People who met Jesus - Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus - A sinner sought by a saviour Summer Hill Anglican Church 1. 30 December 2018 2. 1. When Jesus makes a difference a. a. people transformed by Jesus i. i. Over the past week we have celebrated Christmas, when Jesus cane into the world. ii. ii. and we’ve had some downtime, some celebrations, and a little time to reflect and think about the bigger issues of life 1. (1) but we are about to hit the new year and life will go on. a. (a) come a week’s time and many of us will be back at work, and the short holiday will recede into memory, and the time of reflection and soon the busyness of life will have pushed it all out 2. (2) and the thing is, if Christianity is to mean anything, if following Jesus is to be at all real, then it has to make a difference for more than 1 week a year, or even one day a week iii. iii. So for the next few weeks, we are looking at 6 people who met Jesus and were transformed by them 1. (1) their lives were turned upside down, and reshaped by meeting Jesus, the baby that the fuss of Christmas is all about a. (a) because b. b. authentic Christianity i. i. what we want to see in people, in the church, in ourselves, is authentic Christianity 1. (1) Christianity that changes people, a. (a) it’s not just dry and dead dogma 2. (2) it’s not just a set of beliefs that in my day to day life don’t make a huge difference a. (a) it’s not that becoming a Christian takes someone who is already good, and makes it possible for them to be better 3. (3) Zacchaeus’ story shows us something quite different to that. ii. ii. so let’s look at the Bible. 2. 2. Zacchaeus i. i. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. v1 1. (1) Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, he is on his way to his death at Easter. a. (a) and he passes through Jericho. i. (i) the same Jericho of the famous “Joshua fit de battle of Jericho” spiritual 2. (2) Jericho is about 24k northeast of Jerusalem a. (a) and to go through Jericho would have been the normal route to take from Galilee in the north of Israel, to go to Jerusalem, b. (b) to avoid the land of the samaritans who live in the west. 3. (3) Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the middle east, settlement there for nearly 11000 years. ii. ii. and it was a centre of Balsam trade, and an important crossroads, which meant there was a lot of money flowing through Jericho, 1. (1) king Herod even had a palace there! b. a. was not good i. i. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; v2 1. (1) Names matter - and his name means pure a. (a) Note on the veracity. - would have called him Birsha, or Raamah = Evil i. (i) no-one called Voldemort can be good...can they! 2. (2) But he is far from pure. ii. ii. we are told 2 things immediately about him 1. (1) he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. v2 a. (a) in the Roman empire, the tax-collector could levy whatever taxes he wished, as long as the proper amount was sent to Rome. iii. iii. you were generally not paid by Rome, but you could skim taxes for yourself 1. (1) so they had a reputation for exorbitant taxes, backed by the armies of Rome, and so they could easily become very rich, which this man had a. (a) so he would have been despised for being a “legal” thief. 2. (2) but also, he was a Jewish man (a Jewish name) collecting taxes for the hated occupying country! It would be like a native Palestinian collecting taxes for Israel today. He would have been wildly unpopular and hated for being a traitor. iv. iv. So Zacchaeus was not good but he c. b. wanted to see Jesus i. i. Jesus had entered Jericho and had drawn a crowd. By this stage of his 3 year public ministry he was getting quite popular, which is why the authorities were rowing more antagonistic towards him 1. (1) and then we are given an important piece of information a. (a) He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. v3 ii. ii. My sister is somewhat vertically challenged, 1. (1) she is 162cm (5’4 in the old scale) and so when I was a teenager I was constantly having to help her up to see things. Sometimes over crowds, often over fences. iii. iii. and Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. Wanted to see what the fuss was about. He needed to get elevated! 1. (1) So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. v4 a. (a) if you go to Jericho today, you will be shown the very sycamore tree i. (i) and there certainly is a large sycamore tree somewhere near the old city, and Herod’s palaces. b. (b) and while I personally am very skeptical that is it the actual tree, i. (i) you can get a sense of it in the photo, and you can see the man in the tree... ii. (ii) - perhaps just like Zacchaeus 2. (2) and you know what? It’s a good way to stay safe from a direct confrontation a. (a) he wanted to see Jesus, but not get too involved. He wouldn’t be seen up in the tree, he could get up there and with all the crowds pressing round Jesus wouldn’t notice him b. (b) and so it’s safe. it’s out of the way i. (i) it’s keeping yourself out of his line of sight 1. 