Room for Jesus’ Company

I want to invite you to use your imagination with me for a few minutes here.

Because obviously, ancient Palestine, 2,000 years ago,

in the time of Jesus is very different from what we see around Cyberport.

Jericho was a large, prosperous city built by King Herod.

So when the Romans came in and occupied Palestine,

Caesar gave King Herod the city.

And he built this massive city called Jericho,

about a mile from the Jericho that you remember from the Old Testament.

Basically, it evolved as like a royal estate

with grand palaces and these beautiful pools fit for a king.

And a beautiful garden city also developed alongside of it.

Because it was in a warm climate, which is nice for you guys from cold winters,

it was actually established as the winter capital of Judea.

So the king would go there during the winter months

and have his wonderful palace and rule from there.

The political importance and wealth of Jericho

would have made it a very attractive place for tax collectors,

like we read today.

And that wealth would also draw in, I would say, beggars and people in need.

Because that was also a place where they could basically make their living by begging.

For those of you guys who have also maybe thought through

the development of cities and infrastructure,

water is essential to civilization.

And a lot of Jericho's success was owed to the fact that they built these ducks

and these different water channels to bring in water from the springs around the city.

So all of these things made it very much an oasis of greenery,

as you'll see in this photo behind you.

And this is just a photo from one of the tells,

like a mound looking into over Jericho,

a lush place.

And the next photo is a sycamore tree,

a very common tree in Palestine,

growing to about 20 to 25 feet,

something that you could easily climb up onto

if you had some ability.

So when you look at this next photo,

this artist's reconstruction of Jericho,

I just want you to visualize with me for a minute

what it might have been to be like Jesus of Nazareth,

this famous rabbi, this famous teacher,

this famous savior and messiah,

entering into this city for his only recorded visit to Jericho.

With crowds of people gathering about,

there's this buzz going on.

And outside,

outside the city,

there was this blind man,

laying by the roadside,

calling out,

Son of David,

Son of David,

have mercy on me.

There's people following,

there's crowds,

he's persistent,

even they tell him to be quiet.

He's like,

Son of David,

have mercy on me.

And as Jesus slowly makes his way into the city,

and the crowds are following,

there's a short, wealthy man called Zacchaeus.

Can't really see,

so he makes his way up to this tree,

peers around,

looking for Jesus,

looking into the crowd.

There's a buzz happening.

You know,

when Jesus is out and about,

when the crowds are there,

there's almost a sense of anticipation.

Something's happening.

Something's gonna happen.

Jesus is gonna do something amazing.

We're in this series on Advent,

which celebrates how Jesus came to us.

And it really gives us a chance to think about this question.

Well,

if Jesus really came to us 2,000 years ago,

what do we do with that fact?

Does it even mean anything to me?

So today,

I wanna take us through these two episodes

that we just read from Scripture.

And I wanna show you how these two figures,

the blind beggar on one hand,

the wealthy tax collector on the other hand,

situated in completely different places of the city,

both physically and economically and socially,

how these two figures had encounters with Jesus

that actually left them completely changed.

At the same time,

I also wanna show us

how these stories translate to us.

2,000 years later,

how do we make room for Jesus' company,

his presence with us

in 21st century Hong Kong?

If you notice in your Scripture reading,

the reading actually spans two chapters.

And the blind beggar story is in chapter 18,

and the Zacchaeus story starts at chapter 19.

So just as a preliminary point,

I want you to just remember,

this division is maybe understandable

if you consider Jesus' actual entry into Jericho

as the key event.

But actually,

these two episodes,

and I think why it's important for us

to read them together

is because they actually form a pair.

They actually can be read together

and complement each other.

And that's how I wanna walk us through this.

And just be reminded,

even when you're studying

and you're reading the Scripture on your own

at home tonight,

when you're rereading the Bible,

don't be sort of sucked into

just the chapter and verse divisions.

I think we've said this before,

but it's worth repeating.

I don't think the chapter and verse numbers,

I don't think they're divinely inspired.

They're more like a guide for you.

So when you're reading,

just be mindful of that.

Read the entire context

in your own study as well.

Let's take it from the top of that story then

with Bartimaeus, the blind beggar.

