2024-11-29A
SCRIPTURE
Luk 19:1 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.”
A. JERICHO EXPERIENCES GOD’S GRACE WHEN JESUS VISITS THERE.
Another incident at Jericho. Upon entering Canaan, this was the first city conquered by Israel. It was then cursed by God. He also forbade it to be rebuilt. However, someone disregarded this ban and rebuilt it at the expense of his first born son who died in the process. Now, however, Jesus came into the world, not to condemn and punish sinners, but to heal and save them. Therefore the grace of God flowed even through Jericho; it flowed freely to anyone who wanted to receive it. Bartimaeus was one of those and here we now have another person, Zacchaeus.
B. A RICH MAN GOES THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE.
He was a rich man. In a previous study guide, we saw that Jesus said that it was harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. Yet it was not impossible, because with God all things are possible. And here we see precisely how such a miracle takes place, in this formerly cursed city. God’s grace is truly like water that is poured out and it penetrates into every little crack of sinful society.
C. ZACCHAEUS DID NOT HAVE MUCH HOPE IN GOD: RICH, SLY AND A TRAITOR TO HIS PEOPLE.
Since he was small in stature, Zacchaeus learned from an early age that life was hard and that you had to fight for a place in the sun. He was also a man who did not care much about what other people thought of him. Where he saw an opportunity to pocket a few coins for himself, he took it. In doing so, he went to the very place where money changed hands every day and succeeded in obtaining a position as a tax collector with the Roman Government to fund their projects.
As a Jew, he naturally incurred the wrath of his own people by this. They both despised and hated him but he cared little. His sharp brain, leadership qualities and disregard for moral values such as honesty, enabled him to rise above his colleagues in that particular profession and soon he was appointed as the head of all the publicans. They had to report to him and of course, remit a good portion of what they had collected. Soon he was a rich and influential man: admired and hated, feared and despised.
D. HAVING ALL OF THIS HE WAS NOT YET SATISFIED; HE WANTED MORE.
But was it that he really wanted? Did he now sit back like that rich fool, the one who gathered the big harvest, built his warehouses bigger and said: “Now I’m going to enjoy my life”. No, it would appear that it was not so with Zacchaeus. Rather, it seems that his experience was similar to that of Solomon as described in the book of Ecclesiastes. There he tells of all the extravagances of life he had explored: wealth, learning, position, women, etc. and yet ended up a depressed and disillusioned man who had not found satisfaction in these things.
E. HE WANTED WHAT JESUS HAD.
Why do I reach this conclusion? Note his reaction to the news that Jesus was visiting Jericho. He was fascinated by this Man. Jesus had no house, only one garment and one pair of sandals. When He was asked to pay His taxes, He had to send one of His disciples to catch a fish and use the coin found in the fish’s mouth for this purpose.
He simply had no interest in money or in any other material thing. Nor did He have any desire a coveted position, having authority over others. Of course He could have had it, because His power was unlimited. He was able to cleanse lepers, cast out demons, make the blind to see and even raise the dead. His conversations with the clever Pharisees, Sadducees, and priests were brilliant; to such an extent that they even feared to challenge Him to a debate again.
He could have risen to any height He wanted, yet He followed a humble way of life, traversing the land on foot and doing good wherever He went. It would seem as if He enjoyed an unshakable inner peace; joy far beyond that of any other religious leader. Above all, though vehemently denied by the students of the Law of Moses, the rumor circulated that He was the Son of God, the expected Messiah.
F. WAS JESUS REAL?
How could Zacchaeus decide for himself whether this Man really was Who he said he was? Since his profession required of him to develop a keen knowledge of people in order to be able to determine who was honest and who not, he may have thought to himself: “If only I could get close enough to Him to see His face, to look into His eyes, I will know if He is Who He claims to be – and possibly also find the answer to my own emptiness”. So he joined the throng of people surrounding Jesus, people who were mostly there to be healed. But that was not his need.