1) but it was also potentially risky in another way c. (c) He climbed the tree, like a child. i. (i) and he was an important person, a rich person. d. (d) women (or men who wear kilts) - what is the problem with climbing a tree in a skirt? i. (i) you show off parts of you that perhaps you shouldn’t - especially if you have an unfurnished basement… e. (e) that is, it can be humiliating. But Zacchaeus was so keen, he risked the derision of the crowds to see Jesus. 3. (3) and we can see Jesus acknowledging that a. (a) When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. i. (i) what would you expect Jesus to say next? Stop sinning? Fix up your life you heathen sinner? Give back the stolen money? You’re in big trouble bub? What would you expect him to say? And what did he say. b. (b) I must stay at your house today.” v5 iv. iv. not only did he noticed this man, he reached out to him. Astonishing. 1. (1) even though it would have been easy not so see him - did you see the man in the tree to begin with? - or even ignore him - after all the crowds were pressing in on him, and he would’ve known how unpopular he was (he knew his name) a. (a) Jesus sought out Zacchaeus d. c. responded to Jesus i. i. and he responded to Jesus 1. (1) So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. v6 ii. ii. here was a religious rabbi, and he has invited himself over - he could have, perhaps should have been terrified. He was about to get blasted for his sin 1. (1) but he didn’t he welcomed him with joy! iii. iii. then something extraordinary happened, - completely changed. 1. (1) he had spent all of his “working life” extorting and corrupting and piling it all away a. (a) and now i. (i) But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” v8 2. (2) this interaction with Jesus changed him profoundly a. (a) it was what we call repentance. i. (i) it means “to change your mind/direction” 3. (3) he completely changed his mind, and became a giver rather than a taker. a. (a) and this is the sort of transformation that Jesus brings. i. (i) it changes people’s hearts so they want to serve God b. (b) He has gone from stealing at every opportunity, breaking the 8th commandment 4. (4) to fulfilling the law we heard from Exodus 22. Because he wanted to! a. (a) that is a real change of heart. i. (i) that’s authentic religion isn’t it. 1. 1) and Jesus sees this ii. (ii) “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. v9 b. (b) he has understood and relates to God rightly now. 5. (5) He is now a true son of Abraham - a man of faith. 3. 3. Jesus i. i. But Jesus is the other person in the account. And he takes things some directions we don’t expect him to b. a. wanted Zacchaeus i. i. Firstly he wanted to spend time with Zacchaeus. 1. (1) even though he was an evil and traitorous man, Jesus chose to stay the day with him a. (a) and this is counter to all expectations ii. ii. we can see it in the text in front of us 1. (1) All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” v7 iii. iii. this just wasn’t done. If you were a rabbi, you were supposed to stay holy 1. (1) and spending any time with a tax-collector was not the way to be holy. a. (a) it’s like working in a pig farm and then going straight in to the kitchen to cook dinner without washing. 2. (2) it was seen as disgusting. a. (a) but earlier in Luke’s account he had spent time with the TC’s and come in for a lot of criticism for it. And he said 3. (3) “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31–32 iv. iv. I have had a number of conversations with people over the years where they say “I couldn’t go to church, if I did the whole place would fall down.” 1. (1) it’s a sort of humorous false humility, that says “I am not good, church is for good people, so if I went the place would fall down out of horror and shock. a. (a) the problem is that it’s just not true. Of course the building won’t fall down. That’s superstitious nonesense. i. (i) But much more significantly, the church is for people like Zacchaeus, the desperate, greedy, bad, mad, selfish, hurt, damaged, prideful people - that we all are. 2. (2) because Jesus came precisely for that reason - look in v10 a. (a) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 3. (3) that’s the 2nd thing to note about Jesus; That’s why he came a. (a) You don’t need a rescuer if you aren’t lost, you don’t need a saviour if you aren’t in any danger. 