Luke 19:1-10 - Zacchaeus: The Compelling Call
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the rich young ruler. This young man had power, prestige, and plenty of provision. I couldn’t help but alliterate that. It must be a Baptist thing. He had acquired an amazing amount of wealth and was seen as blessed by many of those around him. He was religious and kept the commandments outwardly well. Those around him saw him as blameless. No one questioned him when he told Jesus that he had obeyed the five commandments that Jesus had stated since he was a child.
Christ knew what was keeping this man from following Him. It was his great wealth. And after a call to sell everything and give his wealth to the poor, the man walked away with his head hanging low because he had great wealth. He was unwilling to part with his money and refused to follow Jesus.
After this encounter we heard Jesus say the following:
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.”
The account eventually ends and Luke next introduces us to blind Bartimaeus who is healed and saved. Although last week was a beautiful scene, we have still been left with an understanding that maybe rich people are too far for God to save. Maybe it really is impossible.
That is until we come to Zacchaeus. Listen to the last personal encounter that Luke gives us before Jesus begins His final week of life in Jerusalem. Listen to God do the impossible…
Read Full Scripture:
He entered Jericho and was passing through.
And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.
So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Prayer
Today we will see three ways that Christ seeks and saves the lost. The first is…
I. Christ Observes a Contrite Countenance (1-4)
I. Christ Observes a Contrite Countenance (1-4)
He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
If you recall from last week, Jesus was coming upon Jericho. Please note that this is speaking of New Testament Jericho that was made famous by Herod and not Old Testament Jericho. New Testament Jericho was located around a mile south from Old Testament Jericho and was formed upon a huge oasis which had beautiful vegetation. It was a place of wealth and flourishing in the midst of the desert.
It was as He approached Jericho that He healed a blind man who is now following him named Bartimaeus (Luke 18:35-43). As we discussed last week, the crowd was obviously stunned that Jesus would, in their eyes, waste His time on a man like this – a poor and blind man – a man who was obviously sinful according to their skewed theology because of his afflictions. Their false theology of physical ailments and poverty always being curses from God had been challenged yet again.
But the crowd was about to be even more surprised…
Luke then introduces us to a man named Zacchaeus. His name, surprisingly and seemingly unfitting to him at this point in his life, means righteous one, clean, and innocent. However, what is spoken about him does not seem to line up with his Jewish name’s meaning!
We are told that he is the chief tax collector and is rich. We have talked about tax collectors in great detail in the past. They were among the most hated of the Jews. They often took advantage of their fellow brothers and sisters by taking more than they needed to. The fact that Zacchaeus is rich highlights the fact that he had been taking well more than he needed to pay his expenses. And the adjective chief before his title of tax collector likely refers to him being the ringleader of the area of Jericho.
Jericho was a tax collector’s dream. There was plenty of traffic through the area - especially in trade. They would collect taxes as tolls and on customs. Jericho was actually one of the few large hubs called a regional tax center. Zacchaeus, being a chief tax collector, had it made in a location like this. He was rich and powerful. What else could a guy like this ask for in life?
Then we come to verses 3-4…
And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
Verses 3 and 4 are some of the most familiar verses in the Bible to many of us because of the song about Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus was a wee little man
And a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see
(Ok, I’ll stop there for now…)
(And as the Savior passed that way
He looked up in the tree
And He said, 'Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I'm going to your house today!
For I'm going to your house today!')
I think it is hard for all of us to resist singing this song anytime we read this section of Scripture. As I remembered this song I really started to think about Zacchaeus’s legacy. This is a pretty rough song to be remembered by. How would you like to be known as a wee little man or a wee little woman?
I really hope that Zacchaeus has a glorified body that's much bigger so that he doesn't have to hear this song for all eternity!
We often sing this song but forget to really ask why he is climbing up into this tree, though. Obviously we practically understand that he is short in stature and cannot see over the crowd. It is also likely that the crowd would push him out of the way because they despised him for being a tax collector. It’s not likely the crowd is opening a wide path for a guy like Zacchaeus to have a prime spot!
But, there must have been something other than curiosity that caused him to climb up in that tree.
We must not miss his humility here. This must have been quite a humbling experience to need to climb into a tree in order to see Jesus. Yet he was willing to become undignified in order to see Jesus pass by.
The first step in salvation is always humility. One cannot be saved without humbling oneself before Christ.
We will see in a moment that Christ observes and honors a contrite countenance.
Zacchaeus has come to a crossroads in his life. There must have been something aching in him. Perhaps it was the fact that he was hated by his people. Perhaps it was because he was beginning to see that no amount of money could bring happiness. Perhaps he had heard about the Lord’s grace and mercy poured out on a former tax collector named Levi - namely Matthew (Luke 5:27-32). Perhaps he had even known Matthew before his conversion to follow Christ as a Disciple.
Whatever it was, it is clear that this man was being drawn by God to Jesus Christ. Yet, he was likely feeling the weight of his sin and feeling guilt and shame. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, he is now hiding himself with sycomore-fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). He wants to see Jesus, but he’s not sure he wants Jesus to see him.
