Different Stories, Same Need

Trouble in the World When God created the Earth - the book of Genesis tells us that God looked at all that had been created, and declared that it was good! A good God created a good world for good human beings to live in and to be stewards of ALL of His creation. And then, humans messed it up - and to be honest, we are still messing it up.

I think we all have to admit that humanity as a whole has not done a very good job with our assignment. It wasn’t long that sin entered the picture, and the man and woman that God created chose to turn their backs on the one that created them and follow after their selfish desires and sinfulness.

Sinfulness is the common denominator for every human being that has ever lived. We All have chosen sin! It doesn’t matter who you are or how good of a person you are, we ALL chose to sin. Sin levels the playing field, and it is a reminder that in our brokenness, no matter whether we are black or white, rich or poor, highly respected or looked down upon, we are all the same. Every human being has chosen sin!

Why does that really matter? Because sin is destructive. Sin is opting for a life less than what we were created to be. Sin is rebelliousness. Sin is a breach of trust. Sin is a break in relationship - both with God and with our fellow human beings. Our world today would much rather not talk about sin as such. But the word of God tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

A life of sin begins in rebellion. From a very young age, we all have this inclination to do things our own way. We believe that the world revolves around our needs, wants, and desires, and we let those in authority know it when we don’t like their decisions for our lives. Rebellion drives a wedge between us and those who are in authority. Often times we think of the rules of authority are there to limit our joy and our freedoms - and to be honest, sometimes they are. But the authority of God is there to warn us of dangers that are coming if we continue in that rebellion. God’s instructions are there because God knows what is best for us!

What begins as rebellion - a desire to be free and do things our way, often leads to enslavement or entrapment. We often think of the person who rebels and gets addicted to some kind of drug that destroys their life. I have seen that kind of thing happen and seen the devastation and destruction that can bring. The drug may bring fun or help someone avoid their real life troubles for awhile, but inevitably, the drug which was once a form of rebellion and even a way of escape becomes a form of enslavement.

Years ago, I sat with a man who was an alcoholic - when I visited his trailer, I did not really know much of anything about him. He had visited the church where I was pastoring at the time, and so I went to visit him. He came to the door with what appeared to be a glass of water in his hand and quickly welcomed me inside. It wasn’t long until I realized that the glass was not filled with water, but rather, it was whiskey, and he was quite drunk. In that visit I discovered a man that had began to drink when he was young, and thought he was having a good time - but the alcohol soon became an addiction, and that which he enjoyed began to enslave him. He pulled out his Bible to show me how much he had read and studied the Word of God to try to gain victory over this addiction that now owned him. He cried as he described how much his seemingly innocent beginning when he was young had not only enslaved him but had taken him to the point in his life where he was divorced from his wife, had no relationship with his kids or grandkids, and was not even able to operate a vehicle because the alcohol had robbed him of all of that. He was estranged not only from God but from the very people he loved - the sin of rebellion had led to enslavement and he literally sat before me without a friend in the world.

Sin destroys! We see it plainly in a life like his, but sometimes it is much more subtle. What begins as a flirtation at work turns into an indiscretion that culminates with a marital affair. He was a retired preacher who once had a very bright future in the denomination where he was involved and educated. He was well liked and was on the fast track to ministry success. He described to me how one day when he was not feeling at his strongest, he succumbed to temptation and had a one time fling with his secretary. It seemed like something he wanted to do in the moment, but it destroyed his relationship with his wife - his marriage ended in divorce, and he lost his credentials to preach in that denomination. He was estranged from his kids until the moment he died. Even though he was able to confess his sin and get right with God once again, his life and ministry was never the same again.

Let’s look at our text for this morning and see how Jesus deals with those that are lost. Let’s turn to:

Luke 18:35–19:10 NIV

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. 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.”

Trouble in the Text Two individuals - both in the same area, but completely different in so many ways.

The man outside the gates of Jericho was blind - he could not see physically, but he is the one that recognizes who Jesus is, and he cries out for Jesus to have mercy on him. As a blind man in that day, his only real recourse for making money was to beg, and that is exactly what he spent the days doing. The Passover was coming soon, and Jews from all over Israel would have been passing through Jericho on their way to Jerusalem. This would have been a prime location to sit begging. But those who were around were embarrassed by this lowly beggar crying out to Jesus. They rebuked him - they knew of Jesus, but this beggar was not the person they wanted to speak to Him. He was beneath them - and he was way beneath Jesus - he wasn’t worthy to be the one that recognized Jesus as the Messiah. And yet, he did! And because of his faith, Jesus said he was healed.