And in these two episodes,

I want us to see,

I think God wants us to see

that they are both outcasts.

Both of them are outcasts.

And what do I mean by outcast?

I think an outcast is simply

anyone who is refused

or perhaps restricted

from full acceptance into society.

The blind man,

and we know his name is Bartimaeus

from Mark's Gospel,

he obviously is an outcast,

I think,

because of his blindness.

And in that day,

that blindness basically stops you

from full participation in society.

And he's been relegated to begging

on the dirty roadside.

And if you notice what he says to Jesus,

he says what?

Let me recover my sight.

And we can't be positive about this,

but it's quite probable

that Bartimaeus had his sight at one point.

And for whatever reason,

maybe sickness or some other cause,

he lost that sight.

So Bartimaeus may even have known

what it was like to have sight

before he lost it.

And not only is he now physically brought low,

begging by the roadside,

you know, when he's calling out for Jesus,

he's calling out for help,

the people around him,

what do they do?

They basically tell him to shut up.

Right?

Because he's just causing a disturbance.

This beggar is just causing a disturbance

and stopping us from seeing

this massive Messiah,

this rabbi,

this famous person.

And we learned last week from Alfie

that a common perception in this time

was that sickness was often connected with sin.

Maybe it was a result of the person's sin

that caused his sickness,

that caused his infirmity.

So there may have been something like that

also weighing in the mind of Bartimaeus

and the people.

That's where Bartimaeus is

in life at that point.

Now, Zacchaeus was at the opposite end

of the spectrum, right?

The title of chief tax collector,

this is the only place it appears

in the New Testament.

But given that Jericho

was a major toll collection point

in a trade route,

it would have made sense

for there to be a chief tax collector there,

overseeing a bunch of other tax collectors.

It would have been a very logistical place

to gather taxes.

But what we can be certain about, I think,

is that Zacchaeus was loaded.

He was filthy rich,

if you want to use another term.

This man had wealth.

However, despite his prosperity,

he was despised by the average Jew.

Why?

Because as a Jewish person,

he symbolized the authority

of the Roman government

who had come to conquer and oppress

and basically take our money.

And he was an instrument of that.

He was a symbol of that.

The story says that the people

started grumbling

because they considered Zacchaeus

to be a sinner.

But Jesus still went to stay with them.

Tax collectors in the day

were known to overcharge

and basically line their own pockets

to get more money for themselves

and not just collecting

for the government.

So there were probably people

who were angry

over that sense of corruption

and perhaps jealous

over his immense wealth.

One commentator thinks

that Zacchaeus' house

was probably one of the finest

in Jericho

because of his position.

And I imagine maybe

if that was in Hong Kong today,

he would have had a nice,

nice, beautiful house

on the peak.

Zacchaeus probably had

his circle of friends,

his elite friends

and tax collecting colleagues.

But at the end of the day,

I think it would have been

very clear

that he was scorned

by the average person.

He was probably aware

of his reputation.

Wildly successful

in monetary wealth,

but despised

by the average person.

like Bartimaeus,

Zacchaeus

was also an outcast.

It's clear that

both of these men

recognized that something

wasn't right in their lives.

Their situations in life

didn't really line up

with the ideal.

They had this ideal.

I mean,

there should be acceptance.

There should be friendship.

There should be community.

But somehow,

they were outcasts.

For Bartimaeus,

we know that his blindness

was something

that burdened him.

Or he wouldn't have

called out so persistently

for healing.

Even when people

told him to be quiet.

Zacchaeus's inner turmoil,

it's not explicitly

stated in the text,

I think,

but I think when you look

at what he's doing,

it's something clear.

We get a clue

about his convictions.

We see that he actually

tried to climb

this sycamore tree

to get a glimpse of Jesus.

And in that culture,

it would have been

very undignified behavior

for a grown man

to climb a tree.

And so there's something more,

I think,

we see in the subtext.

Something more.

It wasn't just curiosity

that spurred Zacchaeus

to look,

to climb.

There was something

deeper that he was

really seeking.

So,

fast forward with me

about 2,000 years now

to Hong Kong,

to Watermark,

to these seats right now

that you're sitting in,

to the lives,

your own lives,

the lives of the people

around you.

Think about this

for a moment.

Who are the outcasts

of society?

