Zaccheus

Our gracious Lord, we thank you that Jesus taught that your word is true.

! And Lord, when we discern your truth, your word promises that we can be free.

! Free to know you, free to worship you, and free to walk with you all the days of our life.

In the genuine hope that those who remain faithful will be in receipt of life forever with you.

Lord, we long for that, and we pray, Lord God, that you would keep us faithful as we study your word.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So, in Luke's Gospel, chapter 19, the last verse that Anthea just read to us is this.

Today, salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

I think this passage is remarkable.

It is, of course, historical.

It's not a parable.

This confrontation, this conversation between Jesus and the funny little man Zacchaeus

actually took place in history.

And I think this narrative answers three really important questions for us.

The first question is this.

Who did Jesus come for?

What kind of people is Jesus in the world for?

The second question is to do with those of us who consider ourselves to be believers.

And it's this.

What do I need to do to get closer to God?

And the third question is a question for churches today in the 21st century,

and very likely in every century prior to that.

And that is, what are we like?

This morning there might be, I don't know, 80 of us gathered here in church.

You add together all the other churches in Clevedon,

you're probably going to get a total of 800 people from this town

who worship God on a Sunday morning, as an average.

Some Sundays we do a bit better, some not so much.

But there are 23,000 people living in this town.

What is their view of us?

So let me try and answer those three questions in relation to the passage in front of us.

Firstly, who did Jesus come for?

I wonder if in your heart, maybe deep in the recesses,

there are questions like this that float around.

Am I good enough?

Will Jesus really be interested in someone like me?

I have a shocking history,

and I'm not quite sure whether Jesus came for people like me.

Am I religious enough?

That is to say, is God just an idea in my head?

Or is he a living reality in my life?

God just an idea in my head.

God just an idea in my head.

It's a very subtle difference in some ways.

But if God is an idea, a bit like Star Wars,

you know, the kind of force in the universe,

impersonal, but kind of there.

I think in the New Testament,

people who I'm thinking of in relation to this question

are what the New Testament calls God-fearers.

They've got a rough idea about God.

They even come to church.

They might even say prayers,

very likely in some kind of emergency situation.

Religion, I think, is the enemy of faith.

Because religion is about an idea,

and religion is obedience,

reverence to this idea,

to a certain way of worshipping,

but there's no personal relationship with God.

And I wonder if you ever have doubts

as to whether or not you trust enough.

Jesus said once,

in a memorable little section of Mark's Gospel,

he said this,

if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,

you can say to that mountain over there,

go throw yourself in the sea,

and it will be done for you.

I don't really think that God wants people like us

to make cosmetic changes to the universe.

But what I do think is,

and this is true in the Bible,

that mountains ironically represent two things.

The first thing they represent is obstacles,

quite naturally.

You want to go on a journey,

and you come across a mountain,

you've either got to schlep all the way up it,

or you've got to burrow through it,

or you've got to build a road on it,

or whatever.

They are a problem.

And friends,

I get the sense looking at you that

you're human beings.

And human beings

have things in their lives

that get in the way.

I wonder if somebody asked you,

you know,

if you went to see a spiritual director

or one of these types,

and they said to you,

so what's the blockage in your spiritual life, Mike?

I'm not going to tell you.

But of course there are blockages.

There are old habits.

There are old thoughts.

There is my predilection

to very quick judgment, judgment.

We are a very visual society, aren't we?

We make judgments about people

simply on the way they look.

And I remember saying to our church,

in the church I was at,

I remember saying,

do you know Andrew?

So I said,

Andrew,

I said,

that bloke who wears an anorak.

Person knew immediately

who I was talking about.

We make judgments about people.

But am I trusting enough?

Do I,

to quote Dr. Tozer,

lean on the wind of the Holy Spirit

and know the presence

and the power of God in my life?

We don't know very much about Zacchaeus,

but the Bible tells us three things about him.

In verse 2,

we read there's a man,

as Jesus was passing through Jericho,

there was a man by the name of Zacchaeus.

We know his name.

We know that he was a chief tax collector

and he was wealthy.

And we also know

that he was a small man.

That's why he had to race ahead of the crowd

and climb up into a tree.

My obsession for alliteration

wants to say that

he was little,

he was loaded,

and he was loathed.

Three things.

And those are true of him.

And listen,

so,

the fact that he was little,

physically little,

I think just doesn't mean

necessary,

people who are short of stature.

See,

I think Jesus came for people

who aren't just small,

I mean,

he certainly did come for people

who are small,

he came for people who are big,

but he came for people

who have felt belittled in life.

Have you been through

an experience in your life

that's made you feel small?

Has made you feel humiliated?

