Luke Ch19v1-10

Here's a man who, maybe without entirely knowing it, is lost.

And Jesus seeks him out and saves him.

But before we get too much into this, I want to zoom out just a little bit

because the context is also important.

This story comes directly after chapter 18.

At the end of chapter 18, you'll see there's a story there about Jesus coming into Jerusalem.

And while he's still on the outside of the town, a blind beggar calls out to him and says,

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

That's in 18, verse 38.

And Jesus calls him over and he has mercy on him.

He heals him.

And Luke shows us with that story that Jesus really is the Son of David,

the promised Messiah, the Savior who would come to bring the mercy of God to his people.

And that includes blind beggars, but also blind sinners who desperately need a Savior.

And that second part is what we get a clearer picture of in this account of Jesus and Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus was an outwardly very successful man,

very different from the blind beggar outside of the walls.

And yet both of these men were blind in their own ways.

Zacchaeus was totally blind to God, blind to the ways that his sin was destroying him and others.

So this man outside the city was blind.

The man inside the city was blind too in a different way.

Both of them are unable to save themselves.

Both of them are completely transformed when they meet Jesus.

Because verse 10 really is true.

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

Maybe I think we're just maybe too familiar with the story of Zacchaeus to really see and feel the shock of it.

But this conversation plays out in some really unexpected ways.

Ways that would have been very surprising to the people at the time.

And I think it's a good reminder to us if we pay attention.

Because I think it's easy for us to say that Jesus came to bring God's salvation to everyone.

We believe that. We acknowledge that.

But when we say salvation is available to everyone and anyone who comes,

I wonder do we always really think about the implications of what that means.

Because in this story, although most people would have, you know,

they wouldn't have argued with the idea that Zacchaeus was lost.

Everyone would have known that.

But it's also very clear that they weren't actually happy about Jesus seeking this man.

But Jesus does seek him anyway.

So let's think about this.

First we'll look at this man Zacchaeus.

Who is he?

And then how does Jesus interact with him?

What the result of that interaction is?

And what it all means for us today.

So that's where we're headed.

Who is this man?

Who is Zacchaeus?

These verses tell us that Zacchaeus is a very different kind of man

from the blind beggar who was outside of the walls of Jericho.

This is a wealthy, powerful citizen.

He's a tax collector.

Well, he's not just a tax collector.

He's the chief tax collector.

And it's clear that he'd used this high position to gain a fortune for himself.

He's quite wealthy.

And also very unpopular.

He has a reputation as a sinner.

We see that in verse 7.

And why is that?

Well, we see a glimpse of why people might feel this way

later in the text in verse 8

when he says,

If I have cheated anybody out of anything.

Well, he had.

He had cheated people.

Probably a lot of people.

In fact, it's possible almost everyone in town

had been cheated by this man in some way.

He had the power to pay himself out of the taxes that he collected from the residents.

He had the authority to do that.

And the way that he had that authority was from the government of Rome,

which was the conquering government,

the oppressive government,

who had been so bad to the Jewish people.

One of the ways that they were oppressive

was through their high taxes.

Taxes that he was enforcing.

And so this man was working for the Romans

to collect these taxes.

And more than that,

he was making himself wealthy with the extra that he took

from them,

using the authority of their oppressors.

And he's a Jewish man,

supposed to be one of them,

and yet he does this for the enemy.

I mean, it had to feel like a betrayal.

It's no wonder they call him a sinner.

It's no wonder they mutter and they grumble

when Jesus is kind to this man.

This is the guy in town who not only works for the enemy,

but abuses his power,

makes himself rich off the backs of his own neighbors,

his own community,

his own flesh and blood.

I mean, of course people don't like him.

Who would?

But look how the story goes.

We see who Zacchaeus is.

It's not a nice portrait.

But let's consider what happens,

how Jesus interacts with this man.

Luke tells us Zacchaeus is a short man.

And he tells us that because he wants us to know

why he's climbing in a tree

to get a look at Jesus.

