Over nearly 40 years as a pastor, one of the things I've learned is that when you sign up to be a pastor, you also sign up to be a point man in some very challenging situations.
One of the challenging situations I've often been asked to take over has been when a beloved or in some cases, not so beloved, relative is on their death bed, and needs to hear the Truth of the Gospel or experience the consequences.
It's now been about 20 years ago when a fairly young lady attended our church one Sunday and apparently decided I would be her point man. As far as I can remember, she only came once. But she called and asked if I would visit her parents, both of whom were in an end-of-life care facility in Sparks.
So, I dutifully found my way to their bedsides in a care facility located just north of Oddie Blvd one weekday afternoon, and found that their circumstances, each of them, were indeed grim. They were in separate rooms, each of them confined to a bed, each of their bodies having so totally worn out that they were unable to do anything for themselves. In each case, it was pretty clear that death was only weeks or perhaps days away, but the one thing they were able to do, thankfully, that day, was listen, and respond--if only so feebly.
So, I talked to the woman's mother. And it's amazing the spiritual clarity most people have once it is clear that they are lying on their deathbeds. She heard the Good News, that eternal life is a free gift offered to sinners through faith in Christ, and faith in His death for her sins and she immediately, without reservation, decided that gift was for her, and prayed the sinner's prayer. Obviously, at that point in life, while on the precipice of death, what did she have to lose--she had eternity to gain.
Then I entered her husband's room, and again it was clear he had all but breathed his last. But his initial response was substantially different from his wife. As I began to share the Gospel with Him, there were immediately tough guy, smart-aleck scoffing-like responses. He initially mocked the whole idea of anything spiritual. However, I persevered, knowing that it was now or never for this "tough guy." And as I got the point of asking him whether he wanted to receive the free gift of eternal life that Christ was offering to him, the tough guy, scoffer façade totally disappeared. Suddenly, I was talking to a different person. It was as if he were only six years old and had simply decided, in light of the circumstances, to drop the tough guy, Smart aleck pretense that he had used to protect himself from anyone or anything who posed an unwanted intrusion upon his life. And believe it or not, with a humble tear a tear and whimper, he trusted Christ as His Savior.
Then, of course, I was able to share the Good news via a phone call later that day to the concerned daughter of both of these elderly people that they had each professed faith in Christ, and were likely on their way to heaven, because of God's grace shown to them in their last gasp time of need.
The reason I could share that good news was because of the good news of who Jesus is--The real Jesus is the Son of God who seeks and saves sinners, no matter how big or bad they pretend to be.
It's a truth that was powerfully illustrated by the story of Jesus and a great sinner by the name of Zacchaeus in Luke 19.
Now the story, by its placement among the 24 chapters of the Gospel of Luke appears to have happened late in his ministry, as most of the final chapters of Luke are occupied with Jesus' death and resurrection that occurred in Jerusalem. And in fact, Luke 18:31-34 tells us that this was exactly what was on the immediate agenda for Jesus. Jesus had warned His disciples that He was on His way to Jerusalem for the last time, as he headed there from Galilee for the most meaningful Passover of the Jews that would ever be celebrated. Because, once there, the true Lamb of God, Jesus, who takes away the sins of the world would be sacrificed for our sins once and for all.
And so, as He travelled south he took the trade route from Galilee to Jerusalem that took Him through the famous Biblical town of Jericho, made famous in Joshua's Day, because its walls fell down at the shout of Israel as Israel was beginning its conquest of the Promised Land.
Now the rebuilt Jericho of the first century, and I believe, also, today is a delightful place. It was called the Eden of Palestine. It was located along the Jordan River, in the low valley before the River reaches the Dead Sea. It had a warm, almost tropical climate and owing to the fact that there was plenty of water, was home to many trees and some profitable forms of agriculture. It was also on a major trade route between Syria and Egypt. And so, it was a delightful place that was economically prosperous.
