The Pursuit of Grace: Jesus and the Lost
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Have you ever lost something and then found it? Imagine the relief you felt when you found that… wallet, set of keys, a contact lens…
Last summer my family and I took a vacation to Florida and we went to Bush Gardens. Caleb and Dawson wanted to ride a ride before we were going to eat lunch so I held on to Caleb’s camera. This was his new expensive camera that he got for Christmas, and he used to take pictures on his rollercoaster adventures. I had one job as I sat on a bench waiting, hold onto Caleb’s camera but I got distracted. I was hungry and wanting to head to lunch so I saw Erin and Kinley and we headed to a BBQ place to eat lunch and we waited in the restaurant for the boys. As I was sitting at the restaurant, I saw that I didn’t have Caleb’s camera so I ran back down to the bench and… no camera. My heart dropped to my stomach, I was praying, “Lord, Help me find this camera.”
Then I heard a voice, “Hey, are you looking for a camera?” I said “yes!” He said that we just turned it into the concessions. And that’s where it was! I was overjoyed when I was able to reunite with Caleb’s beloved camera.
Finding something that is lost that has great value is such a great feeling. Jesus has that same feeling but multiplied when it comes to finding those people who are lost.
One of the major parts of Jesus’ mission was to seek out people who are lost so they can be found by HIM.
Let’s dig into What Would Jesus Do to a lost man by the name of Zacchaeus…
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 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.”
6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
PRAY
We see Jesus as the ultimate seeker of the lost. This is a foreshadowing of HIS sacrificial love on the cross. Throughout Scripture, we see God’s heart for the lost—from the Garden of Eden seeking Adam and Eve, to the parables of the lost sheep, coin, and son. Jesus embodies this pursuit, fully manifesting God's desire for reconciliation with humanity.
We encounter the story of Zacchaeus, a tax collector who, despite his stature and wealth, is spiritually lost. Jesus actively seeks him out, showing that His mission is to save the lost and transform lives through His grace.
As believers, we are invited to reflect on our own lives and recognize that Jesus seeks us in our lostness. We need to be conduits of Christ's love, reaching out to those in need of redemption and hope. It’s important that we are acknowledging our own weaknesses and receiving Christ's transformative grace.
Jesus is relentlessly pursuing those who are lost, regardless of their status or sin. We see here that true transformation occurs when we respond to Jesus' invitation and allow Him to change our lives.
1. Jesus is Seeking the Seeker
1. Jesus is Seeking the Seeker
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. Nobody liked people like Zacchaeus.
Tax collectors were Jewish men who collected taxes or tolls from the people of Judea to benefit and fund the Roman empire.
Tax collectors were known for being dishonest because they would enrich themselves by taking extra money from the taxpayer who were fellow Jews. Many Jews considered them to be Gentiles because they collected taxes from their fellow Jews on behalf of the hated gentiles.
What would cause this social outcast to have such an incredible desire to seek Jesus?
Despite his social standing Zacchaeus had a relentless desire to see Jesus.
Regardless of our position or past, we too have an innate longing for Jesus. None of the things of this world will ever fulfill us because only Jesus can quench that thirst and that longing.
Zacchaeus was curious about Jesus, he was wanting something more and he knew that Jesus had a better life for him then the one he was currently living.
Zacchaeus an outcast, in his lostness, became a seeker of Jesus.
Throughout the Gospels, we see that Jesus was always recognizing and pursuing those who feel insignificant or lost.
The Samaritan woman at the well. The man who was paralyzed waiting by the pool for his healing. Tax collectors, sinners, outcast… Jesus was accused of hanging out with those who lived a questionable life.
Jesus' pursuit restores dignity and identity in Christ.
No matter how you feel… lonely, depressed, failure, guilty, lost… let me encourage you to actively seek Jesus. Jesus is still restoring dignity and identity.
Jesus is still seeking the seeker.
2. Zacchaeus was Ascending to Grace
2. Zacchaeus was Ascending to Grace
4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 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.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
There will always be something that will make seeking Jesus difficult. Zacchaeus was short so he climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus.
Zacchaeus could have just given up and went back to his toll booth and collect taxes but he didn’t. He didn’t give up. There will always be things that keep you from seeking Jesus. We have to ascend above those things because those distractors will always draw us away from God. Just think if Zacchaeus didn’t climb above the crowd, maybe Jesus wouldn’t have noticed this short little rich man.
What’s keeping you from seeking Jesus? Could be distractions, phone, social media, whatever’s on TV, listening to crowd, the voices in our head, our past, our guilt…
Often times we just need to recognize those things and be willing to climb above those things so we can see Jesus.
If Zacchaeus was going to see Jesus, he had to set aside his pride. Zac was a chief tax collector, he had power, he had authority, he had money but still he humbled himself in order to see Jesus.
Humility is essential if we are going to experience Jesus’ transformational grace. We must be willing to let go of our pride.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Jesus shows Zacchaeus amazing grace by calling his name, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
This man came from a posture of readiness. HE was ready to see Jesus and because he was ready to see Jesus, Jesus called him by name and invited himself over to his house.
Zac had to hurry down so he can get his house ready for Jesus to come over.
Are we posturing ourself for readiness to hear Jesus' call? Are we ascending to Jesus so we can receive HIS grace? Don’t let your love for this world keep you from being ready to hear Jesus’ call.
Always be ready to embrace His transformative grace.
3. Jesus loves Saving the Outcast
3. Jesus loves Saving the Outcast
7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
The crowd did not approve of Jesus picking the outcast to host him. Jesus choose to go to the house of a sinner, a tax collector, instead of someone else who had a better reputation.
How often are we more like the crowd and less like Zacchaeus? Are we quick to judge or to criticize based on appearances, based on other people’s past reputations or struggles?
Are we more focused on our own non-biblical, religious preferences then our desire for others to pursue Jesus within their own brokenness?
Jesus didn’t care about this man’s status or reputation in society. Jesus saw someone who was lost who needed to be found.
Here we see societal judgment in deep contrast with divine acceptance.
When Jesus said Zacchaeus was a son of Abraham and yet was lost, this must have shocked HIS hearers.
They would not have acknowledged that this unpopular tax collector was a fellow son of Abraham.
… and they would not have thought that sons of Abraham could be lost.
A person is not saved by a good heritage or condemned by a bad one; faith is more important than genealogy. To the grumblers, detractors, and self-righteous, to those who thought they were saved simply because they were descendants of Abraham, Jesus explained his mission—the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
The mission of Jesus is about seeking and saving the lost so if this is Jesus’ mission then as believers, this has to be our mission as well.
If Jesus was full of grace, do we mirror this type of grace?
We are only able to extend God’s grace to others once we’ve received God’s grace ourselves. Don’t stop pursuing Jesus so we can extend that same grace to others as well.
Salvation came to Zacchaeus, not because he did good deeds, but because he truly believed in Jesus. It was more then a prayer that he prayed, but he set aside anything that might get in the way of obeying HIM.
Instead of writing certain people off, point them to Jesus and extend grace. Jesus' relentless pursuit of the lost invites us to embrace our own need for grace and to actively extend that grace to others.
Take Away:
TRUTH: Jesus is seeking the seeker…
Are we ascending above our ________ so we can receive God’s Grace?
Guilt, shame, past, pride, family history…
Are we the voice of the crowd keeping certain people from finding Jesus?
Are we the outcast determined and dependent on receiving and giving God’s grace continually?