Then, as Jesus enters in to Jericho, He finds another man that wanted to see Him. Zaccheus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. Oh, well, that’s the way we remember him from the song we sang as kids! Zaccheus was, in many ways, the opposite of the blind man. The blind man was a beggar, but Zaccheus was the chief tax collector of the region, so he was on the opposite end of the wealth spectrum. He was rich! Tax collectors were notorious for collecting way more taxes than were required, and this was the chief collector! Rome would assign an amount of money for a tax collector to pay for the taxes of an area, and the tax collectors were able to collect whatever they wanted above that, and Rome didn’t really care how they came about getting the money. Whatever amount they were able to collect above and beyond the amount required by Rome was their pay.

Just like the blind beggar, this tax collector had also heard about Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd - so he climbed a tree. The whole scene ends with Zaccheus inviting Jesus to his house where, even though the people were sceptical, he truly repents - offering even to pay back 4 times what he had cheated.

They were very different, but they were also very similar. Their brokenness drove them to seek out the one that could change them. Nobody who was blind had ever been healed prior to Jesus - in the Old Testament, it was said that healing a blind man was clear evidence that the healer was the Messiah - he believed that Jesus was the Messiah or he never would have asked Jesus to heal him. Zaccheus could see, but he knew that his life was lacking - he was in need of a savior, just as much as the blind beggar. Neither of these men were well thought of - they were both ostracized from society and they were hopelessly enslaved to sin until they met Jesus.

Grace in the Text They were very different individuals, but they were very similar in their need for God’s grace.

The blind man, according to the gospel of Mark, is a man named Bartimaeus, or the son of Timaeus. The excitement of Jesus calling for him compelled him to jump to his feet and throw off his cloak. A blind man would not throw aside his cloak without having a huge amount of faith that he would be healed. Blind people tend to place things carefully in the same place all the time so they can find them - but this blind man throws off his cloak and approaches Jesus. The cloak would have been laid out around him as he sat begging, and people would have tossed coins onto the cloak as they passed by, so not only was he throwing aside the cloak, he was throwing aside his daily earnings - he was confident that Jesus would heal and restore him.

Zaccheus wants to see Jesus, but is found hiding out in a tree. When exciting things come to town, you do what you can to be in on the excitement! Growing up in Canton, Ohio - we had a huge parade every year to celebrate the Pro Football Hall of Fame class. As a teen, I was in the parade a number of times, both as a boy scout helping to carry a huge American flag, and later as a member of my high school band. As we made our way through the streets of downtown Canton, people not only lined the way, but they also were in upper windows and even on top of buildings so they could get a good glimpse. My guess is that Zaccheus is not the only person that resorted to climbing a tree to see Jesus. He had heard what Jesus had done in other places, and now Jesus is coming to Jericho - Zaccheus wanted a good perch to see the show!

Both of these men were in need of attention from Jesus - both of them were broken and hurting - and Jesus made time for both of these men. Their only hope for a remedy was found in the grace of Jesus, and they both found salvation in Jesus. It wasn’t just about getting ready for a future reward in heaven - salvation is more than that. Salvation, for these men meant sight for the blind man, which meant restoration and no need to continue begging - it meant respect and a new life for the tax collector who had cheated people. In salvation God does more than forgive us for sin - salvation restores a life - salvation restores relationships - salvation lifts us out of the misery that comes with sin - salvation removes the blinders so that we can truly see - salvation restores us to our community - salvation liberates us from estrangement and enslavement - salvation restores us and commissions us to reach out to our friends and family with the good news that there is a way to be restored to God and to our loved ones.

Grace in the World We are also in need of God’s grace. We cannot restore ourselves - there is no amount of good deeds that we can do to earn our salvation, but God is able to restore and revitalize a life yet today through grace. As Dr. Busic says: “We are not saved by what we do for God, we are saved by what God does for us. It is a total gift.” He goes on to say: “We have not understood the gospel until we understand that God’s acceptance of us isn’t based on what we have done or ever will do. It is strictly grounded on the nature and character of God to send Jesus into the world, to die for the sins of the world, and to be raised for our salvation.” I wish I could tell you that in the cases I told you about earlier that each of them were restored and their lives were turned around. In one case, that is not what happened, but in the other, although his life was not the same as it would have been, he gave God control, and he was able to remarry and find grace for a new life. He was restored into ministry and was able to effectively reach many people for Christ. What satan tried to destroy, Jesus rebuilt and restored. He has done that for many of you here today and for many of you watching online this morning. If you think that salvation is just about asking God to forgive you and gaining a ticket to eternity in heaven, I want you to know that there is so much more to salvation! He does not just forgive us so that we can someday go to heaven, he forgives, cleanses and heals us so that our lives can be restored.