GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER! LUKE 19: 1-10

19:1 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.”

BIG IDEA: JESUS FEASTS WITH THE LOST SO THAT THEY MAY BE FOUND!

THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD HAS A DATE WITH DEATH IN JERUSALEM. AND YET, AS HE JOURNEYS THROUGH JERICHO, HE ENCOUNTERS INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE IN NEED OF SAVING. INDIVIDUALS WHO NEED THEIR DESTINY TO BE REDEEMED AND REDIRECTED...

OF COURSE, WE MET BLIND BARTIMAEUS A FEW WEEKS AGO! REMEMBER OUR POIGNANT QUESTION: HOW ARE THE BARTIMAEUS’ EVER GOING TO HEAR ABOUT JESUS - THAT HE IS PASSING BY - IF WE DO NOT SPEAK UP?

BLIND BARTIMAEUS HEARS THAT JESUS IS PASSING BY, BECAUSE HE COULDN’T SEE THAT JESUS IS PASSING BY - AND HE RESPONDS WITH A CRY FOR MERCY...

(I’M JUST WONDERING IF THERE’S ANYTHING YOU STAND IN NEED OF ENOUGH FOR YOU TO CRY OUT FOR MERCY? CAN YOU SEE BEYOND YOURSELF TO “ASK THE SAVIOR TO HELP YOU - COMFORT, STRENGTHEN AND KEEP YOU; HE IS WILLING TO AID YOU, HE WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH…)”

SO, IN LUKE’S ACCOUNT, JESUS PICKS UP BARTIMAEUS, AND ADDS HIM TO HIS CREW OF FOLLOWERS, DURING HIS JERICHO JOURNEY...

LUKE 18: 43 Instantly he could see, and he began to follow him, glorifying God.

19:1 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.”

THE PROFOUNDNESS OF ZACCHAEUS’ ENCOUNTER IN COMPARISON TO BARTIMAEUS’ ENCOUNTER BLOWS MY MIND...

BOTH WERE:

SERIOUS SEEKERS!

PEOPLE BECOME SEEKERS WHEN SOMEONE INFORMS THEM OF WHO JESUS IS, AND OF WHAT HE’S ABLE TO DO!

ZACCHAEUS CLIMBED BECAUSE HE WAS NOT GONNA MISS!

SEEKERS CLIMB!

THEY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE SAVIOR - THEY WANT TO MEET HIM - THEY WANT TO HAVE A MEANINGFUL ENCOUNTER!

SO THEY CLIMB - THEY CRY OUT - AND THEY CRY OUT ALL THE MORE - JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!

ZACCHAEUS WAS A SERIOUS SEEKER!

DESPITE BEING DESPISED BECAUSE OF HIS PROFESSION (UNSCRUPULOUS TAX COLLECTOR). AND DESPITE BEING DESPISED BECAUSE OF HIS POSSESSIONS (RICH), HE WAS STILL A SERIOUS SEEKER!

ALSO, DESPITE HIS PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS: HE WAS A SHORT MAN.

BARTIMAEUS WAS BLIND.

ZACCHAEUS WAS SHORT.

AND YET BOTH SOUGHT THE LORD SO DESPERATELY THAT THEY WOULDN’T ALLOW THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF A CROWD, AND THE LIMITATIONS OF THEIR BODY KEEP THEM FROM JESUS!

AWWWW, BUT IN BOTH ACCOUNTS, THERE IS THE CROWD!!!

3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man.

BELOVED, WE CAN BE THE CROWD!

UNDERSTAND THIS: IF WE AREN’T HELPING PEOPLE TO SEE AND MEET JESUS, THEN WE’RE SIMPLY IN THE WAY!!!

WE GET IN THE WAY WHEN WE WHO KNOW JESUS WON’T LET THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW JESUS SEE JESUS!

WE GET IN THE WAY WHEN WE FAIL TO LIVE LIKE WE KNOW JESUS...

WE GET IN THE WAY WHEN WE MISS OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE OR EVEN INVITE FOLKS TO MEET JESUS...

CROWDS WANT TO KEEP JESUS TO THEMSELVES...

A man once testified in one of D.L. Moody's meetings that he had lived "on the Mount of Transfiguration" for five years. "How many souls did you lead to Christ last year?" Moody bluntly asked him. "Well," the man hesitated, "I don't know." "Have you saved any?" Moody persisted. "I don't know that I have," the man admitted. "Well," said Moody, "we don't want that kind of mountaintop experience. When a man gets up so high that he cannot reach down and save poor sinners, there is something wrong."

