Zacchaeus Meets Jesus

Luke 19:1-10 New King James Version

Life Lessons

1. When it comes to God, we all fall short (Luke 19:1-3).

a. Luke 19:1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

i. Jericho An ancient city in the Jordan Valley, about 10 miles northeast of Jerusalem[1]

b. Luke 19:2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.

i. Tax collectors in the Roman Empire had to collect a certain amount for the maintenance of the state. However, they were also permitted to collect more and then keep the proceeds. Tax collectors were hated for their tendency to abuse their power for their own gain.

c. Luke 19:3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.

i. Zacchaeus had power, position, and wealth - "a chief tax collector, and he was rich" (v.2).

ii. There was still a desire to in him to see Jesus.

iii. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

2. Religion is our efforts to reach God (Luke 19:4).

a. Luke 19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.

i. Religion tries to make up for our shortfall.

ii. Religion = climbing trees; climbing mountains

1. It makes us feel closer to God and able to look down on others

3. Christianity is about a relationship, not a religion (Luke 19:5-6).

a. Luke 19:5 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.”

§ Must - to be obligatory v. — to be required by obligation, compulsion, or convention.

b. Luke 19:6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.

4. Having a relationship with Jesus produces change in our lives (Luke 19:7-9).

a. Luke 19:7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

b. Luke 19:8 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.”

i. The compensation is more than adequate and fair, for the law only obligates him to add an extra twenty percent to the amount of money stolen from others (Lev 6:1–5).[2]

c. Luke 19:9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;

i. We can come to Jesus just as we are, but we cannot stay that way.

ii. Note the parallel statements—

1. “I must stay at your house today” (v 5)

2. “Today salvation has come to this house” (v 9)[3]

a. Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Luke 19:3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.

Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

[1] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Lk 19:1). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. [2] Chen, D. G. (2017). Luke: A New Covenant Commentary. (M. F. Bird & C. Keener, Eds.) (p. 252). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. [3] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke(p. 673). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.