The town is Jericho. It’s that city that Israel had destroyed, where Rahab lived. It may be the oldest city on earth. 23 layers of ancient civilizations have been uncovered at the ancient site.
Remember that Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan and the road going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. (Here’s a picture of that road today.) Jesus was on His way up to Jerusalem, passing through Jericho. Luke records for us how Jesus finds Himself surrounded by a crowd of people. They’re looking for something. In fact, everyone in this story is looking for something. I’m willing to bet that the same thing is true of everyone here this morning. So, we’re going to look at this familiar story and ask, in a grammatically incorrect fashion, placing the preposition at the end of the phrase, “What’s everyone looking for?”
What are they looking for?
I. The Crowd
That day, there was a crowd of people surrounding Jesus as He walked. What were they looking for? Was there just nothing better to do in Jericho? Well, they at least were looking for…
1. Jesus, sort of
There are always crowds around Jesus during His ministry. Several times, He has to struggle just to have time to eat or to teach the 12.
People of Jericho had heard something about Jesus – enough that they came out in a large crowd to see Him. Maybe it was to see a miracle, or to hear Him teach, or for a free lunch, like He had done up north by the Sea of Galilee.
On more than one occasion, Jesus said some things that thinned the crowds around Him. He wasn’t trying to get rid of people, but His words definitely had a way of separating the sincere people from the thrill seekers; words that dealt with the people who said, “Lord, I will follow You, but…” “…no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
“…unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
“…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
"…If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Maybe the more basic thing the crowds are looking for is…
2. Justification
When you go to the doctor, are you looking for someone to really tell you what’s wrong and needs to be fixed, or are you looking for someone who will ignore the symptoms and tell you there’s no problem? Many of the people who followed Jesus around were seeking justification, like the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18 – “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Just before this, Jesus told a story about people who are seeking to be justified. The point of it was to show the difference between people seeking His real help and seeking just to feel OK about themselves without His help.
Luke 18:10-14
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Justification. We need this in our lives, and deep down we know it. The question is, how are we going to find it? What are we going to do to be able to live with ourselves? How can you face that person in the mirror tomorrow morning, especially when the mirror is filled with reminders that you’re not perfect – not even close – where it counts?
I suppose in the crowd there was a mix of what people were seeking that day. One thing the crowd wasn’t seeking was how to help short, despicable, outcast tax guys.
Speaking of short, despicable, outcast tax guys, let’s consider what Zacchaeus was seeking…
II. Zacchaeus
1. Jesus
I’m sure Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. So are you. When a rich man is willing to run ahead and climb a tree just to get a look at Jesus, you can be pretty sure that he really did want to see Jesus.
Look at this story and think about the obstacles that Zacchaeus had to overcome to be able just to see Jesus. Yeah, he had to climb a tree and all that. Really, there’s much more…
1. He was a “sinner”
Not just any sinner, a tax collector. Not just any tax collector, a chief tax collector. Your translation may say he was a “Publican.” The highest bidder bought the right to become a tax collector, and then he collected tolls on imports and exports and on sales that were made in his area. Since Jericho was a trade center and an important passageway, Zacchaeus probably did a big business. It seems like everyone hated tax collectors. Let’s face it, everyone hates taxes. It’s frustrating just to go through the whole process. On top of this, the Jews hated the Romans who had power over them. In fact, many of them considered paying the tax a disloyalty to God. Now if someone, like Zacchaeus, was a Jew and got the job of being a tax collector, that also made him a renegade; a turncoat. The laws were written up in a way that collectors basically got away with as much money as they could. We call that extortion. When we read about tax collectors in the NT, they’re grouped with pagans, sinners, prostitutes, drunkards, and gluttons.
That’s Zacchaeus. His community would have hated him, and he was definitely not the kind of person you’d expect hanging around the great theologians and teachers of his day. On top of that, Zacchaeus knew that how he was living wasn’t the kind of life that God approved.
2. He was rich
It’s in the chapter just before that Jesus says,
Luke 18:24-25
"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
The Bible warns about the danger of wealth. Some of you are going, “Yeah, I know. Boy am I glad I’m safe!” Remember, though, that if you had running water this morning, you’re living better than over half the world just because of that. Stuff makes it hard to be close to God. The bigger your list of “igots,” the smaller is your list of reasons you need God. You know, “igots” – I got a car. I got a cell phone. I got a good pension plan. I got a credit card. Who needs God? I got.
