Jesus Seeks the Unlovable

The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. How long, O Lord, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.

Habakkuk 2:1–4 NASB95

I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved. Then the Lord answered me and said, “Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay. “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.

Luke 19:1–10 NASB95

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Hab 1

Introduction:

Hide and Seek

Rabbi Baruck’s grandson Jechiel was playing hide-and-seek with another child. Jechiel hid and waited for his friend to search for him. He waited a long time, and finally left his hiding place. His playmate was nowhere to be found. Now Jechiel realized that his friend had not even bothered to look for him. With tears in his eyes he came running to his grandfather. Then Rabbi Baruck also began to weep and said, “That is the way God acts: I hide, but nobody wants to look for me.”

(Gebhard Maria Behler, “What is God’s Game?” in A Treasury of Catholic Digest)

There are so many people in the world who hurt from rejection. They feel unloved. They are even convinced that God does not care. However, in today’s story we find Jesus seeking out a man who is considered the lowest of the low. Not only is this man a tax collector, but he is the chief tax collector. Yet Jesus comes to him and calls him by name showing that God loves even the unlovable.

Luke 19:1–10 NASB95

Pray

Introduction:

Jesus is in His final days before entering Jerusalem. Today’s story takes place in Jericho. Jericho is next to the last stopping point before Jerusalem. Typically, people would stop and rest in Jericho before traveling on to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is only 10 miles southwest of Jericho, but it is mountain terrain and traveled by many on foot. Jesus next rest stop will be Bethany just before entering Jerusalem on the famed Palm Sunday.

As Jesus was approaching Jericho, He was approached by a couple blind men. He heals them and this as well as the many other stories of healings for which He has done, precede Him into the town.

Very quickly the people begin to gather as Jesus enters the town. They crowd around Him pushing to get closer. It would be very uncomfortable for Jesus. But Jesus does not allow that to deter Him. Jesus has something very important to do this day.

Previously, in Jesus had declared that He had come to seek the lost and in today’s story He does so in a very personal way. Here we find that it is not just the lost, but...

Luke 15:4 NASB95

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

I. Jesus Loves and Seeks the Rejected ()

Now living in Jericho is a very wealthy man. His name is Zacchaeus. Now Zacchaeus is not popular in town. He has three strikes against him.

He is a tax collector.

As you know, tax collectors are not popular people. In our culture, they are despised because they are not viewed as very compassionate. We often few them as harsh people who are more about rules than human need, therefore we tend to paint them all with a brush that says, “No Compassion!”

In Bible times it was even worse. They had too much control and used their positions to over tax the people while pocketing the extra funds for their own use.

When I was in Pennsylvania, there was a law that made it easy for men to do something similar. A person could not license their trailer without the approval of a mechanic. Every year or two, you had to get your trailer inspected. If there were any maintenance needs it was mandatory that they be fixed, no matter how great or small, before you could get a license. If you chose not to license the trailer, the state would declare it an abandoned vehicle and would confiscate it. So you were at the mercy of the mechanics that inspected it and that was a problem, because there were those who took advantage of the situation and declared issues where there were none. I know, it happened to me twice.

That was a bit how this was. People were not all educated. There were no statements that came in the mail from Rome saying you owe this much. So it was easy for the tax collectors to over charge the people and they had no recourse but do as they said or they found themselves in prison.

However, that was not the only strike Zacchaeus had against him. He was not just any tax collector, but he was...

CHIEF tax collector.

However, he is not just any tax collector. He is CHIEF tax collector. That means he is the top dog around these parts. That is kind of like being the top IRS overseer of a region. If a tax collect is

That means he is the top dog around these parts. It also says he is very wealthy, which makes sense considering his high office. The chief tax collector is kind of like being the top IRS overseer of a region. If a tax collect is despised, you can just imagine how people felt about the top dog of them all. Probably a lot like we all feel about Lois Lerner and others like her that were using their top positions to persecute non-profits.

But those were not the only reasons people looked down on Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus had another major short coming.

3. Zacchaeus was short!

Bullying is not new in our world. It has been around a long time. It may even be the reason Zacchaeus became a tax collector and he must have been good at it to become chief. He probably was a hard worker to overcome the stigma of being such a short man.

Now on this day, there is a lot of excitement! Jesus, the man they have all been hearing about has come to town. Not only that, but He has already performed a miracle by healing two blind men.

As everyone runs and begins circling Jesus. Zacchaeus finds himself on the outside. He is pushed out, in part due to his unpopularity and in part due to his stature.

Zacchaeus has been bullied, ignored and pushed out all his life, but this time he is determined to see. He has heard the stories and he longs to be a part of what is happening. He is so desperate, that we see this man of high office do the unthinkable.

A. A man becomes like a child ()

We can picture it in our minds. A crowd all clustered tight around a man walking through town. A man of prestige that everyone wants to see. And around the outside is a man running back and forth, trying to find a way in, but not finding a way to do so. Of course, when we picture it is our minds, it is children we see doing this. Then probably a father reaching down and picking the child up on his shoulders to see, however, Zacchaeus had no such luxury due to his age.

In desperation, Zacchaeus runs up ahead of the crowd searching for some kind of vantage point for him to be able to see. Then he spots it. A fig-sycamore tree is just up ahead. Its thick trunk branches out with low and strong branches for which he can climb onto and see over the crowd as they come.

It is interesting that just prior to this event, Jesus was addressing a crowd when people brought their children to him. The disciples had rebuked the parents for interrupting Jesus with these children however, Jesus welcomed the children and rebuke the disciples. Jesus responds...

Luke 18:17 NASB95

“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

Luke 18:17

Now here is Zacchaeus, so desperate to see and hear Jesus that he responds much like a child would. And what happens?

