The Grace of God in the Repentance of Zacchaeus

(Luke 19:1-10)

Introduction

It wasn’t too long ago that a member of our congregation and I had a conversation about repentance. There seemed to be some confusion over what repentance is and its place in the lives of God’s people. Many years ago while growing up in the church of my youth there was a lot of confusion and discussion in my church community about “Lordship Salvation.” I don’t know if that it still a raging issue or not as I have been gone from that church community for several decades. However, the sum of the issue is whether one can have Jesus as Savior, but only later accept Him as Lord. To me now, it sounds like a silly argument. It’s almost like trying to divide the work and person of Jesus into two. I can have one side of Him as Savior, to keep me from hell...but...I can later decide whether or not I want the other side of Him as Lord to obey Him. This was only a discussion because they had forgotten what the call of the gospel is. The Apostle Paul states it very clearly in Acts 20:21, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” Jesus taught us that if you love him, keep his commandments. Faith in Jesus is not a hell fire insurance policy. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords and confessing faith in Him is the beginning of a comprehensive change of life.

An unknown author wrote, “There is a radical distinction between natural regret and God-given repentance. The flesh can feel remorse, acknowledge its evil deeds, and be ashamed of itself. However, this sort of disgust with past actions can be quickly shrugged off, and the individual can soon go back to his old wicked ways. None of the marks of true repentance are found in his behavior. Out of a list of 10 men in the Bible who said, “I have sinned,” we believe only five actually repented. They were David (2 Sam. 12:13), Nehemiah (Neh. 1:6), Job (Job 42:5, 6), Micah (Micah 7:9), and the prodigal son (Luke 15:18).”1

There is a difference between saying, “I am sorry” which is that natural regret and is a part of true repentance and the repentance that John the Baptist, our Lord Jesus, and the Apostles preached and wrote about. This morning we are going to look at the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10 to see this picture of repentance. Now I must say that the story of Zacchaeus has many different aspects that one can preach about. However, we are going to focus on the encounter of a “sinner” with the Son of God. We will see the grace of God in the repentance of Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus’ Encounter with Grace

There is much that one could say about Zacchaeus. Many people through the years in commenting on this story have talked about Zacchaeus being small of stature. There’s even an old children’s song about it.

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…

I’m sure that many of us remember that song. Quite catchy, and easy to remember.

There has also been much that has been written and discussed about his occupation as a publican, or tax collector. The idea that he might have been despised as a tax collector, well...how many of us would be feeling hospitable if IRS agents showed up at our door asking for tax money? I’m sure that we wouldn’t be feeling...warm and fuzzy...at something like that happening.

It was perhaps even worse for Zacchaeus because he was a Jew who was collecting taxes on behalf of the Roman government. He was more than a tax collector. He would have been considered a traitor to the Jewish people. A man in league with God’s enemies and one who tacitly approved of the oppression of his brothers.

I would like to us to focus this morning on the change of Zacchaeus. It is a most remarkable transformation that begins with Zacchaeus’ encounter with grace when Jesus spoke to him. We should start delving into this story in verse 4. “So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Jesus had a tendency many times to associate with “sinners” in his day. I have seen this tendency of our Lord’s ministry to be used in a wrong way. It has become an excuse to “hang out” with unbelievers as with close friends. The controlling focus of Jesus’ ministry is found in verse 10, “The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus didn’t just “hang out” with prostitutes, political revolutionaries, the demon-possessed, adulterers, and publicans. Those that he “hung out” with included his 12 Apostles primarily, but also other disciples including those women who were the first to herald His resurrection. He ministered and brought the good news of the Kingdom of God to those whom the Father had given Him. Whether it was the Pharisee, Nicodemus, as recorded in John 3, or the tax collector, Zacchaeus, in the Gospel story before us. Jesus purpose this day was to bring salvation and life to this man and his household. To change him from the inside out.

It is important to notice in this story that there is nothing about Zacchaeus that was worthy of Jesus’ attention. Do you think that Zacchaeus was the only one of the crowd that was swarming around Jesus that day? The wonderful teacher, prophet, and healer, Jesus, was coming through Jericho! Zacchaeus was just one of many who wanted to see who Jesus was. There was nothing about Zacchaeus’ occupation that would have been worthy of any positive attention from a religious leader, much less a prophet and miracle worker. He was a tax collector, wealthy to be sure, but a “sinner” despised by the religious leaders of his day and by a large majority of the people as well as we see in verse 7. Yet that day would be one that would forever change this sinner’s life. He encountered the grace of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He wanted to see Jesus, but Jesus is the one who was seeking for him.

Jesus’ Condescension in Grace

Whenever we read about Jesus in the gospels we must always keep in mind the truth that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. The person of Jesus is the Son of God - the second person of the Trinity. That reality is what makes Jesus’ Condescension in Grace to Zacchaeus so amazing. As the Holy One of Israel, as the righteous and perfect Son of Man, He looks up at this man so despised by the masses and the religious leaders of this day and invites Himself to Zacchaeus’ home.

How wonderful was Zacchaeus’ response! He had gone to get a glimpse of the prophet from Nazareth, this miracle worker that was so popular. Crowds followed him from town to town. He jumps out of that sycamore tree quickly and receives him joyfully. Jesus wanted to come to his home. Little did Zacchaeus know the change that would begin in him that day. The Son of God’s condescension in grace to dine and fellowship in the home of a publican would change this man’s life, the life of his household, and the lives of those he had cheated. But it would go even beyond that. This story in the Gospel of Luke has been told countless times to show the marvelous grace of God to sinners. This chief tax collector would someday become a leader and a blessing to the Church.