Zacchaeus was rich. He most likely gained all that wealth by his work as a chief tax collector. It stood between him and his dependence on God, and he realized it. Now, after spending some time with Jesus, he determined he needed to do 2 things: give away half of what he had, and make restitution to the people he had cheated, X4. No doubt, Zacchaeus was going to experience a sudden change in lifestyle. But he recognized, after spending time with Jesus, that that was what he needed to do.
How much of your stuff stands between you and your dependence on God? I love…
Proverbs 30:7-9
"Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ’Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
Zacchaeus was wealthy, and he had to get past the barrier to be able to be close to Jesus. You may not need to give away half of your possessions to the poor this morning – or maybe you do – but we all need to consider if the stuff we have is in-between ourselves and God.
3. The crowd - “He was not able to see because of the crowd”
Remember, many of these people were Zacchaeus’ “customers.” Here in the mob was one place where Zacchaeus’ clout and wealth didn’t give him an advantage; here was a place where Zacchaeus could finally be put in his place: shut out, and kept away from Jesus. So, imagine the barrage of elbows and shoves he faced the moment he tried to crowd through.
Let me just throw in a word for our youth today. Unless you’re a parent with kids right now, you may not realize this very well. So, if you’re not, listen especially carefully please. The crowd is working to shut out our kids and keep them away from Jesus. I don’t mean that they’re shunning our kids. I mean that what’s going on in the way of media and worldviews and lifestyles all around our kids is a powerful effort to keep them from seeing Jesus. It has changed since you were young. Our kids face a crowd daily that really doesn’t care about them at all. What it cares about is their loyalty, because that taps into their money, and there’s no room for a life lived for Jesus in that mix. Some of them are not able to see because of the crowd.
What are you doing for them? Some of you whose child-raising years are over need to be reminded that there’s a next generation of believers out there getting shoved around in the world, and they need people of wisdom and maturity to care about them and help them in the crowd. Do you hear me? Rather than just wonder what on earth is wrong with those kids, you need to get more into their lives and see just what’s wrong with the world where they’re growing up. Think back to the older people who invested themselves into you when you were young, and do your part now to return that in the life of a young person.
4. His height
Zacchaeus was short. It was nothing he did. He was just given short genes.
Which tells me: some of the obstacles that have to be overcome to get to Jesus are no fault of your own. You can probably cite some right now. It doesn’t mean God has abandoned you. It simply means that it will take some effort on your part to get past those to Jesus. Zacchaeus could have just held back and said, “I can’t help it that I’m short! It’s not my fault! Just for that, I give up on seeing Jesus!” Instead, he went ahead and found a tree – one that he didn’t plant or grow; a tree that for years had already been doing the work of growing and lifting away from the ground – and he made the effort to climb it. Sycamore fig trees are well-suited for climbing, so even the climb was probably not too bad. But Zacchaeus used the work that tree had already been doing for years, combined with his own effort, to see Jesus. It was an obstacle he could overcome, and it worked.
What’s your obstacle this morning? What stands between you and Jesus? Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus, and when he was serious about it, he didn’t let those things stop him from doing what he needed to do.
2. Change
Nothing in the text here tells us what Zacchaeus knew about Jesus before looking for Him. Nor do we have any reason to believe that he was going to get to do anything more than just see Him. Still, Zacchaeus is there looking. He may not even realize what he needs, but he still realizes he’d like something about his life to change.
I think there are a lot more people like Zacchaeus around us than we realize. They don’t know exactly what needs to happen in their lives, but they have some baggage they need to deal with and they know that Jesus just may be a way they can change. So they’re looking – looking all over the place, trying to find the thing in life that will make the difference. I wonder how often God puts us around people who are right there – who are just looking for someone to show up with a word about Jesus that will be the help they needed.
Zacchaeus reminds us that there are people who are searching – searching for change, and many of them searching for Jesus because they know they need Him.
III. Jesus
Last I what Jesus was seeking in this story. At end of it, v10, He says that’s what He was doing – that that’s why He came: to seek and to save the lost. Jesus is seeking lost people.
Lost is such a simple word. It’s even funny, isn’t it? “Oh, we were on our way here, but my husband got lost and wouldn’t stop to ask for directions.” There are a lot of funny stories about getting lost. Lost takes on a little more serious tone when it’s about a 12 year old Boy Scout in the mountains of NC.