But praise be to God that Christ not only draws, but…
Scripture References: Luke 18:25, Luke 18:35-43, Luke 5:27-32, Genesis 3:7
II. Christ Offers a Compelling Call (5-7)
II. Christ Offers a Compelling Call (5-7)
Zacchaeus thinks that he is seeking out Jesus - yet it is actually Jesus who is seeking out Zacchaeus!
God has been drawing Zacchaeus and preparing him for his encounter with Christ - which brings us to this amazing encounter…
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
As Jesus walks through Jericho, Jesus looks up and sees Zacchaeus and addresses him. It is interesting how Jesus words His statement. It isn’t worded as a question. It is made as a statement of fact. He states that He must stay at Zacchaeus’s house today.
This beautifully shows God’s sovereignty at work. Before the foundation of the world, God chose to save Zacchaeus. Ephesians 1:4-5 clearly articulates the salvation of God offered before the foundation of the world. Zacchaeus was predestined for this particular moment in history to glorify God. We must not shy away from using that term which is found in the Bible. Yes, Zacchaeus has responsibility to respond to that drawing as we have already seen in the account. But the main theme here is that God is showing His glory by saving a man so undeserved. How beautiful is this grace and mercy of God? This was no chance encounter, my friends. It was a divine appointment.
And those who are here today – this is no chance encounter either. This is a divine appointment.
God, before the foundation of the world, knew that you would hear this sermon. He knew that you would be sitting in the seat you are in. He even knew of those who might listen to the recording of this later or read the manuscript years down the road. He knew that you would hear the good news of the Gospel.
My friends, if you are not in Christ, if you have not been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, see His wonderful grace and mercy and fall on your knees in humble repentance. Jesus Christ died on the cross after living a sinless life – being God-made-flesh. He took the wrath that you deserved on that rugged tree. And three days later He rose from the dead, thereby defeating death and the grave. You can have eternal life if you repent of your sins – meaning turning away from your sins and placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord.
Jesus has come by my friends – He has come by on the pages of His Word. We are told that the Word is living and active – sharper than any two-edged sword. The Word is alive! Jesus uses the Word to save souls by allowing us to hear the good news of the Gospel and respond.
How wonderful is our glorious Savior!
How did Zacchaeus respond to this statement from Jesus?
So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
With a few hops, skips, and jumps, Zacchaeus got out of that tree in a hurry! He did not waste any time coming to Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, is there something that is keeping you from coming to Jesus like this?
Follow in Zacchaeus’s footsteps here. He didn’t let anything get in the way to his response to Jesus.
Not only did Zacchaeus come to Jesus in a flash - he also came to Him with joy. We are told that he received Christ joyfully!
There is no better gift in all of the world than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Sadly, our world tries to find happiness in stuff and experiences and in earthly relationships. All of these can bring happiness for a while - but in the end they will not bring the true joy that we are seeking. Only Christ can provide you with true joy and peace. We can only truly enjoy the blessings of experience, earthly relationships, and gifts when we enjoy them while in a right relationship with Jesus. When we enjoy them according to His will and purpose.
This interchange must have been beautiful between Zacchaeus and Jesus. Mirroring the return and embrace of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), this tax collector who was among the most vile of sinners, was embraced by his Creator. If you recall, that prodigal son was filthy. He came home tattered and broke, smelling like a pig. His clothes were tattered. His body bruised and blistered from the travel. Yet, the father unashamedly ran to meet the wayward son and embraced him without a second thought. Despite the horrible smell and dirt and grime, the father wrapped the prodigal son up in a warm embrace.
Isn’t God wonderful? He doesn’t ask us to get our affairs in order before He will accept us. He doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves off and make ourselves more presentable. He asks us to humble ourselves and respond to His compelling call. I pray that everyone here has done that. If not, come to Christ as you are. He won’t leave you that way - but He will gladly embrace and welcome you as you are. And then before you know it, He will be fashioning you into His image by the power of His Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately, not everyone is excited when someone comes to Christ - especially when that someone is hated…
And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
The crowd grumbles because of the love and mercy of Christ upon Zacchaeus. The word ‘all’ used here is likely hyperbole as there may have been a few that didn’t grumble. But the overwhelming majority of the crowd is not excited about what has just transpired.
Instead of celebrating the wonderful power, mercy, and grace of God to welcome even Zacchaeus into the family of God – they grumble. They complain about the mercy of God.
Like the prodigal son’s brother, they scoff at the mercy of God toward sinners.
May we never complain or grumble about the mercy of God. When we do such a thing, it means that we do not understand our own sinfulness. We are no better than this tax collector. We are no better than any one. We deserve the wrath of God. Like Paul states in 1 Timothy 1:15 - we must understand that we are the foremost of sinners.