Now by this time, more than 3 years into His ministry, Jesus had become more than famous, He was a sensation, and so as He made his way through Jericho on his way to His final week in Jerusalem, a large throng of people were following Him. He had just healed the blind beggar Bartimaeus on his way through Jericho, adding to the sensation. And the news of his passing through Jericho apparently preceded him. This was a sensational, possibly once-in-a-lifetime event, so I imagine everyone wanted a peek of this divine healer/prophet who had become a so famous in in Israel.
And one of those who just wanted a peek at Jesus was a little/big man by the name of Zaccheus.
I say he was a little/big man, because although he was very small in stature, he was a very big man in town. Verse 2 tells us he was the chief tax collector in Jericho. In other words, he might have been the equivalent of the local bureau chief of the Internal Revenue Service. And because of his occupation, he was rich--he might have been the richest man in town.
However, he was also immensely unpopular precisely because of how he had attained his riches. If you didn't know it, tax collectors in Israel were uniquely despised by their fellow Jews. Now tax collectors don't tend to be popular in any culture, especially this time of year in the U.S. But that was not the only strike Zaccheus had against him in Jericho. Strike two was that he collected taxes on behalf of the Romans, the Gentiles who were the unwelcome conquerors and rulers over the Jews at this time in history. And the taxes that the Jews paid to the Romans were used to keep the Romans in power, among other things. The Romans were accustomed to exploiting conquered people by means of taxes imposed on them, and they certainly made sure they weren't going to lose any money by stationing their Roman garrisons in the midst of Israel. So, as these taxes were paid, it was well known to the Jews that they were being forced to aid and abet the continuation of a very unwanted set of circumstances--Gentiles who were occupying, exploiting and ruling over them in their own land.
So, strike one, he's a tax collector. Strike two, he's collecting taxes for the Romans. Strike three, he's betraying his own people in the process. And then we can go on to strikes four, five and six very quickly.
Because Zaccheus was a Jew, and the Old Testament Law required Jews to have nothing to do with Gentiles, Zaccheus was unclean--He was violating Old Testament Law and thus was defiled, and an untouchable among the Jews. Thus, he was not only one who had betrayed His countrymen, but someone who had betrayed a Jew's rightful devotion to God. So, he was a complete reprobate.
And then on top of that, tax collectors were known to be notoriously unscrupulous. The Romans, of course, required them to collect from each person what was required for taxes, but the way that the tax collectors got paid was by charging tax-payers more than what the Romans required. How much they charged was largely up to them, so they literally extorted taxes from their country-men, often greedily gouging their countrymen for amounts well beyond the taxes required by the Romans out of a greedy desire to get rich.
Now, clearly Zaccheus had been very successful in this endeavor. He is the only chief tax collector we encounter in the New Testament, and so was chief of all the rascals, and his riches only served as a reminder of how he had betrayed his own people,--old them out to the Romans-- all for his own sordid gain.
So, though he was little in stature, he was big and bad in the eyes of his fellow Jews in Jericho.
But because he was short, he had a problem. You couldn't buy a front-row seat to see Jesus on that day. It was a spontaneous event, and Zaccheus realized that he was at a decided disadvantage. And so, what did he do? He was so excited that this little-big man acted like a little kid. He ran ahead of the surging crowd around Jesus, and he found a spreading Sycamore Tree along the main path that Jesus was sure to travel through town. Now the sycamore-fig tree, as it was known in Israel, was a large, solid tree, which had thick spreading branches that spread out from the trunk parallel to the ground--kind of like a modern Tropical Banyan tree if you've ever seen one of those. And so, they were easy to climb. And so, you have this big man in town scrambling ahead of the throng like a little kid, and finding a Sycamore tree, jumping up in its branches just to get a peek of Jesus.
And he would be successful, more successful than he could ever imagine, because he became just like the kind of person Jesus said would be successful in finding his way to a right relationship to God. He became real. He dropped all his pretenses, his façade of being a bigshot in town. And he did, whatever was necessary to see Jesus--he humbled himself just like a little kid just to see Jesus.
Our first principle this morning. You want to meet the real Jesus, then be real yourself. Humble yourself just like a little child. Admit you who are, don't pretend any more. At best, apart from God, all of us are lost sheep, lost children, like sheep without a shepherd, needing a shepherd, and as sinners, also needing a Savior.
