A New Beginning

Luke 19:1–10 NKJV

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

In many ways, the New Year can be seen as a blank page to begin writing

a new story,

a new chapter, and

a new scene in life.

The New Year is an opportunity to chart a new course,

and yet it's also the challenge to face new directions and a new destiny.

a chance to get it right,

do it differently, and

to do it perhaps better than it was done.

It's possible that a new you can emerge in a New Year.

A new way of being,

a new way of doing,

a new way of thinking.

The New Year should not be a season where you spend an inordinate amount of time looking at your failures, flaws and the cracks and holes of the past year.

They are there, you lived them, you experienced them, you created some of them, and some were created for you.

They are there, they have not been erased, and they are there.

You do not have to go back to see if they are, you live with the scars and the scares of the past, but you do not have to continue to make that mental and emotional trip back there to visit, they are there.

Perhaps the New Year is a season that you can focus more on the potential than the past; perhaps you can give more energy in filling the cracks and holes of your hurts and disappointments with the positive, and with a commitment not to make the holes and hurts larger by continuing to dig in them.

Growing up, sometimes you would skin your knee or elbow from a fall, and it would break the skin, a few days later the healing process begins, because the way the body is made, the self-healing process begins. A scab will begin to cover the open area, but as children, you could be seen picking at it, and pulling the scab off. That action would cause the parents to tell you, let it alone, it will never heal if you keep picking at it.

Some adults need to hear that, let it alone.

Some church folks need to hear that,

some Bible believers, faith walking, spiritual talking, scripture quoting folks, need to hear that.

It will never heal if you keep pulling off the scab or picking at it.

The healing will take place,

the holes can be covered, and

the cracks can be sealed in a New Year.

Grace can cover it,

mercy will undergird it, and

love can forgive it.

There is a blessing waiting for you in the New Year if you just let God be God.

Body:

What takes place in this story was the beginning of a new way of living, a new way of life, a new focus, and a new face for this Tax Collector.

I do know that his encounter with Christ was life changing and life rearranging for him.

That is good news for all of us today!

You can have a new season, a new beginning, and a new blessing.

That is a word that speaks to somebody;

God just may have something that creates for you something fresh and filled with faithfulness.

What did they call Zacchaeus in his hometown of Jericho?

Most folks recognized him as the Chief Tax Collector.

The Romans may have identified him with a number; there were many tax collectors in Palestine.

He could have been just a cog in the wheel of the Roman government of collectors.

I am pretty sure that he had other names that he was known by, whether they called it in his presence or hearing.

To the Jews he was a traitor; he had sold himself to work for the Romans as a Tax Collector, and thereby oppressing his people with taxation that was not always fair.

He was I am sure called a crook, he had amassed the title of Chief Tax Collector, and that title was normally attached to persons who had been intentionally cruel, calculated, and persistent in getting money owed to the government, and he also got his share.

I am pretty sure that he was called other names that had nothing to do with his birth name. There were names that they called him behind his back!

But when Jesus came to Jericho, he changed his life, he changed his directions, and he changed the landscape of his life that one would not be able to deny.

That is the essence of this story, when you encounter Christ, recognizing, believing, and obeying Him, it's the beginning of something better, and it's a blessed beginning of something that changes your total life.

It is in Luke 19 that we have this encounter;

it's only a few weeks from the Passover,

the last one that the Lord would experience on Earth.

Because this chapter ends with the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem when Christ rode the colt,

and, of course, the next week Christ is crucified.

This would mean that this is the last chance for anyone in Jericho to see Jesus before the crucifixion.

I. Christ Called his Name vss. 1-5a

There was something pushing Zacchaeus to see Jesus, there was something in Zacchaeus that drove him to see Jesus, there was something pulling in him to see Jesus.

Some might say he was just curious,

some might say it was a coincidence,

I say it was his season,

I say it was Providence,

I say the will of God was about to manifest itself on Zacchaeus.

It was his time to experience a new beginning.

I would also suggest that there was a civil war in Zacchaeus,

perhaps his inside was wrestling with the outside,

his reality was wrestling with his expectations, and

perhaps he was wrestling with who should have been and who he had become.

There was a civil war between his exterior and his interior.

- He was successful but unsatisfied!

- He was rich, but he was unhappy!

