October 24, 2020
In the stories of Peter and Mary Magdalene, we noted the multiple encounters each had with Jesus throughout His 3 ½ year ministry.
In our final 2 sermons, we see again the one-time encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus and between Jesus and the Thief on the Cross and again we say,
One Encounter with Jesus Can Change Everything.
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the last time. He knew what awaited him there – rejection, abuse and death. But still, today, as He made His way to the city of Jericho, the crowds followed Him, brought their sick and dying to Him and hung on His every word…………………….
Luke 19:1-2 - Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was one of the most influential Jews in the Roman tax-collecting business, and he was very rich. [NLT]
Understanding who the Tax-Collectors were and their position in Jewish society will help us understand the significance of this story. Roman taxes were collected by Jewish independent contractors who worked in close association with the Romans. Under Roman rule ---- The Jews paid:
• A religious tax to the Jewish authorities for the maintenance of the temple.
• A civil tax to the Roman government - often collected by harsh methods {There was no appeals process for these considerable abuses}. The Roman tax included both direct income tax and customs duties. Duties were paid on traded goods, while merchants also paid tolls to use roads and bridges and to enter towns. Historians estimate that the tax burden on the Jewish people must have approached between 30 and 40 percent --- may be higher.
The Tax-Collectors paid a fixed sum for the right to collect and anything above and beyond that was profit. These men became wealthy at the expense of their countrymen, Therefore ---- Tax-Collectors were despised by their fellow Jews:
They were an ever-present symbol of foreign oppression.
They were rejected socially.
They were regarded as traitors politically.
They were excommunicated as apostates.
They were not allowed to hold any office within their communities.
They were not allowed to testify in Jewish legal courts.
They were treated as the lowest class of sinners {Rabbis debated whether it was possible for them to experience true repentance}
• Matthew 21:31-32 - Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did….
However….. Jesus and Zacchaeus, this hated traitor, had a divine appointment beneath a Sycamore tree in Jericho.
Luke 19:3-4 - He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowds. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree beside the road, so he could watch from there. [NLT]
No doubt Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus….. How could he not? Jesus was all over the news. He was curious to be sure, however, scripture tells us that God had been doing a little internal work as well:
• John 6:44 - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him….
Zacchaeus had begun to feel his deep need for forgiveness and restoration and he desperately wanted to see Jesus, but he had a significant problem ---- He was height challenged. No matter how high he jumped, he couldn’t see over the crowd, so he did the next best thing ---- he ran ahead and climbed a tree.
Jesus could have kept right on walking, but instead, He stopped and looked up. As the crowd followed Jesus’ gaze, all they saw was a short Tax-Collector up a tree, but Jesus saw a man who wanted a different life and who was eager for salvation and He was THRILLED!!
Luke 19:5 - …. and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today." [NLT]
Jesus called him BY NAME and then invited himself over for lunch. Just as in our story of the Centurion, good Jews DID NOT go to the homes of Tax Collectors and eat with them ---- but Jesus DID:
• Matthew 9:10-11 - While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
• Luke 15:1-2 - Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
I am reminded of the words of Jesus in Revelation:
• Revelation 3:20 - Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
And Zacchaeus opened the door of his heart and invited Jesus in.
Luke 19:6-7 - Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the crowds were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled. [NLT]
Can you imagine the thrill that went through the heart of Zacchaeus…… Jesus WANTS to come to MY house!! Woo Hoo!!
The crowds however, were shocked!!! Jesus WANTS to go to the house of THIS guy?! He’s the poster boy for sinners --- they have his photo at the post office!! He’s an outcast! He’s a thief! He’s a no-good traitor!!
The crowd was not lying. Zacchaeus was all of those things and more. He had become rich by oppressing the very people who were in that crowd.
Jesus knew exactly who Zacchaeus was and what he had done, but He also saw past all that to the man Zacchaeus COULD BE.
While the mumblers and grumblers were in the corner considering all Zacchaeus’ offenses, Jesus was changing a life and the evidence of that changed life is seen in what Zacchaeus did next:
Luke 19:8 - Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" [NLT]
This declaration shows the depth of his transformation. He was clearly remorseful over his sins. He was willing to make it right even at great personal cost and as required by the Law. {Exodus 22:1 and Leviticus 6:1-5} Zacchaeus didn’t do it because he HAD TO. He did it because he WANTED TO.
Jesus’ response was immediate and I am certain he spoke with a smile on His face:
Luke 19:9 - … "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham. [NLT]
Zacchaeus was a Jew, so he was already a descendant of Abraham, in the physical sense – but he was lost. Now, according to Jesus, because of repentance and faith, Zacchaeus BECAME a descendant of Abraham in the spiritual sense.
• Galatians 3:26-29 - For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
But Jesus didn’t stop there. He extended salvation to everyone in His relentless pursuit of lost people:
Luke 19:10 - And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost." [NLT]
Wrapping Up
We may read the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus and come to the wrong conclusion that it was Zacchaeus who made the first move. It wasn’t. It was God who made the first move --- deep in the night when Zacchaeus was alone with his thoughts the Holy Spirit worked on his heart until he was ready to meet Jesus. And Jesus sought Him and found him up a tree, because that’s what Jesus does, He “seeks and saves the lost” and He is unrelenting in His pursuit.
That imagery comes through in the poem, “The Hound of Heaven”, written by the 19th century British poet Francis Thompson. Although Thompson was a follower of Christ, he struggled with poverty, poor health, and an addiction to opium.
In the poem, Thompson describes his flight from God but also the unrelenting love of Jesus, “The Hound of Heaven”. Jesus pursues Thompson with “unhurrying chase, and unperturbed pace, deliberate speed, and majestic instancy [or urgency].”
In his biography, John Stott refers to Thompson’s poem: “My faith is due to Jesus Christ himself, who pursued me relentlessly even when I was running away from him in order to go my own way. And if it were not for the gracious pursuit of the “Hound of Heaven” I would today be on the scrap-heap of wasted and discarded lives.”
What brought Zacchaeus to the place of repentance?
It wasn’t religious people… they had rejected him long ago.
It was Jesus. He chased Zacchaeus down until he ran up a tree and found salvation waiting there.