And apparently, as the story proceeds, what motivated Zaccheus' actions was not just a curiosity, but there was a deeper spiritual need. He's experienced all the worldly success that life could offer him, but there was still something missing. It didn't satisfy. He wanted something more. And if was like most other tax-collectors, he knew that his sins would catch up with him sooner or later, and from all he had heard about Jesus, he had a sense that Jesus might be able to help with that meaninglessness, emptiness, and that uncomfortable feeling that he wasn't going to get away with all the ways he had cheated his constituency of out their money forever.
And so, Zaccheus got real with Himself and real with Jesus, and admitted he had a great spiritual need.
Jesus talked about this kind of person--a person who humbles himself like a child in Matthew 18:3-4--which is precisely what Zaccheus did here in Luke 19. Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
So, Zaccheus, the rich, big man in town, runs around like a little kid, climbs the tree, and then the moment of truth arrives. Jesus Himself shows up at that spot, right under the Sycamore tree.
Luke 19:5-6: "When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must say at your house.'" And he hurried and come down and received Him gladly."
Wow! Desire granted! Zaccheus had hit the jackpot. Not only did he have the chance to see Jesus, but he was going to get the chance to meet him personally and have him over at his home! What a privilege!!!!
Now we need to see things for a moment from Jesus' perspective. He is at the very tail end of his public ministry. He's passing through Jericho for the very last time. He has only a few days left to live as a mere mortal, if he were ever a mere mortal. He's on a divinely-ordained schedule to get to Jerusalem where he will serve as the Passover Lamb who must die precisely on the Passover in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, only a couple weeks away. And there are thousands of people thronging along with Him as He's on his way to His own crucifixion.
He's on a mission with a deadline, and a mission that is of eternal significance. And amid all the thousands of people he could have spent time with on that busy day, whom does He choose to spend time with? Zaccheus, that dirty sinful Jew, that rich man who had extorted his fortune from his fellow Jews at the expense of his relationship with God and with his fellow Jews.
But why? Did anyone else run like a little child, like his life depended on it, to get a peek at Jesus, that day? Did anyone else, clothed in all his rich man's garments, do what was beneath his dignity, and climb a tree seeking Jesus?
No, Zaccheus, perhaps only equaled by the cries of the blind Bartimaeus moments earlier, had shown his desire for Jesus, had revealed his childlike need for Jesus, had dropped all his pretense of being too big or too important, or too proud, to do whatever was necessary to meet Jesus, because he realized he desperately needed what Jesus uniquely had to offer. He was admitting that he was a sinner, like all of the rest of us, and that he needed a Savior.
Now do you think Jesus knew this about Zaccheus? He was, after all the only begotten Son of God, God in the flesh, and as such, all-knowing. Yes, absolutely, He knew, and He responded in exactly the way both God in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New had said he would in precisely these kinds of circumstances.
For the Lord had said in Isaiah 30:18, that He longed to be gracious to his people. And He said again, in Jeremiah 29:10; that if anyone would seek Him with all His heart He would find Him. And then Jesus Himself had told three Parables in this very same Gospel that demonstrated how God's heart longs to save that which is lost--in the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. God's heart bleeds for the lost, and longs to meet any lost sinner who longs to meet Him, in order to forgive.
And so, Jesus knew exactly who Zaccheus was and how desperately Zaccheus not only wanted to see Him, but to meet Him, and to obtain what only Jesus could give--salvation, the assurance of heaven and the forgiveness of sins that comes by faith in Jesus as Savior alone.
Do you know what we see about Jesus here? We see that when you Seek Jesus with all your heart--He'll come to you. He will seek you even as you have sought Him.
And so, for the only time in the Gospels, Jesus invites Himself over to someone's house. Because he knows that Zaccheus will only be too glad to receive Him. And that's what the text here tells us, "And Zaccheus hurried and come down and received Him gladly."
You seek Jesus and what He offers with all your heart, and He'll come seeking you and seeking to be gracious to you, which He longs to do.