G. A SEEKER AFTER GOD IS UNSTOPPABLE.
He was strong and healthy and used his elbows to try to make his way through the mass of people, but it didn’t help, because he was too small in stature and couldn’t see over their heads. Then he had a thought: up ahead he saw a sycamore tree with huge branches overhanging the road. That was the answer. He backed out of the masses, and ran ahead. As agile as a monkey he was up the trunk and creeping forward on a branch that jutted out across the road. The leaves were scanty but he counted on it that everyone’s eyes would be on the Lord Jesus and that no one would look up and notice him.
H. THE SEEKER FINDS AND IS FOUND.
The crowd was getting closer. Breathless he lay, waiting. Then he saw Him, Jesus, the Man right in the middle. He came nearer and nearer, while speaking now to this one and then to another. At last He was almost right underneath him. He leaned forward as far as possible, staring down at Him. A burning desire he had never experienced before flooded his heart, then the question: “O God of Abraham, is this Your Son, is He the Messiah?” Then, suddenly, the Lord Jesus stopped, looked up into the branches, right into his eyes, and with a soft but authoritarian voice, He commanded: “Zacchaeus, hurry up and get down because I have to stay in your home today. “
I. A CASTAWAY BECOMES A FAVORITE.
For a moment he was completely stunned. “How did He know that I was here? How is it that He knows my name? Jehovah answered my prayer! He must, …. no, He is surely the Son of God, the Holy One sent from Above.” He pulled his robe tighter around him, slid down the tree trunk, trotted out excitedly in front of the crowd in the direction of his house while his mind wondered confusedly: “He’s going to come into my home; entering a sinner’s house. Then there must surely be hope for me.”
J. LACK OF UNDERSTANDING.
Well, let’s cut this story short. Zacchaeus ushered Jesus into his luxurious home and instructed his servants to serve them the very best meal. This offended many of those present, causing them to murmur amongst themselves, saying, “He went in to be the guest of a sinner.” These people were strict followers of the Law of Moses and had no mercy for sinners. Of course they were right in that God did not want His people to have part in a wicked way of life, but He did want them to have an open eye and ear for sinners who had a need for God.
K. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.
Zacchaeus responded at once to their charge. He knew that he had, inwardly, given his life to Jesus and would never walk the old path of cheating and stealing anymore. He dearly wanted one and all to understand that clearly. So he jumped up and said to the Lord: “Look Lord, here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I will repay him fourfold.”
L. A BORN-AGAIN PERSON IS NOT ASHAMED TO OPENLY ADMIT HIS PAST SINS.
No one expected such behaviour from a publican. Even Jesus did not require this of him. It was clear to everyone that the grace of God had worked a great miracle in his heart. By offering to repay fourfold that in which he had defrauded others, he openly admitted that he was a heartless thief because that was the punishment pronounced by king David upon a man who had taken a poor man’s pet lamb (2Sam 12:6). Zacchaeus had suddenly been transformed into a brand new man.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:17).
His words clearly demonstrated that he had just entered the Kingdom of God. Jesus confirmed this by His comment: “Today salvation has come to this house because this man is also a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost:” Note that Zacchaeus not only found Jesus, the Saviour of souls, but that Jesus also found Zacchaeus, the lost, searching soul with the empty heart.
Note also that although Jesus saw that Zacchaeus was a very rich man, He did not require him to sell all his goods and give his possessions to the poor and then follow Him as He did with the rich young ruler. He discerned in His heart that Zacchaeus no longer put those worldly things above God and that henceforth he would use his possessions as God’s blessings to serve others.
M. ZACCHAEUS’ MESSAGE.
The story of Zacchaeus also teaches us that life is not to be found in material things but in inner blessings, the things of the heart and the spirit, in communion with the Holy Spirit.
N. WHAT AM I LEAVING BEHIND?
A final note: Whenever Jesus moved through an area, city or town, He left behind saved souls; people freed from the bondage of demons, lepers cleansed of their horrible disease and minds filled with heavenly content. He truly turned the dry land into a Garden of Eden (Ps 84:7). What do you and I leave behind in the homes we visit, the taxis we ride in and the shops where we buy our goods? How will the land through which we moved on our life’s path appear when we look back on it at the end of our earthly journey?
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