We do not know what the conversation in Zacchaeus home was. Luke does not record that for us. However, in meeting with Jesus it was going to have one of two results. It was going to be like the Pharisees Nicodemus who sought him out in John 3 and was told about being born again, or it was going to be like the majority of Pharisees who sought to entrap Him so they could bring Him up on charges. Whatever that conversation was, it was life changing. Zacchaeus went out that day to see the popular prophet and ended that day with a life that was changed because of His interaction with the grace of God in the face of Jesus.

And this is truly what has the power to change our lives – it is encountering the truth of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is in Scripture that we see the character of God, the mercy of God, and why Jesus Christ was sent into the world. It is to seek and save those who are perishing. Change is hard. Zacchaeus had a wealthy life. He had a life of power over people that was supported by an authoritarian Roman government. He had money that ran through his control. He was the chief tax collector. He wasn’t popular, but rather a notorious person. Our Scripture reading out of Luke 3 demonstrates that publicans were known for charging people and merchants more than the actual tax and, no doubt, pocketing the excess tax gathered. To have such a love of money and then to have such a change of heart can only happen through the grace of God.

Zacchaeus’ Repentance through Grace

And what does that operation of God’s grace look like in the heart of a sinful man? The final point of this sermon is to see Zacchaeus’ Repentance through Grace. In verse 8, we see what his encounter with Christ does. Zacchaeus says,

“I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four time the amount.”

If you remember back with me to our reading out of Exodus 22, thefts of different kinds were to be restored to the owner. Restitution is an important aspect of repentance. Leviticus 6:1-7 goes into more detail about the restitution and shows that it was the fruit of asking for forgiveness and seeking restoration with God. The faith of Abraham, from the Old to the New Testament, calls for the people of God to repent – to turn unto God – not just in how we think and feel, but also in what we do.

John the Baptist in Luke 3:8-9 says,

8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

What is the connection between producing fruit and repentance? Zacchaeus’ response shows what that means in his situation. Repentance was something concrete. Zacchaeus did not express regret saying, “I am sorry!” His was not merely admitting that he had stolen from people. He did something about it. Repentance has been said to be a changing of the mind. That is true! But it is also more than that! It is a change of the mind that leads to a change of what we do.

In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost he speaks to the crowds gathered in Jerusalem. He preaches to them about the truth that they had unjustly crucified the Son of David. Yet this same Jesus also had been raised from the dead and exalted to the throne of His father David at the right hand of God. The men of Jerusalem cried out, “What must we do!” and Peter responded with “Repent, and be baptized every one of you…” Turn from the wickedness of crucifying Jesus and instead identify with Him in that very death.

Paul stated in Acts 26:20 to the Jews and Gentiles alike he “preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.” Perhaps very importantly for us to understand is that which Peter and the rest of the Apostles rejoiced about concerning the growing Gentile conversions to Jesus. In Acts 11:18 they praised God that it was not only the Jews that God had granted repentance to but also the Gentiles.

What Zacchaeus was given that day was more than a dinner engagement with a well-known prophet and teacher. He was given that gift of faith and the repentance that leads to life. He bore out the fruit of that repentance by restoring that which he had stolen and giving generously of his abundant wealth. For his particular situation and according to how he lived his life those were the fruits of repentance for him. We might wonder whatever happened to Zacchaeus. Nothing further is mentioned about him in the Scriptures. That is not to say that is all that is ever mentioned about him in the early church. It was reported in the early church that Zacchaeus became the first leader of the church in Caesarea as it was established through the work of Peter and Paul.

Conclusion

For those who may be here or listening online who do not believe in Jesus, what is the good news to you? The good news is that the Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are perishing. The bad news is that as sinners we will perish outside of faith in Christ. There is no other way...there is no other hope...than repenting of your sin and turning in faith to Jesus Christ. The ultimate sin that all humanity has is rejecting God, their Creator, who is the One to Whom every man will answer. The ultimate gift that has been given to humanity is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is through repenting of your sin and turning to Jesus Christ that you receive the promise of God that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

Brothers and sisters, where does repentance fit into the Christian life? One of the things that we practice in our worship services each Sunday is a confession of sin. This is done so that we might recognize this pattern of corporate worship in our own personal lives. God calls us to Himself. We respond in faith and repentance. From there we go on to listen to His Word and then we are sent out with His blessing. We understand that as Christians that while we are saved through God’s grace, we still sin. There is a need for us to identify sin, our reading from Colossians 3:5-10, confess our sins, and live out the fruits of repentance, which is Colossians 3:12-14. The Christian life is much more than being saved from perishing in hell. It is living for the glory of Him who called you out of death into life. The Christian life is a constant turning away from the world, the flesh, and the devil and turning unto God. I think that the Apostle John puts it beautifully in 1 John 1:5-7

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.5

The Christian life is about being in fellowship with God – walking in the light. In order to do that, though, we must recognize the sin within us, confess it, and walk in the light of the Lord, which is the fruit of repentance. Let us go out from our worship today to walk in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. AMEN.

1 Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Biblical Studies Press, 2002).