Here are some of them that I recall:
• A man who went out on a limb for Jesus
• The Salvation of Shorty the Racketeer
• The Short Scoundrel that Seriously Sought The Saviour
• Seeking the True Vine By Sitting In A Tall tree
Any of these titles would be appropriate for this sermon, but I have selected “The Little Man With A Big Need”.
As far as the general public was concerned, Zacchaeus was a man that did not have much going for him. In fact, as a tax collector, the people of Jericho were shocked when the Lord went to his house. He was not only a tax collector, he was a chief tax collector which meant he had hired others to collect taxes for him.
Rome's method of collecting taxes was to employ locals who knew who had money and where they kept it.
• The land was divided in tax districts
• And a man could bid for a district, and the amount he bid for the district is what he had to pay the Roman government, the rest he could keep for himself
• The chief tax collector, such as Zacchaeus, owned the contract for his region
Rome collected three principal kinds of taxes:
• A land tax
• A head tax
• A customs tax of 2% to 5% of value on transported goods
A tax office or booth would be located near a city gate or port to collect the custom tax, such as:
• Fishermen exporting dried fish
• Farmers shipping surplus crops to a larger city
Nobody likes to pay taxes, and this is why he was so unpopular. Any time you reach into people’s pockets and extract money, you become disliked. He would have had a hard time winning a popularity contest with the general public. Let’s look at this “Little Man With The Big Need.” We need to look at ...
I. HIS CAREER
When he was a young man, he was probably like most young boys who had childhood dreams of doing certain things. He could have chosen to be a farmer, a potter, or salesman, but he chose to be a tax collector. He probably looked forward to learning some things about life as most young men do. Life can teach us a lot!
Illus: A fellow was born in the desert. His parents raised him in the desert and he did not know a thing about normal living. As a young man in his early 20’s, he decided he would venture out into the world for the first time.
He had never seen a train or the tracks they run on. While standing in the middle of the railroad tracks one day, he hears this whistle –Wheeee! Wheeee!-- but doesn't know what it is.
As he stands on the tracks, he is hit by the train and is thrown to the side of the tracks. It was only a glancing blow, so he was fortunate to receive only some minor internal injuries, a few broken bones, and some bruises.
After weeks in the hospital recovering, he's at his friend's house. While in the kitchen, he suddenly hears the teakettle whistling - Wheeee! Wheeee! He suddenly grabs a baseball bat from the nearby closet and proceeds to batter and bash the teakettle into an unrecognizable lump of metal.
His friend, hearing the ruckus, rushes into the kitchen, sees what has happened and asks him, "Why'd you ruin my good teakettle?"
The desert man replies, "Man, you gotta kill these things when they're small or else they will kill you!"
As young men venture into the world, they begin to learn things they have never learned before. Zacchaeus is no different than any man who has ever lived. He learned fast, and he became a chief tax collector that the general public hated.
Most of us do not have a fondness for the politicians or for the IRS that has been authorized to take our money from us.
• Ask Walter Mondale. He was the first Vice-President to have an office in the White House. In 1984 he won the democratic nomination to run for President. But he lost by a landslide because he got up in the Democratic national convention and said he was going to raise our taxes.
• Ask George Herbert Bush, who said “Read my lips there will be no new taxes in my administration.” He turned around and raised the American people’s taxes and lost the election.
• Ask Alabama Governor Bob Riley, who said he would not raise taxes, and defeated an incumbent governor. Once he was in office he reversed his course and began to advocate a $1.2 billion tax increase. The people of Alabama then went back to the polls and voted 2 to 1 to reject his proposal.
Even today, folks do not like a tax collector.
Illus: A preacher had a neighbor that told folks for years that he was an employee of the federal government. He did not want anyone to know he was a tax collector, for fear of being rejected by his neighbors.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, which made him worse than a tax collector, and the people of Jericho were shocked when the Lord went to his house. Zacchaeus might be a small man, but he chose a job to make him a big man!
A. HE HAD POWER
Illus: A man walked into the IRS office and he saw a gallon jug sitting on the counter with some money in it. He asked what the purpose of that Jug was. The lady said, “We are very proud of that jug.” He said, “Why is that?” She said, “Did you ever hear that you can not get MONEY out of a turnip? WE DID!”
Listen, if you do not think the IRS has power, you have never had an encounter with them. Before the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, a lot of people were abused by the IRS.
• Before the restructuring, the IRS could seize your records and money first and ask questions later.
• Before the restructuring, the taxpayer was guilty until he could prove himself innocent.
