Zacchaeus Might Have Been Small But...
Notes
Transcript
Jesus Found Zacchaeus in a Tree
Jesus Found Zacchaeus in a Tree
OK… before we get started here so that it is stuck in all of our heads today lets sing the song
“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
And when the Savior passed that way
He looked up in the tree
And said, 'Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I'm going to your house today!
For I'm going to your house today!”
What kind of spectator’s are we?
Sports
Politics
Weather
“People-seeing”
Hops, mint, corn, apples, cherries, hemp, the fortunes of our retirement, stock market or business.
Are we watching the days, weeks, months and years of our lives passing before us with us making an effort for Jesus? - Are we simply spectators to what God is doing in our world?
I will remind you Jesus demand of us...
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Mt 28
Look very closely at V.18
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
ALL authority has been given to Jesus… ALL of it. This is the Kingdom of the Son of God.
Then look at V.20
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
So Jesus has all the authority that has given to him by the father....
AND he is saying that he will alway be with us…until the very end.
Our boys grew up in a great “small” town just outside of Tacoma. They had good friends and generally made great choices. They both played baseball up to 7th grade. Josh was a catcher and Tyler was a picture. Boy that made for some interesting ball games.
We would occasionally play in tournaments… we were decent. Not super good but not really bad either. I remember going to a weekend tournament and seeing it was a team in our league that we had played before. No problem. Well when we got there this team was unrecognizable. They had brought kids in from 50 miles away to play. These were “ringers” they were 9 ft. tall and could hit a ball a mile… Those kids held all the cards, knew all the plays, were as fast as a rabbit and talked smack about it.
Jesus is like bringing a “ringer”in. This guy knows the who, what, where and why. Jesus holds all the cards and here is what he is commanding.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Why have we lost the zeal for God’s work in our world. I hear your stories… This church was full in the Mike Hughes days.
We had adults and kids coming out of our ears. What happened? Can we get it back?
That’s up to us.
A fundamental question… Do non-Christian people want a relationship with someone they can’t see, they can’t hear, that’s been dead 2000 years?
Yes or No? ----
Presented like I just did...My guess is NO!!
Add Those same facts that make people answer “no” added to:
added to,
seasoned with the power and presence of The Holy Spirit,
with your very own testimony,
answering people’s deepest sin and hurts.
This mixed altogether and offered to a generation that desperately needs Jesus.
Might just 1 or 2 or 100 or 200 turn away from their ways and answer, “YES” --- I hope so!
This brings us to our passage for today… Open your bibles, apps or tablets to the book of Luke...
[Testimony]
This brings us to our passage for today… Open your bibles, apps or tablets to the book of Luke...
New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke; Chapter 19 vs. 5
Super familiar story… Stand if you can as I read
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 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.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.
2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
Please be seated… If you’ve been in church for half a minute you know this story.
The main character in the story is this tax collector, Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus is:
A Jew
Mt. 19
A Ruler
A Toll Collector
and Wealthy
As the “chief tax collector” he gathered money from other collectors and send the balance to Rome… After taking a hefty commission.
He was dishonest, He was a cheat and people likely did NOT associate with him.
We don’t know why, but He was drawn to Jesus.
Why Jesus… Because as V.10 says
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Mt.
I am convinced that many, many people are seeking redemption, significance, forgiveness in their lives. +
This is not found in a gang, a bottle of booze or pills, in filling our lives up with all of the “good” things that we can.
It is found only in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
That’s what Zacchaeus was looking for...
My and your only answer is in a relationship with Jesus.
My and your only answer is in a relationship with Jesus.
So Zacchaeus chose to, engage in reaching out to Christ, for some reason other than he wanted to see him.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.
V.3-4
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
Climbing a tree when the Savior of the World passes by would be expected today… In the culture of the times would have been undignified…
Climbing a tree when the Savior of the World passes by would be expected today… In the culture of the times would have been undignified…
My guess is the Zacchaeus was after more than a glimpse of Jesus
Now this is the meat of the passage that I wanted to get to today...
V.5
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Jesus walked directly up to him and said “come down.”
Was Zacchaeus the only one a tree along the way Jesus was walking? I doubt it...
Jesus then says.. come down and “I must stay at your house” now! What Jesus is describing is a divine necessity to do so.
Jesus MUST STAY with him. When Jesus uses “MUST” this an imperative!
Jesus breaks through:
all of the garbage in our lives!
