Zacchaeus

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Good morning church, good to see you all here this morning, welcome if you're joining us online as well, so good to be able to gather together as brothers and sisters in Christ. How was your Easter? Great. Great? Good? Did we celebrate on Sunday that Jesus has risen? Yes. Yes? Do we remember on Friday why you had to die for us? This morning kids, if you're under 18, I'm under 18 at heart, but I want to especially speak to you this morning adults, you can listen as well, there'll be stuff in here for you. But when I was thinking about having our children, our youth in the service this morning, I went, we really need to get this, right? We need to be able to catch it. There's so many interesting things in scripture. Let's find one of them. One account, a real life story, and let's pull it apart together. What's amazing is, I wonder, I won't ask you whether you did it or not, but on Palm Sunday I challenged us as a church to prepare spiritually for Easter, to go back through to read some of the gospels, to read some of the events that led up to Jesus' death and resurrection. And personally, as I went through that process, Luke 19, 1-10 stood out to me. That was just a good thing for me. If you've got your bibles there, kids, youth, I want you to raise me to see if you can get it out. I want you to open up to the book of Zacchaeus. Elliot's already looking at me with a funny look. There's no book of Zacchaeus. In fact, the story of Zacchaeus is actually found in the Gospel of Luke. So if you've got your bibles there, open up Luke 19. It's near the back middle of the Bible. And this morning what I want to do is, we'll read it in a moment, but I want us to focus in on the four key characters that are described in this story. But before we read it, welcome to continue flicking if you haven't found it yet. Remember Luke, not Zacchaeus. Would you join me as we pray? Lord God, we thank You for the joy and privilege that it is to be gathered here this morning. Lord, we thank You for Your Word. Your Holy Scripture makes so easily accessible to us. Thank You that You are God's speak to us through Your Word. And we pray that as we read this passage of Scripture in a moment, by Your Holy Spirit, would You speak to us individually? Tell us what it is that You are teaching us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. Luke 19, 1-10, He, being Jesus, entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was. But on account of the crowd, he could not because he was small in statue. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down. I must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down and received Jesus joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled. He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have deforted anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. And just as Jesus and Jesus said to him, today's salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man came to seek and save the lost. As a first read, that's a little bit of a complicated wording of the story. Kids, who do you think they understand at 10 out of 10? Youth? Not many. Parents? Adults? Some of us? Okay. If you're over the age of 18, listen in. It's going to be important by the looks of that as well. The first character that I want to pull apart for us this morning is that of Zacchaeus. It's spelt up there. You wouldn't find that on a Coke bottle. But what do we know about Zacchaeus? Well, in verse two, we're told that he was a rich chief tax collector. What does that mean? He was employed by the Roman Empire, which was the government. He was employed by them to go around to all of the citizens and tell them that they owed him money. Now he'd go and they'd get taxed, and he'd pay that tax to the Roman Empire. And the Jews, the people that he collected this money off, they didn't really like tax collectors, especially not the chief tax collector, because it was a constant reminder for them that in fact they weren't a free nation, even though they were still God's people, they were under the rule, they were under the leadership of the Roman Empire. And so they had to pay taxes. And the reason that a lot of the Jews didn't like the tax collectors, especially that little bit more, was because a tax collector would make his living, would make his profit from whatever else he could charge the people. So if the government said, hey, you need to collect $10 from everyone, the tax collector might go, well, I'll be generous, I'll only charge $12. And then I get to keep $2, I still pay them the $10. Some of them might go, actually, government says you owe me $50. And he'd collect all the money and give the Roman Empire the $10 that I asked for and keep the $40. Now that's a little bit dodgy, right? You wouldn't like that if I did that to you. But what we see in this early description of Zacchaeus was he was a rich chief tax collector. And so with that description, it's very likely, unfortunately, that for some time Zacchaeus had been taking advantage of all those who lived in the same area as he did. He was charging them more than he had to so that he could be rich. This is Zacchaeus. And yet, God was at work in his heart. God was at work in his heart. How do we know this? Because when he heard that Jesus was