Opener:
Good morning Church, so excited to be here this morning. As we move forward, we will continue to host Sunday services here at our facility. Our first service will continue be at 10 am and our second service will be at 6:00 pm. This will give us time to clean properly between the services. There will be no kid’s church and so kids will be joining their parents during the service. The board will continue to assess this along with possibly hosting our Wednesday night activities. We would like to encourage you to choose one of our available services.
Last week, we started a sermon series on encounters with Jesus. We talked about how powerful these encounters are and what we can learn from them. As you may recall, last week we talked about the women with the issue of blood who was healed by pushing through to touch the hem of Jesus garment. We also talked about the ten lepers that were healed when they encountered Jesus. In both of these stories, the people were healed as a result of encountering Jesus.
This morning, we are going to talk about two people that received a different kind of healing and that was a healing in their heart. Our stories this morning really highlight how that Jesus reaches out and cares for people that are lost. People that do not know Him in a personal way! This morning we are going to talk about the tax collector Zacchaeaus and the women at the well.
I. Zacchaeaus Encounter
A. History
a. Jesus was traveling through the city of Jericho. Jericho was an important town at the time because it was on a trade route which was located 15 miles east of Jerusalem.
b. While Jesus could have taken other routes, I believe that Jesus choose this route because someone needed to hear the message.
c. Let’s hop right into our encounter this morning which is found in the book of Luke 19:1-10(NKJV) 19 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
B. Tax Collector
a. This story is of a tax collector. Not only an ordinary tax collector, but he was the chief tax collector for the region.
b. Rome appointed Zacchaeus to collect taxes over this area and they set the amount that he needed to collect and send back to Rome.
c. Rome was not micro managing their chief tax collectors. They only cared about receiving the appointed amount.
d. This obviously led to widespread fraud. Tax collectors were known to charge people more than what was required.
e. The people could not do much because the Roman army supported these fraudsters.
f. Due to his position, Zacchaeus was a very wealthy person. He stole from the hard working Jewish people.
C. Zaccheus was looking for Jesus
a. As we delve into this story, one of the things that really stand’s out is the fact that Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus.
b. Zacchaeus no doubt heard about Jesus and wanted to see him, so he could not get to him and so he climbed up a tree.
c. There were so many people around Jesus that he took the time to climb up a tree.
D. He invited Jesus into his home
a. After getting Jesus attention, Zacchaeus invited Jesus into his home.
b. Jesus knew this man’s background, Jesus knew that this man was a greedy extortioner. Yet, Jesus agreed to eat dinner with him.
i. Here is the thing, Jesus meets us where we are at. He was willing to meet with Zacchaeus at his house.
ii. Like Zacchaeus, Jesus meets us where we are at!
E. Zacchaeus changed his lifestyle.
a. After this encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus had a significant lifestyle change.
b. Zacchaeus stood up and said “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
c. When we become a believer, it is more than just saying some prayer, it was a change in our lifestyle. Truly, it is putting Jesus teachings into practice.
d. Now be very careful with this because it does not mean that you are not going to make some mistakes along the way, however, it is working to learn from those mistakes.
II. Women at the well
A. Well
a. Our second encounter that we are looking at this morning is the women that met Jesus at the well.
b. During this period of time, they did not have the conveniences of running water.
c. In fact, they would need to go to a community well and fill up clay pots with water and bring that water back to the home.
B. The background.
a. While this Samaritan woman was filling up her Jars, she had an encounter with Jesus.
b. Now this may not seem like a big deal to us now, but at the time. The Samaritan people were not looked upon highly by Jewish people. In fact, Jewish people were very prejudice towards Samaritan people as they considered them half breeds both culturally and religiously.
c. Also during this time period, culturally, it was inappropriate for a man to converse with a woman in the public.
d. Yet, Jesus saw this women’s need. He saw that she was a lost soul in need of a Savior.
C. The Text
a. Jesus and this woman’s conversation about the history of the well and Jesus informs her that He has some living water for her.
b. After hearing this, the women responds to Jesus in John 4: 15 (NKJV) 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
D. Breaking down the norm
a. There are several things that jump out as we read this encounter that Jesus had with this woman.
b. First of all, Jesus broke all the norms and traditions during this time period to reach out to this woman in need.
c. We need to follow Jesus example laid out for us here. To reach out those that around us regardless of what we may think of them.
d. Jesus saw a need and he worked to meet that need.
E. Convicted of sin
a. Jesus then went on in our story to tell this women to call her husband. This woman then lies to cover up the guilt of her immoral lifestyle.
b. The fact that she had been married five times and then was living with a man that was not her husband.
c. Like many of us, she lied to hide her shame and to protect her reputation.
d. Let me say this” The truth hurts sometimes” The truth can be rude, it is not a respecter of person. It can hurt our ego. It really cuts through the illusion of who we think we are or who others think that we are.
e. This women was hiding, yet Jesus loved her enough to not let her hide any longer. No longer would she have to carry the load of guilt and shame in her life.
f. Jesus loves you too! He loves you so much to set you free from even the lies that you may tell yourself!
F. Worshipers
a. After revealing the truth to this woman, Jesus shares something profound to this woman.
b. Jesus said: 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
c. You and I do not get to determine how we worship God and if that Worship will be pleasing to Him. It is God who dictates to us how He would like to be worshipped.
d. Our Heavenly Father receives our worship when we worship Him in spirit and in truth.
i. To worship God in spirit really speaks to the condition of our heart. To come to God with a heart of sincerity. With a heart of love!
ii. While Truth speaks to our perception of God. It speaks to understanding His truth in our lives as it has been revealed to us.
1. Jesus said in John 8:32(NKJV) 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Closing:
As we close this morning, there are several takes a way’s from our two encounters. First, there is always hope for those that do not know Jesus while they are still here on planet earth. Zacchaeus was not a nice man, he was a white collar crook. You probably have heard to Bernie Madoff who ran an ponzi scheme and was charged with stealing billions. Zaccheasus was no different. Then the woman at the well who let’s just say was morally bankrupt. Both of these people seem so far from God, yet Jesus reached out to them. This teaches us that we should never and I mean Never, give up on those that may seem to you too far gone. Keep praying for them! Keep believing that they will turn to God in their lives! Secondly, in both our stories reveal to us that our lives can count. Once Zacchaues and this woman at the well encountered Jesus. The people around them were impacted. For Zacchaeus, his family heard the message and was saved. For the woman at the well, she went out and shared with the entire town. Here were the results found in John 4:39-41 39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word. You see when we encounter Jesus in our lives, we need to take the time to share that encounter with others!