Well, it's not normal to see the rich guy in town

climbing up a tree.

I think that detail gives us a hint

that this man is drawn to Jesus.

He's open, he's interested on some level.

And he doesn't just get a look at Jesus

like that's what he's after.

But he gets a lot more than that

because Jesus actually stops

and he does something completely unexpected by anyone.

He commands Zacchaeus to come down.

He invites himself over to Zacchaeus' house.

And he says this right there

in front of the whole crowd,

in front of everybody.

What just happened?

I mean, Jesus, don't you understand

who this man is?

He's not on our side.

He's working for the enemy.

He's working against God's people.

He's working against the public good.

He's only thinking of himself in the process.

He's enriching himself

at the expense of everyone.

How on earth can Jesus honor this man

by eating with him,

spending the day with him,

when there's so many other homes in Jericho

that I'm sure would have gladly hosted Jesus.

And they probably would have been much more worthy.

I'm sure there were great citizens in Jericho at the time

who really did work hard

to look after the poor,

to build up their community,

to do good things.

And why on earth doesn't Jesus

honor one of them

with his limited time

going through this town?

I mean, Zacchaeus is very happy.

He welcomes him gladly.

But the rest of the town is not happy.

All the people saw this in verse 7.

They began to mutter,

He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.

I mean, hey, we came out to see this great prophet,

this miracle worker,

this teacher passing through town,

this good man that everyone admires,

and now he's consorting with the enemy.

This betrayer of his people.

This is not a good move, Jesus.

People do not approve.

This guy is an outcast,

and he put himself there

by his own choices.

This is not what the crowd

thought Jesus should be doing.

But what I want you to see today

is that this is what Jesus came to earth to do.

He came to bring God's mercy

to people who do not deserve it.

Jesus says in verse 10,

He came to seek and save the lost.

Was Zacchaeus lost?

Yes.

No one would deny that.

They all knew that this man was far from God.

His way of life displayed it very clearly

for everyone to see.

And Jesus seeks this man out

of the crowd that day.

He eats dinner at this man's house

because the Son of Man,

the Messiah,

the Deliverer,

the Eternal King,

He did not come to earth

to hang out

with the upper crust of people

who were able to prove

their high quality

and prove their goodness.

He came with a mission

to seek and save

those who were lost.

And He does both.

He seeks

and He saves.

He takes the initiative

and comes to sinners

in our sin.

And only He has the ability

to save us

out

of that sin.

I mean, look at Zacchaeus.

He's a rich tax collector.

And later on,

he will

give away a lot of money.

He will restore

what he's taken from people wrongfully.

He'll do good things.

But when Jesus calls him,

when Jesus says

He's coming to him,

Zacchaeus has not done

any of those good things yet.

As far as we can tell,

he hasn't even tried

to clean himself up

with good deeds.

Jesus seeks Zacchaeus

while he is still lost

in his sin.

And the transformation

that comes to Zacchaeus

comes after Jesus seeks him,

as a result of Jesus

seeking him first.

And if we're honest,

that's our story too.

If we're trusting in Jesus,

Paul says in Romans 5,

God demonstrates

His own love for us in this.

While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Jesus did not wait

for us to clean ourselves up

or get ourselves presentable

before He would come

and save us.

He did not come to save us

because we're good,

lovely people

who always do and think

and say the right things.

I mean, no.

If we're honest,

that is not a good description

of us as humans.

Our sin really is ugly.

Our selfishness and pride

really are destructive.

Like Zacchaeus

was using other people

for his own advantage.

Far too often,

aren't we doing the same?

In our words,

in our gossip,

in our actions,

in our manipulations,

in our lies,

attacks and defenses,

we try to shape reality

around ourselves

at the center.

My desires,

my needs,

my ambitions,

not thinking about

how destructive that is

to myself,

to the people around me,

and how offensive that is

to the God who made me,

who actually is

the living,

loving center of reality.