Yet, we have been offered salvation through Jesus Christ. May we celebrate the salvation of lost souls, no matter how undeserving they are. Because the more undeserving they are, the more glory that God gets.
So far we have seen that Christ observes a contrite countenance and that He offers a compelling call. Finally we see that…
Scripture References: Ephesians 1:4-5, Luke 15:11-32, 1 Timothy 1:15
III. Christ Ordains a Complete Cleansing (8-10)
III. Christ Ordains a Complete Cleansing (8-10)
And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
It seems that by verses 8-9, Zacchaeus and Jesus had arrived at his house. Some commentators believe that this occured during a meal that Zacchaeus had prepared for Jesus. It was customary to provide an overnight stay and meals to one who was traveling through during this time period. Whatever the setting was at this point, what is most important is what comes next.
Zacchaeus vows to give half of all of his goods to the poor. This is a huge deal as this man was very wealthy. But he doesn’t stop there. He also claims to make all of his wrongs right fourfold! This went far beyond the requirement of the Law.
Leviticus 6:5 states:
or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.
As we see here, one was to restore what he or she had falsely taken and add 1/5th to it under the Law. Yet, Zacchaeus goes well beyond that. Zacchaeus is cheerfully being generous even in his restitution. He is giving out of the abundance of his heart. As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 9:7:
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
God loves a cheerful giver! And cheerful and joyful are words that describe Zacchaeus at this point in his life. He has found true joy that lasts. He had more money than he could ever imagined and yet was lost and depressed - despised by his own people - living in shame and regret.
But now he has been cleansed by Christ. Listen to Jesus describe this again in verse 9:
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
This man was a natural son of Abraham but was lost. He might have come through the lineage of Abraham, but he was far from God. Yet now he was true child of Abraham. He was adopted and was a legitimate son.
God had done the impossible - he had saved a rich man.
At the beginning of the sermon we discussed Luke 18:25 again:
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.”
In other words – it is impossible for the rich to be saved.
But if you recall, Jesus didn’t stop there. The people were amazed by this statement and asked who then can be saved? Jesus responded in Luke 18:27
But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
How beautiful is this account. Jesus has just said it was impossible for a rich man to be saved. Impossible. And yet He also said that what is impossible for man is possible with God. And now He shows the magnificent power of God by saving Zacchaeus. He saves a notorious sinner. A man who was known for stealing money from his fellow Jews. A man who was among the most hated during his time of living. A tax collector. And not just any tax collector - A chief tax collector.
God has put the proverbial camel through the eye of the needle.
Zacchaeus’s response of generosity to the saving power of God did not save him. Christ saved him. But this response was in line with Jesus’s statement in Luke 3:8:
Luke 3:8 (ESV)
Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.
Zacchaeus was bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. His fruit was a sign that he had been saved by Jesus.
Jesus says that salvation has come to this house. The patriarch had been saved thereby opening up the door for the others to hear the Gospel and respond. Although each individual needed to respond in faith in order to be saved, they were blessed with a light shining in their home after the salvation of Zacchaeus.
Brothers and sisters, Zacchaeus left this encounter changed by Christ. He was a new man.
In our final verse today, Jesus gives somewhat of a thesis statement for His incarnation. He gives us the reason that He took on human flesh and went to the cross...
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Jesus ends with a beautiful statement of His mission. He came to seek and save the lost. He refers to Himself again as the Son of Man as we discussed last week from Daniel 7:13-14 - referring to His deity and power.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The leaders of Israel had not cared for the people well. Listen to Ezekiel’s judgement upon them in Ezekiel 34:
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
The shepherds of Israel were failing the people. They were caring for themselves but not caring for the people. The people were starving for truth. Yet, some 600 years before Christ came to earth we see the following prophecy:
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
Listen to the book of John where Christ speaks of Him being the Good Shepherd in John 10:11-12:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
As we see here, Christ is not some hired hand. He is the Good Shepherd.
He does not back down when oppression comes and instead lays down His life for the sheep.
Friends, Christ came to seek and save the lost!
Scripture References: Leviticus 6:5, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Luke 18:25, Luke 18:27, Luke 3:8, Daniel 7:13-14, Ezekiel 34:2, Ezekiel 34:15-16, John 10:11-12, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 3
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, we have seen the wonderful mission of Christ displayed. He observes a contrite countenance which originates as one is drawn by God. He offers a compelling call and then ordains a complete cleansing. He doesn’t leave us half changed. We are a new creation - the old has gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Friends, is Christ seeking you this morning? You can know this by a sense of unease deep inside and a longing for more. You know that there has to be more to life than what you are currently experiencing. Is God drawing you to himself this morning? Is He offering a compelling call to you?
My prayer is that you respond to that compelling call. There is no more important decision in your life than the one to respond to the call of God by repenting of your sins and placing your faith and trust in the Savior - the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we have some time of prayer in a moment, I pray that you spend some time evaluating your heart. Be sure that you are truly saved. Be sure that there has been a complete cleansing - that you have truly been born again (John 3).