See,

Jesus came for people like you.

What we know about Jesus was

he had a load of money

and the Bible never ever,

last time I heard Simon give a message,

he made this point very clearly.

That money in itself,

wealth in itself,

is not sinful,

but the big problem of it is

it can become an unhealthy priority

in your life.

I was reading some research

this past week

and what the research showed

is that when it comes to wealth,

there's a kind of tipping point.

And beyond that tipping point,

when we become very, very wealthy,

it doesn't do us any good at all.

In fact,

a lot of very, very wealthy people,

very depressed

or very controlling,

unhappy people,

trying to work out their lives

in the light of their wealth.

That is a very challenging thing.

And Zacchaeus had that.

He was a tax collector

and the tax collectors

collected tax

on behalf of the occupying

Roman government.

And they were paid

by commission.

So not only

did they pay

a high level of tax,

actually,

the people in Judea

at the time,

but on top of that,

Zacchaeus added an extra 10%,

which he stuffed

into his back pocket.

Little wonder

he was hated

by his Jewish compatriots.

He was regarded

as a traitor,

as a quizley,

as somebody

who definitely

could not be trusted

and certainly

could not be liked.

And the likelihood is

there were people around

who disliked Zacchaeus

so much

they really secretly

would have liked

to have killed him.

He was loathed.

He was loaded

and he was little.

I want to say to you

that if you're

the kind of person

who feels belittled,

then Jesus

is for you.

I want to say to you,

if you're the sort of person

who's struggling

with wealth,

and I know we'd all like

the experience

of struggling with wealth

so we could prove

the Bible true.

If you're struggling

with it,

Jesus is for you.

If you're wondering,

well,

does anybody

really love me?

I mean,

that is such a profound

existential question.

Does anybody

really love me?

You say to yourself,

well,

I have a wife,

I have a husband.

not every home

is a place

of marital bliss.

If you're feeling

that nobody

really loves you,

then Jesus

is for you.

The second question

that this passage

raises

is a really

important question.

And it's really

for people

who think they've

crossed the line

and are believers.

And it's this,

how do I get closer

to Jesus?

I mean,

very figuratively,

historically,

in reality,

in this story,

Jesus,

Zacchaeus,

runs ahead of the crowd

and does this

kind of comic thing.

He climbs into a tree.

I can,

I mean,

I would have loved

to have been there

just to hear

what the other people

in the crowd

were saying

when they saw him

stuck up this tree.

And Jesus

comes along

and in the

English translations

of our Bible,

it really doesn't

kind of make this

clear enough.

In verse 5,

we read,

Jesus reached the spot,

he looked up

and said to him,

Zacchaeus,

come down immediately.

I must stay

at your house

today.

what the English

translation

at this point

misses

is this truth

that the Greek word

literally means

Jesus fixed him

with a stare.

Something far more

profound than

just looking up.

It was something

intentional.

And I think

this is probably

poetic,

but nevertheless

I'm going to say it.

I have the feeling

for the first time

in his squalid

little life,

Zacchaeus

experienced

the grace of God

in the face

of Jesus Christ.

And something

changed.

Come on to that.

This is

a remarkable

story.

a little

loaded

and loathed

man

who

was deeply

distrusted

and hated

by the crowd.

Jesus,

out of all

the crowd,

fixes

his eyes

on this

person

and basically

invites himself

round for tea.

How amazing

is that?

You want to

get closer

to Jesus.

One thing

this story

tells us

is you

don't become

a Christian

by effort.

You become

a Christian

by the grace

of God.

We just

sang about it.

Amazing grace.

How sweet

the sound

that saved

a soul

like me

and like

some of you.

Grace

means God

loves you

even though

you don't

deserve it.

Did Zacchaeus

deserve God's

love?

I don't

think so.

And none

of you do

because all

of you

are what the

Bible calls

sinners.

I hate to

tell you that

but it's

true.

All have

sinned

and fall

short of

the glory

of God.

You see

I've said

this many

many times

but there

are basically

two ways

to do

your life.

One way

is to do

it with

God.

The other

way is to

do it

to quote

Frank Sinatra

my way.

You have

a choice.

God's not

going to

bamboozle

you into

it.

Michael's

not going

to bamboozle

into you.

Simon

Dorrance

is not

going to

bamboozle

you into

it.

It is

your choice.

And you

can make

that choice

today.

If you're

a God

fearer

take your

sunglasses

off and

look at

the reality

of the

God of

love

shown to

us in

Jesus

Christ.

If you

want to

get closer

to God

it's going

to take

some

effort

on your

part.

It's

not going

to take

effort

for you

to become

a Christian.

I just

told you

why that

is.