4. (4) so the reality is that if you consider yourself not good enough to be a Christian, you are both exactly right and exactly wrong. a. (a) you are exactly right, because nobody can be good enough for God i. (i) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 ii. (ii) no-one is good enough 1. 1) not you, not me, not the archbishop, not Mother Teresa, no-one. We all fall short b. (b) but you are exactly wrong because the great news is that it is for those lost people - those who aren’t good enough - that Jesus entered our world and died for us. i. (i) The Son of Man (Jesus) came to seek and to save the lost 1. 1) Jesus came to save you and to save me 5. (5) but... c. b. brings change i. i. you can’t possibly change to be good enough for God to accept you, however, meeting Jesus brings change 1. (1) And we just saw that with Zacchaeus didn’t we ii. ii. his great greed was transformed into great generosity 1. (1) when you turn to God, you turn away from the things you do wrong 2. (2) and you repent. You change your mind about them and head in a different direction iii. iii. but that’s not what makes you a Christian, 1. (1) you are a Christian because you meet Jesus and welcome him with joy a. (a) and then after that, it starts to change your life. 2. (2) sometimes in big ways, more often in a thousand little ways. iv. iv. but following Jesus, will mean change is coming 1. (1) that’s what authentic Christianity is a. (a) We all make mistakes, we can all do the wrong thing i. (i) but there is a fundamental change in attitude that comes with being a Jesus person that means life is never the same again b. (b) authentic Christianity 4. 4. Real Christianity a. a. about Jesus i. i. it’s easy to think that being a Christian is all about being good. 1. (1) we have been sold that wrong emphasis for over a 1000 years or more ii. ii. being Christian actually starts by recognising you are not good, and that you need Jesus 1. (1) Christianity is not a moral code we need to live up to it’s a real relationship with God. A relationship that starts by meeting Jesus but reaches way down inside and changes you iii. iii. because real Christianity in the end is not primarily about me, it’s about Jesus 1. (1) about who he is and what he has done a. (a) Christmas is an important time of year as we celebrate Christ entering our world as a baby, taking flesh for us 2. (2) the central Christian celebration is not Dec 25, but is actually easter iv. iv. Christianity is not just about the baby, it’s about the cross. Where Jesus died for you b. b. produces change i. i. and a genuine relationship with Christ will bring changes in your life 1. (1) in 1921 a preacher called WP Nicholson preached in Belfast and there was such an effect that 2. (2) Harland and Wolff had to build another warehouse to collect all the stolen tools returned by converted workers in the Harland and Wolff shipyard. ii. ii. The gospel changes people. It can take time, and it doesn’t all happen at once, but Jesus transforms people when he finds them. Just like he did Zacchaeus 1. (1) because in the end, while you may think you are seeking Jesus, he is actually seeking you c. c. Jesus is seeking you! i. i. just like Zacchaeus he knows you and knows your heart 1. (1) knows that we are all at best ambivalent about meeting him a. (a) we all want to keep safe in our tree and observe things at a distance 2. (2) I remember being told by my grandmother that it was fine to be a Christian, just don’t get too fanatical about it. a. (a) Keep Jesus in the “safe” zone, don’t let him get too close or notice you ii. ii. but we can’t keep the real Jesus at arm’s length because, Jesus is looking for you. He is seeking you. He came seeking me too 1. (1) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. a. (a) he came for you. he has come to the bottom of your sycamore tree, to the edge of your safe place and said - come down. I want to stay with you today d. d. what are you looking for? i. i. if you’re looking for a God who you can hold at arm’s distance, and just faff around with, play silly little religious games with 1. (1) you won’t find him in the Bible, you won’t find the God who is there ii. ii. but if you are looking for a God who is totally committed to finding you, making relationship with you 1. (1) then you have found him in Jesus. He hung on a cross for you. He died for you. He is raised to life again for you. a. (a) Authentic Christianity is not about church, or ritual, or even being good. It’s all about Jesus, and having a real relationship with him 2. (2) but it won’t be a costless change, a. (a) everything really worth doing always costs you b. (b) and finding God is very costly because it will completely transform your life 3. (3) but being transformed by Jesus is what you were made for. a. (a) it’s what you were always meant to be. Jesus says: b. (b) Come down - I want to stay with you today. c. (c) will you do something about that today? d. (d)