The IRS is and has always been a powerful force to deal with. Many times they have hired people who have abused the taxpayers.
Zacchaeus was one of those who had the power to get money out of people legally or illegally, and HE DID!
Illus: One day at a local buffet, a man suddenly called out, “My son's choking! He swallowed a quarter! Help! Please, anyone! Help!”
A man from a nearby table stood up and announced that he was quite experienced at this sort of thing. He stepped over with almost no look of concern at all, wrapped his hands around the boy's chest, and squeezed. Out popped the quarter. The man then went back to his table as though nothing had happened.
The father said “Thank you! Thank you!” You must be a paramedic.”
“No,” replied the man. “I work for the IRS and I can get money out of anyone!”
Tax Collectors have power and they KNOW HOW TO USE IT! For that reason, we do not like politicians or the IRS taking our hard earned money from us.
Illus: A man by the name of Steve appeared before Saint Peter we are told and wanted to enter heaven, but St. Peter told him he could not allow him to enter heaven because he had cheated Uncle Sam out of thousands of dollars. He then told him the only way he could allow him to enter heaven was to marry an ugly woman and live with her in heaven
for eternity and pretend he was happy. He said, “Alright, if that is what I must do, I will do it.”
One day while he was with this ugly woman, he saw his friend Jack in heaven, and he was also with an ugly woman. He said, “Jack, I see you did not pay your taxes either.”
They both talked about their situation and decided since they had the same thing to deal with, they would hang out together.
While they are hanging out, they see their friend Bill Brown, and he was with this gorgeous woman. Bill was smiling from ear to ear.
They immediately appeared before St. Peter and asked how Bill could come out so good. St. Peter said, “She did not pay her taxes!”
Publicans were the tax collectors of that day. These men were outcasts from society. No one cared to be around them.
B. HE HAD POSITION
Look at Luke 19:1-2, we read, “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.”
He was not only a tax collector, the Bible tells us he was “A chief of tax collectors.” That is, he is over other tax collectors.
It is wonderful that God will find the most wicked among us, SAVE THEM, AND USE THEM!
WHY DOES GOD DO THINGS LIKE THAT? Because when the Lord gloriously saves them, it reveals God has done a great work in their life.
Illus: It is like a fellow who gets a haircut each week, no one will ever notice it when he gets one. But when a fellow hasn’t had a haircut in the last six months, when he gets a haircut, everyone will notice it.
When the Lord saves “good moral” people, many do not know He saved them because they live a good moral life. When a person has lived a very sinful life and God saves them, everyone can see the change in their life.
Illus: In Mark 5, the Lord cast the demons out of a man. But look at Mark 5:14-15, when the word began to spread about what the Lord did for him. “And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.”
The whole town came out to see what the Lord had done in this man’s life. God often finds the worst and uses them because His saving grace can clearly be seen in their lives.
C. HE HAD POSSESSIONS
He was like many rich men, he got his riches through cheating others.
Illus: A wealthy investor walked into a bank and said to the bank manager, "Hi, I would like to speak with Mr. Reginald Jones, who I understand is a tried and trusted employee of yours."
The banker said, "Yes he certainly was trusted. And he will be tried as soon as we catch him."
Being a chief Publican, he handled a lot of money. While he collected for the Roman government, he also collected for himself. Zacchaeus was a wealthy man at the expense of others.
We looked at HIS CAREER, now look at ...
II. HIS CURIOSITY
Look at verse 3a, “And he sought to see Jesus who he was...”
When he heard that Jesus was in town, he tried to see Him. Notice, it says, “And he sought to see Jesus WHO HE WAS…”
They did not have newspaper, television, and billboards then to advertise his coming. But someone had told him that Jesus, who was known for His love for everyone and His miracles, was coming to Jericho and he put aside all his plans to “…See Jesus who he was…”
He came with a lot of curiosity. The best reason to come to Christ is because a person recognizes His greatness. But a lot of folks have come for other reasons, and later discovered His greatness.
Illus: Remember the song that Hank Williams used to sing called, “Something Got A Hold Of Me?” It goes like this:
At first when I heard of some people who claim
That the old-time religion was real
I said "I'll go down, take a look at the crowd
For just that weak-minded I feel."
I walked up the steps and I peeked in the door
But the Devil said, "Don't you go in!"
But I said, "It won't hurt me I'll just step inside
And I'll set as far back as I can." [But-]
CHORUS:
Something Got A Hold Of Me [Praise God]
Yes Something Got A Hold Of Me [Oh! Lord]
I went there to fight, but I'll tell you that night
God certainly got a hold of me.
