JESUS MISSION
Text: Luke 19:1-9
Introduction
1. Illustration: Jesus’ mission we're told in Luke 19:10 is to “Seek and save what was lost.” Lost doesn’t mean “damned or doomed,” says William Barclay. In the New Testament it simply means to save people in the wrong place. Barclay continues that “a thing is lost when it has gotten out of its own place into the wrong place.” Have you ever said to your kids (or you husband!), “put that back where it belongs, that’s not where that belongs; put it back in its place.”
2. So, Jesus came to put us back in the right place!
3. We’re in the wrong place because of what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. We were intended for paradise, but sin left us in chaos.
4. But Jesus came to put us back where we belong.
5. Read Luke 19:1-9
Transition: The first person that Jesus came to put back is…
I. Sinners Who Earnestly Look for Him (1-4).
A. Climbed a Sycamore Tree
1. If you closely examine the life and ministry of Jesus, you must take notice that he came to seek out the outcasts of society. Look at what Luke tells us in v. 2, “There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich.”
a. Luke is the only one of the Gospel writers to mention Jesus’ meeting with Zacchaeus.
b. What makes this event so important was that Zacchaeus was a tax collector.
1) Tax collectors were hated by the Jews because they were collaborators with the Romans.
2) As such, they collected taxes for the Romans, but they had the authority to collect more than was required by Rome and would therefore pocket the extra money.
3) So, they were rich, but they were considered outcasts by the Jews because they exploited their own people.
c. You could go so far as to say, they were grouped with such people as prostitutes and people of disrepute.
d. But it gets worse, not only was Zacchaeus a tax collector, but he was also the “chief tax collector.”
e. For this reason, he would get a cut from the other tax collectors.
f. As a result, “he had become very rich.” So, he was hated and despised more than other tax collectors.
2. However, there’s another interesting thing about Zacchaeus. In v. 3 we learn, “He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd.”
a. Not only was Zacchaeus a tax collector, but he was also a short tax collector.
b. He wanted to get a look at Jesus. He had heard about the rock star preacher from Nazareth. He had heard about his teaching with authority unlike anyone else.
c. He had also heard how he had healed the blind, the lame, the deaf, and loosened the tongues of the mute.
d. He had heard that Jesus was no ordinary man, and that he was kind and accepting of those considered as outcasts by society.
e. He heard that Jesus was coming through town and wanted to get a look at the famous teacher.
f. Unfortunately, he was short, too short to see over the crowd.
3. But look at what Zacchaeus does in v. 4, “So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.”
a. Here we see something unique about Zacchaeus, he was so hungry for a spiritual change in his life that he was willing to go the extra mile for it.
b. He was unable to see Jesus, but he was so desperate, that he sees a sycamore-fig tree and decides to climb it so he could see Jesus.
c. The sycamore tree was very plentiful in Palestine, and in fact, still is today.
d. It was like an oak tree, with a short trunk but very substantial and wide spreading limbs.
e. What a great stroke of luck for a short guy like Zacchaeus!
f. Or was it a stroke of luck? Maybe it was the providence of God!
B. If You Look for Me
1. Illustration: Ever hear how the Grand Canyon was formed? A Scotsman dropped a nickel down a rabbit’s hole!
2. Jesus came for sinners who are so desperate for him that they will seek him until they find him, no matter what obstacle they must go through.
a. “In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the LORD. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” (Jer. 29:12-14).
b. Let’s be clear, Jesus came to look for and save sinners. He looks for us first.
c. But he honors those sinners who earnestly seek after him.
d. In other words, Jesus initiates the search, but he wants us to respond by seeking back after him.
e. When he does something in our lives, he wants us to be like Zacchaeus and be willing to climb a tree so we can see him.
f. He wants us to be willing to run through a wall if we must, to find him.
g. He will honor that earnestness.
Transition: Next, Jesus is looking for…
II. Sinners Who Willingly Accept Him (5-6).
A. Quickly Climbed Down
1. There is a vast difference between religious people and real Christians. Religious people are about appearances, and Christians are about the Kingdom and reaching the lost.
2. Guess which one of those groups Jesus was in? Well, we can see it clearly in v. 5, where Luke tells us, “When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
a. Notice how Jesus deals with this notorious sinner, this outcast from society.
b. He doesn’t call him on the carpet, announce judgement on him, or condemn him for his many sins.
c. No, he says, “Quick, come down! I MUST be a guest in your home today.”
d. This is a divine “must,” which in Greek means “it is necessary!”
e. Jesus has been sent by the Heavenly Father, and he sees this as a part of his divine mission (Arrington, 499).
f. Jesus didn’t come to hang out with religious people, he came to reach out to anyone looking for a new start in life, and that includes people like Zacchaeus!
3. Now, Zacchaeus shows that his heart is in the right place, Luke tells us in v. 6, “Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.”
a. Zacchaeus immediately jumps down from the tree and takes Jesus to his house with great excitement and joy.
b. Now, for most people, if someone you’ve never met announces I’m coming to dinner and then I’m going to spend the night, would say to them, “Oh really? Well, you’re a special kind of special, aren’t you?”
c. But that is not how Zacchaeus responds to Jesus. He jumps down, and with joy and excitement says, “come on Jesus, let’s go!”
d. There is something going on within his heart that has caused a desire for spiritual renewal to take place in him.
