Luke 19:1-10

December 18, 2016
Dr. Ricky Smith

Sermon Notes

This morning we’re going to be looking at Luke chapter 19. If you have not been with us for a while or this is your first time here, we are moving methodically through the book of Luke trying to better understand who Jesus is and how we can be like Jesus to the world. Today we come to a really familiar story in Luke chapter 19 about this guy named Zacchaeus. This is a classic kid’s story. If you grew up in church, it is a strong possibility that you sang a little song about this guy when you were a kid. It’s a strong possibility that somebody taught you this story using a flannel board. I can’t think of a better way to relive it then with the flannel board today. If you didn’t grow up in church, that’s okay. Today we’re going to use a flannel board because what is old is now new.

Let’s think about Christmas and the Christmas story. If we were to think about the traditional Christmas story one thing is true, when people had an encounter with Jesus even as a baby they walked away different. Let’s think of the shepherd for just a moment. The shepherds responded to the message of the angels, the proclamation of the heavenly hosts. They went to find this baby in Bethlehem. If you read to the end of Luke chapter two, it tells us that they left and told everybody about this child. There’s just something about a real encounter with Jesus. It changes us! We can’t help but be different when we are in the presence of Christ.

Today is a familiar story about a character in Scripture that has nothing to do with Christmas. However, it is yet another example of how a person’s encounter with Jesus leaves them forever changed. I hope as we walk through this story, if you listen closely, you will find yourself connecting with somebody in the story. You will see yourself either presently or in the past. I pray that you would either be motivated to change and respond however God leads you; or, you will pause and have a moment of thanksgiving for what God has done in your life.

1. Your circumstances should not determine your actions

Luke 19:1-3
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.

Let’s start this story with the star of the show. No, it is not Zacchaeus. The key character and the star of the show is Jesus. He is who we want to have our attention on. I’m going to pause to make sure that you see and understand Jesus was not Caucasian. He was a Middle Eastern guy living in his culture and came to embrace the culture of that day. What we learn here is that Jesus was on his way to Jericho. Why was he on his way to Jericho? I think we need to understand a little about Jesus’s journey and understand the context of the story so let’s talk a little bit about the city. Remember Jesus was born in Bethlehem. His childhood and his ministry began in the northern part of the country, north of the Sea of Galilee. It was there that he performed his first miracle. It was there that he found his disciples. It was there that he began his ministry, establishing his presence of authority, and preaching the message that the Kingdom was here on earth as it is in Heaven. He began to heal and perform many miracles. We know that Jesus came as a baby so that he could die, be resurrected, defeat death thereupon the grave, and be forever our atoning sacrifice for sin. He came so that he could die. For that to happen, Jesus understanding his mission and prophecy knew he had to move from the northern region of the country to Jerusalem, which meant going through Jericho.

If you grew up in church, you may have heard another familiar children’s song Joshua Fought the Battle at Jericho. This is that same city that we learned of way back with Joshua when they crossed over and entered into the promised land after Moses’s death. This is the same region or the same area where Elijah and Elisha had that great transfer and he was taken up into Heaven. Jericho was a pivotal key city all throughout the history of the Bible. Here we see it brought up again. The demographics of the city had changed from when Joshua went over. Now the Jews had established a presence in the city but Rome was oppressively ruling over the Jewish community. This city was up below sea level. It had a tropical environment, like Miami. Herod began to develop this city as a tourist town. If you wanted a winter home that was nice and sunny near the beach, you may build a home in Jericho. It was a popular tourist trap. Maybe when you went through Jericho they were selling little trinkets of Joshua and the wall. It was a popular and pivotal city. They were known for exporting balsam which was a key export of that time. It was a wealthy city. If you are a country that is oppressing a group of people and you have a lot of money going through one city, naturally you want to collect taxes.

Zacchaeus enters the scene. Zacchaeus was not just a tax collector. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector. In fact, I would say for those of us in the room who are self-employed or small business owners rather than this being a Christmas story it probably reminds us of the time of year when we’re preparing for the IRS’s view of us next spring. Was it a customs tax? Was it property taxes? It doesn’t really matter. What we do know is that Zacchaeus the chief tax collector which means he didn’t just collect taxes. Think of it as a pyramid scheme. He had a lot of other tax collectors working for him and he was sure to get a cut of what they did. We know this was a prominent trade city and tourism city so there’s a lot of business going and a lot of tax to be gained. We know this tax had to be paid to Rome. So where is Zacchaeus going to get his money? Well he has to skim a little off the top. He had to charge you a little bit more so he can send what he has to send to Rome and he can keep some for himself. Needless to say, tax collectors were not popular guys in Bible times. Not to step into political waters but needless to say they’re not really popular guys today either. Maybe we can understand a little bit about he how was perceived and how he was accepted.

