Jesus Does Not Recycle, He Re-Creates

Luke 19:1–10 NKJV

1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Some would call this a chance encounter. There is no such thing as a chance encounter with Jesus, with God. God knows all. Everything in this world is a puzzle piece God moves into place to complete the picture.

Jesus is counter cultural when the culture counters God and His will for His creation. We see this not only in the culture of our country but also the culture of the church in general. Everything the church does; every service, every program, every outreach should have one goal in mind. This is summed up in verses 9-10.

Luke 19:9–10 NKJV

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

What is so interesting is Zacchaeus means pure and innocent. Zacchaeus was not pure or innocent. He was a tax collector. This meant he was a legal mob boss with Roman soldiers as his enforcers.

Since he was a chief tax collector, he was a publican in every form of the word. He would have made an agreement with the Roman government to collect taxes for Jericho. He would have people under him who would actually collect the money. Now Rome did not care how it got it’s money, but that it would get the money period.

So let’s say Rome wants $1,000,000 in taxes from Jericho. Jericho was a huge center for balsam trade, so much so, that Marc Anthony purchased a balsam plantation for Queen Cleopatra. People in Zacchaeus’ position would tell the actual collectors they needed a total of $1,500,000 so he could have a profit of $500,000. So the collectors would try to collect probably $1,700,000 so they had a profit of $200,000.

The people hated the tax collectors. They were in league with the enemy. The devout Jew would not pay their taxes sometimes because it was considered a sin.

Mark 12:14–17 NKJV

14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16 So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him.

Jesus Notices Everyone Including the Thief

It is not the one who has it all together that Jesus notices, it is the one who has messed up.

Matthew 9:35-36 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. The New King James Version. (1982). (Mt 9:35–36). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Sometimes Living for the Lord will not Make Us Popular

Some people doubted if Jesus really was the Messiah because He would choose to have dinner with the most despised man in town instead of many Rabbis to choose from.

There are times God will ask us to do something and people will look at us and just shake their heads and maybe roll their eyes.

John 15: 18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. The New King James Version. (1982). (Jn 15:18–19). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Salvation is ALWAYS the Point

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all thing have become new.”

This is why we are here. Share the gospel. Work in the fields while we still have light.

Matthew 9:37-38 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” The New King James Version. (1982). (Mt 9:37–38). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Jesus made it clear, that just because Zacchaeus made bad choices, he was not beyond redemption.

Being the salt and light that we are called to be is crucial.

Conclusion:

According to legend, Zacchaeus was the first bishop of Caesarea. He is listed as such in the fourth century work Apostolic Constitutions. No one is too far gone as long as they draw breath. Today is the day of salvation.

Romans 3:23 NKJV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Acts 16:31 NKJV

31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Romans 10:9–10 NKJV

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.