B. Accepted Him
1. Illustration: Here is the Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner’s testimony: “Before accepting Jesus as my Lord I lived my life for only me. I never asked God what he wanted for my life. I was living only for what I wanted. When I was 25 years old, I realized I was nothing without Jesus and that I was separated from Him because of sin. I asked Jesus to come into my life and show me His way. He did! Jesus became first in my life and a great change took place.”
2. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become children of God.
a. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” (John 1:12-13)
b. If you want to annoy me, tell me that we are all God’s children! John tells us that only those who accept Jesus are God’s children.
c. We are all God’s creation, but we do not become God’s children until we accept Jesus and are born again.
d. Jesus is looking for those lost sinners who want to be put in the right place, and that is in a right relationship with the Father.
e. Jesus sought sinners who knew they needed to be found and put in the right place.
Transition: Jesus also came for…
III. Sinners Who Seriously Repent (7-9).
A. I Will Give
1. But not everyone is as excited about this as Zacchaeus. Look at what it says in v. 7, “But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.”
a. Here you see how religious people respond. They are not concerned with the prospect of a sinner coming to repentance.
b. No, all they saw was what he had done in the past. They didn’t see him for what he could be, all they saw was what he had been.
c. Not only are they condemning Zacchaeus, but now they are also condemning Jesus for associating with someone they consider as a hopeless case.
d. Well, let me tell you something church, with Jesus there are no hopeless cases! Jesus came to save and redeem hopeless cases.
e. “Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.” (Is. 59:1).
f. We see in this text, people who are more interested in appearances rather than seeing someone coming to Christ.
g. Instead of saying, “Wow, Zacchaeus is repenting of his sins and becoming a follower of Jesus,” they are complaining because Jesus is going to go eat with someone, they consider unworthy.
h. Their hearts are in the wrong place just as much as Zacchaeus’s is in the right place.
2. When I first became a Christian, I used to go to a home Bible study taught by an older gentleman who was a man who had been saved from alcoholism. He used to always tell us, “Don’t tell me about your faith, show it to me!”
3. “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God...” (Luke 3:8).
4. Well, that is exactly what Zacchaeus does. In v. 8 it says, “Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
a. As a sign of his transformed heart, Zacchaeus announces that he is giving half of what he owns to the poor, and remember he was an exceedingly wealthy man.
b. In addition to that, he also says that if he has cheated anyone, and he probably cheated a bunch of people, that he would give back to him four times as much.
c. He would not only give back everything he cheated people of, and not only give them back twice as much, or even with interest, but he would give them back four times as much!
d. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is! Jesus didn’t tell him that he had to give back everything he cheated people of, or that he should give half of what he owns to the poor.
e. Zacchaeus does all of this because he wanted to show that his heart has changed, and he will do whatever he has to be right with God.
5. Jesus' response to Zacchaeus is completely different from that of the complainers. “Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
a. Zacchaeus’s actions demonstrate that he has become a man a faith, that he has been born again.
b. Once he was lost, but now he’s found. Once he was blind, but now he can see.
c. Once he was an outcast, but now he has become a part of the family of God.
d. Here we see the miracle of saving grace! Once he was a sinner on his way to hell, but now he is a child of God on his way to heaven.
e. “In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” (Lk. 15:7).
f. Jesus came for people just like Zacchaeus. He was lost and living in sin.
g. Jesus came and had a divine encounter with him. Zacchaeus invited Jesus into his home and his heart, and as a result his life was changed forever.
h. This is the reason that Jesus came, to seek lost people like Zacchaeus and save them.
i. That is his mission, and Jesus never lost sight of it. The theme of Luke’s Gospel, the fulcrum on which it sits is that Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost.
B. Prove by the Way You Live
1. Illustration: Johnny the painter, was big on cutting corners so he could make more of a profit. So, when a church hired him to paint their wooden building, Johnny submitted the lowest bid, and was hired. As always, he thinned his latex paint with water to stretch it. One day while he was up on the scaffolding -- the job almost finished -- he heard an oppressively loud burst of thunder, and it began raining cats and dogs. The torrential rain washed the thinned paint off the church while intense winds blew Johnny off his scaffolding to the church graveyard, surrounded by puddles of thinned paint. Johnny interpreted this as a warning from God above, so he got on his knees and cried: “Oh, God! Please forgive me! What should I do?” God’s voice thundered from heaven: “Repaint and thin no more!”
2. Accepting Jesus is not just something you do with your mouth; you also have to prove it by your actions.
a. Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” (Matt. 3:8).
b. Jesus didn’t come to save people so they could stay the same.
c. No, he came calling them to repentance, to turn around and walk away from their sin.
d. In his first sermon, Jesus didn’t just say believe, he said “repent and believe!”
e. In the story of Zacchaeus, he changed his way of life, and gave back everything he had cheated people of and then some.
f. And he did so not because some told him to, but rather because his faith caused him to want to!
g. Jesus doesn’t just want to save you; he wants to change you!
Conclusion
1. In the story of Zacchaeus, we learn that Jesus...
a. Came for sinner who will earnestly seek him.
b. Came for sinners who willingly accept him.
c. Came for sinners who seriously repent.
2. What’s the point preacher? Jesus came to put you in the right place. Are you ready to be put in the right place?