I think it is important for us to understand that not only was he a tax collector but he was a very rich. I think it’s interesting, if you’ve been studying with us through the book of Luke over the last several weeks, in Luke chapter 18 there was another story about a rich man and Lazarus. We looked at that man’s response to his opportunity to receive the Gospel. We can compare and contrast that today with Zacchaeus and how he responded to the Gospel. What’s really interesting to me is verse three where Zacchaeus was seeking who Jesus was. Zacchaeus, like many of us in this world or in this room, was clearly at a place where he was asking some really big questions: “Who is God? Who am I? Who is this Jesus? I want to go find it out.” Why was he seeking Jesus? It’s interesting to think about what that could be. I would challenge you to consider this. Maybe you see yourself in this.

Here is what I know about Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a publican. Zacchaeus was a Jew. We learned in verse 10 he was a son of Abraham, which means he was from a bloodline of faith. Interestingly enough, Zacchaeus’s name means “pure and innocent”. Names have a lot of weight in meaning, especially in Bible times. The meaning behind the name you’re given carries a lot of expectation on how you live your life. I don’t think we’re reading into the text very much and can safely assume Zacchaeus knew who God was. He had probably grown up in Jewish school and memorized the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. Deep down inside I think Zacchaeus knew better.

Let’s take a quick glance at where Zacchaeus is at. He was given a position of power in a city of prominence. Little by little over time he finds himself extorting or taking advantage of people and the situation. I think it’s safe to assume that when Zacchaeus was a small boy learning about God, Jewish tradition, and even memorizing Scripture I doubt he had his objective in life to be, “You know what? I think when I grow up I’m going to extort others. That’s what I want to do.” I doubt it. If I had to guess, I imagine Zacchaeus found himself little by little beginning to justify his actions saying, “Well every other tax collector does this. This is just a system in which I live. I’m going to compromise my integrity, my values, and my morals. I know my name means ‘pure and innocent’ and this is not very pure and innocent but I’m going to do it anyway.” He realized he had strayed so far away from where his mom and dad perhaps challenged him and encouraged him to be.

This is safe to assume that this is true of Zacchaeus but it may be safe to assume that is true for you too. Maybe you find yourself today in a situation, an environment, or a circumstance that you never intended to be. Here’s the reality. Your circumstances don’t have to dictate your actions. Just because you may find yourself in a line of work that often times has a propensity for being corrupt and dishonest doesn’t mean you have to be corrupt and dishonest. I think of a friend of mine named Brian. I remember Brian as a boy hearing and learning about Jesus and being loved by his mom. Brian is now in drug rehab after he spent some time in prison. His kids have been taken away from him. I can guarantee you when I visited Brian in prison I saw a remorseful man who never thought that’s where he would be. His circumstances and situation led him down this slippery slope of one bad decision after another, progressively more intense with more significant consequences. All of a sudden he found himself in a place he never intended to be. Here’s the reality. Sin will take you further than you ever intend to go and it will keep you longer than you ever intend to stay. Your circumstances do not have to determine your actions. If you’re here today and you find yourself in a circumstance or situation you never intended to be, there is hope because Jesus will meet people where they are. Praise God for that!

2. Jesus meets people where they are

Remember Zacchaeus for some reason was motivated to see who this Jesus was. He asked a deep penetrating question of himself and that motivated him.