- He had a position, but he was not living with real purpose!

- He was comfortable but living in conflict!

- He was prosperous, yet there was some poverty in him!

He probably thought that Christ would pay him no attention; he is just sitting in that tree just to see who Jesus is. Perhaps he is trying to see what is it about the Christ that I have heard so much about that changes others life.

You see his name in Hebrew means pure or righteous!

And perhaps he was struggling with living in contradiction to his name.

He perhaps knew that he was not who he was born to be, doing what his name had indicated he should be.

There had to be a struggle because he is a man of great dignity, great prestige, but he hastens to climb a tree and sit just to see Jesus.

When you are in that wrestling match, you get to a point that you care less about the image that others may think you ought to be, you only care about who you believe you are.

Jesus called his name was his blessing: Jesus was saying, ''you matter, you are important.'

Zacchaeus knew that to his Jewish friends and family; he was a traitor.

He knew that he did not matter to the Romans; they were just using him to oppress his people.

He knew that he did not matter to the religious leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, he was outside of the practice of the covenant faith).

What Zacchaeus was probably feeling was that he (his life) did not matter.

Jesus called his name; it's an indication that he matters.

Today, someone here may feel as if you do not matter,

you have unfortunately experienced things that may have you isolated and insulated.

Life for you may not be what you had hoped, and what you believe you deserved.

You have taken the wrong turn, you have been on the wrong road, you have had wrong things said to you to you that you will not release,

you have said bad things that you will not release, and you have done wrong things.

But I need to tell you, you matter to God. Jesus was saying, I know who you are, and I know who you can be.

Jesus calling his name was also a way of ministering to him.

Jesus knew who he was; he knew what He was, He knew what He was doing, but He mattered, and he needed ministering to.

- Don't let your past get in the way of you seeing Jesus!

- Don't let your image get in the way from seeing Jesus!

- Don't let others opinion gets in your way from seeing Jesus!

- Don't let anything get in your way!

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, and if Zack had postponed this opportunity, had he decided that he would catch him another time, he would have been lost.

II. Christ was Concerned for his Needs vss. 5, 9

Come out the tree, today salvation and I must abide at your house.

Zacchaeus had needs that only Christ could handle, and there was something that Christ needed to say to him, that the tree and the streets were not the places.

There are some things that you have to wrestle with in the darkness of the moments, in the seclusion of the moment, just you and God, just you and the spirit, just you, the pain, and the presence of Him. And the power of the Spirit!

He mattered so to Jesus that he did not just call his name; he wanted to help him with his needs.

Zack welcomed him gladly! Nobody wanted to spend time with him; they were angry that Jesus did!

He (Jesus) wanted to talk to him privately!

He wanted Him (Zack) to talk to Him personally!

There may be some things that God needs to say to you, but he needs to say them to you alone.

There were some things that God needed to say to mosses, but they had to be alone!

There were some things that God needed to say to Paul, but he needed to say it alone!

He also wanted Zack to tell him all his trials, personally!

Christ wanted to meet his needs, in ways that only Christ can do it.

Christ is still meeting needs, he is still interested in hearing your cries, and he is still interested in you laying aside your cares, your concerns.

There was something that Zack needed to tell Jesus, that know one else could hear.

I am glad that I can tell Jesus all of my trails, all of my troubles, all of my issues.

III. Christ Changed His Nature vs. 8

The reality of your new life in Christ is evidenced at the point of your weakness. His problem was how he had robbed and wronged others. The proof of that is how he was willing to pay back what he stole and who he had wronged.

The changed life is not just in what we say, it's what we do!

It's not just in words, its deeds!

It not just in lip service, it's in living it out.

It not just in worship, it's in our witness daily!

A. He came out the house a new man! He went in an old man!

B. Any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.

- He went in the house lost; he came out found!

- He went in the house wondering who Jesus was; he came out knowing who he was!

- He went in the house taking from, and he came out giving back!

- He went in wrong; he came out right!

- He went in distant from God; he came out close to him!

- He is still in the changing business!

- If you are in darkness, he can get you in the light!

- If you are walking in the wrong way, he can get you on the right path!

- If you are broken, he can put you back together!

- If you are in chaos, he can bring you to peace!

I am not what I used to be!

He changed my walk!

He changed my talk!