coming to town, there was a deep conviction in his heart. There was a deep desire that he needed to seek and see Jesus. Verse three, we get a little bit more information about Zacchaeus. Verse three says, and he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd, he could not because he was small in stature. Poor Zacchaeus, he wasn't very tall. He was vertically challenged. And so when news came that Jesus was coming into town and the masses, they flocked to see Jesus. Zacchaeus wasn't like me tall, and I don't know whether he was good looking but tall. Zacchaeus was rather small. So he couldn't break through. He couldn't see over the crowds. He couldn't see Jesus from where he was. But remember how he said there was this desire that God lit in his heart to seek Jesus? Zacchaeus didn't let that stop him. I wonder what you would do in this situation. How would you make sure you could get there? Maybe you'd crawl underneath people's legs to get to the front. Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed up a tree. He made sure that he got high enough that he could see over the crowds when they came, and he sat in the tree waiting for Jesus. And church as a whole, I just want to pause here so that we get the full effect of this. When was the last time you saw a fully grown man sitting in a tree? It's not something that happens often. Zacchaeus wasn't an arborist. He wasn't there professionally going to take down certain limbs. He was desperate to fulfill the desire to see Jesus. So much so that like a child, he climbed up a sycamore tree. He didn't let the hurdle of humans stop him. He didn't let the crowds discourage him. He didn't just go, well, it's not my day. He overcame the challenge and made sure that he was able to see Jesus. We'll come back to this part, but it just so happens that Jesus asked that he might have dinner with Zacchaeus. And we read in verse six, Zacchaeus' response. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. What would your response be? If you're sitting in a tree, you've just wanted to see Jesus, and all of a sudden he says, hey, I want to come to dinner at your place. Zacchaeus jumps out of that tree. He scales down quickly and receives Jesus joyfully. And what we see next with this character of Zacchaeus is amazing. Remember, he was a chief tax collector. He loved money and he was good at making money. But after spending a little bit of time with Jesus, after joyously inviting Jesus to come and spend the night to have a meal with him, we see that he has a heart change. All of a sudden the things that he thought were important are no longer important. He's had a heart change which results in his actions being different. Or because he spent a little bit of time with Jesus. How do we know this? Because Zacchaeus, who was rich, who wanted lots of money, enjoyed the luxury of money, said this, Behold, Lord, half of my goods, half of everything I own, all of my riches I will give to the poor. And anyone who I've defrauded, that means anyone that he's done dirty deals with or taken more money than he should have, anyone that I've defrauded, I'll pay them back four times what I took from them. You don't just wake up and make that decision. Zacchaeus had a heart change which changed his physical actions as a result of spending time with Jesus. Very truly what we see is Zacchaeus' repents of this sin in his life. He turns away from the wrong things that he was doing in order that he could be obedient to God. As a result of his heart being transformed, why? Because he spent time with Jesus. And so that leads us to our second character this morning. And he guesses who that is. Jesus. Jesus is our second character. Here's what we know about him. Verse 1 of chapter 19. He, being Jesus, entered Jericho and was passing through. It's important for us to note that this wasn't the final destination for Jesus. This was a temporary spot, a just passing through. Where was Jesus actually going? Well, we celebrated Easter last weekend. The true destination, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He was headed to the cross to pay for the sins of all humanity. That's the big picture. That's where Jesus was going. He was going to die for all the wrong that I've done and all the wrong that you've done as well. And so when he came to Jericho, it was just a bit like a petrol station that you might pop in at and then keep going. He was just passing through. But we see in the crowd, we see in Zacchaeus, that there was something about Jesus. Something about him that intrigued the masses, that intrigued Zacchaeus. Something about Jesus that when they heard that he was coming, they wanted to see him. There's something about Jesus that makes people want to know him. See, very truly, his reputation came before his arrival. The crowds gathered and were ready before Jesus entered the town. People wanted to see who Jesus was. And if we read verse five together, this is amazing, okay? Jesus has been used to being in crowds. We're not told anywhere else in Scripture. This is the first time we see Zacchaeus. We're not told that there was any prior back and forth. But as we read verse five, we get this said. And when Jesus came to the place, so he's in Jericho, he looked up into the tree and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. For many of