Cornerstone Church 3.9.14
“Zacchaeus: Little Big Man!”
Luke 19:1-10
How many of you grew up in the church?
How many of you know about Zacchaeus?
Do you remember the song?
Zacchaeus was a wee little man,
A wee little man was he,
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see;
And as the Savior passed that way,
He looked up in the tree,
And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down,
For I’m going to your house today,
For I’m going to your house today.
When it comes to Zacchaeus we are in many ways theologians!
* We know he was short (vertically challenged)
* We know he ran and climbed a Sycamore Tree
* We know Jesus told him to come down and he went to his house
Dr. Kent R. Hughes made this observation:
“If I had been casting for ‘Zacchaeus, the Movie’ in the 1940s, I would have chosen diminutive Edward G. Robinson. Today I would chose Danny DeVito as the ‘Z-Man.” Those shifty eyes, his swagger – the perfect little big man.”
Dr. Kent R. Hughes, Preaching the Word – Luke Volume 2, pg 222
The memorable, Charles Spurgeon would meet with his students under “the question oak” where they could ask him questions. He would also ask his students to give extemporaneous sermons. He once asked a student to speak on Zacchaeus.
The student responded:
“Zacchaeus was of little statue, so am I. Zacchaeus was up a tree, so am I. Zacchaeus came down, so will I.”
Dr. Kent R. Hughes, Preaching the Word – Luke Volume 2, pg 221
Zacchaeus defines the central theme of The Gospel of Luke and identifies Jesus primary mission and reason for His incarnation as Son of God and Son of Man!
“For the Son of Man came
to seek and to save what was lost.”
Luke 19:10 NIV
Jesus loves the Lost!
Jesus seeks the Lost!
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10 NIV
ZACCHAEUS LOOKING FOR JESUS
Luke 19:1-4
He (Jesus) entered Jericho and was passing through.
Luke 19:1 NIV
Jesus was on His final journey to Jerusalem.
He is heading to the Cross according to the premeditated and predetermined plan of God.
And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Luke 9:22 NIV
The Context:
As Jesus and the Disciples were nearing Jericho these two events happened:
The Rich Young Ruler
* Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler dialogue about how he might have eternal life.
* During the conversation he tells Jesus about his piety and works.
* Jesus doesn’t dispute his record.
* Jesus tells him sell all and give all to the poor and “Follow Me!”
Luke 18:23-27 NIV When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “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.”
Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
Blind Bartimaeus
* Blind Bart lived his life begging on the roadside.
* I assume along the road to Jerusalem was a good location especially when Worshippers were journeying to the Passover!
* He hears Jesus is nearby and cries out: “Son of David have mercy on me!”
* Though blind He perceives Jesus is the Messiah!
Luke 18:41-43 NIV “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
This humble and helpless man receives sight and salvation!
Jericho
* They now are entering Jericho (“The City of Palms”).
* It was the city God gave the great victory to Joshua and the children of Israel when entering the Promised Land.
* Jericho was the last city before making the 2,900 ft. climb over 17 miles to Jerusalem.
* It was a place to cross the Jordan River.
* It was a rich resort hang out (the Palm Springs / Vegas of the Ancient World)
o Herod the Great built a winter place there
o The trade routes passed through Jericho
o It was know for its Palm Forests and Balsam Groves (Balm it made)
o Dates and Figs
o Business and trade center
o Opulent – “the Land that flows with milk and honey!”
And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus.
Luke 19:2a
Zacchaeus is an interesting name that means:
* “Innocent”
* “Pure”
* “Righteous”
His Hebrew parents obviously had high hopes for their son!
He was a business major.
He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
Luke 19:2b
He climbed the ladder of success!
There were three main tax centers:
* Capernaum
* Jericho
* Jerusalem
Zacchaeus acquired a cash cow!
* He was the chief / head tax collector in Jericho!
* He collected taxes on the huge agricultural and trade industry in Jericho.
“…and was rich.”
We are talking Donald Trump rich!
* Zacchaeus would have been included in the Forbes Magazine list: “The Richest People on the Planet” had it existed.
* He was the Godfather of Jericho Cartel! The Al Capone of the ancient world!
The downside of his position he was hated!
* He was thought to be collaborator with the Romans
* He was ostracized from society and put out of the synagogue
* He was viewed as greedy
* He was considered unscrupulous
“Some of the locals would have liked to see if they could put him through the eye of a needle – ‘squeezed out,’ as C.S. Lewis put it, ‘in one long bloody thread from tail to snout.’”
Dr. Kent R. Hughes, Preaching the Word – Luke Volume 2, pg 222
Remember April 15th is not far off!
Not the stuff to help build your resume or career!
* Somewhere Zacchaeus went down the wrong pathway that continued to snowball and careen out of control on him.
* All his wealth and privilege didn’t satisfy the emptiness in his heart!
Our neighborhoods, community and world are filled with people with that same gnawing emptiness gripping their hearts and lives!
A simple look at Hollywood Actors, Infamous Musicians and Singers, Politicians, Athletes and many other people of fame, power and wealth reveal that “Money Can’t Buy you Love” or happiness!
Perhaps you are here this morning filled with that same emptiness!
* In a few moments we will see Jesus love and care for Zacchaeus!
* Jesus has that same love for you and is seeking you!
* Do not leave here without Jesus!
In the parable that Jesus told of the Pharisee praying in the Temple while the tax collector stood at a distance from the Temple to pray Zacchaeus might have been the one who Jesus was thinking of when telling the Parable.
