He Knows My Name

We were all given names when we were born.

And with your name you also inherited a surname, which means that you are part of a specific family.

Some people are not happy with the names they were given and they will sometimes use abbreviated forms of their names.

None the less everyone likes to be known by their name.

Everyone likes to know that someone knows their name and knows them.

It shows intimacy.

It shows that the person has put in some effort to actually know you.

These days, unfortunately, we are seldom known by our names, but rather by a number.

You need to know your ID Number by heart.

When you complete forms you have to enter your Id Number.

When you complete your Tax Return you have a number that was allocated to you.

When I was in the Police we had a force number.

We became numbers to people.

That is who you are to most people – Just another number.

It is impersonal and it reflects an unwillingness to know you as a person.

And even if they know your name, are they willing to spent time with you to get to know you better?

No.

Most of the time not.

And even if they know your name, it still does not mean that there is a relationship there.

For example, if I were to apply for a loan at a bank they would know me as Mr. Swart.

Not Charl, but Mr. Swart

Very formal.

There is no personal relationship.

There is no effort in knowing me better.

To find out who I am and what type of person I am.

My loan application is merited not by who I am as a person, but by numbers.

By what I earn and how much my deductions are.

And I understand that it is impractical to suggest that this would be the way things should be, because it cannot be that way for us humans.

We cannot have a personal relationship with everyone.

It is just impossible.

And therefore numbers were allocated to help us manage the people we come into contact with.

But with Jesus it is a different story.

For Jesus we are not just another number or name.

Jesus knows our name and He knows us.

He knows our innermost being.

This morning we will be looking at another person in the Bible who was rejected by people and who was eventually called by Jesus by name.

And that made the world of difference.

We will be looking at what it means When HE KNOWS MY NAME

I want you to open up your Bibles at…

Luke 19:1-10 GW

Jesus was passing through Jericho.

A man named Zacchaeus was there. He was the director of tax collectors, and he was rich.

He tried to see who Jesus was. But Zacchaeus was a small man, and he couldn't see Jesus because of the crowd.

So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a fig tree (sycamore tree, KJV) to see Jesus, who was coming that way.

When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down! I must stay at your house today."

Zacchaeus came down and was glad to welcome Jesus into his home.

But the people who saw this began to express disapproval. They said, "He went to be the guest of a sinner."

Later, at dinner, Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Lord, I'll give half of my property to the poor. I'll pay four times as much as I owe to those I have cheated in any way."

Then Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "You and your family have been saved today. You've shown that you, too, are one of Abraham's descendants.

Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who are lost."

LET’S LOOK AT WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT ZACCHAEUS

WHO WAS ZACCHAEUS?

His name was Zacchaeus – Jewish Name (it means he was a Jew)

It means Pure One

He was the Director of the tax collectors

Chief among the publicans (KJV)

Principal tax gatherer

The Greek term indicates to us that it seems that Zacchaeus was a tax commissioner over the district of Jericho.

He would have purchased this position from the Roman authorities.

The local Jews hated and disliked those who worked for Rome because they often, if not always, overtaxed them.

This is how they made their money.

You see a Tax collector for Rome was usually a Jew.

They did not receive a salary, but received either a percentage of the tax they collected or Rome would give them an amount to collect and anything more was theirs.

So therefore they overtaxed the people to ensure they were paid handsomely.

They also had the Roman government as their backup.