So maybe you’ve heard it said, ‘read your bible’ so you tried and failed. Our hope as leaders is that all of us will pick up God’s word and come to understand the true nature of God. After all, the bible is God’s Word curated over centuries detailing His nature, His will, the meaning of life and humanity’s historical interactions with Him. The Bible details the hidden keys to the Kingdom. Hence, the reason we are reviewing a new book each week.
This week we move to the second of the four gospels entitled “Luke.” As the video highlights, the book’s larger message is to provide an orderly account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It must have been a best seller because there is a sequel written called the “acts of the apostles.” The book is written to explain the larger story of Jesus and the ramifications for a world in need of a Savior. The book looks to expand the reach of the good news of God’s incarnate presence in Jesus beyond the Jews to the rest of the world. It is written more like a story than the other three gospels in an attempt to help the readers, who weren't raised Jewish, to understand the ramifications of God’s inbreaking into the world. It leaves the reader wanting to know more of what happens after Jesus’ ascension to heaven.
Before we get into the scriptures today, I’d like to share a story with you.
There was a woman named, Ruth. She went to her mailbox and there was a letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.She read the letter:
Dear Ruth:
I`m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I’d like to stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. ‘Why would the Lord want to visit me?I’m nobody special. I don’t have anything to offer..’ With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. ‘Oh my goodness, I really don’t have anything to offer. I’ll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.’ She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents. Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least..’
She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk…leaving Ruth with a grand total twelve cents to last her until Monday..
Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
‘Hey lady, can you help us,lady?’
Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn’t even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.
‘Look lady, I ain’t got a job, you know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it’s getting cold and we’re getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us. Lady, we’d really appreciate it.’
Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to..
‘Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.’
‘Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway.’
The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.
As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.
‘Sir, wait!’ The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.
‘Look, why don’t you take this food? I’ll figure out something else to serve my guest.’
She handed the man her grocery bag.
‘Thank you lady. Thank you very much!’ ‘Yes, thank you!’ It was the man’s wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering. ‘You know, I’ve got another coat at home. Here, why don’t you take this one.’ Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman’s shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street….without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest. ‘Thank you lady! Thank you very much!’
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn’t have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox. ‘That’s odd. The mailman doesn’t usually come twice in one day.’
Dear Ruth:
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal.
And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus.
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed because of the joy of serving others in His name.
There is a similar story in Luke about Jesus wanting to come visit. It’s not a traditional Christmas story. It’s the story of Zacchaeus. A story many learned in Sunday school. A story that ends with the reason for Jesus breaking into our world. If you have a bible, let’s open to Luke 19:1.
As you find your way, let me pray for us…
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
The name Zacchaeus means “righteous one.” He was anything but to the Jews. He was considered a traitor. Tax collectors were appointed by the Roman governing authorities to ensure the tax money continued to flow to fund their military occupation and conquest. The Roman authorities didn’t care if the tax collectors skimmed some cash for themselves as long as the money flowed. When the scriptures tell us He was “wealthy,” they are letting us know he benefited from the extortion of others. In addition, the title “chief tax collector” lets us know he was a supervisor of the tax collectors and made the hatred towards him even more pronounced.
Jesus’ reputation was growing. People had heard of his miraculous power and most recently, there was a story of a blind beggar being healed in the city. So it’s not a surprise that Zach would want to see Jesus. What is surprising is the degree to which a rich man would go to get a glimpse.
It was shameful for older Men to run.
It was more shameful for the rich to run.
It was also considered crude for a man to climb a tree.
But Zach does all three. He longed to see Jesus and then the story takes a remarkable turn. Let’s read on…
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. (or translated Joyfully)
The flip in the script happens when Jesus asks Zach to come down from the tree. Zach thought he was seeking Jesus but Jesus was seeking him. It’s reminiscent of the first time Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and God came to seek them (Genesis 3:1-10).
It’s the moment we see most clearly, Jesus' character and mission on earth. When people really seek Jesus. When they surrender their pride, begin to challenge the societal norms of self sufficiency, and surrender fully to be with Him, He is there waiting with arms wide open. Francis Thompson once wrote a poem on this idea of the Holy Spirit always prowling around waiting and pursuing us as The Hound of Heaven. It’s in those moments of full surrender to God that our hearts are changed forever.
The moment we are changed or surrendered comes with one of the four emotions we speak of during this season of advent - Peace, Hope, Joy and Love. For Zach, it was joy. The word translated “gladly" in the NIV is the Greek word “charion.” A word translated as rejoicing or joy in the ASV. It’s a key concept in Luke’s gospel mentioned over 20 times. Biblical joy can be defined as: a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the Word and in the world.
For Zach, it led to a need to publically amend his behaviors which caused hardship for others. His changed heart is evident in the next verse…
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Under Mosaic law, if a thief voluntarily confessed a crime , he had to restore what he took, add one fifth to it, and bring a trespass offering to the Lord (Lev 6:1-7). If he stole something he could not restore, he had to repay fourfold (Ex 22:1), and if he was caught with the goods, he had to repay double (Ex. 22:4).
Because Zach didn’t try to minimize his wrong by offering the larger penalty, we know his heart had truly changed.
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Zach’s encounter with Jesus is important to us for a number of reasons:
It teaches us that some of society's most maligned figures, long to have their hole in the soul filled by Jesus
It reminds us to look at people's actions to verify their heart’s longing. It’s words and deeds
It enforces the image of loving Jesus watching and waiting for us to seek Him
It gives us hope that all can be redeemed.
It establishes our peace in the midst of society’s judgment
It reminds us the greatest joy of this life happens when Jesus enters our lives.
Finally, it tells us “The key to the Christian's joy is its source, which is the Lord. If Christ is in me and I am in Him, that relationship is not a sometimes experience.” as Theologian RC Sproul once wrote.
Would the world know you are Christian by your joy?
Communion
References: Quest Bible Overviews p:1497
The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wiersbe) Volume I, p. 252-253
https://stories4homilies.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/christmas-gift/
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/key-christians-joy
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-do-you-define-joy