Zacchaeus was doing this.

But every time we sin,

we do the same thing.

We're putting ourselves

at the center of all things.

We're pushing everyone else

to the side,

including God himself.

I think sometimes we think

that we just ignore God

and it's okay

and we can just live

our personal life

as if that's all that matters.

But when we do that,

what we're really saying to God

is, you know,

God, I wish you would just go away

or not exist

or if you have to be there,

just fall in line

with everyone else

and serve me,

serve my desires,

serve my wishes,

treat me like I'm the real God

and do my bidding.

You're my servant.

And at its heart,

that's what sin is.

It's denying God

his rightful place

as our Lord,

as our King over us,

the authority over us,

denying him his rightful worship

as the true center

of reality,

the giver of all good gifts,

the source of all

that is good.

Sin is pretending

like something else,

like me,

is the real center.

And Zacchaeus was living that way.

He was living with his own desires,

with his own self

in the center.

He built his wealth up

for himself.

He didn't care

who he harmed

in the process.

He lived with his desires.

He lived as if his desires

mattered more

than anyone else,

more than God.

And you know,

the world actually tells us

to do this,

to follow our own hearts,

to chase our own happiness

above anything

and anyone

that could get in our way.

And Zacchaeus

was just living that out.

He was following his heart,

following his desires.

And in the process,

he hurt himself.

He hurt his whole community.

And he pushed God away.

But when he meets Jesus,

everything changes.

We've seen who this man is.

We've seen how Jesus

interacts with him

in such a surprising way.

Now let's consider

the result of their meeting.

You look in verses 8 and 9.

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've cheated anybody

out of anything,

I will pay back

four times the amount.

Jesus said to him,

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.

What on earth

could make a man

who lived so selfishly

for so long

do something

so entirely

out of character?

Give up the one thing

he loved more

than anything else

in the world,

his money.

And not only that,

but actually

he gave his treasure,

his money,

to the very people

he'd been stealing it from.

I mean,

this man has just done

a complete turnaround.

It's as much of a miracle

as the blind man

outside the city

who can now see.

This man

was blind

in a different way

and now he can see

like never before.

Everything is different.

Back

in chapter 18,

there's another story

that Luke tells us

about when Jesus

met a rich young ruler.

he ended up

walking away

from Jesus

because Jesus

told him

to give away

his wealth.

That's in

chapter 18,

but in verses

24 and 25

back there,

Jesus tells

his disciples

how hard it is

for a rich

to enter

the kingdom

of God.

Indeed,

it is easier

for a camel

to go through

the eye of a needle

than for someone

who is rich

to enter

the kingdom

of God.

That rich man

just like Zacchaeus

had made money

his God.

He was living

for his own desires.

He was trying

to satisfy

those desires

with money.

But when it came

down to it,

when Jesus was there,

he could not

turn away

from his little

cold,

dead,

golden God

to come to

the real

living Savior

who was standing

right in front of him

inviting him

to eternal

life.

Camels don't

naturally go

through the eye

of a needle.

People with

false gods,

like money,

don't naturally

turn away

from those gods.

But Jesus

says in

chapter 18

verse 27,

what is

impossible with

man

is possible

with God.

And here,

in the story

of Zacchaeus,

just one

chapter later,

we see this

miracle

of a man

transformed.

A blind beggar

outside the city

is now seeing

and a spiritually

blind rich man

inside the city

is now seeing.

He is seeing

the value,

the treasure

of following Jesus

instead of his money.

And he's actually

willingly,

even joyfully,

giving up

so much

of his wealth.

All of a sudden

he saw

that his wealth

that he had been

living for

all of this time

was nothing

compared to

the treasure

of actually

knowing

and following

Jesus.

And Jesus

says in

verse 9,

today salvation

has come to

this house

because this

man too

is a son

of Abraham.

This betrayer

of his people,

this oppressor

who is now

the one

inheriting

all the good

and gracious

promises of God

that God

had made

so long ago

to Abraham.

