Message:
Luke 3:7-13; Luke 19:1-10
I
recently found out I have lost my white sweater….It wasn’t in my closet where it
was supposed to be. It was in the wrong place!
As a
librarian I am continually dealing with patrons who have lost their library books….
This
week one patron came in beaming, “Here it is...dust bunnies and all!” She had
found a lost book. It was under one of the
kids’ beds!
This
is the true meaning of the word LOST in the NEW TESTAMENT. (William Barclay)
1. Tax Collector...the
most UNPOPULAR occupation for a Jew!
He worked for the Roman government, collecting taxes
from his fellow Jews– who hated him for it!
He, in their eyes, was a traitor!
2. A Chief Tax Collector...the only one mentioned in
the NT.
He was in charge of the tax collecting in his area.
He was
3. He was very rich!
Most tax collectors were corrupt. They charged more than the actual taxes that were due the Roman Government and they kept the surplus!
More income meant more taxes for the Roman govt.
4. He
was very SHORT! He was so short that he
couldn’t see Jesus through the crowd.
5. He
was lonely: He was hated, his friends were
few, he had an emptiness inside.
“There
is a yearning inside every human heart for communion with the “something more”
in life.” There’s a God-shaped
void in every heart.”
Zacchaeus
was definitely LOST….and
he wanted to see this Jesus everyone was talking about!-This miracle worker….This
itinerate preacher ...WHO was he? Was he THE ONE? The long-awaited Messiah?
Zacchaeus
remembered John the Baptist.
(Let’s
imagine, WHAT IF Zacchaeus had been one of the Tax Collectors
present when John the Baptist preached in Luke 3:3-13)
Many had thought he might be the one...the Messiah. When he had been alive, he
often preached and baptized in the
John the Baptist was dead now, beheaded by King Herod. But many felt he had been a Prophet, the prophet
foretold by Isaiah many years ago:
“The
voice of one crying in the desert…prepare the way for the Lord!”
“Prepare
the way….” Make your hearts
ready, “Repent and be baptized!”, John had preached.
“Every
valley shall be raised up and every mountain shall be made low!”
The Lord would come and throw down those in high places & lift up the humble.
“The
rugged (crooked) places shall be made straight”
Could God make even a crooked
Chief Tax Collector straight again?
“What must we do to prove we have repented?” the Tax Collectors had asked
John. His
answer must have surprised them.
He didn’t tell them to stop being Tax Collectors; he told them to stop being
crooked ones!
“Don’t
collect more than you are required to!”
No,
John the Baptist was not the Messiah everyone had been waiting for. He said he wasn’t worthy to untie the
Messiah’s sandal straps!
But
rumor had it that this Jesus WAS the one! Many
of John the Baptist’s followers now were Jesus’ disciples.
Zacchaeus wanted to see this man for himself. But
being a very short man he found himself in the wrong place, behind the crowd of people
lining the streets. He could tell by the noise
that Jesus was approaching and the crowd was preventing Zacchaeus
from seeing Jesus, intentionally keeping him out because of their dislike for this man!
Then he saw the
tree and ran to it!
What
did Jesus see as he came into
He
had the knack of finding the one person in the crowd who needed him the most.
Did
He notice this short man running behind the crowd, jumping up to get a glimpse?
Did
He see the crowd push together with smirking faces as they tried to keep this tax
collector from getting a good look?
He
wanted to see this man who John the Baptist said would baptize people with fire!
Perhaps
Zacchaeus felt a burning within as all the words of John the
Baptist came back to him:
“Repent! Live a life worthy of repentance! Straighten out your life! Live honestly!
Get yourself in the right place! Come
back to God!”
As
Zacchaeus climbed the tree he may have prayed,
“Oh, if I can only see Jesus, I’ll change God! I will! Please
let me see him!”
And
then something amazing happened….
Jesus saw Zacchaeus in the tree and yelled up to him!
“Zacchaeus! Come down immediately! I must stay at your house today!”
Zacchaeus
had not expected to be SEEN by Jesus! He had
only wanted to SEE Jesus! But Jesus had sought
him out!
John the Baptist’s words continued to ring in Zacchaeus’
ears as he climbed down the tree:
“Produce fruit worthy of repentance! If you have two tunics give one away to those who have none, Share your food with the poor! Don’t collect more than you are supposed to!”
As
Zacchaeus was climbing down that tree his heart was changed
and he wanted Jesus to know this. He gladly
welcomed Jesus and led him to his house.
The
people began to murmur. “This Jesus
is going to be a guest of a SINNER!!!”
Zacchaeus
stopped and turned to Jesus. He pulled himself
up to his full height and said in a loud voice:
“Look, Lord! (he called him Lord!) Here and now I give half of my possessions to
the poor! And if I have cheated anyone out of
anything I will pay back 4 times the amount!”
There
had to be a gasp from the crowd as they heard this! Then
came a shocked silence as Jesus held up his hand and turned
to Zacchaeus and
said,
“Today,
salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a
Son of Abraham (a
man of FAITH—not just of Jewish heritage!)
For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.”
Zacchaeus
had been lost, he had wandered away from God. He
had become a powerful, wealthy man but found that his life was empty. He yearned for more—for communion with the
“Something More” in life. He wanted
to find his place of purpose with God.
Then,
Jesus sought him out! And Zacchaeus
returned to God.
I’m
thankful that this story of Zacchaeus didn’t get lost!
When
Luke wrote this gospel—some 30 years after it had happened– he found this story. We don’t know whether he found it in a
personal interview with Zacchaeus or with someone who knew Zacchaeus, or if he found a written account in one the many gospel
accounts that existed at that time. It’s
an important story because it frames what scholars today feel is the key verse in the
Gospel of Luke:
“For
the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Luke
was a Gentile, the only Gentile author in the New Testament!
He was writing his version of Jesus’ life so that Gentile believers would better understand Jesus’
ministry. And to Luke, this was the essence of Jesus’ ministry & life:
He
came to seek & save what was lost.
He
came to bring people back to their rightful place with God!
Luke believed that God sent Jesus to give hope to the hopeless, whether Gentile or
Jewish tax collector!
To
be a true Son of Abraham is not dependant on your ancestral lineage! It is dependant
upon your faith in God!
Zacchaeus’
story was included in Luke’s gospel because it is important for us all to hear!
You
are never a hopeless case! Jesus came to look
for and find sinners like me...and you!
Zacchaeus
told his story!
Whether
to Luke or to someone who wrote it down for Luke to find later.
It
is important that Zacchaeus told his story!
You
have a story to tell as well! You
need to share your faith story with someone today! If you are too shy, then write it down!
Don’t
become a lost face in the crowd of life!
Jesus is seeking you out and it is time to be found!
Are you in your proper place? Come back to God. He wants to come to your home today! Come home to God!