All, 100% of past sin, regrets, shame in our lives is pushed OUT
when the Savior of the world enters in. You see you are either resident of His Kingdom or a sinner destined for hell.
What about Grace??? Amen… It is by Grace that God will judge our sin and find the believer as pure and Holy.
The penalty has already been paid 100% by Jesus. When God see’s us… he sees a brand new baby wrapped in swaddling clothes.
When Jesus told him he was going to stay at his house TODAY, he meant in the best possible way that Jesus was going to dwell with Zacchaeus and Zacchaeus was going to dwell with him.
That singular act of climbing a tree to see Jesus was met with salvation for his soul.
A simple surrender of your life and soul to him will be met with salvation.
Lord please show me the trees where I’m suppose to see those who so desperately NEED a relationship with you.
I will call them down and we will dwell together in the richness of your word and promises.
V.6
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
Luke
Z came down and welcomed the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s.
He accepted Christ into his world. By faith alone Z was healed and redeemed.
V.7
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
ALL here is not everyone… All of the people that began to mutter are ALL. Yes there was muttering, yes there was “note taking” as we discussed last week.
The Pharisee’s where working the crowds.. looking for seeds to be planted that would rise up against Jesus.
I’m not sure about you but after I turned my life over to Jesus, satan or his minions where on the attack trying to bring me back to this world and not the next world.
Jesus came into my life
I invited Jesus to come into my life, he set up his tabernacle in my heart.
He became the guest of a sinner. AND MY LIFE CHANGED FOREVER.
There was not a muttering possible that would have made him leave. I was his and he is MINE.
V.8
8 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.”
Note the language… “Look Lord!” Z had accepted and acknowledged that Jesus was Lord.
The next little bit here, “I will give half my possessions” and “I will pay back four times”
This are not to be understood as exactly, but more as an expression of gladness of the salvation.
It’s that mile high feeling that we get with this decision.
A really great example here is the life of generosity that you, this church exhibits when the call is made:
When a missionary is in need
When the poor and less fortunate in our community needs food, blankets, - through our benevolent fund you are there.
Our support of Foster Kids at back to school time
Our new shoes ministry to students in area schools
Because of what Jesus has done for us… We should live a generous life.
I have heard your stories… you have been blessed and and you need to share that with others. Well done you guys!
V.9
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
“Today” - God’s Kingdom has been made real to Z.
“Salvation has come...” - Z.’s whole family have made decisions for Jesus. First Z. then then his wife and children.
What is Jesus intention here… I’ll point us to
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Lets go back to
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
Focus on this last statement
“Because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”
This was not due to his being racially a descendant of Abraham but because Z brought forth fruit in keeping with repentance. He wanted to right his wrongs and produce fruit.
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.
The New American Commentary: Luke Comments
This was not due to his being racially a descendant of Abraham (cf. 3:8bc) but to his having brought forth fruit in keeping with repentance (3:8a) and having responded in faith and repentance to Abraham’s Seed (Acts 3:25–26; cf. Gal 3:16). By this Zacchaeus bore witness to God’s grace by which even a rich man can be saved (Luke 18:27). For the sense of being Abraham’s seed due to physical descent, cf. 13:16.
Don’t count on your association with anyone to substitute for a personal relationship with the God of the Universe through His only son, Jesus.
This is so prominent in our culture:
I grew up in church
My parents still go to church
I go to church on Christmas and Easter
I really don’t understand “saved” but I’m a great person.
NONE OF THOSE WILL GET YOU ANYTHING!
We are going to transition into a time of communion now… I want to leave you with ONE final verse… Probably the most important verse of the whole passage
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Lost… What you and I once were. But he came to save us. You see if Z could be saved, he bore witness to God’s Grace that even RICH people like us can be saved from the mess of our own lives.
-------------------
Bow your heads now.. Jesus is waymaker, he wants to cut through all of your stuff and create a new you. If you’d like him to come and set up his tabernacle, his tent inside you just look up at me.
You see if Z could be saved, he bore witness to God’s Grace that even RICH people like us can be saved from the mess of our lives.
For those who did… let this be your first opportunity to celebrate communion with your brothers and sisters in the Lord.
(3:8a) and having responded in faith and repentance to Abraham’s Seed (; cf. ). By this Zacchaeus bore witness to God’s grace by which even a rich man can be saved (). For the sense of being Abraham’s seed due to physical descent, cf. 13:16.