter 17 contains Jesus’ exposition on His Second Coming, and in Chapter 18 He delivers a less than flattering parable about the Pharisees and the Publican, the story of the Rich Young Ruler, and His account of Blind Bartimaeus receiving his sight because of Jesus’ power to heal. Then we come to Chapter 19 and immediately the account of a rich chief tax collector named Zaccheus.

The Textual Story.

v. 1; “He entered Jericho and was passing through” -

Jericho was the Israelites first test seeing it was at the entrance into the promised land of Canaan, the land that was said ‘flowed with milk and honey.’ Jericho was defeated and the walls of that city were brought down by faith as the Israelites marched and shouted, and the walls that fortified Jericho and previously made it impenetrable crumbled to the ground in a heap. It is indisputable that God tore down the walls surrounding Jericho. Jericho had become a wicked place, filled with the worship of idols, so much so, Joshua pronounced a curse upon it if anyone attempted to rebuild what God had torn down.

“Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates” (Joshua 6:26).

v. 2; “Now a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector and was rich.”

Someone who didn’t know any better would say this was quite a coincidence. However, we know that Zaccheus being in Jericho and Jesus passing through the same town at the same time wasn’t coincidence, but was the result of God’s providence. In other words, God planned it.

v. 3; “He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man he could not see over the crowd.”

It is commendable of Zaccheus to satisfy the urge of the Holy Spirit to see Jesus that he climbed a sycamore tree to get a good look at Jesus, the man he had heard about so much as he passed by.

Like Zaccheus, all of us were up a tree of sorts as we were seeing Jesus from a distance and through obstructions. We saw Jesus through our parents, our grandparents, another relative. Perhaps we saw Jesus through a friend, a neighbor, an Evangelist or Pastor. The Holy Spirit through someone sparked an interest in our hearts and we responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I remember the urging of the Holy Spirit and grieving Him so often because I would not obey the call of the Gospel, but sat in my seat time and again.

v. 4; “So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him because Jesus was going to pass that way.”

Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus! He needed to swallow his pride in order to be willing to climb that tree while so many witnessed him doing so. Zaccheus was an adult doing something that a child might do, but out of desperation, since he couldn’t see Jesus, he climbed that tree! I’m sure Zaccheus wasn’t the only short person in the crowd, but he apparently was the only one who cared enough about seeing Jesus passing by that he climbed that tree. When Jesus is passing by you don’t really care what anybody else thinks; you just want to see Jesus! A lot of people are satisfied with an obstructed or partial view of Christ, but Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus in His fulness.

v. 5; “And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly because I must stay at your house today.”

What were you doing when Jesus called your name?

Were you lifted up in pride? Time to come down! Were you high on your own success and ego? Come down! Were you somewhere trying to drown out your sorrows? Had you tried illicit love affairs hoping that would bring you happiness? Were you sophisticated and thought if you climbed the social ladder that would bring you happiness? Were you mortgaged to the hilt and indebted thinking ‘things’ would give you peace of mind? Come down, friend! Bow down, sinner! Come down, Zaccheus! because I’m the only one who should be on a tree! This tree can’t save you, but another tree made like a cross will facilitate my death and your salvation! Come down, Zaccheus! Don’t look down at me but look up to me because I am your Savior! Fall on your knees troubled one and prepare to meet your God!

An invitation from Jesus is on the table, friend! Come down! An opportunity to meet the Savior is extended. Come down!

When should I get down from this precarious perch? Come down today, Jesus said! There is urgency in the plea of Jesus. Not tomorrow, because it is not promised! Not next week or next month, or next year. “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found! Call on Him while He is near.”Today, come!

“… I must stay at your house today” -

Look at the humility of Jesus - He didn’t invite Zaccheus to His house, the Lord’s house, but rather, Jesus said I must come to your house, Zaccheus! Are you ready for a visit from the man from Galilee. ‘Today’ says there is an urgency as it was a mandate from heaven! Since there was no time for Zaccheus to clean or straighten his house before the Jesus arrived, it is apparent to me that Jesus wouldn’t expect to see a perfectly maintained house. What this says to me is, if we could straighten up the mess of our lives, we wouldn’t need Jesus. Our Lord doesn’t ask us to straighten up then come to him. No, the Lord Jesus comes to us just as we are, and he does the straightening up that needs to take place in our lives.

“… your house..”

Notice here the convenience of personal salvation. Jesus comes to you and me, as he does not expect us to do the impossible and come to Him barring the grace of God upon our lives to draw us to Him.

v. 6; “So he came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully. “

Aren’t you glad Jesus came your way? Aren’t you more than glad Jesus came into your life? Aren’t you glad Jesus saved you from the misery of sin’s bondage? Aren’t you full of joy that Jesus saw you before you could see HIm? Aren’t you full of Jesus’ joy that you were not too high up or your life was too out of hand or spiritually you lived so far away from Him that Jesus could not save you? Oh no, from the ‘guttermost’ to the ‘uttermost’ Jesus saves! “We have heard the joyful sound, Jesus saves, Jesus saves!”

No one else came down from the tree because no one else had climbed up the tree to see Jesus! With all of his effort given to climbing the tree, Zaccheus wasn’t satisfied with a distant view of Christ, but welcomed the Lord’s invitation and came down from that tree quickly. Not everyone will acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord.

There are two noteworthy things I want you to see here. Our text shows us the virtue of humility over convenience, and the absolute necessity of obedience if one is to have a personal saving encounter with the Lord. Zaccheus had a clearer view of Jesus body, but he wouldn’t know the Savior’s heart until he came down and met Jesus face to face! And neither was Jesus ashamed to go to Zaccheus’ house. He came that we might have “life and have it more abundantly” (John 10.10)!

Question. Have you met Jesus face to face? Or, are you still up in the tree of what some call success, the tree of pride and arrogance, or the tree of unbelief, or even the tree of intellectual snobbery, where there is curiosity but no conviction!

The Proposition.

If your business has to fail, but you meet Jesus, it’s worth it! If you temporarily go broke, but you come down out of that tree of pride and entertain a visit from the Savior, it is worth it!

What would it prosper to gain the whole world but lose your soul? It’s time to come down.

v. 7; “And when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Thank God Jesus comes to be the guest of sinners. Where and what would we be if Jesus hadn’t come to us?

v. 8; “But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!

The unusual generosity of Zaccheus is a clear sign of his true repentance! Here is evidence of change in the life of Zaccheus. He is no longer consumed with taking and accumulating, but now has a real heart change that is promptling him to generously give away what he had gained in selfishness and greed.

Note: When Jesus comes into your heart house there will be a real, tangible change in your life! The proof of who is living inside of you will be seen on the outside of you!

v. 9; “Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham!

v. 10; “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Essence of the Text / Conclusion.

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul” (Mark 8.36)?

It’s time to come down.