B. A seeking man becomes found ()

Not only is Zacchaeus seeking Jesus, but Jesus is seeking Zacchaeus. Even in the crush of the crowd, Jesus knew just where Zacchaeus was and who he was. He calls Zacchaeus, a man who has probably been ignored and rejected most of his life, by name.

John 10:3 NASB95

“To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Can you imagine what that must of meant to Zacchaeus? Have you ever felt rejected by others? Inferior to others? Insignificant? And then someone suddenly calls you by name. Someone you had no idea even knew you and they shock you by calling you by name. Zacchaeus’ heart must have stopped in his chest.

Yet that is what Jesus does. He seeks us out and calls us by name. says the lost by nature do not seek God. In the garden when Adam and Eve had sinned, they did not run to find God and confess! They ran and hid. God came seeking them.

Once when I was a young girl, I did something I knew was wrong and I went to my room for punishment because I did not want to have to tell mom what I did. She had a pretty chandelier with glass globes that her step-dad had given her as a gift. It was behind a living room chair in a corner until dad could hang it. Mom had told us to be careful of it back there. Then one afternoon a car drove into our driveway. Now we lived out on a farm 10 miles from the nearest town. We did not get company very often. I was curious to see who was here and I ran behind that chair forgetting the chandelier. I remembered instantly as my foot hit an obstacle and I heard glass shattering. I went in tears to my room. After the company had left, my mom came in search of me to see why I had not come to see the company. I had to tell her what I had done and that I was in time out in my room. She was disappointed, but assured me she loved me and knew it was an accident.

God seeks us out in love, even when the things we have done wrong were NO accident. Now here is Jesus seeking out a man who is wealthy due to unethical practices. He seeks him out and calls him by name, not in reproof, but in love. Jesus knew what Zacchaeus needs and He is here to provide it.

And then we see...

C. A small man becomes big ()

Unfortunately, the crowd was not as delighted as Zacchaeus was. They began to murmur among themselves. “He has gone do the be guest of a ‘sinner!’” Murmur does not mean that it was not understood what they were saying. Zacchaeus was aware of their murmurings. That and Jesus kindness stirred in his heart, and Zacchaeus, this man of small stature became a big man. He turned to Jesus and the crowd and declared that any wrong he had done he would make right. As the law required, he would give four times for any injustice he had performed. Not only that, but he offered up half of his wealth to the poor.

It is interesting that this event would have taken place within a day or so of the rich young ruler who came seeking Jesus requesting what he must do to be saved. Jesus response?

Zacchaeus may have been rich with money, but he had been poor spiritually. Now we see...

Luke 18:22 NASB95

When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

To which the young man walks away sadly. Yet here we have Zacchaeus doing the very thing that Jesus asked without Jesus prompting. What he lacked in stature, he just made up for with heart.

Now we see...

D. A poor man becomes rich ()

By the time Zacchaeus gave up half is wealth to the poor and then gives back to those he had cheated four times as much, there most likely was not a lot left. However, as a poor man, Zacchaeus is richest of all. He has found salvation. Not because of his actions. His actions were secondary to his salvation. However, salvation does something to us. It changes us. The desires of our heart are changed and we definitely see this change in Zacchaeus.

What is interesting in this story is that Jericho is a Levitical city. That means there would be lots of priests and descendants of priests in this town. It is not these we see being saved and following Jesus. It is this man Zacchaeus. For the first time in his life, he lives up to his name meaning, “righteous one” or “just one.”

He was a Jew. A descendent of Abraham. But now he becomes a son of Abraham in spirit.

However, the story isn’t over yet. You see, by this point they have arrived at Zacchaeus’ house and we find...

E. The host becomes the guest ()

When Jesus pronounced he was coming to Zacchaeus’ house, we see that Zacchaeus instantly obeys Jesus command to come out of the tree and we find he does so “gladly.”

This was more than Zacchaeus had hoped for, so he welcomed Him gladly. The word “gladly” (chairōn) is literally “rejoicing.” Luke used this verb (and the noun chara) nine times (1:14; 8:13; 10:17; 13:17; 15:5, 9, 32; 19:6, 37) throughout his gospel to denote an attitude of joy accompanying faith and salvation.

Salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ home and he joyously yielded the place of master and host to Jesus. He then spent the evening in fellowship with Jesus. Zacchaeus is not the same man he was when he awoke that morning. God had done an incredible thing in his life. He is no longer the short, chief tax collector. He is now known and accepted by none other than God Himself. Literally, a child of God. What more could he ever ask for?

Conclusion:

But the story does not end there. What Jesus did for Zacchaeus, Jesus can do for you! We all have times when we have felt like a nobody. Or we have felt rejected and unloved. However, you are here today. Why? Because Jesus sought you out. His Holy Spirit went before you and called you by name bringing you here. You may be here because you have already been saved. We all need to remember that Jesus loves us and He worked to get us here. Sometimes as time passes and the struggles of the world happen, we forget that and we need reminded. Now that you are reminded, let me ask you a key question. Have you offered that same love and acceptance to others? There is a whole lot of lost people out in the world who do not know the truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ and the salvation available to all. Have you been taking time to share the Good news with them?

Or maybe you are here, because you feel a need to be here. You are searching, but you do not know for what and something or someone directed you here. It is no mistake you are here. The Spirit of Jesus, what we call the Holy Spirit is the seeker now. He works to get you to a place where you can hear that God loves you. That He is seeking you. To tell you, you too can be saved and find joyful fellowship with God.

All it takes is a simple prayer.

First, admit you are a sinner and ask Jesus to save you.

Second, believe Jesus is Lord and Savior of the world.

And three, call upon His name, seeking to live in obedience to Him.

Bow your heads. Altar open.

Close with Communion

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