AWWWW GOD, DON’T BE A CROWD. BE A SYCAMORE! - 4 So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way.

CROWDS HINDER...

SYCAMORES HELP...

CROWDS PUSH SEEKERS DOWN.

SYCAMORES PICK SEEKERS UP.

CROWDS LIMIT VISION AND ENGAGEMENT.

SYCAMORES LIFT FOLKS UP SO THEY CAN CATCH A GLIMPSE OF GLORY!

WHEN WE TELL FOLKS JESUS IS PASSING BY, WE’RE BEING SYCAMORES...

WHEN WE GIVE FOLKS A CARD TO INVITE THEM TO EXPERIENCE GREATER, WE’RE BEING SYCAMORES...

BELOVED, WE’VE GOT TO ALLOW FOLKS TO CLIMB UPON US, SO THEY CAN CATCH A GLIMPSE OF JESUS!!

THIS SERIOUS SEEKER IS

SEEN BY THE SAVIOR!

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.”

NOW LET’S BE CLEAR, ZACCHAEUS HAD NEVER MADE JESUS’ ACQUAINTANCE, BECAUSE VS. 3 SAYS HE WAS TRYING TO SEE WHO JESUS WAS...

AND YET, WHEN JESUS SEES ZACCHAEUS, HE CALLS HIM BY NAME!

BELOVED, IF WE GET FOLKS TO JESUS, HE CAN HANDLE ALL THE REST!

IF WE ALLOW THEM TO CLIMB UPON US TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF HIS GLORY, HE’LL DO THE SAVING!

JESUS TO ZACCHAEUS: GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER!

SO OFTEN, WE TEND TO LIMIT OUR MINISTRY TO THOSE WHO ARE DOWN AND OUT - THOSE WHO ARE IMPOVERISHED - OPPRESSED - IN NEED OF FINANCIAL AID...

THIS PASSAGE AFFIRMS THAT WE ALSO NEED TO MINISTER TO THOSE WHO ARE UP AND OUT. UH HA, RICH FOLK NEED JESUS, TOO! (EVEN JESUS SAID IT WOULD BE HARDER FOR THEM)!!!

JESUS SEES ZACCHAEUS, AND THEN SAYS TO ZACCHAEUS: HURRY AND COME DOWN BECAUSE TODAY IT IS NECESSARY FOR ME TO STAY AT YOUR HOUSE....SO HE QUICKLY CAME DOWN AND WELCOMED HIM JOYFULLY.

WE CAN SURMISE FROM THIS SCENE THAT FELLOWSHIP AND FORGIVENESS ARE KEY COMPONENTS THAT ARE AT PLAY.

REMEMBER, ZACCHAEUS WAS DESPISED BECAUSE OF HIS PROFESSION AND POSSESSIONS, AND YET JESUS SAYS TO HIM: GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER.

AND JUST LIKE SIDNEY POTIER IN THE MOVIE: FOLKS GET MAD WHEN THE BROTHER SHOWS UP FOR DINNER...

7: ALL WHO SAW IT BEGAN TO COMPLAIN, “HE’S GONE STAY WITH A SINFUL MAN.”

BELOVED, CROWD MENTALITY IS MOST OFTEN IN OPPOSITION TO THE LORD’S WILL.

CROWDS ONLY CARE ABOUT APPEARANCES OR TRADITIONS...

HMM HUH, THAT JUST DON’T LOOK RIGHT.

OR, WHAT ABOUT US? COME TO OUR HOUSE...

IN OTHER WORDS, CROWDS RARELY KNOW WHEN TO CELEBRATE.

THEY’RE COMPLAINING BECAUSE THE SAVIOR SEES A SINNER, AND IS ABOUT TO STAY WITH HIM AT HIS HOUSE.

CHURCH, WHEN WE FAIL TO SEE THE NEED OF LOST FOLK, WE WILL COMPLAIN THAT WE’RE DOING TOO MUCH TO REACH THE LOST...

WE’LL COMPLAIN THAT THAT’S OUR TITHES…USE THOSE RESOURCES FOR US AND NOT FOR THEM...

WE’LL COMPLAIN THAT SINNERS JUST NEED TO COME, WE DON’T NEED TO GO TO THEM (WHERE THEY ARE)!

CAN YOU IMAGINE THE TENSION IN THIS MOMENT?

8: BUT ZACCHAEUS STOOD THERE...

WITH HIS LITTLE OLD SELF. HE STOOD THERE.

COMPLAINTS LOOMING. BAD WORDS BEING SPOKEN…HE STOOD THERE.

