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Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A
man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was
wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could
not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to
see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
1. Jesus
was passing through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem. Jericho is one of the oldest
inhabited communities of the world. We know it from Joshua fame. Rahab was from here
and she was an ancestor of Jesus.
2. In
Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus who we learn was three things. He was the chief tax collector, wealthy and short.
3. He
wanted to see Jesus, but he could not see over the crowd. He did something that was unusual and even undignified. He climbs a sycamore fig tree to see Him
since Jesus was coming that way. One of
the first things that leaves is your pride.
You must come like a child. Only
kids climb trees. What was he doing? He wants to see Jesus.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and
said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house
today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
1. Jesus
comes to the spot, looks up and speaks to Zacchaeus. Jesus in His love, grace, mercy, and omniscience
invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house. Jesus
saw a man who needed redemption. God
looks at the heart not the externals.
2. Jesus
often broke cultural taboos to reach a soul.
How far would you go for a soul and what would you do?
3. Notice
Zacchaeus’ reaction. He came down at once
and received Jesus gladly. This was one
invitation he was going to accept. You are
here today because you have accepted or will accept an invitation
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He
has gone to be the guest of a sinner.
1. The
crowd saw this and muttered, complained, gossip and criticized. Here are some truths about the crowd.
2. They
are rarely right, easily swayed and care only about whose voice is the
loudest. The crowd is bias, it always is
prejudiced and reflects the opinion of the day.
3. The
crowd will always reflect the pride, pleasure, and flaws of the world. It will always be worldly, demonic, and
selfish based. You will never satisfy
everyone. The crowd is mean, cynical,
mocking and will never be satisfied.
Jesus never gave into, heard, and often ignored the crowd.
4. You
will never get anything done or make a difference if you worry or try to
appease the crowd. Remember you are not destined
to be accepted but to stand out. You are
a person of destiny. Those who make a
difference go against the flow not with it. Being a Christian is about doing what God
wants and not what the crowd wants.
5. The
reason for their reaction is obvious.
Zacchaeus is rich, works for the Romans and he is short.
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,
“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I
have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
1. Zacchaeus
throws a dinner for Jesus. Who does he invite
all his friends? Who are they? Tax
collector and sinners. Jesus already
reached out to one tax collector who was now part of his travelling group and
that was Matthew. I love Jesus because
He cares about people more than being socially acceptable. Something beautiful was about to happen.
2. Zacchaeus
acknowledges the deity, Messiahship, and authority of Jesus. He calls Him Lord. In this encounter Zacchaeus becomes something
else.
3. Zacchaeus
does four things. He acknowledges that
Jesus is Lord. He gives half of his
possessions to the poor. He acknowledges
he is a cheater, liar, and extorter. He
promises to pay back anyone he has wrong four times.
4. True
faith always has action. Zacchaeus was a
changed man. Salvation does this. There is always a change when true salvation
comes. In Zacchaeus’ case he became
generous, benevolent, and repentant.
James says you have faith show it by what you do. Faith always has an outward sign. Faith has fruit and that fruit remains. In this case Zacchaeus has a radical
transformation. I am sure there was a
lot of happy people in Jericho that day.
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to
this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man
came to seek and to save the lost.”
1. Jesus
then addresses both Zacchaeus and those there.
There are three things that Jesus says.
Three important facts that need to be expressed, shown, and
revealed. This is a moment of regeneration
and transformation.
2. Today
salvation has come to this house. This
is why Jesus’ stop, went to Zacchaeus house, and met with him. This was divine appointment, the will of
Father, and the reason why Jesus came.
He came for people like this man and us.
Sinners who could not save themselves.
Jesus came to bring eternal and abundant life and that is our primary
mission, goal, and honor in life. We
have a new goal, mission, and agenda for life.
It is doing the will of the Father and bringing eternal and abundant
life to those we meet in our world. We
either do it by what we shall or how we live.
We must reach the Zacchaeus in our world.
3. Jesus
reminded him that despite what he had become he was still a Jew, a Son of
Abraham. The same promise Abraham had he
had. Remember the Lord doesn’t see what
we are but what we can become. The Lord
always sees the heart.
4. Jesus
then reminds all that His mission as the Son of Man. His purpose for coming and the reason He was
at Zacchaeus house that moment and day was to seek and save the lost. Zacchaeus was lost and now he was found. In a nutshell this is why Jesus came. He came to seek and save the lost.
5. As
I close, I want to remind you of two things.
We were sought by the Lord because we were lost. We did not find Him He sought us. Next our mission, goal, destiny and aim in
life is to seek and find the loss. When
you came to Christ that has become the primary, goal, function and aim of your
life.
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