“The Story of Zach”
Beyond Flannelgraph: Treasured Stories, Timeless Truths – Week 2
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Text: Luke 19:1-10
C.S. Lewis says of true friendship, “True friendship is rare on earth. It means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit.”
I’m thankful for the friends that God has given me in my life. My friends have encouraged me, they have strengthened me, they have prayed for me, they have stood by me and they’ve even been willing to confront me when I’ve been an idiot! I’m thankful for my friends…but I’m especially thankful for a friend of mine who sticks closer to me than a brother. I’m especially thankful for a friend of mine who has promised never to leave me or forsake me. I’m thankful for the friendship I have in Christ.
Today we’re not only celebrating friends…but we’re also continuing a series we started last week called “Beyond Flannelgraph”. Over the next few weeks we’re going to re-examine treasured stories to learn timeless truths.
Today’s story shows us the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem for Passover. Jesus knows that this will be His last Passover with His disciples. He knows that He’s heading for his arrest, trial and crucifixion. But on His way to Jerusalem He stops at a center of commerce and trade…It’s a thriving town called Jericho and it’s where our story takes place and a friendship is formed.
Many times we look at the story of Zach as being just for kids. However, I believe there are some interesting observations can be made from the text. As I was reading and preparing for this message I saw some things that I would like to share with you in the time we have. First I saw…
1. A Man Who Was Not Satisfied – vs. 2-4
We define satisfaction as the “fulfillment of ones wishes, expectations or needs.” It seems that everyone is looking for satisfaction…however this idea of being satisfied seems to be illusive.
The Rolling Stones recorded and made famous the song that said “I can’t get no satisfaction” and I believe that to be the state of a majority of people around us today.
Our culture tells us that in order to be satisfied we’ve got to purchase a bigger house, or lease a nicer car. They tell us that we’ve got to wear the most expensive brands and we’ve got to get the most prestigious degrees. They tell us that we’ve got to climb the corporate ladder and we’ve got to have the right portfolio. Many people buy into this philosophy…only to find that when they’ve achieved all their hopes and dreams, when they’ve got a firm grasp on that illusive brass ring…they still aren’t satisfied.
Although they’ve achieved great things, they feel empty and they don’t know why.
I have to believe Zacchaeus was caught up in this vicious cycle…believe me, this philosophy is not new…it’s been around since the Garden of Eden. It was in the garden that Satan convinced Eve that she was being cheated. He told her there was something more to go after and if she just listened to him and did what he said, she would finally be satisfied.
The Bible says there is nothing new under the sun…people have always looked for satisfaction and they’ve looked in all the wrong places.
In this story we see a man who was not satisfied even though…
Zacchaeus was a powerful man – “the chief among the publicans”
There’s a story about a local fitness center, which was offering $1,000 to anyone who could demonstrate that they were stronger than the owner of the place. Here’s how it worked. This muscle man would squeeze a lemon until all the juice ran into a glass, and then hand the lemon to the next challenger. Anyone who could squeeze just one more drop of juice out would win the money.
Many people tried over time other weightlifters; construction workers, even professional wrestlers, but nobody could do it.
One day a short and skinny guy came in and signed up for the contest. After the laughter died down, the owner grabbed a lemon and squeezed away. Then he handed the wrinkled remains to the little man.
The crowd’s laughter turned to silence as the man clenched his fist around the lemon and six drops fell into the glass. As the crowd cheered, the manager paid out the winning prize and asked the short guy what he did for a living. “Are you a lumberjack, a weightlifter, or what?”
The man replied, “I work for the IRS.”
Zacchaeus worked for the Roman IRS…he was a publican and was employed by the Roman government to collect taxes from other Jews. This occupation was not well respected…as a matter of fact, the Jews considered these men to be traitors. The Jewish people did not like Roman control…they did not like the Roman government and they did not like anyone who would carry out the orders of the Emperor.
Zacchaeus would have been considered a traitor…however the publicans did have a tremendous amount of power and Zacchaeus was the chief among the publicans. He was most likely in charge of the local taxation office and would have supervised all the other publicans in that district.
Zacchaeus was no doubt a powerful man…maybe this had been his lifelong ambition. Perhaps this position was the fulfillment of a goal he set for himself at a young age. Yet when he attained it…he was not satisfied.
Not only was he a powerful man but…
Zacchaeus was a wealthy man – “and he was rich”
The publicans were very rich…but their money was not earned honestly. You see when these publicans went out to collect the taxes from the people they would add a certain amount on top of what the Roman government required. Whatever they added belonged to them. Now there was no formula to figure the additional amount…they simply added what they wanted and in the process they often amassed great wealth for themselves.