Luke 19:4-6
4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully

Zacchaeus climbs up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. I don’t know that there’s really a lot of significance per se to the tree. This was a common tree. A sycamore tree was part of the fig tree family. Zacchaeus is determined to see Jesus as he is walking by so he climbs up in this tree. The encounter and the way that we see Jesus interacting with Zacchaeus is unique. It breaks the pattern of norm. Go back and look at all the encounters in the book of Luke that Jesus had with a person. The overwhelming majority of them the person initiated the interaction with Jesus. Jesus was walking by and the lame man cries out, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” The person cries out for help Jesus and Jesus responds. There are a few situations in Luke where he calls the disciples, as he healed the woman of a disabled spirit, as he raises the widow’s son. We don’t know the mind or understand the mind of God; but, there are a few situations where Jesus breaks the mold of norm and initiates interaction or contact with a person. This is what we see Jesus and Zacchaeus. Jesus is the first one to speak. Jesus walked up to him and said, “Zacchaeus, come down. I want to go to your house today.” I think this is interesting. Why? We must be open to the reality that God is not bound by any set of rules or any normal set of standards in which he has to conduct business. What’s important here is that Zacchaeus went to seek Jesus and he found him.

The point I’m trying to make for today is this. We could all share experiences and stories of maybe ourselves or someone we know where God came in rescue the perverted mind, the addicted person, the drug addict, or the homeless. God stepped in and worked a miracle. God performed many signs and many wonders. He has the ability to change the heart of the person that you have completely written off as hopeless. Can you imagine the way Zacchaeus was viewed by people in the city? I’m sure many felt Zacchaeus was a corrupt chief tax collector who was taking food and money off of their table make his mansion be more wealthy. They felt there was no hope for that man. Look what Jesus does. When God does the supernatural in someone’s life, you and I should rejoice but unfortunately we have to beware.

3. Beware when God’s people criticize God’s ways

You may not see yourself in Zacchaeus but perhaps you see yourself in the crowd. Have you ever been guilty of seeing God work in someone’s life, maybe the reprobate person you’ve completely written off, and God does something. You’re like, “Wait a minute. I know that person’s baggage. I’m skeptical of what’s going on in their life because I know their past.” We so quickly criticize what Jesus may be doing in the life of someone that needs heart change. Be very careful!

Luke 19:7
7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Here’s the sad reality. The religious crowd will often give credence to the critic to reject Christ. If we’re not careful, when we as God’s church criticize what God’s doing other people who are seeking Jesus will use our grumbling as an excuse to give credence to their rejection. Can I speak openly for a minute? That stings a little bit. If I’m honest with me, I’ve been guilty of that before. Maybe it’s not so much I’ve been guilty of criticizing the person who has turned from their sin; maybe I’ve been critical of just watching God work supernaturally.

Let me describe it this way. If you were at the John Waller concert this past Tuesday, you may have heard this story. John Waller is a traveling musician and has been very successful. God laid it on John and his wife’s hearts several years ago to adopt a child. As John tells, in a dream one night he pictured a small girl sitting in the corner whose name was Anna and he adopted her. He let it go as a dream until he was on a mission trip to the Ukraine. He walked into a room and there was a small girl in the corner who introduced herself as Anna. He knew then, “I’m going to adopt this girl.” Only later after she’s adopted and learned to speak English is she able to portray to him, “Years ago I dreamed that a skinny white guy who played the guitar was going to adopt me and be my daddy.” That’s amazing!

It is really easy for us as God’s people to hear a story like that think it doesn’t seem real. When the Spirit does something miraculously wondrous, we try to explain it away. Please don’t read into what I’m saying! There are lots of people who will come to you with some miraculous line saying, “God has told me _____.” We should test everything holding on to what is good doing away with what is evil. We should measure and test it with the accuracy of Scripture. All throughout the Bible God worked signs, wonders, and miracles. That is the same God of today. He still has that ability. If he chooses to work supernaturally in someone’s life, why do we then grumble and question it. If you ever have the chance to go to India, you will see firsthand with your eyes that God is still moving and speaking in that country much of how you read in the book of Acts. It is still happening today because this is the same God trying to reveal himself to people when they don’t have the language or Scripture. He is constantly doing the work and moving people to himself. We have to be careful when we are guilty as God’s people to criticize God’s work. Here’s a sad reality. God will do something supernatural in someone’s life and because we’re skeptical, don’t have the faith or have never experienced that, we’re quick to criticize. The sad reality is the Army of God is the only army I know that frequently shoots its own wounded. If we could only see and this crowd could only see, what really mattered was not that Jesus was encountering a sinner but that a sinner’s heart was forever being changed. If we could only see this soul and need of people and have an eternal perspective, imagine how things could be different. Here’s the reality. an encounter with Jesus will result in eternal life change.

