Jesus' Encounter With _________
Notes
Transcript
Jesus’ Encounter With ___________
Jesus’ Encounter With ___________
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man.
4 So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.”
6 So he quickly came down and welcomed him joyfully.
7 All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.”
9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
Have you had your encounter with the King of kings and the Lord of lords? I hope you have. My encounter was in children’s church. In fact, my encounter happened every Sunday for multiple weeks. I knew I wanted to make Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour, but I could not remember if i did it or not. I wanted to make sure I did not miss out.
Zacchaeus had an amazing encounter with the Lord. He was a chief tax collector, which means he was a director of other tax collectors. Kind of like the head of the IRS, but made even more money or i should say, stole more money. Rome had a certain amount they wanted for taxes but did not want to send a Roman citizen to collect the taxes so they used people of the community. A tax collector would enter into a business agreement with the Roman government. They would charge the amount for Rome plus whatever they wanted to live on.
Tax collecting was very much a pyramid scheme. If the tax collector was over a large area, then they would have subcontractors. The head tax collector would then a require a certain amount from each subcontractor for the privilege of being able to collect taxes.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Role of Tax Collectors
According to Adams, “The toll-collectors were in a profession that was open to dishonesty and oppression of their neighbor” (Adams, The Sinner in Luke).
Thus the head tax collector was very wealthy.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Role of Tax Collectors
Since the Jews considered themselves victims of Roman oppression, Jewish tax collectors who overtaxed their fellow countrymen were especially despised. Jews viewed such favor for Rome as betrayal and equal to treason against God. Rabbinic sources consistently align Jewish tax collectors with robbers.
Tax collectors were banned from most religious activities. Here Jesus walks in and tells Zacchaeus that He is coming to his house. Everyone was in shock and boy the tongues were flying. Those who began to listen to Jesus and start to consider that maybe He is the Messiah were in shock and disbelief. Could Jesus really be the Messiah and choose to hang out with someone who had betrayed Isreal and God? It was unbelievable.
This was an amazing encounter that Jesus had with Zacchaeus. It changed his life. What about all those who would not change? What about those who were more concerned about gossiping and complaining about what Jesus did instead of listening to what Jesus said?
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us.’
How do you feel about having Jesus Christ as the new president? What about as the ultimate ruler?
19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
We were all their at one time. We loved the feel of sin over the feel of righteousness. But we have a choice. A chance to change things. A chance to be different. A chance to get off the wide road and get unto the straight and narrow.
“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” John C. Maxwell
What choices are you making today? Are you making a choice to choose righteousness or are you choosing self-gratification? One leads to life eternal and the other leads to death eternal. Your choice. Jesus Christ is coming back for His church. His bride.
12 “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Conclusion:
Have you had your encounter with the King of kings and the Lord of lords? I hope you have.
Zacchaeus had an amazing encounter with the Lord. Because the Lord invested in Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus was a changed man.
8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.”
Luke 19:If not, today could be your day. Jesus Christ is not inhibited by any virus or a quarantine. Would you like to have an encounter?
Can you imagine the IRS returning four times as much if they determined you owed more taxes than you actually did? That would be the day.
Today can be your day. Jesus Christ is not inhibited by any virus or a quarantine. Would you like to have an encounter?
It is not hard. It is very easy. Jesus did all the hard work.
You can not make a step in the right direction until you realize you have been walking in the wrong direction.
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
2. Believe Jesus Christ is everything this book says He is. Jesus was born, walked on this earth, died on a cruel cross in your place, and rose again on the third day.
31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
3. Confess what you have done wrong and then turn 180* from your old life and embrace a new one full of hope and promise.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If you have made this decision and had an encounter with Jesus Christ, please contact us. We want to send you a bible. We want to pray for you. We want to also send you a book of hope. We are here for each other. You can contact us:
facebook.com/northsideholden
northsideholden.com
northsideassembly@outlook.com
faithlife.com/northsideholden
816-732-3929
Northside Assembly
PO Box 251
Holden, MO 64040