Talks with Jesus- Zacchaeus Luke 19:1-10

Good evening.

If you will open up to Luke 19

We are continuing our talks with Jesus series this week and next.

We looked at the women at the well last week.

Two weeks ago we talked about being born again with Nicodemus.

this week we see Zacchaeus.

Now Zacchaeus was a wee little man. And a wee little man was he.

No I joke.

We get to talk about Zacchaeus who was really curious about Jesus.

We’ll read the passage in a moment.

But Zacchaeus does something fascinating.

He seeks Jesus. But not like in a way that others have. He simply wants to see Jesus.

He climbs a tree.

Which is brilliant.

When I go deer hunt, i like to get in a tree stand. It’s

It’s usually much taller and what happens if you get the right tree is you can see further, you get out of the sight of the deer and your success rate goes up a good bit.

When the deer cannot see you but you can see it you have a much higher chance of getting the deer.

Zacchaeus is doing something similar.

He is trying to see the Lord. He wants to put eyes on him.

Now this story is very familiar to us.

Most of you could probably quote it to me without skipping a beat.

So much of this that I’m going to tell you isn’t really new.

But the truth of the Gospel is as old as time and it still rings true.

And we are much like Zacchaeus.

So look with me at

Luke 19:1–10 “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.””

Lets pray

Jesus is worth seeking(1-4)

look with me again at verse 3 and 4 of this passage.

Luke 19:3–4 “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.”

Now we know a little bit about Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.

Both of these can point us to his spiritual well being.

tax collector were hated. they worked for the government and well, they collected taxes.

So fair to be hated. I don’t love when my taxes are collected either.

But his title wasn’t just tax collector. He was the chief tax collector.

He was the top tax collector at least in that area.

So what that means is that he didn’t work really hard and earn his way to the top.

He was likely more crooked than others. He did not so good things to work his way up. Often cheating people and essentially stealing money.

He was also rich. Jesus even earlier in this book talks about how difficult it is for the rich to enter into heaven.

We can assume that Zacchaeus was not a spiritually healthy person because of these things along with his reaction.

But what he does is that he seeks Christ.

Jesus and Zacchaeus didn’t know each other.

Zacchaeus we assume has heard stories of this miracle worker.

Stories of Jesus healing, and feeding and all these different things.

We don’t know that for sure but thats what we can assume

and He wants to see Jesus.

He wants to see what all the hype is about.

He sees crowds of people wanting a glimpse of the Lord. He wants one too,

Small problem. Zacchaeus is small.

Short. Cannot see over the crowd. Now small in stature is probably significant enough that Luke wrote it down. which means he was significantly shorter than the average person.

So he climbs the tree. a Sycamore tree which is basically an egyptian fig and mulberry leaves.

So a fruit tree.

This rich man, who is likely used to people bending over backwards to accommodate him is now having to finagle his way to see the Lord.

This is drastic.

This tells us and it told everyone observing that Jesus is worth seeking.

Jesus Seeks Sinner(5-6)

look at Luke 19:5–6 “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.”

This is massive. A

Jesus sees Zacchaeus and by the way because Jesus is the Lord he knew Zacchaeus.

He knew him before he was even born.

And Zacchaeus had put himself in a situation to see Jesus and that meant that Jesus also saw him.

Jesus says get down, i need to stay at your house today.

So not only is Zacchaeus seeking Jesus, Jesus is also seeking him.

Remember Zacchaeus is a sinner a tax collector and universally hated.

So for Jesus to make an appointment to see him and even dine with him was quite irregular.

But thats not a shock.

A lot of what Jesus does and says seems fairly irregular.

But this is the process Jesus is using to open the door of salvation to Zacchaeus.

So thats what Jesus says, and Zacchaeus obliges.

Happily might i add.

Joyfully opening your doors to the Son of God is really the best way to receive him.

Jesus is seeking this sinner so he can geive him life.

Give him salvation.

We should like Zacchaeus have a similar mindset.

We should be running after the salvation of the Lord.

And Jesus is worth it.

Jesus is worth Seeking, He seeks sinners and

Jesus Saves Sinners(7)

There is this bump in the road of this passage.

The disciples and everyone around Jesus were not happy about this reception.

they all gumbled the passage says.

In fact, look at all of Luke 19:7 “And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.””

This is incredible.

The crowd is upset that Jesus, the one who was sent to save sinners, is going and trying to save a sinner.

He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner and they are not happy.

And the irony is that Jesus came not only to save all of them. But also to save Zacchaeus.

He salvation is not limited to those who were in the crowd.

There is this tension between man and government when it comes to the spiritual nature of things. And really with anything.

Like for the most part, man is opposed to government overstep.

fair.

But whats happening is they are associating their disdain for tax collectors with this man. and Jesus is associating his love for people with this mans need for salvation.

Much like Zacchaeus we are sinners.

We all need Jesus.

And instead of grumbling when there is opportunity for salvation for someone we don’t really like, we should celebrate.

We should celebrate the fact that Jesus not only saves people we like and love, but he also saves people that we don’t.

He saves all kinds of people.

He saves sinners

Jesus is worth seeking. he seeks sinners, he saves sinners, and he

Jesus Changes Sinners(8-10)

look at Luke 19:8–10 “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. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””

What an immediate change.

I don’t know what or if Jesus said anything to change the heart of this man, but I do know that His heart was completely and radically changed.

Zacchaeus was a rich tax collector who when Jesus showed up said i’m giving up half of my stuff to the poor.

And not only that I am going to pay back any theft that i’ve done over the years and four fold.

Church, that is radical change for God.

He saw the salvation that he can have, he saw the salvation that only Jesus can give.

He saw his sin.

He saw the son and his life was changed.

What if we had such a change?

When i was growing up my youth group went to camp in Atlanta to help a homeless ministry.

there was a man there whose story was truly incredible to me at the time.

He had spent his life really in a sinful and dangerous world of biker gangs.

He had done some things that were not good. I’ll just leave it at that. If you know anything about biker gangs or even how they are portrayed then you can use your imagination.

But this man in prison was handed a bible.

And he read it.

And his life was changed.

And the change was so dramatic that he stopped being in a biker gang, and began to help those who needed it most.

In his mind that was homeless men and women, and men who were involved in that rough and tough lifestyle.

This is a dramatic change for Zacchaeus.

Like black and white. Like dead to life.

Like poor to rich.

Because although he had the financial wellbeing, he was poor in spirit.

But he was changed.

Let our lives look different because of Jesus.

Let our hearts be radically changed because of Jesus.

Lets pray.