But once

you are

a follower

of Jesus

how many

of us

became

Christians

years ago?

A friend

of mine

said to

me not

that long

ago he

said the

only reason

I still

go to

church

this is a

man who's

been to

every crusade

on the

planet

definitely

saved

guy

really

really

passionate

about his

faith.

faith.

He said

to me

and given

millions by

the way

to churches

he said

to me

the only

reason I

still go

to church

is because

I couldn't

face the

criticism of

not going.

Does that

sound healthy

to you?

Somebody

shout no.

how many

of us

talked to

you a

little bit

about this

last week

how many

of us

have just

got stuck

stuck in

our faith

stuck in

our worship

stuck in

our attitudes

and today

Jesus looks

up into

your tree

and invites

you to

come on

down

and walk

with him.

And then

there's

this very

ugly

understandable

but third

question that

Jesus addresses

and it's

this

what are

we in

the church

like?

What does

it tell us?

It tells

us in

verse

number

nine

verse nine

I think

it says

this

sorry

it's

verse

seven

all the

people saw

this

that is

Jesus

talking to

Zacchaeus

and began

to mutter

he has

gone to be

the guest

of a

sinner

this

this is

amazing

amazing

that

Jesus

would talk

to somebody

like Zacchaeus

the crowd

quite rightly

were a little

indignant

about it

and they

started to

what?

grumble

do you

find that

you are

the kind

of person

who is

too quick

to judge

you know

the weird

thing is

I've seen

research done

on this

that a lot

of people

try church

according

to Rachel

Wolfe

that's her

name

Rachel

Wolfe says

that at

any one

time

if any

of you

were to

invite one

of your

not

Christian

friends

to come

to church

maybe

they're

going

through

a hard

time

whatever

if you

invited

them

apparently

74%

of them

would

respond

warmly

to an

invitation

next issue

is

what happens

when they

get here

I think

listen

I've

spoken

I couldn't

tell you

how many

church

weekends

I've

spoken

at

and

every

one of

them

when I

say to

them

so

what

to the

people

in

this

particular

church

what

would

you

say

your

strength

is

do you

know

what

they

all

say

we're

friendly

at

St.