The word used for “lost” here needs a closer look. It’s a word that means dead, ruined, destroyed; the word Peter uses in II Pt 3 to describe what the flood did to the world. Jesus is seeking people who are a lost cause, not just lost in Wal Mart; people like Zacchaeus. In fact, we don’t get to hear what the conversation over lunch sounded like that day. All we have here is Jesus traveling through Jericho, running across Zacchaeus, and going to his house. From there, we see a changed man.
Jesus sought out Zacchaeus even though He Himself was busy. Jericho was a “just passing through” town on the way to Jerusalem. They were on a busy schedule. Does this really fit in our plans, Jesus? Well, yes, when the plans are to seek and save the lost, it does.
Imagine Jesus, never fulfilling His life’s purpose. Imagine Jesus, after retirement, near the end of His life at the carpenter’s shop. No cross. No ministry. No disciples. No salvation for the world. Imagine Jesus just taking the offers the devil made Him and never carrying out His ministry. Can you see it? “Jesus, that’s a great chair You made there!” “Yep, that’s a nice chair, isn’t it? I made a lot of nice chairs in My lifetime.” It’s hard to picture, isn’t it? - Because Jesus was focused on His purpose on this earth.
Jesus had a purpose, a mission. He came to seek and save the lost. Failure was not an option in His thinking. It simply had to happen. If that meant a lot of travel on foot, so be it. If it meant patiently trying to teach disciples, OK. If it meant torture and death on a cross, let’s go! And if it meant stopping off to change the life of a person who was seeking help along the way in Jericho, OK.
People around Jesus, the crowd, didn’t have room for Zacchaeus to get through to see Jesus, and they certainly didn’t have room for Jesus to visit the home of the chief tax collector.
v7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a ’sinner.’”
Don’t forget: This business of seeking and saving the lost can get messy. In fact, because Jesus associated with them, people said, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ‘sinners.’” (Lk 7:34) But Jesus never apologized for hanging around with the riffraff. They were lost and needed to be saved. Jesus didn’t apologize for fulfilling His life’s mission.
Sometimes I think we get too caught up in the static we might receive or the misunderstandings that might happen when it comes to trying to help someone meet Jesus. We get worried about being rejected. We panic about being branded extreme. We’re afraid of seeking the lost.
There’s a movie called “The Guardian” about training in the Coast Guard Academy. There’s one guy in the story who’s trying again after failing the program 2X before. There was a phase of the training that stopped him every time – practicing saving a drowning victim who’s panicked. The instructor comes up behind the trainee in the water and begins to grab him and take him under, because that’s what a drowning person often does. Every time this was happening, the trainee would panic. He’s in danger of flunking out again because of the way he fails to handle helping a panicked drowning person. Until, finally, he gets some encouragement, and some boldness, that helps him to respond differently.
The Guardian – scene where the guy nails the chief in order to “save him.”
Now, I don’t think we should nail lost people in the nose to calm them down so we can help them! But I do think it’s high time we quit failing because we’re timid, because we’re afraid to go after lost people, because they’re scary or complicated. We need to be bold, even rough at times, to save the lost, rather than allowing drowning people to take us under with them.
Jesus didn’t let the barriers stop Him. He went to Zacchaeus’ house, and at some point, you can almost see Zacchaeus dinging his glass with his spoon: “Attention, attention, everyone! I have an announcement! Jesus, I’m giving half of all my possessions to the poor. And for all of the people I’ve cheated through the years, I’m paying them back 4X what I stole!” Salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house. The Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.
Conclusion:
OK, you’re here. Why? What are you seeking? Be honest here. Remember, it’s possible to hang around with the Jesus crowd for the wrong reasons.
Some of you this morning simply need to be reminded from Jesus what really matters to Him. Some years back the idea of being “seeker sensitive” entered the whole church growth routine. What we failed to recognize in that is that church members should be the seekers. We should be both seeking and saving the lost. That’s what matters to Jesus.
Some of you here this morning are like Zacchaeus. You’re missing something. Maybe you think Jesus can help you. No doubt, there are some obstacles to overcome in order to see Him. To you I want to say, be persistent! There’s a great reward – a changed heart – in the end.