So, are you ready to drop all pretenses, your façade, and admit your need for Jesus? Admit, as a child, you're sinner in need of a Savior. Then, I've got good news for you, Jesus is ready to meet you and is only too eager to provide you with all you desire.
Now, Jesus' decision to spend time with Zaccheus is not a popular one with his followers that day. Zaccheus had a reputation, and as I've mentioned, it was not a good one. So, verse 8, tells us "When they (the others in the crowd) saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." How could Jesus do this? How could Jesus do this? It's because the Real Jesus is no respecter of persons or popular opinion. He sees the heart. And the real Jesus seeks and saves sinners no matter how bad or how big.
So, the scene now quickly shifts to Zaccheus' house. Now we're not told what Jesus said or what took place in the conversation. But from the rest of Luke and especially the passage that we studied last Sunday, when the woman of ill-repute entered Pharisees house and began wiping Jesus' feet with her tears and her hair, I suspect Jesus said something like this to Zaccheus, the same thing he had said to the sinful woman in Luke 7: "Your faith has saved you." In other words, despite your sins. which are many, because of your faith in me as your Savior--who would shortly die on the cross to pay for his sins--your sins are forgiven.
And so, in the middle of the meal, or whatever was happening at his house, Zaccheus stands up and makes a public proclamation! Verse 8: Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." What an announcement!
Do you know what this was? It was a public pronouncement of repentance, repentant faith in Jesus as His Savior. Repentance means to change your mind. And do you know what had been Zaccheus' God up this point in His life? Money! Riches! He had been all about getting rich at the expense of his relationship to God and everyone else, but he had just decided to make Jesus His God and Savior, and so everything he was and everything he owned was now becoming subservient to that, and to the Jesus whom He would now serve.
And so, he repented of the one over-arching sin that had separated Him from God and his countrymen--greed and covetousness--and decided to express His faith in Jesus as His Savior and Lord by now using His Money for God's purposes--giving half of everything He owned, which was plenty, to help the poor, and if he had defrauded anyone of anything, and guess what, I'll bet you he had, he promised to repay that person four times as much as he had stolen from him, in accord with Old Testament principles. Wow!
Now that's a Christian conversion--a conversion from the idolatry of money to the true worship of God, all because the big man found that what he had sought all his life--money, didn't satisfy, and more than that, only Jesus, along with the salvation and forgiveness of his sins, did.
And so, Jesus makes a pronouncement in response, for everyone to hear. Verse 9: "And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost."
Do you know what Jesus was saying about Zaccheus here. He is saying that Zaccheus was not saved the day before. That on this day, today, Zaccheus had been saved. Salvation had come to His house. Why, because (I believe) Zaccheus had proven that day, and beginning that day, to be a son of Abraham, in the New Testament sense. In other words, Zaccheus had not been saved as a result of merely being a descendant of Abraham, which he had been before this day. But he had been saved because he had now come to have the faith of Abraham on that day, in accord with the telling statement of Genesis 15:6: "And Abraham believed God, and God reckoned it unto Him as righteousness." And so, Zaccheus, like Abraham, had believed in Jesus as the only begotten Son of God, and Jesus had reckoned it to Him as righteousness."
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."
And Jesus summed the experience up in this way in verse 10: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Our final point this morning. To meet and know the real Jesus, Admit you're a sinner, show your repentant faith and you'll be saved.
Zaccheus knew he was a sinner, and he made no bones about revealing that to everyone, as if anyone didn't know. But because He admitted this to Jesus, and sought Him with all his heart, Jesus sought Him as well, found Him and saved Him.
How about you, this morning? Have you met the Real Jesus? Have you met the real Jesus who seeks and saves sinners, both big and bad?
But only when they get real with Him and admit what he and everyone else knows--that their a sinner, in need of a Savior.
You can be saved by faith, yes, a repentant faith in Jesus today, in a moment's time, if you'll only put your faith in Jesus, who died for your sins and proved by being raised from the dead.
Won't you meet the real Jesus this morning? He'll forgive you of all your sins if you will put your faith in Him, and in Him alone, as your Savior.
Let's pray