Grotti's

how do you

know that

well we

all know

each other

good for

you

I was

always keen

when I

was in

local church

ministry

to talk

to the

people

who came

twice

try and

find out

what is

it

that's

a

stumbling

block

for

them

and

do you

know

what a

stumbling

block

is

it

is

people

who

grumble

what is

it they

don't like

they don't

like the

fact that

they kind

of feel

even if

it's not

quite true

they kind

of feel

that we

bear the

kind of

characteristic

of judgment

that somehow

something

pervades

from us

that is a

sort of

holier than

thou

righteousness

remember in

the new

testament

there was

another tax

collector

who was a

praying man

and he

prayed a

prayer

and basically

he was

looking at

sorry this

was a

pharisee

and he was

looking at

a tax

collector

saying I

thank you

lord that

you didn't

make me

like that

person

maybe you

should ask

yourself

if I

were to

pray a

prayer like

that

who would

be the

person

that I

would have

in mind

when I

say to

myself

I'm glad

you didn't

make me

like that

lord

it's not

a bad

question to

ask

too often

in our

churches

we model

a kind

of ham

superiority

that unbelievers

I mean the

one thing I've

discovered about

unbelievers

and I've had a

lot to do

with them

is this

they can

see through

us very

very

quickly

what's

natural

behavior

to us

I've always

noticed this

that in

churches

I mean

part of

the joy

of being

in a

church

I would

say one

of the

primary

reasons

that I

do like

Christ's

church

is because

I like the

people who

come here

at least

the ones

I know

okay

and what's

the danger

of that

that all

I do

at the

end of

the service

is go

and seek

them out

and catch

up with

them etc

etc

imagine

you come

here for

the first

time and

nobody

talks to

you

why

because

we're all

enjoying

fellowship

I can't

answer the

question

without being

judgmental

myself

in asking

what are

we like

I see

some good

things

who did

Jesus come

for

well the

Bible tells

us very

clearly

it's people

who are

lost

lost

lost

in life

lost

in their

walk

with

Jesus

lost

people

who

can't

find a

way out

of their

issues

their

baggage

Jesus

said

didn't he

thank God

he said

this

it's not

the healthy

who need

a doctor

but those

who are

sick

the problem

is

it takes

honesty

does it

not

to admit

that

this is

and

particularly

men

how many

men

in our

community

would put

off going

to the

doctor

put it

off

put it

off

put it

off

until

they

diagnosed

with

something

horrendous

Jesus

came

for the

lost

and

in one

way

basic

premise

of the

Bible

is we're

all

sick

that we

all need

to be

rescued

because

of our

innate

self-centeredness

but the

great news

is

this

is a

story

of

transformation

it's a

story that

reminds me

and reminds

you

that however

lost I

feel

our God

in the

person of

Jesus

and the

power of

the Holy

Spirit

is in

the matter

of

transformation

of changing

you

from the

inside

out

listen

to this

this is

the tax

collector

speaking

right

he says

look

Lord

here and

now

I give

half of

my

possessions

to the

poor

and if

I've

cheated

anybody

out of

anything

I will

pay back

four times

the amount

I mean

I

you know

math isn't

my strong

point

but the

bottom

line is

it doesn't

sound like

he's going

to be

left with

too much

does it

in a

moment

this

man's

life

this

man's

heart

was

changed

Zacchaeus

didn't know

anything about

the cross

he didn't

know anything

about the

sacrificial

death of

Jesus

he didn't

know any

of that

didn't even

know about

the Holy

Spirit

but one

confrontation

one conversation

with Jesus

and he's

changed

Zacchaeus

was a

sinner

and my

goodness

he knew

it

Zacchaeus

climbed

a tree

the Lord

whom we

worship

was nailed

to one

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21

the writer

of the book

of Deuteronomy

says this

cursed

is he

who is

hung on

a tree

Jesus

was cursed

by

simply by

the fact

that they

crucified

him

God's

love

is not

some

sentimental

rose

tinted

love

it was

a costly

sacrificial

and

excruciating

love

see from

his head

his hands

his feet

sorrow

and love

flow

mingle

down

did

air

such

love

and sorrow

meet

and thorns

compose

so rich

a crown

those amazing

words of

the

dissenter

Isaac

Watts

he went

to a

wonderful

school

do you

know what

Isaac

Watts'

school was

called

it was

called

the

academy

of

dissent

I should

have

gone

there

listen my

friend

if you

are a

God

fearer

you have

an idea

about

God

but you

don't

have a

personal

relationship

with him

maybe this

morning

the Holy

Spirit's

going to

whisper in

your ear

and ask

you to

make that

leap of

faith

to take

an idea

and to

make it

a reality

in your

life

I wonder

if you're

ready

do you

remember

Johnny

Cash

he did

a

song

we did

several

as a

matter of

fact

but he

did this

song

and he

said this

put your

hand in

the hand

of the

man

who's

still

the

water

put your

hand in

the hand

of the

man

who

calmed

the sea

I wonder

if those

of you

who are

still lost

in life

are going

to stretch

out and

reach out

to Jesus

and metaphorically

put your

hand in

his

that God

will cease

to be an

idea for

you and

become a

reality for

you

I wonder

if those

of you

who are

stuck in

your faith

and you

put up a

good show

to confuse

people and

to hide

it from

people but

actually you

cannot hide

it from

God

man looks

at the

outward

appearance

God

looks at

the

heart

listen to

me

Jesus

said

in

John

John 6 · chapter mention

chapter

6

whoever

whoever

whoever

comes to

me I

will never

drive

away

today

salvation

has come

to this

house

Jesus

said to

Nicodemus

Jesus

because this

man too

is a son

of Abraham

he's a

Jew

for the

son of

man

came to

seek

and to

save

the

lost

how

grateful

I am

God

God

in his

grace

and his

mercy

took a

moron

like me

and

invited me

into a

relationship

with him

I read

those words

now and I

I get a

lump in my

throat

because I'm

not sure

that there

were many

people who

were more

lost than

me when

God revealed

himself

I pray

today dear

friends

this may be

true for

some of

you

let's

pray

our

father we

thank you

for this

dear man

Zacchaeus

Lord a

man who

had so

many

impediments

to get

past in

his life

and a

man who

must have

had deep

insecurities

about his

height

about his

wealth

and father

you know

we're not

making

excuse

Lord but

we're human

beings we

have things

that get in

the way

get in the

way of our

work get in

the way of

our marriages

get those of

us who are

blessed enough

to have one

get in the

way of

relationships

and Lord

thank you

that you

always look

beyond that

that Lord

however wretched

we feel

however the

world looks

at us

Lord we're

amazed that

when you

look at us

you don't

see our

problem

you don't

see us as

a problem

you see our

potential

so Lord

in your

grace

in your

sovereignty

and in

your power

we plead

with you

speak to us

today

speak to us

Lord that we

may hear

and do

what it is

you call us

to do

pray Lord

that today

may be the

salvation for

many of us

in this

church

in Jesus

name we

pray and

the people

who agreed

said together

Amen

may may may

may

may

may

may

may