Maybe your mind

just went to

the homeless people

down in St. Barnabas

that some of us

have been serving.

Or the working girls

and pimps down

on Lockhart Road

in the red light district.

Or the refugees

and asylum seekers

that you see around

in Hong Kong.

Or maybe the many

domestic helpers

that may be abused

or exploited

and often treated

as second-class citizens

in this world-class city.

If those people

came to mind,

well,

you're not wrong.

I think you're

absolutely correct

in maybe thinking

about these people.

Those are the obvious

examples, right?

But let's dig a little

deeper here.

Because if the issue

of being an outcast

is actually fundamentally

about finding

full acceptance

in our society,

in our communities,

amongst our peers,

then I think we're

actually all in danger

of being outcasts.

Or at least

every one of us

has a part within us

that is outcast.

You know,

we spend so much

of our lives

creating and following

all these standards.

Whether we create

them ourselves

or we see them

around us,

all these standards

that act as dividing walls,

separating the good

and the bad,

the elite

and the average,

the acceptable

and the unacceptable.

But the truth is

there are aspects

of your life

that always fall short

of these standards,

right?

And if these things,

if they were all exposed

and brought to the forefront,

you would become

an outcast in some way.

Maybe you already

feel that way.

Or if you're like

Bartimaeus,

maybe you had your sight

and you lose something

like that and boom,

everything is lost.

Outcast.

These are the parts

of our lives

that we're not proud of.

The things you do

and think that you would

never come close

to posting on Facebook.

You know?

When I whip out my phone

and I have my Facebook app,

now they always ask me

at the top

in the status update,

what's on your mind

right now?

And there's things

I would never type

on that impressed post.

Right?

It's that bad photo

that someone tagged you in,

you know,

when the angle

is coming up like this.

Right?

You hate that photo

because the double chin

is right there.

Right?

I got that.

You know what I'm talking

about, right?

And you just can't

click untag fast enough

because it's a bad

portrayal of you.

That double chin

is no good.

And I mean,

we joke about that

and that's a funny example,

but I think there's,

there is a sense

of being outcast

based on our physical beauty,

isn't there?

When you compare yourself

to a magazine cover,

there are outcasts

wrestling with their appearance.

What about relationships?

What about broken relationships

and things that seem

to have scarred us

seem to taint our lives?

What about sex

and drug addictions?

There was an article

in CNN about a year ago,

I'm sure many of you guys

read about,

read this,

it was written

by a British banker

who basically literally,

he literally wrote

the headline was,

Leaving Hong Kong

Saved My Life

Because of the Drug Culture.

And like Jericho,

this is a wealthy city,

a trade hub,

a finance hub,

with plenty of opportunities

for honest

and dishonest gain.

Have you done anything

in this city

that you're ashamed of?

I have.

And even if we're not

obvious outcasts,

there is part of us

that is anxious,

I believe,

and even terrified

of becoming an outcast.

And I think that's why

we band together

and we gossip

about other people

and we bully other people

and we scorn them

and we make fun of them.

That's why this us

versus them mentality

is so powerful

because sometimes

it's easier

to demonize

and make someone

an enemy,

right?

To make myself

feel better.

And I wonder

if some of us,

even when we think

about being made fun

and bullied,

how much some of us

maybe are still

carrying around baggage

from being bullied

when we were kids.

So we go around

with these masks,

we save face,

we pretend that

everything is perfectly fine,

even maybe on a Sunday

for worship service

because we've got to

bring our Sunday best,

right?

We've got to make sure

everything's perfectly fine.

I want to take us

back to Jericho again.

Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus

understand that things

aren't right in their lives

and they're looking

for the one

who can change that.

For Bartimaeus,

although the crowd

introduces Jesus

as Jesus of Nazareth,

he instantly identifies him

as Jesus,

son of David.

A son of David

is actually a title

for the Messiah

who was supposed

to come and save the Jews.

So as he cries out again

despite being rebuked

by the people around him

to be quiet,

he is showing

some measure

of recognition

that Jesus is special.

He has this faith

to ask Jesus

for a miracle.

Jesus,

son of David,

help me recover

my sight.

And Jesus meets

Bartimaeus

in his deepest brokenness,

in his blindness.

