A. In Sunday School you learn about Zacchaeus as if Jesus saved him because he was short. But the story actually tells us that, if anything, Jesus saved Zacchaeus because he was bad.
B. Read Luke 19:1–10 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 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.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
C. On the way to Jerusalem to die on the cross, probably a week before the crucifixion, Jesus and His disciples pass through the rich, beautiful, exotic city of Jericho.
D. There Jesus heals the body of Bartimaeus the oppressed (we talked about that story last time), and now He heals the soul of Zacchaeus the oppressor.
2. Zacchaeus
A. Luke 19:2 “And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus; and he was a chief tax-gatherer, and he was rich.”
1. There were few as low as tax-collectors in the eyes of the Jews. They were despised as dishonest sinners, first because they conspired with the Roman tyrants to oppress the Jews, and second because, having lost any hope of Jewish friendships, they cheated the people to line their own pockets. This was just how the system worked.
2. And Zacchaeus wasn’t just a tax-collector, he was a chief tax-collector.
3. He had grown rich from cheating people, getting his cut from taxes, and getting a cut from the tax collectors who worked under him.
B. Luke 19:3-4 “And he was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. 4 And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.”
1. Zacchaeus was a short man. And in a crowd it’s hard to see what’s going on when you’re short. And yet Zacchaeus was typical of some other short men, he had learned to compensate for his lack of physical stature by a certain aggressiveness.
2. We can also see here his lack of concern about what people thought about him. Can you imagine a chief official of the IRS running up the street and climbing up a tree in the middle of a business day to see someone as he passed by? He did not care very much about the opinion of men.
3. We can also see this by the fact that he was a tax collector. When you signed up to be a tax collector, you were signing up to be feared and despised – and for good reason.
4. Zacchaeus was an evil man, a feared man, a hated man.
3. But Jesus didn’t hate Zacchaeus or fear him. He loved him.
A. Jesus was able to love Zacchaeus because He wasn’t afraid of Zacchaeus.
1. All his life people had been running away from Zacchaeus in fear. And finally Someone came toward Zacchaeus and addressed him and loved him. And he melted on the spot.
2. And we won’t be able to love people like Zacchaeus if we are insecure and intimidated.
3. The first step of loving people like Zacchaeus is to not fear them.
4. They may even want to intimidate you. That’s how they control people, how they get their way.
5. In 1Pet.3:1-6, after instructing wives who have disobedient husbands to be respectful and quiet, to be patient, to try to win them with their good deeds, concludes his instructions with this: “Do not fear anything that is frightening.” Peter knows it is very natural for wives to be intimidated and even frightened of husbands who are disobeying the Lord. But he instructs wives to love their disobedient husbands, not to fear them.
6. All those who had run from Zacchaeus in fear thought they were justified in doing so. But in reality they were sinning by fearing him.
7. It sounds strange but the worst thing for people like Zacchaeus is if everyone around them shrinks back in fear. That’s our natural tendency in our insecurity. But we see in the example of Jesus what needs to be done. We need to boldly reach out to them in love.
8. And only if we have Christ’s love, will we be able to love them without fear, will we be able to say what needs to be said. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2Timothy 1:7)
9. In one sense, fear and love are incompatible. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” 1John 4:18
10. Now you might say to yourself, “People who like to intimidate don’t deserve to be loved.” and you’re right. But none of us deserve to be loved. If we love only those who deserve to be loved, we’ll love God but never our neighbor.
4. How did Jesus know Zacchaeus’ name?
1. He may have used His divine omniscient mind. But I don’t think He did, because He didn’t have to. This is not presented here as some kind of miracle. I think Jesus knew his name by normal human means. I think Jesus must have spotted Zacchaeus hopping around the crowd and running ahead to climb up the tree and asked someone who he was.
2. Just like when Jesus picked out the voice of Bartimaeus in the midst of a great throng, now He takes note of little hopping, running, climbing Zacchaeus.
3. Jesus heard and saw things no one else noticed — because He loved.
a. Everyone else saw Zacchaeus’ greed, his betrayal, his ruthlessness.
b. But as he darted around the crowd trying to see, and as he ran on ahead and climbed up the tree, Jesus saw openness of heart. He saw eagerness. He saw a desire for God. He saw dissatisfaction with all his empty wealth.
5. And then Jesus boldly takes the initiative with Zacchaeus: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19:5)
1. Isn’t it striking how Jesus is so forward, so aggressive here?
2. Jesus was strong with strong people just as He was tender with the tender.
3. Here we see him speaking boldly to a bold man.
4. Jesus treated people according to who they were.
5. Jesus viewed Zacchaeus as a person, an individual, as a needy sinner, not as a tax-collector.
6. He had a special love for Zacchaeus, and treated Zacchaeus according to who he was.
6. Jesus’ actions toward Zacchaeus show us that even intimidating people need to be loved.
1. Christ’s love extends far enough to reach even intimidating, aggressive, heartless people.
2. By reaching out to Zacchaeus, Jesus is sending a message to all those around Him and all those who ever heard about or read this story about His acceptance of even obnoxious people.
3. Jesus chooses one of the most hated men around to show how His grace breaks the bonds of sin, and how no man is beyond the reach of the gospel.
4. He demonstrates the grace that He extends to those who are lost. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (v.10)
5. Everyone is lost, but not everyone realizes it. Jesus comes to seek out and to save lost people like Zacchaeus, and like you and me.
4. Jesus sought and saved lost Zacchaeus because Jesus wants to show that He doesn’t save people because they’re good. He saves people because of His grace. He saves by faith, not by works.
A. Compare Zacchaeus with the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22.
1. They were both Jewish and rich. That’s about where their similarities end.
2. Zacchaeus was unscrupulous. The rich young ruler was very scrupulous.
3. Zacchaeus left in his wake a valley of wounded, abused people. The rich young ruler worked hard to love his neighbors as himself.
4. Zacchaeus lined his pockets with other people’s money. The rich young ruler did not steal.
5. Zacchaeus lived his life by dishonesty. The rich young ruler was an honest and upright man.
6. Zacchaeus betrayed his own people and his forefathers. The rich young ruler honored his parents and made his forefathers proud.
7. And yet at the end of the story, Zacchaeus was saved. The rich young ruler was lost.
8. The evil man was saved. The good man was lost. How can you explain this?
a. It is because salvation is not by works but by grace through faith.
B. Now this grace offends some people. It offended some in Jericho. Luke 19:7 “And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."”
1. Here is the spirit of self-righteousness, the spirit of those who have never come to grips with their own sin and rebellion, who think that they’re better than real sinners.
2. But there is no place for pride. We were all lost. We are all Zacchaeuses.
3. Anyone may seek Him. The grace of God often reaches out to those that seem to be farthest from the possibility of salvation.
4. You don’t have to be clean. In fact, you have to realize that you’re not clean. You have to realize you’re not a good person.
5. Jesus calls us to face our sin and fall into His forgiving arms. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (v.10)
6. That’s the point of this whole story. That’s the lesson Jesus wants us to walk away with.
C. (Faith produces works, of course. Salvation is not won by works, but it is demonstrated by works.
1. Jesus doesn’t say that Zacchaeus is saved by his willingness to return money to those he’s stolen from. That would be ludicrous after a life of selfishly ruining others.
2. But Zacchaeus’ willingness does show the new state of his heart, that he now regrets his sin, that he is committed to making it right, and that he has found a new treasure which far surpasses his old.)