When was the last time you asked
someone to tell you their story? Everyone has a story to tell. One of the
problems with our super busy culture is that we do not stop enough to listen to
people’s stories. We think that we know
people by how they dress, the mannerisms, where they grew up, or by what they
do for a living, but is thinking you know something the same as knowing
something?
Take
Todd for example. Todd is married with 4
children and lives in a nice home in a nice
neighborhood. He is an insurance agent for a big company
and attends a small Baptist church just outside of town. He drives a moderately new sedan and always
is dressed professionally. In looking at
Todd, you may think that you know him, but you may not know that he has battled
internet pornography since he was exposed to it as a pre-teen. Or that he puts on a smile every day at work
even though he hates his job. Or that
his marriage is very rocky and he feels his wife doesn’t respect him. Or that
his mother died when he was young and he has held a quiet bitterness against
God ever since.
Or
maybe take Susan. She has been homeless for several years and is addicted to
heroin. She only eats full meals twice a week when a local church opens their
soup kitchen. She rarely bathes and always
seems to be carrying a foul odor. In
looking at Susan, you may think you know her, but you may not know that she is
the daughter of a prominent business owner in the neighboring county. She grew up in a Southern Baptist Church
where she was active in her G.A.s and her church youth group. She was the youngest of three daughters who
all were members of the National Honor Society.
She met a boy after high school that introduced her to marijuana which
quickly spiraled into cocaine. Her
parents tried to convince her to leave her boyfriend, but only drew her farther
into his arms. She left home at 19
married her boyfriend who left her within 6 months after introducing her to
heroin. She misses her family, but
cannot break from her addiction.
When
was the last time you asked someone their story? Or when was the last time you were bold
enough to share your true story? You may
be surprised on the stories of the people you will find sitting next you. We all have a story and it is important for
us to understand the stories of others. In this text, we have the privilege to
get a glimpse into the story of a man named Zacchaeus.
The Story of a
Sinner
Luke 19:1-2,
He entered Jericho
and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a
chief tax collector and was rich.
Jesus is continuing his journey to
Jericho. Last week, we discussed how
Jesus met the blind man begging on the side of the road while today we meet a
man from the other end of the spectrum.
His name was Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus
was a chief tax collector and was rich.
The title of chief tax collector is only used here in the New Testament.
Jericho would have been a major toll collection point for those traveling both
from the east and the west.
Tax
collectors were Jews who were tasked by the oppressive Roman government to
garner the wages of the people. Tax
collectors were despised by their fellow Jews because they were willing to work
for their enemies, the Romans. The Romans allowed tax collectors to take more
than the required amount for their wages.
Most tax collectors did not only take what they needed to live on, but
rather charged the Jews far more than what was required. They stole from their
own people to pad their pockets. They were the Bernie Madoff’s of their day,
but what they did was legal. They stole from their own people and were despised
because it.
Zacchaeus was one
of the chief tax collectors either in collecting the most taxes or in overseeing
other tax collectors which made him rich.
This is the third person classified as “rich” over the last few
chapters. Luke introduced one rich man who interacted with Lazarus and the rich
young ruler who had an encounter with Jesus. Zacchaeus is rich and based on the
previous information in this gospel, we would assume that what would follow
would show the negative aspect of that wealth.
There are many questions we could ask, but
we will never get the answers to those questions from the text. I think it is important to realize that
Zacchaeus had a story as all sinners have a story. And beloved, we are a church
full of sinners who all have a story. Do you think we would be a closer
community if we knew more of each other’s stories? Do you think it would grow
our empathy and love for one another?
The Seeking of
a Sinner
Luke 19:3-4,
And he was seeking
to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was
small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see
him, for he was about to pass that way.
Zacchaeus was seeking to see who
Jesus was. This is the beginning of
faith. He was curious about whom Jesus was and the miracles that he did. And we see that he overcame some obstacles in
order to get a good view of the real Jesus.
His
height limited him from seeing so he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a tree
so that he could see Jesus. Something was happening in Zacchaeus’s heart that
encouraged him to go the extra mile in order that he could see Jesus. This past Wednesday there was a lunar eclipse. I was invited to meet at a parking lot at
6:15 a.m. to watch the eclipse with friends.
And you know what I did? I slept in until 7 a.m. The desire to see the lunar eclipse was not
motivation enough for me to go the extra mile of getting out of bed early to
drive across town before dawn. And yet,
the desire for Zacchaeus to see Jesus made him willing to do whatever he had to
do to see Jesus.
We
do not know exactly when Zacchaeus becomes a believer in this story. Did he have saving faith before he climbed
the tree or after he invited Jesus into his house or after his pledge? We know that he eventually had saving faith,
but we can see that he was being drawn to Jesus long before he made the final
decision to follow him. Something was
going on in Zacchaeus that was encouraging him to take a long hard look at the
person and work of Jesus Christ. This
should be encouraging to us, because God is still working in our lives and the
lives of our lost family and friends.
When
we share our faith, we have to believe that God is already moving in the lives of
the people we are talking to. During a
mission trip, a few of my teammates went to a local pool to go swimming. The
problem was the pool was closed and my friends jumped the fence to cool off on
a hot day. A police officer saw the
break-in and came to arrest them. As the police officer was questioning my
missionary friends, he gave his life to Christ.
God was already moving in that man’s heart long before my friends ever
had even decided to go swimming. God is drawing people all around us to
Himself. They are beginning to seek Him. We must open our eyes and look at who
the Lord is drawing to Himself.
The Seeking of
the Savior
It
is interesting that as the lost Zacchaeus is going the extra mile to see Jesus,
Jesus has already gone the extra mile to seek Him. Luke 19:5-6,
And when Jesus
came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come
down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and
received him joyfully.
Jesus came to Zacchaeus and called
him into fellowship. And Zacchaeus
received the invitation with joy.
Friend,
if you are here and would not consider yourself a follower of Jesus, have you
ever considered how merciful God has been to you in your story? The Bible says that none of us deserve mercy,
but wrath. We deserve to pay for our
sins. Zacchaeus deserved to pay for his,
just like you and me. And yet, God gives
us time to turn to him. He fills our days
with countless examples of his mercy that we so often take for granted. Even as we sit in this room, we are
experiencing the mercy of friendship, air conditioning, hearing, speaking, and
thinking. Every breath we take is a symbol of his mercy. The greatest mercy that has ever been known
is God becoming man to bring us mercy. I pray that as we study how God brought
mercy to Zacchaeus that you would see that God can bring divine mercy to
you.
It
is not always a blessing when people invite themselves over to your house, but
Zacchaeus did not look at this as an inconvenience. He was delighted to bring Jesus into his
home. It would have been very rare for a
righteous teacher to enter into the home of a tax collector. Some scholars even would say that the joyful response
of Zacchaeus shows the beginnings of saving faith. And as Zacchaeus was thrilled, the rest of
the crowd grumbled.
The Slander of
a Sinner
Luke 19:7,
And when they saw
it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
The crowd was unhappy with Jesus’
choice of a houseguest. Luke comments
that “they all grumbled,” showing how pervasive the negative view of tax
collectors was in the culture. The crowd
was outraged that Jesus would go and eat with a sinner. Grumbling is almost always framed with
negative connotations in the New Testament. Their grumbling is not a good
thing, but why do you think they grumbled? How did their cultural context
condition them for outrage over a simple choice of a traveling teacher?
As
I have said before, everyone has a story and even the people in the crowd have
a story. Let us ask, “Why did they all
grumble?” How many times had the crowd been taken advantage of by Zacchaeus?
How many times has he knocked on their door and asked for their taxes? How many
times has Zacchaeus taken their money leaving them with little money for food?
Maybe their hunger or poverty is intimately connected with Zacchaeus. Remember
tax collectors were looked at as traitors so it is possible that Zacchaeus was
the symbol of betrayal. Their grumbling could be a sign of their own jealousy
and pride. They could be mad that their
homes were not chosen by Jesus. Maybe
their pride was hurt because they felt they should be rewarded for their good
deeds rather than a thief and a traitor.
The
text does not give us the reason behind their grumbling, but we know that their
grumbling is wrong. And even though
their grumbling is wrong, it is important to understand the story behind their
grumbling. There are going to be people
in your life that are going to grumble against you. The natural response is to get angry or hurt,
but the way of love is to empathize with those who “appear” to be against you.
I have been leading organizations since my mid 20’s and I have received a lot
of grumbling against my leadership during those years. At first, I responded with exasperation and
frustration that people would be against my decisions, but I have learned that
it vital to understand the reason behind their frustration and grumbling. Sometimes in learning people’s stories I have
found that their grumbling has more to do with them rather than me, and other
times I have found that their grumbling was sparked by something that I had
done. Learn the story of saints and
sinners before responding in frustration.
I
believe that the crowd grumbled because they saw Zacchaeus as an enemy rather
than one who needed the mercy of God. They looked down upon Zacchaeus because
of his sin, forgetting that they too are sinners in need of Jesus presence.
The Salvation
of the Savior
Luke 19:8-10,
And Zacchaeus
stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the
poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a
son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
The story seems to skip to after
the meal at Zacchaeus’s house. It is as
if you were watching a movie and see Jesus meeting Zacchaeus on the road, then
the screen goes black and the next moment they are finishing up the meal at the
house. We do not know the details of the
conversation that took place over the meal, but we can imagine it had to do
with repentance and the kingdom of God.
Zacchaeus
was confronted with his sin of defrauding the people and his need to repent and
receive the Jesus Christ as Lord. And we
find out that is exactly what he did.
Zacchaeus stood up and said, “Behold, Lord.” Zacchaeus is submitting himself to the Jesus
Christ, and notice that true faith does not come in mere words, but in action.
Verse 8,
Behold, Lord, the
half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything
I restore it fourfold.
Zacchaeus repented. He changed his behavior. True belief always comes with a change of
behavior.
This
is the story of salvation. Everyone has to be confronted with their sin and
realize they need a Savior. The first
step to salvation is the knowledge that you need to take the first step. It is only in Jesus Christ graciously
confronting Zacchaeus in his sin that causes him to turn. It is not the
condemning nature of his sin that causes him to turn, but the overwhelming
grace extended to Zacchaeus in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost. He came to Zacchaeus with grace and
love. Verse 9 is a powerful verse,
And Jesus said to
him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of
Abraham.”
It is an interesting statement
because Zacchaeus was already a physical son of Abraham. He was a Jew,
therefore he was a son of Abraham…or was he?
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We all have a
story. Our stories are all different, and yet, they are all the same. We all have sinned and we all need a
Savior. Jesus Christ came to take your
sin upon the cross. He came to seek you
and to save you by offering his life for yours.
The details of our stories may be different, but the only story of
salvation comes through the cross of Christ.
Where are you in the story of salvation?
Are you like Zacchaeus at the beginning of the story: curious about
Christ, yet unsure? Or are you like him at the end of the story, where his joy
in Christ caused him to give away his treasured possessions because he had
found a better Treasure? Or maybe you are like those grumbling along the way,
so focused on yourself that you cannot see how Jesus is seeking those sinners
around you? What’s your story?
Regardless of where you are in your story,
know this; Jesus invites you to be part of his story. He is inviting you to
join his story of salvation by repenting of your sins and trusting in his life,
death and resurrection by faith. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. We
all have our own story, but I pray that you allow His story to become your
story.
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