Introduction

Hello church! I want to begin this message by sharing a quote by a Scottish theologian who lived over a hundred years ago named George MacDonald (1824-1905). You may not have heard of MacDonald, but maybe you’ve heard of a guy named C.S. Lewis? C.S. Lewis is the Christian author who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia as well as other greats such as Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, and The Problem of Pain just to name a few. Lewis was actually an atheist as a young person, but one day, before boarding a train outside of London, he grabbed a book. That book, Phantastes, was written by George MacDonald. Lewis’ life changed that day and he credits MacDonald for gradually pulling him out of atheism and into a deep and wonderful faith in Jesus Christ. That’s the kind of impact George MacDonald makes in his writings.

Here’s the quote I want to share with you. MacDonald says in one of his sermons, “God does not save us from injustice. He saves us from being unjust.” Let’s think about that. “God does not save us from injustice." He does not save me from bad things happening, from people taking advantage of me, from people hurting me. He does not save me from any of that in this life. What does God save us from? MacDonald says, “He saves us from being unjust.” He saves me from taking advantage of others, from hurting others, from exploiting others. The salvation Jesus offers isn’t from difficult or painful circumstances but from inner darkness that damages ourselves and those around us.

God does not save us from injustice. He saves us from being unjust.

Main Teaching

Today we’re going to learn from a story in the Gospel of Luke. This is the story of Zacchaeus, a tax collector, and how his encounter with Jesus brought salvation. This story shows us how Jesus is always on the move, seeking and saving those who are lost or so caught up in sin that they damage themselves and the people around them.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy (v. 1-2). This story is actually a continuation of the previous chapter, Luke 18, where we see Jesus approaching Jericho and while on the way healing an impoverished blind man. This is important because Luke is showing us two facets of God’s love in these connecting stories: with the blind man, Jesus encounters the oppressed; then, right away with Zacchaeus, Jesus encounters the oppressor. It’s very important we understand the contrast here. Luke is showing us how God deals with the oppressed and the oppressor.

Zacchaeus is a tax collector which means he is despised. He is hated. He is a traitor. He is in business with the Roman occupiers and takes advantage of his own people. He cheats them, exploits them. And in the process he’s become “wealthy.”

He wanted to see who Jesus was (v ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium