Luke 19.1-10
Delivered on Sunday 29 July 2007 in St Agnes, Whitley
© Ben Green 2007
Luke 19.1-10
How many of you have ever watched an episode of Friends on the TV? Do you have friends like that? People who look out for you, who are concerned for you, who care because they love you, rather than because they want to get something out of you?
Zacchaeus was a man who didn't have any friends. He knew lots of people, but you couldn't call them his friends. This is his story.
Introduction
The first verse of our reading tells us that Jesus was passing through Jericho. He was on his way from Galilee to Jerusalem, where he would be captured, tried, crucified and then resurrected. He's getting pretty close now—Jericho is about fourteen miles from Jerusalem.
And it's here that he meets a man called Zacchaeus. 19.2 tells us he was a chief tax-collector, a Jew who had sold out to the Romans, a collaborator, working for the enemy, collecting taxes from his fellow-Jews. Now, no-one likes paying taxes (at least, I assume you don't enjoy it), but the Jews were paying taxes to an occupying force. Their hard-earned cash was paying the Romans to occupy their towns and cities, their country. Not only that, but tax-collectors often collected just a little bit more than they should, keeping the difference for themselves. Tax-collectors were among the most hated people in Israel. Zacchaeus knew a lot of people, but they weren't his friends.
This social outcast heard about Jesus passing through Jericho. Now, you might expect Zacchaeus to think he didn't need anything else—he had wealth and possessions. But he could see that there must be more to life than money, than work, and he knew Jesus was the key to that life. If you look in 19.3-4 Zacchaeus was so desperate to see Jesus, he climbed up a tree to see who he was, because he couldn't get through the crowd.
If you don't know who Jesus is, please don't waste this opportunity today to find out more. Zacchaeus made the most of his, and it changed his life for the better.
Jesus eats with 'sinners'
I said before that tax-collectors, that includes Zacchaeus, were hated by their fellow-Jews. But that didn't include Jesus. As he was passing by Zacchaeus' tree, 19.5 tells us that Jesus stopped, looked straight up at Zacchaeus in the tree, spoke directly to him: 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' He knew his name, he wanted to stay with him—I wouldn't be surprised if Zacchaeus nearly fell out of the tree from excitement and shock! Maybe you've met someone once, and then again years later, and they remember your name—it feels so special, it feels like they care, like they love you. That's how Zacchaeus felt. He climbed down the tree and took Jesus to his house for a bite to eat.
But not everyone was happy with this. If you look in 19.7, the crowd around Jesus were fed up because, they said, 'Jesus has gone to be the guest of a "sinner".' They couldn't believe that of all the people in Jericho, Jesus had chosen to eat with a tax-collector, someone who had betrayed his own people.
There are two types of people. There are people—like the crowd in this story—who think they're 'good people', who think they're 'all right really'; and there are those people who know they're sinners, who know they do things wrong, who know they hurt other people. The people in the crowd looked down those they thought were 'sinners', passing judgement on them. Of course they were right—Zacchaeus was a sinner, but so were they. Zacchaeus was a sinner, but he knew it. He knew he needed Jesus, and he did something about it. The people in the crowd thought they didn't need Jesus, they thought they were good people, that they were all right.
What kind of person are you? Do you look at others and see their sin? Do you criticise others without stopping to criticise yourself? Do you think of other people as 'sinners' without saying sorry to God for your own sin?
You see, sin isn't just about murdering people, or abusing children, or stealing. Sin is also about being selfish, being greedy, dishonest. It's about what you think as well as what you do. And, most importantly, sin is not worshipping God as we should. We are all guilty of something.
Jesus himself told us to take the plank out of our own eye before we point out the speck in someone else's. Zacchaeus knew he had a plank in his own eye, he knew he was a sinner—and he knew he needed Jesus. Do you?
Jesus seeks and saves the lost
All that stuff about sin is true, and scary. It's a real problem. But Jesus didn't leave Zacchaeus there, and I won't either.
In 19.8 we see the effect on Zacchaeus of Jesus' friendship, of Jesus' love, of Jesus' forgiveness. His generosity overflows. He gives away half of his great wealth, and promises to repay anyone he's cheated four times what he cheated out of them. He recognises that Jesus has given him a wonderful gift of salvation, of friendship and love, that Jesus has found him, and in response he wants to give, give, give, to those around him in need, and to those he has wronged.
I heard about a man, who wasn't a Christian, in fact he was quite anti. But his wife was a committed Christian, and went to church every week. She gave financially to the church out of her own money, because he wouldn't let her give his money.
After a while, he decided to investigate what it was that her wife was giving so generously of her time and money to. He went to a service, and was attracted to Jesus, just like Zacchaeus, and is now working for the church full-time!
In 19.9 Jesus announces that Zacchaeus has been saved, that he is a 'son of Abraham'. That means that he has faith, that he trusts in Jesus, as Abraham trusted in God centuries before. That's all you need to do to be saved. You don't have to come to church every week for twenty years, you don't have to work for a charity, you don't have to become a vicar. You simply have to have faith that Jesus can save you from every wrong thing you've ever done, that he died to give you life, as a free gift.
You see, that's what Jesus came to do. In 19.10 Jesus summarises the whole message of the Bible: 'For the Son of Man'—that's Jesus—'came to seek and to save what was lost.'
[Repeat that verse]
Like I said, sin is a scary problem. Without Jesus, we're blind sinners who can't do a thing to save ourselves. The good news—that's what the word 'gospel' means—is that God sent his Son Jesus to seek out those who are lost, and to save them.
[Stand on the step.] It's a bit like God is up here, and we are all down there, where you're sitting. You're wandering around, blind, unable to find God. But instead of leaving you out there, [walk towards the congregation] God comes down to us, to seek us out, to find us, to save us. He loves us so much, he became one of us, to seek and to save the lost.
There are two types of people. There are those who think they're on the right track, and those who know they're lost. There are those who go their own way, and those who know they need to follow Jesus' way. Zacchaeus knew he was lost, and wanted to follow Jesus. What about you?
Jesus knocks at the door
In the book of Revelation, chapter 3 verse 20, Jesus says this: 'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.' That verse inspired an artist, Holman Hunt, to paint a painting called The Light of the World. When I was ten I prayed a prayer opening the door, and flinging open all the doors and all the windows so he could fill every part.
Jesus came, a long time ago, to seek and to save the lost. His search took him to the cross, where he died so God could give us the free gift of life.
He didn't stay in his tomb, but rose from the dead. He is still alive, he is still doing what he was doing 2,000 years ago - only he's not seeking Zacchaeus any more, he's seeking you. He's seeking you, because he loves you and wants to save you. He died, but he's still alive, and he's knocking at the door, calling you by name. Will you answer and let him in, like Zacchaeus?
Maybe you've never let Jesus in, never asked him to heal your blindness, never asked him to forgive your sins, never asked him to find you.
Maybe you have, but recently you've been closing doors and, you've been closing your eyes, not asking for forgiveness, wandering off, and are now lost again.
Whatever, you need Jesus. We all do. We all need to make that one-off first and special commitment, but then continually back it up with regular 'spring-cleaning', committing ourselves back to God each and every day.
So in a minute I'll ask us all to stand, and I'll say a prayer of dedication and commitment to God, to Jesus. If you want to commit your life to Jesus for the first time, or if you want to re-commit your life to him, please repeat the words I pray in the silence of your heart. Picture yourself opening the door, letting Jesus in, throwing open all the doors and windows, overflowing with joy, just like Zacchaeus.
Please stand.
Father, I am blind without you. I know that I am a sinner, and that I am lost. I am sorry for everything I have done that I shouldn't, and for not doing those things that I should. Thank-you for sending your Son Jesus to seek me out, to find me, to save me.
Jesus, I know you are standing at the door, knocking. Right here and right now, I open the door; please come in, and let's eat together. Right here and right now, I commit my life to you, to follow you, to live your way, not mine.
Please send your Holy Spirit to help me live that life, to fill me with the abundant life that you promised.
Amen.
We'll now sing a hymn—if you prayed the prayer please come forward during the hymn, and we'll pray for you at the front.
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