YOU SEE, WHEN YOU’RE DESPERATE FOR DELIVERANCE, YOU’LL GLADLY ENDURE THE RIDICULE!

FOLKS LOOKING AT YA, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY YOU’RE CRYING.

FOLKS WHISPERING, “WONDER WHAT HE DID THIS TIME...”

CHILD OF GOD, JUST STAND THERE WITH YOUR SAVIOR AND ENJOY YOUR MOMENT WITH HIM...

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.”

ZACCHAEUS RESPONDS TO THE CALL OF THE LORD, AND PLEDGES MORE THAN JESUS REQUIRES FROM THE RICH YOUNG RULER IN LUKE 18.

CHURCH, THIS IS RADICAL REPENTANCE!

ZACCHAEUS DIDN’T CLIMB TO PLAY.

HE WAS READY TO EXPERIENCE LIFE ETERNAL...

HE WAS READY TO FORSAKE ALL AND FOLLOW HIM...

THE ZACCHAEUS’ IN OUR PATH, IN OUR COMMUNITY, ON OUR JOBS - ARE READY! WILL YOU LEAD THEM TO CHRIST?

WE HAVE A SERIOUS SEEKER WHO IS SEEN BY THE SAVIOR, AND WHO IS FINALLY:

SAVED FROM HIS SINS

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.”

ZACC IS A TAX-COLLECTING JEW. HIS PROFESSION IS OBJECTIONABLE, BUT HIS LINEAGE IS PRE-ORDAINED.

JESUS CAME PRIMARILY TO SAVE THE JEWS (FIRST). JOHN SAYS: HE CAME TO HIS OWN, BUT THEY DID NOT RECEIVE HIM.

ZACC RECEIVES THE PROMISE. HE EXPERIENCES THE FULLNESS OF HIS HERITAGE AND FAITH...

DO YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN FOLKS HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS?

THEIR ENTIRE HOMES ARE IMPACTED.

WHEN HOMES ARE IMPACTED, COMMUNITIES ARE IMPACTED.

WHEN COMMUNITIES ARE IMPACTED, CITIES ARE IMPACTED.

WHEN CITIES ARE IMPACTED, STATES ARE IMPACTED.

WHEN STATES ARE IMPACTED, NATIONS ARE IMPACTED.

WHEN NATIONS ARE IMPACTED, THE WORLD WILL BE IMPACTED...

AND IT BEGINS WITH THE BODY OF CHRIST BECOMING SYCAMORES AND NOT CROWDS...

ZACC - A SINNER - SAVED.

EVERYONE IN HIS HOUSE - SAVED.

THEN JESUS CONCLUDES THIS NARRATIVE BY RESTATING HIS PURPOSE: 10 FOR THE SON OF MAN HAS COME TO SEEK AND TO SVE THE LOST.

IF SEEKING TO SAVE IS JESUS’ MISSION, SHOULDN’T IT BE OURS?

Y’ALL, WE’RE BUSY DOING A LOT OF STUFF: SOCIALIZING, LIVING OUR BEST LIVES, GAINING WEALTH, ADVANCING OUR POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES… A LOT OF STUFF.

WHEN WILL WE PRIORITIZE OUR FAITH? WHEN WILL WE SAY, “IT’S TIME FOR ME TO JOIN JESUS IN SEEKING TO SAVE THE LOST?”

Tony Evans Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More Than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Evangelism, Need For)

EVANGELISM, NEED FOR

THE REASON why we don’t do more evangelism is that we’ve lost our concern for the lost. Most people are not concerned that they are lost. They’re like the little boy at Disneyland who was enjoying Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. He was enjoying the Ferris wheel and the roller coasters. He was having a marvelous time and in the midst of the crowd got separated from his parents. When he got separated from his parents, he didn’t know that he was lost because he was having so much fun on the rides.

Satan has so constructed this world order to give you enough distractions so that you don’t know you’ve gotten lost in your spiritual Disneyland. We’ve got a world full of people who don’t know that the fun in this world and all this world is offering them—the movies, the parties, the clubs, the social relationships, the money, and the job—is all a satanic camouflage to keep them from realizing that they have been separated from God. Mankind spends so much time having fun that they don’t know that they are lost.

However, the parents of this particular child were looking for him. They knew he was lost at Disneyland. They went to an officer and told security that they couldn’t find their child. The security man led the parents to the lost child, who didn’t even know he was lost.

God wants to find lost people. We are the security guards to bring lost people into contact with the God who wants to regain fellowship with them. That’s our task in evangelism. We are the ones God has chosen to deliver this message.