us, if we were walking through town and we saw a grown adult in a tree, we'd probably be like, that's a little bit weird. I'm going to keep walking because he might jump out at me. But this isn't Jesus' response. Zacchaeus, come down. I must spend tonight at your house. Jesus knew Zacchaeus by name. Jesus knew Zacchaeus by his name. And he desired to spend time with him. Jesus wasn't an unwelcomed intruder. He didn't just barge in and say, okay, I'm here, feed me. He said, Zacchaeus, come down. I want to spend tonight at your place. I want to have dinner. I want to spend time with you. And when Zacchaeus came down, he received Jesus joyfully. And so, after being received, Jesus then entered into his house as an invited guest. You know what's even crazier than Jesus just knowing Zacchaeus by name and saying, hey, invite me for dinner and I'll be there? It's the fact that he knew exactly who Zacchaeus was. And even if he didn't before him, before he went to dinner, he knew because we're told the crowds grumbled. They weren't happy. They said to him, Jesus, you know that this guy's a sinner. You shouldn't be with him. He's filthy and rotten. He does terrible things. He steals money from us. Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was a sinner. He knew that before he asked to spend time with him. And yet he didn't publicly rebuke or humiliate him. He didn't say, Zacchaeus, you sinful rotten sinner, get down from the tree. You don't deserve to be there. He didn't preach. If you don't repent and start doing good things, then you're going to rot in hell. He didn't do that. He sought a real relationship and genuine time with Zacchaeus, the sinful tax collector. And it's amazing as we saw with Zacchaeus, after a bit of time with Jesus, Zacchaeus' entire actions, his life, what's important to him, changes. He repents. He goes, Jesus, half of my money I'm given to the poor. Anyone I've done wrong, I'll repay four times that amount. And Jesus says these words in verse nine and 10. Today's salvation has come to this house, since he also is the son of Abraham. Let me unpack that a little bit. That's a bit like knowing that Zacchaeus wasn't liked by the crowds. That's a bit like us being a church and saying, oh, but that person, they're a bit dodgy. They're not really from Kabbaltia Baptist. The crowds treated Zacchaeus like an exile. And Jesus said, no, no, today he is also a son of Abraham. For the son of man came to seek and save the lost. In other words, Jesus came to seek and save the lost. And if there was anyone lost in that crowd, it was definitely Zacchaeus. All right, we've covered Zacchaeus. We've covered Jesus. Who thinks they know who the third character is? Parents, you can chime in as well. No. Good. Oh, Pastor Doug, he's been to Bible college. The crowd, the third character is lots of people, but let's look at the crowd together. Word of Jesus' arrival has spread. And just like Zacchaeus, the masses, imagine everyone in this room goes, Jesus is coming, we need to go and see him. And so they're excited. They're ready for Jesus to come. They rush to the side of the road and they await Jesus' arrival. They're excited, but in their excitement, a lot of the adults here are probably taller than you. So imagine you're Zacchaeus. A lot of the adults were taller. Whether intentionally because they didn't like Zacchaeus or unintentionally because they were so excited and so consumed with their own view of making sure they had the best spot, they were the most comfortable so that they could see Jesus. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the crowd became a barrier to Zacchaeus seeking Jesus. In reality, the crowd assumed that they were more worthy, more important and more deserving of time with Jesus than Zacchaeus was. Kids, do we think that's fair? Do adults are more worthy of time with Jesus? No, I've got some head shakes, good. Adults, do we think we're more worthy than the children of time with Jesus? No. And yet the crowds acted as a human barrier, a human hurdle that prevented Zacchaeus, one earnestly seeking Jesus to be able to get there. We see that just through the actions, but we also see it in their words. Verse 7, as Jesus has invited Zacchaeus to invite him for dinner, the crowds, when this all happens, they grumble. Verse 7, and when they saw it, they all grumbled. He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. That's terrible, Jesus, is the cry of the crowds. They didn't think that Zacchaeus was good enough to spend time with Jesus. And on the same hand, they believed that they were good enough to be earned that right. They believed that they were entitled, more than Zacchaeus, to spend time with Jesus. And so this is the story that leaves us with the fourth character who's not clearly there, but is here this morning. It's us. As we read it, we are a character in this story. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Church, it is possible for us, you and me, to be a part of a crowd. It's even possible for a crowd to meet in a church building like this. It's possible for us to no longer be church, but just to be a crowd of people. It's possible for us to call ourselves Christian and yet not be saved, and in fact be completely lost and in need of a savior. See, the thing about crowds is that they thought that they were good. They thought they were better than they were. The crowd thought that they deserved Jesus' love and attention. They thought they were right with God. They at least thought that they were better than Zacchaeus because he was a terrible person. I'm better than them, so I'm sweet. But here's the thing. Jesus came to save and seek the lost. And as he continued from that point on a little bit over a week later, Jesus died on a cross, not only for Zacchaeus, but for each and every one in that crowd who needed saving just as much. He died for each and every one of us who are lost and in need of a savior just as much. Because the Bible tells us clearly we cannot save ourselves. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. I encourage you today, if you don't know Jesus as your Lord and savior, if you're not 100% sure where you land with this, maybe as I'm preaching, you're going, am I a part of the crowd? Do I have my personal walk with Jesus? Have I truly accepted Him as Lord and savior in my life? Can I encourage you? Don't leave today without talking to me, Pastor Doug, Pastor Dave, your parents, anyone that you came with. We love to talk with you about this. That doesn't just go to the kids, that's all the adults as well. Maybe you're sat here this morning and you're battling with sin. Maybe there's sin that you're just struggling to overcome. Sin that just, no matter how hard you try, keeps coming back again and again. Maybe you feel a bit hopeless this morning, but the sin's too big. Like you're not strong enough. That actually you're feeling a little bit hopeless. Maybe I strayed too far for God to find me. No one could ever forgive me. This is you this morning, I need you to hear this. Jesus came to seek and save you. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. The truth is, when we're feeling like this, and it can be brutal, the truth is we don't deserve to be forgiven. The Bible tells us the only thing that we deserve is death. Death is the penalty of sin. And yet, a week and a bit after this takes place, Jesus died on a cross to pay the debt of our sin that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. If you're worried about your sin, Jesus knew the sinfulness of the kiosk before he asked to have dinner with you. Jesus knew the full extent of his sin. Jesus knows the full extent of your sin. And yet, his desire still is invite me in. I want to spend time with you. Maybe this morning, you like the kiosk. Maybe there's a deep desire within your soul to seek God, to be in fellowship with Jesus, just to seek and see Jesus in your life. I want to encourage you, if this is you this morning, don't let any hurdles of man get in your way. Don't let the crowds stop you from seeking Jesus. Zacchaeus was only a small man. The crowds were huge, and yet he went and climbed a tree. He wasn't worried about what people would think about him. He wasn't worried about his pride or his reputation. The most important thing for him then and there was to see Jesus. And I wonder in your life, what prevents you from seeking Jesus wholeheartedly? Is it fear of rejection? What if I follow Jesus and my friends don't like me anymore? What if it's fear of, if I tell them about Jesus and they say no, what will happen? What will others think if I make Jesus the number one priority? Church, if you genuinely have a desire to seek Jesus, don't let the hurdles of humans get in your way. Find a way to seek Jesus wholeheartedly. And maybe something as simple as making sure the first thing you do before you get out of bed in the morning is to ask God for help in the day in seeking Him. Jesus died so that all who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. His promise is that He will enter and spend time with me, with you, Zchias, that He will forgive and restore all those who invite Him in. Ask for His forgiveness and declare that He is their personal Lord and Savior. If you're still wondering whether or not you have a real relationship with Jesus, Zchias gives us a very clear measure. The measure is that His life was changed when Jesus became Lord and Savior. His life was changed very truly rather than being obsessed over money, rather than being so concerned about stealing from others so that He could have His own gain. Right then and there, a little time with Jesus. There was something of new importance. Jesus became the number one priority. When it came to money, He said, I'm giving half of it to the poor, and anyone that I've done wrong to, I'll pay back four times. If you spend time with Jesus, if you accept Him as your Lord and Savior, your life will change. You will desire to follow Him and to be obedient to God. That doesn't mean that we'll do it perfectly, not until Jesus comes again. But our lives will be different because we will be focused on seeking Jesus first. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. If you're a Christian here this morning, can I urge you? Be wary of the crowd. Make sure you aren't a part of the crowd. Don't become so comfortable that you become bitter and self-centred and entitled. Don't become so comfortable that you look at others and go, well, they're not even worth trying to save. Don't look at people and go, they don't deserve the good news of Jesus. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. If you're a disciple of Jesus, the reality is you were once lost. We don't deserve to be forgiven. And yet the good news of the gospel is that God loved us so much that He does forgive us when we ask. And if you're a disciple here this morning, if you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the reality is that He has commanded you and I to join in His mission, to share the good news that Jesus did die for all sinners, not just those that we like, for all sinners, that they too may be forgiven, that they too may repent of their sinful ways, that those who may follow Him and live transformed lives. Blows me away, Jesus was just passing through Jericho. This wasn't the main event. Arguably, Jesus had more important places to be, more important people to see, and a more important mission to achieve. He was on His way to Jerusalem, on His way to the cross to pay the full debt of our sin. He was just passing through Jericho. And yet church, if you're a disciple here this morning, I need you to hear this clearly. Jesus ministered during the journey and not just at the main event. And so as a church, as His disciples, we must reclaim our passing through moments. Don't just wait for church on a Sunday, don't just wait for youth on a Friday, don't just wait for this event or that event to put on your Christian mask and come ready to go, reclaim the passing through moments. As you go about your tasks at work, as you buy groceries, as you go to the fuel station, as you go through the normal rhythms of your life, where do you pass through? What people do you interact with? Do you see them as lost sheep who need a saviour? Or have you written them off going, they're not my problem? Someone else will do that. Church, we must share the good news of Jesus as we go about even the boring parts of our life. Not just at big key checkpoints. This morning as you leave, I've asked some of the youth to stand at the two back doors. And what they're going to do is they're going to hand you a little card. It's nothing super impressive, it's a bit of A4 paper that's been laminated. But on the card is a reminder. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. And so as you take this card this morning, can I encourage you, I'm not going to have hurt feelings if it goes in the bin, but it would be a wasted resource. Can I encourage you, put this in your Bible, if you read it regularly. Put this in your wallet, punch a hole in it, put it on your key chain. Put it somewhere that you will see it at least three times this week. I want to challenge you, if you don't know Jesus as your Lord and saviour this morning. If you're questioning what all this is about, if you're just trying to figure out where you stand with all of this. If you're feeling lost, can I encourage you, Jesus came to seek and to save you. If you want to explore that, we've got Hope Explored coming up at the end of May. It's a great opportunity to come and ask questions. It's a great opportunity. Grab a friend, grab a parent, grab me. We'd love to tell you the good news of Jesus. And if you are a Christian this morning, grab one of these cards. And as you go out, as you look at it at least three times this week, sit with the fact that you were lost. You were sinful. You were dead in your sin. And it's only by the grace of God, the good news of the gospel that you are alive and well. You are restored through the blood of Jesus. And so join Jesus in seeking the lost and sharing the good news of his work which does save. Church, we pass a lot of lost people in our lives. Whether it be at school, work, community events that we go to, grocery shopping. There are so many lost people who need to hear the good news of Jesus. Let's not be a crowd that stands in their way. Let's seek God earnestly. And let's do what Jesus has commanded us to do. To go there for and make disciples. Share the good news of the work that he's done, the life-giving news that you have received. Share it with someone else. If you need to, give them the card that you've taken. So hey, can I just explain what this means? Jesus came to seek and save the lost. If you're lost, Jesus came to seek and save you. If you're saved, Jesus is calling you. He's commanding you. Help to find the lost. Seek them earnestly. And tell them about the saving work of Christ. Would you join me as we pray? Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus. Lord, we thank you that as we've just celebrated over the Easter weekend, they're very truly when we accept Jesus. Our sins are forgiven. We're no longer slaves to sin and death. But we are made alive in Jesus Christ. Lord, help us not to forget that once we were lost and now we are found. Help us not to take for granted each and every one who while we were lost reached out with the good news of the gospel. Who led us closer and closer to the realization that we need Jesus in our lives. Lord, I pray that as a church, as disciples who seek to bear much fruit for the glory of God, Lord, would you challenge us to reclaim our passing moments, to seek you earnestly, to spend time with Jesus, to live transformed lives as a result of our time spent with Jesus. And to seek the lost in our lives, in our community, in our world. Lord, give us the courage to share the good news of the gospel with them. We pray for your honor and your glory alone. Amen.