For Zacchaeus,

I love what Jesus does

in his situation

because there's no indication

that Zacchaeus

had any intention

to call out to Jesus.

He was just kind of lurking

above in that tree,

in that Christmas tree

if you want to visualize it.

He was just lurking,

kind of looking,

but something was stirring

in him.

And in a crowd of people

where there was probably

a hundred things

vying for Jesus' attention,

a hundred things around him,

there's a buzz, right?

He's a celebrity.

There's a crowd.

He looks up at this stranger

and he calls Zacchaeus

by name.

Jesus knows Zacchaeus' name.

He sees Zacchaeus.

And when he declares

that he needs to enter

into this man's home

as his guest,

he is associating himself

with Zacchaeus

in a very personal,

intimate way.

way.

For Zacchaeus,

on his part,

we see that he received

Jesus gladly.

And that word in Greek

is literally rejoicing.

And it's interesting

because the word rejoicing

is used a number of times

in Luke,

in this gospel,

where Luke is trying

to describe someone

who has faith.

He's expressing faith

and he has that faith

in Jesus.

There's this genuine joy

within Zacchaeus

as he receives Jesus

into his home.

He's a changed man

because the Messiah

has come into his life

and Jesus' declaration

that he came

to seek and save the lost,

I think that indicates

that Zacchaeus

knew that he was lost.

He knew things weren't right.

And for Bartimaeus,

Jesus told him,

your faith

has made you well.

That's what we read.

It made him well.

And that Greek word

for made you well

is actually

translated

saved.

So we see that

even in the text

there may be actually

more than one aspect

of his restoration here.

Not only

is he physically healed

his sight,

but there's some aspect

of a spiritual salvation there.

And it may not have been

abundantly clear

to these two men

that there was

a spiritual dimension

of being saved,

but it's really clear

that they were no longer

outcasts in their society.

So fast forward again

to today

in this room.

When we apply that

to ourselves today,

I think it's clear

that we're all

spiritual outcasts.

Like what I was saying before,

the ultimate problem

isn't really being

an outcast

in this society

on a horizontal level.

It's being an outcast

because God created us

to be in this loving

relationship with him.

But day after day,

I find myself

forgetting him

and turning away from him,

whether consciously

or unconsciously.

God calls that

broken relationship,

that turning away from him,

one way we describe that

is sin.

And he sent his son,

Jesus,

to seek and save us,

the lost.

I think one of the reasons

why the stories

of Bartimaeus

and Zacchaeus

are actually told together

is because it's clear

that those of us

who are rich

and prosperous

like Zacchaeus

are actually

no better

than that blind beggar.

I don't know

the last time

you thought of yourself

as a blind beggar.

That's not one thing

that comes up

in my mind

when I wake up

every morning.

I'm just a spiritually

blind beggar.

So we need a savior

because we can't

save ourselves.

We can't be perfect.

I can't be perfect.

I've tried.

It doesn't work.

I mess up daily.

I fall short daily.

We need forgiveness.

We need unconditional love

and acceptance.

And when we receive

that gift

from the God

who created us,

we are outcast

no more.

We receive

a completely new life

and identity

as a child of God.

That's

who we were created

to be.

Children of God.

I was

just this past week

I was walking

to the MTR

and saw this little boy

maybe around

five years old

and he was

kind of just

stumbling.

Not really stumbling

but he wasn't

walking too steadily.

He was just

calling out

Baba!

Baba!

And that

means basically

dad!

Dad!

So I was kind of

taken aback

and I just

looked around

to see what was

going on.

And I think

I saw his dad

who was maybe

on the other side

maybe this far away

kind of walking

ahead of him

and it was

clear that

seemed clear at least

that maybe his dad

wasn't very happy

with him

so he was kind of

walking ahead

and only occasionally

looking back.

I know that's

kind of a small

illustration

but it just

hit me at that

point when I was

thinking about it

like

why don't I

call out

to my father

with that kind

of desperation

and that simplicity?

My heavenly father.

And he's not

quite

I don't think

our heavenly father

is like that dad

like a

kind of

he was being

kind of a jerk

I think.

our heavenly father

isn't like that.

But why

why don't I

call out to him

like that?