Zacchaeus

did not

deserve that.

But the

son of man

came to

seek and

save

the lost

and restore

them.

Notice though

that Jesus

does not just

seek Zacchaeus

out and tell

him that

he's fine.

Tell him

that all

of his life

choices,

he just

comes to

affirm all

of that,

all that

Zacchaeus

is already

doing with

his life.

No,

he doesn't

do that.

He doesn't

come and say,

Zacchaeus,

you're good,

you're grand,

no problem.

He seeks

him out

just as

he is

before any

change happens.

But he

does not

leave him

just as

he is

in his

sin.

He seeks

him

and he

saves him.

This

transformation

that we

see here

in Zacchaeus

with joy,

but it's a

sign that

he's really

been saved

out of

his sin.

it shows

that his

heart

has actually

been able

to let

go of

his

idols

and is

now

turning

back

towards

God.

With

the rich

young ruler

in chapter

18 who

walked away,

Jesus had

told him

to give

up his

money and

he couldn't

do it.

But with

Zacchaeus,

there's no

command like

that.

Jesus doesn't

tell him he

needs to do

this.

He just

does it.

He does it

voluntarily.

He offers

it up of

his own

accord.

He gives

up his

wealth.

And why

does he

do that?

He does

it because

he is so

caught up

with a

better

treasure.

He's found

salvation from

sin, but

that's not

all that

he's found.

He's also

found a

completely

different

purpose

for his

life,

something

better to

live for

than his

little

cold,

dead,

golden

God that

he had

been giving

everything to.

He's now

turning his

entire life

around to

joyfully

follow his

living King

and Savior

Jesus.

So his

gifts of

money to

the poor,

they're not

given

begrudgingly,

they're not

given reluctantly,

out of duty or

something.

He is joyfully

letting go of

his old God

and joining

the mission of

his new Savior

to seek and

save those

who are lost.

He went from

thinking that

other people are

just stepping

stones to

use for

his own

advancement,

something that

he can use

to get more

money,

more of

what he

wants.

But now

he is

turning that

around and

he is giving

what he has

collected on

earth to

care for

others like

Jesus had

cared for

him.

He's

imitating

his Savior.

He's giving

generously to

others as

Jesus had

given mercy

to him.

His blindness

is healed.

He sees that

these people that

he had been

robbing from,

that he had

been using

for himself

are actually

people that

God has made

in his image,

that Jesus

loves,

who are worth

more than

all of his

earthly treasures

put together.

I wonder,

do we see

other people

this way?

We've looked

at the

unworthiness

of Zacchaeus,

the surprising

mercy of

Jesus,

which led

to this

complete

transformation

in Zacchaeus.

A miracle

if there

ever was

one.

But what

does it

all mean

for us?

I think

for one,

it gives

us a picture

of the

mercy that

God has

shown us.

We may

not be

blind beggars,

we may

not be

tax collectors,

but our

basic condition

is the

same.

We are

all

spiritually

blind in

sin,

desperately

in need

of God's

mercy apart

from Christ.

And like

those men,

God didn't

wait for us

to clean

ourselves up,

make ourselves

good enough,

or presentable

enough.

He just

came and

sought us

out.

While we

were still

sinners,

Christ died

for us.

That's amazing

grace,

that great

hymn says,

I once

was lost,

but now

I'm found.

I was

blind,

but now

I see.

And that's

our story

too.

If we have

come to

Christ,

we are

the lost

that Jesus

came to

seek and

save.

And if

you've

come to

him,

if you've

been found,

and if

you see

now,

then one

of the

things you

see is

the lost

that remain

around you.

The lost

that Jesus

also came

to seek

and to

save.

And will

you join

Jesus in

seeking

those lost?

lost,

and I

mean all

kinds of

lost.

Not

only the

people who

naturally

draw sympathy

from us,

or the

people everybody

wants to

show compassion

to already.

I mean,

like the

blind beggar

outside the

walls.

