Have you heard the one about the three tax collectors?

Today I wan to speak from the gospel of Luke.

Luke - the life story of Jesus

In Lukes Gospel Jesus is the fulfilment of prophecy.

Luke believes Jesus will show what God is really about

Luke is the gospel for the impoverished (Matthew the rich) - Luke says blessed are the poor, Matthew says blessed are the poor in spirit.

Which makes it interesting that the passage I want to speak about is on speaks of a very rich man. The story is sometime referred to as the rich publican of Jericho and sometimes as the Sunday school / children’s story of Zaccheus and the sycamore tree. Don’t be confused by the Publican title, it is simply a collector of taxes

We tend to relegate it to the kids stories but you know I don’t believe there is a word in this book that is not there for purpose.

We miss out on eternal truths when we don’t engage with scripture because we think it is too simple.

Luke 19:1–10 NIV

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.”

Why was Zaccheaus hated

Easton’s Bible Dictionary Publican

PUBLICAN—one who farmed the taxes (e.g., Zacchaeus, Luke 19:2) to be levied from a town or district, and thus undertook to pay to the supreme government a certain amount. In order to collect the taxes, the publicans employed subordinates (5:27; 15:1; 18:10), who, for their own ends, were often guilty of extortion and peculation. In New Testament times these taxes were paid to the Romans, and hence were regarded by the Jews as a very heavy burden, and hence also the collectors of taxes, who were frequently Jews, were hated, and were usually spoken of in very opprobrious terms. Jesus was accused of being a “friend of publicans and sinners” (Luke 7:34).

Had he cheated? - unknown but every one believed he had - guilt by association - where we grew up, what we do for a living. our past.

Jesus was looking -

Zacchaeus may have been looking for Jesus but Jesus was looking fo Zacchaeus .

Lost as unbelievers - Proactive God

Luke 19:10 NIV

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

God looked for each of us, he is looking for those around you - He comes to seek and to Save

I believe God, is looking to save everyone.

John 6:40 NIV

40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

If that is God’s will why is that the world id not full of Christians - Well I think that the story of Zaccaeaus give us a great clue.

God will not force himself on any of us. Zacchaeus climbed the Sycamore tree, it wasn’t the action of climbing the tree that made Zacchaeus visible to God it was the action that let God know Zacchaeus was ready to be found.

Sometimes we expect God to move with one part of our brain and don’t want him to or expect him too with another.

If we want to meet with God we need to be ready -

All about Choice.

Jesus sees Zacchaeus and says - “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus had a choice.

Jesus words were not a command but they did have an imperative nature there

Habituation is a form of non-associative learning in which an innate (non-reinforced) response to a stimulus decreases after repeated or prolonged presentations of that stimulus.

If we repeatedly don’t respond to god we stop noticing His approaches.

For Zacchaeus, he came down at once and welcomed Jesus gladly.

The decision is important not just for those that don’t know Jesus, but for all of us every day.

Decision - SIGN

Joshua 24:15 NIV

15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Daily we make decisions about how we live our lives. -

though that is possibly the most significant decision every on makes is that one about rejecting or accepting God.

There are so many decisions that we make without thought, unconscious decisions.

This is one decision we need to make with definite thought, it has huge repercussions not just in Eternity but today.

You see when you accept God things change....

In Mark 2 we read about another tax collector....

.

Mark 2:14 NIV

14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

Levi is Matthew - We focus on Jesus having a meal in the house of a tax collector but here we have Jesus calling a tax collector and changing him from a servant of Rome to a servant of the most high. From a person detested for what he did to an apostle, from someone who would have died in insignificance to someone God used to change nations.

That was a huge change and the change of Zaccheaus was no less significant.

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.

This is the hard less on from the story of Zacchaeus, that coming to God demands change. As part of coming to God we are called to repent, and part of that is changes. True repentance bears fruit, which goes beyond stopping doing things. It begins a change from the inside out. There is not only change in behaviour, but everything begins to shift at all levels of one’s being. A man becomes a different man; a woman becomes a different woman. Heart change brings high motivation for behaviour change. This is not the motivation of self-disgust or remorse over the harm done to others, but a higher calling.

Zaccheaus - didn’t just announce he would stop skimming money off the taxes - he changed. his attitude changed, is behaviour changes, the lives of those around him were changed.

Order

Can I point out the order if some things here -

God accepted Zaccaeaus and he began to change.

NOT

Zaccaeaus changed so God accepted him.

Many of us have been through things in our past and some of us are going through things in our present - I want to tell you whatever you have or are going through God accepts you for who you are. There may be things you want to change, there may be things you need to repent for but let me tell you “Recovery is not repentance, and repentance is not recovery.”

Turning to God in your need is the first step to restoration.

Isiah tells us.

Isaiah 19:22 NIV

22 The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

The story of Zacchaeus, is not a story to be reserved for Kids, it is a powerful story of a person despised and corrupt that shows he is ready to be found by God and finds acceptance. A story of a man who when accepted is transformed and restored.

God - seeking

Openess - wanting to be found

Acceptance

Repentance - Not just sorry but change

Transformation and restoration

The story of Zacchaeus ends with Jesus saying

“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.”

Jesus announces Zacchaeus as a brother, covered by the promises of God on at least as good as the Jews who despised him

In luke we hear of a third tax collector

Luke 18:9–14 NIV

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Reinforcing that Transformation and salvation is the result of knowing God, of rercognising GOD is GOD and we need hin . Good behaviour is not the route to God you will never be good enough. Only the sacrifice of jesus makes you good enough

If you want restoration in your lives.

As I prepared this message I was listening to music quite an old song 2008 came on, I am not even sure that I have even heard it before but it contained these words.

Tenth avenue North By your side

Why are you striving these days?

Why are you trying to earn grace?

Why are you crying?

Let me lift up your face, just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love?

Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?

Is it time for you to stop trying to sort things out and to make your self know to God and let Him step in

Zacchaeus sort to see Jesus. He over came some obstacles only to find Jesus who was was seeking him. He had to climb a tree. If you want God to step in Climb a tree, wear a fluorescent jacket, etc. - indicate you are ready for God - who is seeking to save the lost that you are ready to be found.

it is a simples as closing your eyes as we pray....

Met us where we are.

Sorry

Help me to

let me know your acceptance, your love and your peace

amen

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’