Little Big Man Series

Luke 19: 1 – 10

Little Big Man

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.”

May our Lord God Please Bless the ones He has made small in stature. For many a man, who has been created as a tiny man, the insults and bullying throughout their lives play a significant role in their mental position in their interaction with others. Many cases someone who has been dealt this hand from God become fighters. In a way they go through life with a chip on their shoulders. They fight the system and people who have been their enemies who are the blessed people in life who have been made tall and handsome. Most of you might have run into such a person. In many cases they become your superior or manager at work. And boy, can they be mean. They take out their hurts on you even though you may never have been unkind to a small person. It’s not fair but neither has life been fair to them. This is part of the sinful world that we live in.

In today’s story we come across such a person. Just like I have just said, this little man became ruthless in his business dealings. Oh yeah, he became very rich and had a bunch of people working for him, but to all extents and purposes, he was hated. This is how he got to be so successful. The Roman Government like our great government loved to tax. Instead of having their own Internal Revenue Service, they contracted out the jobs. The Government would come up with an amount that they wanted collected. Now in the process a person who bid for the job could collect any additional amount he wanted to as long as the Roman Government got their correct amount.

This little man became the little big man in Israel. He had a bunch of contracts from the Roman Government and became very rich as a result of his shrewd business savvy. His base of operations was in Jericho.

Our Wonderful Holy Spirit has set an appointment for our Holy Lord Jesus and you know who this appointment is with. His name was Zacchaeus. Ironically his name is probably derived from the Hebrew word for ‘righteous’. However, he was seen by all as a traitor.

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.

The words, ‘And he was rich’ speak volumes. He had plied his evil trade successfully and had creamed off large amounts of money from the helpless people around. Many were the grudges that would be held against him, and great would be the hatred in which he was held.

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

Zacchaeus was not only short on stature, he was short on goodness. He was a public outcast. Thus when he wanted to see The Messiah, The Lord Jesus Christ, he discovered that it was not possible, because he could not see over the crowds who surrounded our Lord Jesus. And he would certainly not have sough to push his way through the crowds. Many a member of that crowd would be only too pleased to avenge himself for wrongs done to him by this man.

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

So he ran on ahead, and found a tree along our Lord Jesus’ route. From there he knew that he would be able to see God In The Flesh, Adoni Yeshua, and remain safe, and, with any luck, escape without anyone knowing that he was there.