Because Zacchaeus was the chief among the publicans he probably required a percentage of what every other publican collected…so his wealth was probably beyond anything we could possibly conceive. There’s no doubt that Zacchaeus enjoyed all the comforts and luxury money could buy.
He had need of nothing…he was set for life, yet he was not satisfied.
By now you may be wondering how I know that Zacchaeus was not satisfied…I know this because the text reveals that...
Zacchaeus was a desperate man – “he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree”
A couple of things happen in verses 3 & 4 that pull back the curtain and allow us to see what is happening in this man’s heart.
First of all we see that he had a desire to know Jesus. You see, by now I’m sure Zacchaeus has heard about Jesus. He’s heard about His miracles, he’s heard about His teaching, he’s heard about His claims. We don’t know how he heard about Jesus…but we do see that he has a desire to know Jesus.
The text tells us that “he sought to see Jesus who He was” he was curious to see Jesus first hand. God by His grace uses many things to draw people to his Son…in this case he used curiosity (I can relate).
Secondly I want you to see that he was willing to humiliate himself just to get to see Jesus. The Bible tells us that Zacchaeus found out the direction that Jesus was headed and he ran to get ahead of him and when he realized that he couldn’t see over the crowd (I picture Zacchaeus like Danny Devito), he climbed a tree in order to get a good view of the Messiah.
Now that doesn’t sound like a big deal to us. I’m sure there are those in this crowd who have wanted to meet someone famous so you did what you could to put yourself in a position to get to see or meet that person. We don’t look at this as an act of desperation or something that is humiliating.
However, in the culture of Zacchaeus day, rich, powerful people did not run and they certainly did not do anything as humiliating as climbing a tree. Yet this is exactly what Zacchaeus did. He didn’t care about his reputation, he didn’t care about what others would say…he only knew he had to see Jesus and he didn’t know if he’d ever get the another chance. So, out of desperation he humbled himself and literally went out on a limb in an effort to get to know Jesus.
Why would he behave this way? Because he knew there was missing something in his life. He had power and he had wealth but he was not satisfied. His biggest problem that afternoon wasn’t that he was too short physically…His biggest problem was that he fell far short spiritually. You see Zacchaeus was a sinner, not because he cheated people, not because he lied…but because he was born. The Bible tells us that Zacchaeus’ problem is the same problem shared by everyone in this room today…“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” “There is none righteous, no not one.” If you were to look around you today you would see a whole bunch of people who were once just like Zach.
Maybe you can relate to Zacchaeus today. Perhaps you’ve achieved great things in your life…you are the embodiment of the “American Dream”. But with all your success there are times you feel like something is missing…something is not right. Maybe you’ve tried to fill the void with more stuff or another relationship or maybe you’ve even tried religion…but no matter what you try to add to your life you still know something is missing.
Friend, there is no amount of power, there is amount of wealth, there is no church, there is no amount of fame or achievement that can fill that void in your life. There is nothing you can earn or add to your life to make things right.
Zacchaeus was a man who had everything but was not satisfied, then I saw…
2. A Savior Who Was Not Surprised – vs. 5-7
Many of you know we now have a cat. The fact that we have a cat proves the old adage “never say never.” But I’ve got to say that this cat is pretty cool. One of the things she loves to do is to surprise or scare Meagan. She’ll hide under the bed or behind a piece of furniture and when Meagan is not expecting it she’ll jump out at her…it really is funny!
I remember when my Sunday school teachers would tell this story they made it sound like Zacchaeus was behaving like our cat. They would tell the story like he was hiding in a tree and Jesus just happened to look up and was surprised to see possibly the first “peeping Tom” in history. While that version may be a bit more entertaining…that’s not really the way it happened.
You see, Jesus was not at all surprised when He saw Zacchaeus in the tree…how do I know this? Because Jesus was looking for Zacchaeus!
It was no coincidence that Jesus was passing through Jericho that day. It was no coincidence that Zacchaeus was compelled to see Jesus. It was no coincidence that Jesus looked up “when Jesus came to the place” and it was no coincidence that Jesus saw Zacchaeus. You see, when God is involved there are no coincidences.
Notice that…
Jesus called Zacchaeus by name – “and said unto him, Zacchaeus”
We don’t know how he knew his name. Matthew, who was once a publican, could have told Jesus about Zacchaeus. Perhaps Zacchaeus was infamous in that region so Jesus had already heard about him. I personally believe that Jesus knew who Zacchaeus was because Jesus is God!
Notice also that…
Jesus tells Zacchaeus that he must abide at his house – “for to day I must abide at thy house.”
The word “must” indicates a divine appointment. In John 4 we are told that Jesus “must needs go through Samaria” later we find out that Jesus had a divine appointment with the woman at the well and through that meeting she and many of the Samarians believed on Him.