Any time someone makes an attempt to come to the Lord, the devil is going to do everything he can do to keep them away. Look at verse 3b, “And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and COULD NOT FOR THE PRESS,...”
The last thing the devil wants is for any of us to discover the greatness of Christ. He will do everything he can to keep us away. This is why the devil will fill the lives of the unsaved with:
• Jobs on Sundays
• Hobbies
• Family members visiting
• Hunting
• Fishing
• Camping
To keep them from coming to know the Lord.
With Zacchaeus it was a crowd of people. Look at verse 3c, “And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, BECAUSE HE WAS LITTLE OF STATURE..”
Today, to be politically correct, we would have to say that Zacchaeus was “VERTICALLY CHALLENGED.” In reality, HE WAS SHORT! According to standards of that day, he probably was under 5' tall.
We see HIS CAREER and HIS CURIOSITY, now look at ...
III. HIS CALL
Zacchaeus did not become Chief tax collector by accident. He had that quality that all successful people have, and that is, he did not let anything stop him from achieving his goal. Look at-
A. THE PLACE
Verse 4, “And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.”
Look how he overcame this obstacle. He did several things:
• Zacchaeus overcame his difficulty by checking out the direction the group was headed in, running ahead, and climbing up a tree so he could see.
• The Sycamore tree had large branches not too far from the ground, so it was fairly easy to climb up into the tree and the branches would provide secure seating.
The Lord knows those who are hungry, HE KNEW THE PLACE that Zacchaeus was located.
Look at verse 5a, “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down;
for to day I must abide at thy house.”
• He saw Zacchaeus and He called him BY NAME! It is apparent that Zacchaeus and Jesus had never met.
• Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but it was really Jesus who wanted to see Zacchaeus.
Can you imagine how amazed Zacchaeus was when Jesus called him by name?
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was attending a Christmas Parade in Columbia, S.C. Thousands of people lined the street, and at the end of the parade came Santa Claus on that big float, and everyone was excited. All of a sudden, Santa looked down and saw Dr. Belger and he hollered out, “Hi Dr. Belger”. He felt honored that he was recognized among so many.
Can’t you imagine how Zacchaeus must have felt. Isn’t it wonderful that God know us by name? He knows my name, and more than that, He knows all about me.
B. THE PROPOSAL
Look at Verse 5, “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, ZACCHAEUS, MAKE HASTE, AND COME DOWN; FOR TO DAY I MUST ABIDE AT THY HOUSE.”
Jesus told Zacchaeus to hurry up and come down out of the tree. He was about to go to his house! Not only his PHYSICAL HOUSE but also into HIS SPIRITUAL HOUSE. (Soul)
We see HIS CAREER, HIS CURIOSITY and HIS CALL, now look at ...
IV. HIS CONVERSION
Suppose when the Lord told Him to come down he refused to obey. HE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SAVED. He would have walked away, one heart beat from a devil’s hell.
In a few minutes we are going to give the invitation for the lost to come to Christ, and the Lord is going to speak to their hearts about abiding with them. If they refuse, they will not be saved either and they will walk away, only one heart beat away from a devil’s hell.
Zacchaeus was a smart business man and he had the ability to know a good deal when he saw one.
A. HE RECEIVED HIM
V. 6, “And he made haste, and came down, and RECEIVED HIM JOYFULLY.”
What an honor for a man who was looked down on by society. Jesus was going to stay at his house. Notice it says that Zacchaeus received Him JOYFULLY! Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully, and as we will soon see, he became a child of God.
B. HE REPENTED
Look at verse 8, “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”
Notice the heart change of Zacchaeus. Suddenly he is going to give half of his riches to help the poor. This was a new thing for him. He had been on the receiving end of finances, and now he was going to be on the giving end.
When a man truly comes to Christ, there is a heart change. He saw his sin and the evil of it, and now was going to go out of his way to make it right! Many try to get by with just doing the minimum required by law, but Zacchaeus was going to go far beyond that.
Conclusion:
Illus: Wiersbe’s Commentary: In his eagerness, Zacchaeus did two things unbecoming to a man of his position: he ran (in the East, men do not run), and he climbed a tree! This little man climbed a tree to get close to Jesus. What effort will you make in your life to get close to Him?
I. HIS CAREER.
II. HIS CURIOSITY
III. HIS CALLING
IV. HIS CONVERSION