“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.’ Luke 18:13 NIV
“And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.”
Luke 19:3 NIV
Zacchaeus was looking to see Jesus!
* The crowd was large and likely hostile towards him!
* He was diminutive - “vertically” challenged!
* Crowd might have given Zach some payback as they elbowed him or gave him a shove.
So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree
to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
Luke 19:4 NIV
When is the last time you saw a wealthy person or celebrity running?
They usually are moving slowly!
* They like being seen!
* They know how to give you a Royal Wave!
Zacchaeus went from climbing the ladder of success to climbing a tree to see Jesus!
You can climb a tree but can’t climb your way to heaven!
JESUS SEEKING ZACCHAEUS
Luke 19:5-6
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
Jesus saw Zacchaeus!
Jesus calls Zacchaeus by his name!
“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down,
for I must stay at your house today.”
It was an Ancient Near Eastern Custom to offer hospitality (food / shelter) for people traveling.
Even though Jesus is resolute to go to the Cross He stops to minister this lost soul!
Did you catch Zacchaeus’ eagerness?
* He hurried!
* He came down!
* He received him joyfully!
“JUMPING ZACH FLASH!”
Zacchaeus left he crowd searching for Jesus!
Are you ready to run to Him?
THE CROWD’S RESPONSE TO JESUS
Luke 19:7
And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in
to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
Did you catch who was grumbling?
“..they all grumbled,”
Grumbled and murmured (is an onomatopoeia – like buzz or hiss)
Their grumbling sounded just like the word!
* It is true the trajectory of the Arc of Zacchaeus’ life was a downward spiral!
* He was a sinner! But they were sinners too!
“…For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Rom. 3:23 NIV
Sin or falling short = missing the mark!
* You aim at a target and miss it!
* Next to the Glory and Holiness of God we all missed the mark!
There is hope for those who miss the mark!
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 6:23 NIV
ZACCHAEUS’ RESPONSE TO JESUS
Luke 19:8
And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
A transformation has happened in Zacchaeus’ Heart!
* I GIVE!
* I PAY BACK!
He desires to make things right!
* He gives half of his goods to the poor!
* He pays back fourfold for wrongs done as restitution!
Salvation is more than just a prayer uttered!
Salvation is more than a profession of beliefs!
* It is a changed life!
* It is a transformed life!
* It is a life set free!
* It is a life unshackled!
The spark of Salvation has changed the arc in Zacchaeus’ life!
Zacchaeus experienced Four Stages according to Brian Bill:
* 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.
JESUS’ RESPONSE TO ZACCHAEUS
Luke 19:9-10
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Zacchaeus is a spiritual son of Abraham (spiritual Heir to the Covenants)!
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Jesus understood His purpose!
* It was not to reform Jewish Religion.
* It was not to prove the Pharisees and Scribes wrong.
* It was not to bring in a political or military Kingdom by power.
* It was not to reform the government.
Jesus came seeking and looking for lost people!
Jesus came to bring Salvation to lost people!
“Pastor Jim Cymbala: I see this guy three rows back sheepishly looking at me in the center aisle, and I said to myself, as God is my witness, “Oh, man, what a way to end an Easter Sunday. Someone is going to hit me up for money,” which happens a lot here. As he gets close to me, he smelled worse than any human being I had ever smelled in my life. The odor was so horrible -- of the street, of filth, of sweat, of urine, that when I talked to him I had to look away to inhale. I would look back at him breathing out. He put his finger in my face, and he said, “Reverend, I don’t want your money. I want this Jesus that you were talking about. I’m going to die out there. I don’t have a hope in this world unless somebody changes me.” At that moment I became so convicted of my lack of love, of my lack of compassion. At that moment, I forgot about David, and I said, “God, forgive me.” God baptized me afresh with such love and compassion that I began to just weep for my own need and for what I saw God doing in David, and David sensed it. I dropped my hands to my side; he came against me, and he fell -- his face, matted hair, filthy -- fell against my chest and tie, and I put my arms around him.
Ruffin: When I embraced him, I felt that I embraced something that was real, that this man really stood for the Lord. It was that love that drew me.
Pastor Cymbala: Suddenly, that smell became the most beautiful perfume I had ever smelled in my life. It was as if God was saying, “If you have any value, it’s this smell that I sent you for,” because that’s the smell of the world that Jesus died for. Jesus didn’t die for a nice, clean, neat little world. He came for that which was lost and ruined. That night David gave his heart to the Lord, and now his testimony is being used to bless countless people. He’s one of our most trusted workers now here in maintenance and security. David Ruffin is a man of God.”
“David Ruffin: Down and Out on Easter Morning” By David Kithcart - The 700 Club
The Apostle Paul said:
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
Rom. 1:16 NIV
Neither should we be ashamed to proclaim it!
It is the message He gave us (the Church) to take to the World!
“Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” 1Cor. 9:16 NIV
We have a story to tell to the World!
Zacchaeus was a man small in physique that was a huge success and achieved what we would call the American Dream!
* The emptiness of his soul reverberated like the hollowness of the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz.
* Wealth but no inner peace!
* The best the world offered but bound for a Christless eternity!
Jesus found Zacchaeus!
* He was changed!
* He was transformed from “a little man to a big man with a Huge Heart for God”
The Son of God is seeking you too!
For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
2 Cor. 6:2 NIV