We should

certainly,

absolutely

bring God's

mercy to

those people.

But we

can't stop

there.

We must

also travel

with Jesus

inside the

walls of

Jericho and

follow him in

seeking all

kinds of

people,

every kind

of person,

even the

people everyone

knows are

undeserving and

unworthy,

like this

betrayer of

his people,

this turncoat

tax collector

that everyone

disliked.

Are you

willing to

seek people

like that

with the

mercy of

God?

Are you

willing to

seek after

people who

have wronged

you personally,

like this

man had

wronged so

many in

his town?

Are you

willing to

love your

enemies and

pray for

those who

persecute you

as Jesus

said,

knowing that

when you

do,

Jesus said

you are

like your

father in

heaven,

who extends

his mercy

even to

his enemies.

I think

sometimes that

we think

God's mercy,

maybe God's

mercy is a

little bigger

than we

want it to

be.

we want

it to

cover us,

obviously.

But when

it comes to

those really

terrible people

over there,

we want

justice,

not mercy.

Like this

town was so

upset with

Jesus for

seeking Zacchaeus,

or like

Jonah who

ran away

from Nineveh

because he

was afraid

that his

enemies might

repent and

they might

receive God's

mercy instead

of God's

justice.

Look,

God's justice

is real.

The fact

is it

will fall

on all

who reject

his salvation.

We need

his salvation.

We can

either pay

for our

sins

ourselves

or we

can accept

Jesus'

payment on

our behalf.

We must

come to

him to

be saved.

He is

the only

way to

be saved.

But

Jesus'

offer of

salvation

is good

for everyone

in the

exact same

way,

including

us,

thankfully,

for our

own crimes

against God.

But that

same

salvation

is offered

to everyone

else as

well.

And that

even includes

those who

have wronged

us,

those who

have hurt

us.

The Son

of Man

has come

to seek

and save

the lost

and no

one is

too lost

for Jesus

to save.

So as we

thank God

that Jesus

came to

find us

in our

sin while

we were

still sinners,

we should

also see

the deep

need of

those around

us for

the exact

same

salvation.

Whether

they're

poor beggars

or whether

they're

corrupt rich

people or

anyone else

at all,

including the

people who

have wronged

us.

Jesus did

not come

to save

good people.

Good people

don't need

saving.

He came

to save

sinners who

are lost

and that's

us and

that's

everyone else

too.

And now

we have

the privilege

to join

him joyfully

in his

mission to

seek the

lost wherever

they are to

help them to

come back

to their

savior.

So I just

want to ask

you as I

close,

who can

you seek

today or

this week

with God's

mercy,

with God's

love?

Who can

you show

forgiveness

to?

Who can

you show

kindness to

or share

the good

news of

God's

salvation

with so

that they

can stop

being lost

so they

can come

back to

the God

who made

them?

Are there

any Zacchaeus

like people

in your

life that

you need

to start

praying for

that God

will open

their eyes

and have

mercy on

them like

he did

for Zacchaeus?

Jesus did

not seek

Zacchaeus

because he

was worthy.

He was

not worthy.

Jesus did

not seek

us because

we are

worthy.

we were

not worthy

either.

The Son of

Man came

to seek

and save

the lost.

How will

you join

in seeking

and sharing

God's

mercy

with them

this week?

Let's

pray.

Lord,

we can

never thank

you enough

for your

mercy

that you

have come

to seek

and save

us

while we

were still

sinners

that you

came to

pay for

our sin

to win

us new

life in

you.

We will

trust,

put our

faith in

you.

Lord,

I pray

that if

there is

anyone here

this morning

that does

not know

you,

that they

will put

their trust

in you,

that they

will be

found

in you.

And Lord,

I pray that

you would

give us

the eyes

to see

those around

us and

how you

see them,

that you

have come

to seek

and save

the lost.

I pray

that you

would give

us opportunities,

Lord,

to share

your mercy

with others

this week.

And I

pray it in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.