4. An encounter with Jesus results in eternal life change

Luke 19:8-10
8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus didn’t just have an encounter at a tree. He made it personal and went in to his home. Jesus and Zacchaeus have this moment. Were they the only ones in the house or was there family that was there? Did some of the crowd come inside the house? The text really doesn’t say. We can use our imagination and come to our own conclusions. The most important thing when we read the text is that in this moment in the house sitting down having an intimate conversation that Zacchaeus came to have a genuine heart change. Notice that Jesus didn’t come to Zacchaeus at the sycamore tree and say, “Here’s the deal Zacchaeus. If you’ll turn from your ways and give all the money back, then I’ll go to your house and have a conversation.” No! Jesus took him, changed his heart, and the external change was a result of what changed in his life. Zacchaeus says, “I’m going to give the money back. I want to make things right. I’m going to correct my wrongs and will make amends with those that I’ve offended.” Zacchaeus clearly had a change. He clearly repented. Repentance is a word that literally means, “I’m going to turn from my sin. I’m going to change of my behavior and go a different direction.”

From the text we can read between the lines that probably Zacchaeus went back to being a tax collector the next day and made things right with people. I guarantee that if that’s true he then went into a very corrupt line of work and operated with integrity. He treated people the right way and treated people fairly. What we don’t know with absolute certainty is what Zacchaeus did with the rest of his life. The Bible doesn’t speak a lot more about him but I will say this (don’t take this as Gospel truth because I’m going to rely on historical information rather than Scripture) history implies in the Talmud that there was a great Rabbi whose father was from Jericho named Zacchaeus. This could have been the same Zacchaeus. Most scholars accept that Zacchaeus went on to be the first bishop in Caesarea. There is at least enough evidence from history and what we see in verses nine and ten, that Zacchaeus’s life was not the same after he had a real encounter with Jesus. He was forever different. Maybe this was a one-time encounter or maybe this was a progression. Some scholars question if the tax collector that we read in chapter 18 wringing his clothes and beating his chest could have been Zacchaeus. Maybe it was. We’re not really sure but I do know there was a move and a stir in Zacchaeus’s heart where he realized there’s something about this Jesus and it motivated him to get up from where he was, go, and seek to find out who this Jesus was. In that moment, Jesus met him in his current state. He had a real encounter with Jesus. God changed him from the inside out, repented of his sin, and lived forever different.

Here’s a question as we look at the story that’s very familiar. We have to pause and ask ourselves, “Who do I most connect with in this story?” Maybe you would say, “I’m Zacchaeus. I’m here because I’ve been coming to church or someone invited me. I’m wondering who is this Jesus? What’s this all about?” If you find yourself searching, wandering, and curious, ask the tough questions and realize there is a truth to discover. I’m here to tell you that it is in Jesus who will meet you right where you are where your life can be forever changed. It will require you realizing that without God you have no hope but that with Jesus you can have peace and purpose in life. Maybe you find yourself connecting with the crowd. You love Jesus and have been faithful to serve him but you’re overly critical when God moves. Maybe when God moves in the life of a person, that you know their past and you know what they’ve done, you question the sincerity. Or, maybe you hear the miraculous signs that God performed and rather than celebrating what God’s doing and you find yourself often criticizing God’s ways.

What is your story? We heard Zacchaeus’s story. We’ve known it forever and even have a song to go along with it. What’s your story? What has God done in your life? How has he changed your heart? How does he influence your actions, your thoughts, and the way that you live your life interacting with family and those that you work with? Has he made a difference in your life? That’s a big question. And, one you need to seriously answer.

Next Steps

• Commit to change if your circumstances have influenced who you have become.
• – Confess your sin of criticizing what God may be doing, even if it doesn’t fit your preferences
• + Give your life to Jesus if you have never done so.

Discussion Questions

1. What are some situations where you have observed people allowing their circumstances to determine their actions? Have you ever fallen into this trap yourself? If so, please share.
2. Zacchaeus was determined to see Jesus, what spiritual awakening in his life would have motivated that? Share with others how you have been so determined to find Jesus.
3. Do you experience others criticizing what God is doing? Have you ever been guilty of rejecting the move of God because you didn’t agree with what was taking place? Are some people so sinful that God should not save them?
4. How is your life different with Jesus at the center? Does the way that you live daily reveal that Jesus has made a difference in your life? If so, please share.