Like I went

I went through school

I grew up

I wear like

a nice pair of slacks

and shirt now

and I think

I've got it

figured out.

Right?

I don't know

sometimes what I'm

doing in

these nice clothes

I think maybe

I should be

wearing a onesie

or my school

uniform right?

Because that would

actually be a reminder

that in relation

to my heavenly father

I'm always a child

and I need to

come with him

come to him

with that

simplicity

just like that

little boy did.

But somehow

along the way

I thought I grew up

and I became mature

and I fear

sometimes

that I look at God

and I treat him

as an equal.

I say dad

I've grown up now

give me my inheritance

I want to sort

things out now

myself.

And that's not

the way our heavenly

father wants.

I think some of us

in this room

are like Bartimaeus.

We want to call

out to Jesus

because we know

we need him

and if that's you

today

I encourage you

be bold

and call out

to him

because our heavenly

father is not

like that father

that I saw

on the street.

He's not running

away from us

he never runs

out on us.

there's healing

to be found

through faith

in Jesus Christ.

But the truth is

I think many more

of us

are more like

Zacchaeus.

Right?

You know

we're watching

we're observing

we suspect

something's going on

we're kind of

too cool for school

I always sat

in the back row

of lectures

because I thought

I was awesome.

Right?

Only the nerds

sat in the front row

no offense

because they were

asking questions

right?

And you're just like

oh stop asking

another question

I want to get

out of class.

But we suspect

something big

is going on.

You know

Jesus is here

there's a buzz

but we're not

quite sure

how to approach

it right?

Maybe we don't

think Jesus

is really

that special.

Maybe we don't

think that Jesus

could really

love us

based on what

we've done

the things

we've thought

the things

we've done

the people

we've hurt

I don't know

the depths

of your heart

and mind

I know some

of you pretty

well but I

don't really

know

the very

depths of it

you might not

even know

yourself

and thankfully

I don't need

to because

I'm not

your savior

but I want

you to know

that Jesus

sees

every one

of you

in this room

right now

those of you

in the back

whom I can

barely see

well I see

Millen

but I don't

see you

clearly

people around

you might not

see you clearly

but Jesus

sees you

and he actually

calls each

and every one

of you

in this room

by name

Zacchaeus

calls you

by name

and this

might be

uncomfortable

for some

of you

but just

take a moment

right now

to reflect

on the fact

that God

sees the depths

of your heart

the depths

of your mind

he knows

every bit

of fear

anxiety

brokenness

sin

evil

that's in

your life

and despite

that he

still

wants to

love you

he still

wants to

forgive you

he still

wants to

love you

unconditionally

he's God

you may be

on that

sycamore tree

just peering

around

not really

knowing what's

going on

but he knows

you're there

and he wants

to meet you

exactly

where you're

at

no more

no less

so just be

honest about

yourself

because God

knows already

this is the

amazing message

of Advent

we see it

now even

more clearly

than Bartimaeus

because we know

Jesus came as a

baby as we've

been singing

this morning

Bartimaeus and

Zacchaeus had a

glimpse of that

but we see the

whole picture

God

the creator

of the universe

infinite

transcendent

eternal

unbound

by time

chooses to

enter

into our

world

into our

lives

into history

as a human

to bring us

back to him

someone told me

once

and I always

remember

the closest

analogy he can

think of

is

is like if

you and I

decided we love

ants

so much

that we decided

to become an

ant

so that we

can communicate

with them

that we could

talk to them

we could walk

alongside them

so that they

knew that we

identified

with them

maybe cockroaches

instead of ants

depending on your

view of humanity

right

what God

did in Advent

is infinitely

greater than that

I fear

sometimes

I just

treat Jesus

as some

maybe glorified

superhero

like Superman

I just call him

when I need help

and he comes

to me

no

this is

God

God

that sentence

we repeated

this morning

God

with us

he is

with us

God

is with us

and he came

to us

so that we

can be

unconditionally

loved and

accepted

come back

to Jericho

one last

time

with me

because the

critical element

of this story

is how

Bartimaeus

and Zacchaeus

responded

to Jesus

because when

we experience

how amazing

it is

that God

came to us

when we

experience

this love

this grace

this unconditional

acceptance

the inevitable

response

is active

it's generous

it's radical

it's a radical

love

and generosity

that comes

with that

the blind

beggar

Bartimaeus

regained his

sight

and began

following

Jesus

the text

said

glorifying

God

is what

the Bible

says

and what

happens

when all

the people

saw

his glorifying

of God

this miracle

they gave

praise to

God

you see

that

as he

glorified

God

it pointed

the people

around him

to the

one that

deserved

glory

not that

I'm amazing

now

I can see

I can do

all these

things

now

it was

the one

who gave

me

sight

he

deserves

the glory

Zacchaeus'