In Luke 4:43 Jesus said: “I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.” Preaching in other cities was a divine appointment that He had to keep and through His preaching many people believed on Him.
This meeting with Zacchaeus was just such an appointment. Jesus came not just to Jericho, but also into this world to seek and save that which was lost. The truth is God loves people and He sent His Son to seek out lost people to offer them the only thing that can satisfy…a relationship with Christ.
Zacchaeus then received Jesus “joyfully”. This doesn’t just mean that He had Jesus over for dinner…the meaning of the text is much deeper than that. This tells us that something remarkable happened…Zacchaeus received Jesus as an act of faith. In other words He received Jesus as His Savior.
In this moment Zacchaeus was living John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
The Bible teaches us that we are saved by grace through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Zacchaeus received Jesus by faith and when he did he experienced the grace of God that set him free from the penalty of sin, it set him free from the power of sin, it gave him complete forgiveness and for the first time in his life he experienced true joy! Finally that empty space in his life was filled…finally he experienced genuine satisfaction.
Friend I want you to realize that there are no coincidences with God. You are at this church, in this service, hearing this message on this day for a reason. You’re not here because your friend asked you to come, you’re not here for the food, and you’re not here because coming to Calvary sounded like a good idea. You’re here today because the same Savior that was seeking Zacchaeus is seeking you.
He desires more than anything for you to place your faith and trust in Him. He knows that all this life offers is empty and hollow. He knows how much we desire something real and sustaining.
He has a purpose and plan for your life that far exceeds anything that you’ve ever hoped for. He wants to have a relationship with you…he’s seeking you out, but like Zacchaeus, you’ve got to decide what you’re going to do. You see, Jesus didn’t make Zacchaeus come out of that tree…Zacchaeus chose to come down and receive Jesus.
Today Jesus is asking you to receive Him by faith…but He won’t make you do it. So now you’ve got a choice to make. Do you continue to try to find satisfaction in the things this life offers or do you trust in the only one who can truly satisfy?
Jesus wasn’t surprised because He came to Jericho seeking for Zacchaeus. Finally I saw…
3. A Life That Was Not The Same – vs. 8-9
How do we know that Zacchaeus became a believer? The text tells us that his works backed up his faith and commitment to Christ. In other words, Zacchaeus committed to live his life differently.
Ephesians 2:10 teaches us that while we are not saved by our works, we are saved to do good works. Zacchaeus immediately began to make a radical shift in his lifestyle. He was going to live a generous life and he going to right the wrongs that he had done. This demonstrates true repentance. You see, salvation changes things!
If you’re already a believer let me ask you something…does your life validate the claims you make? In other words, you say that you’ve placed your faith in Christ, but can your faith be proven by your attitude and by your actions?
You say you love God, but do your works prove you love Him? We see from this story that after receiving Jesus, Zacchaeus’ life was not the same…is the same true for you?
4 Stages
I see four stages that Zack went through, which have direct application to our lives today.
-Curious. He wanted to get to know who Jesus was.
-Considered. He investigated the claims of Christ.
-Converted. The searching Savior saved him and forgave his sins.
-Changed. His life was radically redirected after his conversion.
What stage are you at this morning? Are you curious about who Jesus is? If so, don’t stop there. Investigate. Check Him out up close by reading the Bible. Consider His claims. Keep coming to church. As you do, your next step is to be converted. That’s why Jesus came. He came to convert you, He seeks to save you, and He longs to show you His love. And then, He will change your life in ways you can’t even imagine.
And so, the call has gone out. Is Jesus living within you or do you just let Him visit once in awhile? If He has taken up residence, have you been denying Him access to some of the rooms in your life?
Jesus is calling your name right now. Will you respond?
If you are ready to respond to Jesus right now by opening the door to your life, I’m going to ask you to do so while Nate comes up to sing. I’m going to be right down front. If you are ready to begin a relationship with the Seeking Savior, I want to challenge you to come forward this morning. . Zacchaeus jumped out of the tree in response to Jesus’ invitation. I’m asking you to get out of your seat and come down to the front if you’re ready to be saved.
Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally known for his television series Civilization, admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had an overwhelming religious experience. This is what he wrote: “My whole being was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had never known before.” But, as he described it, the “gloom of grace” created a problem for him. If he allowed himself to be influenced by his spiritual yearnings, he knew he would have to change and his family would think he had lost his mind. And so he concluded, “I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course.” As far as I know, he died without putting his faith in Christ.
Friend, are you too deeply embedded in the world to change course? Zacchaeus was locked into a way of life that was pretty comfortable and yet Jesus changed him. And he can do the same for you.