response

is astounding

half of

his possessions

he gives

to the

poor

and

fourfold

repayment

for anyone

that he

had cheated

before

now if you

look into

this under

the Mosaic

law

the law

of Moses

if a thief

voluntarily

confessed

his crime

he only

had to

restore

what he

took

plus 20%

on top

of that

so a

fifth

that was

sort of

the repayment

the restitution

if he

stole

something

that he

could not

restore

then he

had to

pay

fourfold

the value

of that

so you see

Zacchaeus

probably

could have

at least

quibbled

and argued

I can

just pay

back

20%

on top

of what

I cheated

but no

his instant

reaction

is I'm

going to

pay back

fourfold

to anyone

who I

may have

cheated

and you see

what happens

there

when grace

touches your

life

when something

as amazing

as Jesus

comes into

your life

and shows

that he

is all

you need

you don't

quibble

about things

like that

you don't

quibble

about money

and what you

owe

and what you

don't owe

radically

generous

fourfold

anyone

he had

cheated

the money

just didn't

matter

anymore

to Zacchaeus

and if

he was

struggling

maybe

with

finding

his

identity

in

his

wealth

then

surely

it

demonstrates

that

having

a

relationship

with

Jesus

changed

everything

and in

giving

specifically

to the

poor

as we

read in

the text

I think

Zacchaeus

there's a

hint that

he also

begins

to see

the

outcasts

around him

the

outcasts

of society

when

Jesus

comes into

our lives

we begin

following

him

I think

our

response

is also

to begin

seeing

the

things

he

sees

caring

about

the

things

he

cares

about

we

really

start

to

care

about

the

outcasts

whether

they're

rich

or

poor

we

care

about

the

people

who

are

marginalized

and

oppressed

we

care

about

social

justice

because

God

has

a

heart

of

justice

and

mercy

for

the

poor

we

want

to see

and

experience

God

and

we

want

other

people

to do

the

same

just

like

Bartimaeus

did

above

all

we

don't

have

to

walk

around

wearing

these

masks

anymore

because

when

God

the

one

who

created

you

the

one

who

determines

what

has

value

and

does

not

have

value

when

he

accepts

you

and

when

he

loves

you

you

don't

have

to

walk

around

pretending

anymore

you

don't

have

to

keep

faking

it

you

can

put

down

that

mask

and be

real

and

there's

no

basis

for you

to

judge

others

anymore

because you

don't need

to compare

yourself

with them

we're

just

on a

spiritual

journey

together

and

we're

just

trying

to

become

more

and

more

like

Jesus

I

just

want

to

invite

the

band

to

come

back

up

right

now

and

feel

free

to

start

playing

and

the

question

I

want

to

leave

with

you

is

very

simple

let's

take

a

minute

to

reflect

on

that

what's

your

response

to

Jesus

calling

you

and

coming

into

your

life

this

Advent

season

for

some

of you

maybe

Zacchaeus

is

your

example

and

your

response

is to

give

half

your

possessions

to

the

poor

I

don't

know

that's

between

you

and

God

but

what

is

your

response

it's

Advent

Jesus

is

coming

he's

calling

he

wants

you

to

know

that

he

loves

you

no

matter

what's

in

your

heart

right

now

you

don't

have

to

be

an

outcast

anymore

you

don't

have

to

be

afraid

or

anxious

about

becoming

an

outcast

you

can

be

a

child

of

God

your

heavenly

father

so

what's

your

response

idol

doesn grades

that

could

be

lifted

our

way

or

partir

or

he

is

different

Certainly

we

can

with

Mang

those

things

we

know

together

We

can

change

these

to

damn

them

It's

that

you

can

enjoy