A Little Man Meets A Big God Luke 19:1-10 Truth Be Told Introduce self Continuing our study through the Gospel of Luke in our series Truth Be Told

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1 A Little Man Meets A Big God Luke 19:1-10 Truth Be Told Introduce self Continuing our study through the Gospel of Luke in our series Truth Be Told Most of us just got past tax season (some of you might have filed extensions) But it reminds me of a story of an ex NFL player who opened up a bar and he had a standing challenge: He would pay anyone $1000 dollars if they could after he would squeeze out a lemon and I mean he would squeeze out every last drop of juice possible and then he would hand it over to any challenger and if they could squeeze out just one more drop he would pay them $1000 Well the challenge went on for years and nobody could do it, body builders, weightlifters, lumberjacks, wrestlers no one could do it Until one day this small little skinny guy walked in and after all the laughter died down he said, I ll take on that challenge So the owner as usual took the lemon and squeezed out every last drop he possibly could and threw the wrinkled grinds on the counter and the little guy picked up the lemon and then proceeded to squeeze out one drop, then two as the whole room gasped, three, four drops, and people were saying impossible five, six, seven drops Ho nobody had ever done that And of course the owner paid the $1000, but he had to ask, Hey what do you do for a living, body builder, jujitsu, wrestler? He said, Nah, I work for the IRS. J Of course a lot of us understand that, right, tax season can be tough And it can drive some people sometimes to be dishonest Like the guy who wrote this, True letter to the IRS o Dear Sirs, enclosed you ll find a check for $150 dollars, I cheated on my income tax last year and I haven t been able to sleep ever since. If I still have trouble sleeping I ll send you the rest This morning we re going to focus on the story of this high-ranking IRS officer who cheated not on his own taxes but who really cheated and exhorted others out of their taxes He was a very dishonest man given the authority by the Roman government to squeeze out every last drop out of the people and his name is Zacchaeus 1Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. Zacchaeus! he said. Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today. 1

2 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner, they grumbled. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much! 9 Jesus responded, Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. Pray Many of us might be familiar with this story and it s kind of got this humorous side to it the idea of a wee little man perched like a bird on a tree Maybe you already know that children s song: Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed way up in a sycamore tree, For the Lord he wanted to see We can have fun with it but we ve got to remember that the story is placed strategically in Luke s account of the life of Jesus This would be Jesus s last personal encounter before he arrived in Jerusalem and the events that would lead to his death on the cross We ve just celebrated Easter, gone through the Passion Week, Palm Sunday and this story was an event that took place before all of that And there is a Pathos to this story it beats with the very heart of God for in V.10 we read the very purpose of the ministry of Jesus Christ His MO. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. Lets let that sink into our very own hearts and souls I love how the bible connects together and these aren t just random stories that are put together one after the other Just last week Brandon gave an excellent sermon on Blind Bartimaeus the salvation of a blind man who was very poor a beggar and now here in this story we re going to see the salvation of a man lost in the blindness of his wealth and corruption And it also connects with the story of the rich young ruler given earlier in chapter 18 who went away sadly and decided not to follow Jesus, because he couldn t give up his riches, instead of he possessing his riches, his riches possessed him And Jesus there stated of how hard, in fact humanely impossible, it was for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle Well the impossible is about to take place as this rich little man meets a big God! Well for now lets call Zacchaeus Big Z at least he thought of himself that way 2

3 His name actually meant righteous one and he certainly didn t live up to it. Just for a little background When the Roman Empire took over an area they would tax the people heavily but what they would do is sell the tax agencies as franchises to the highest local bidders so the franchisees were actually Jewish countrymen Capernaum, Jericho, and Jerusalem were huge tax franchises and Big Z was in charge of Jericho probably the biggest of the three Jericho was rich, it was a city with a commanding position at the crossing of the Jordan River, and it was one of the main cities you had to get through to get to Jerusalem Jericho was like the Vegas of the time And all the Roman Empire required was a certain amount of tax and whatever the tax collectors could skim and exhort from the people as long as the Roman Empire was paid they could keep the rest and so they would try and squeeze every last drop out of them Big Z was the chief tax collector; one commentator put it this way He was the kingpin of the Jericho tax cartel and had the scruples of a modern-day crack dealer. Basically it was the mafia of the time and Big Z was filthy rich and he definitely wasn t a likely candidate for the kingdom of God! And you know the guy had to be hated I mean here he was squeezing money out of his own people and so he was despised Some people would have literally loved to see him squeezed out through the eye of a needle. as C. S. Lewis put it, in one long bloody thread from tail to snout. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus I don t think that anyone would have ever imagined that big Z would have ever wanted to see Jesus and yet here Luke records that he wanted to do just that But you have to ask Why? Why in the world would he want to see Jesus Maybe he had heard of Matthew Matthew was one of Jesus s disciples and he too had been a tax collector And it s not like Palestine was a huge place and the tax collector would have naturally hung out together. In fact we re told that Jesus was known to be a friend of tax collectors and sinners And that of course just ticked off the religious establishment of the day... And maybe Matthew told him, You know what big Z, Jesus loves you man! Maybe for Zacchaeus this whole rich thing had gotten old The report, obtained by The Atlantic, gives a glimpse of the wealth and fulfillment level of 160 households, of which 120 had amassed fortunes of at least $25 million. 3

4 The findings: Despite great wealth, many seem miserable. One of the gems from the survey: "I feel extremely lucky, but it's hard to get other, non-wealthy people to believe it's not more significant than that the novelty of money has worn off." And maybe for Big Z he felt just like that the novelty had worn off He wasn t satisfied where it really counted in his very own heart and soul If thou art rich, thou art poor, for like an ass whose back with ingots bows, thou bearest thy heavy riches but a journey, and death unloads thee. - William Shakespeare - Maybe he couldn t tell who his real friends were; after all he was hated greatly. No real friendship lasted that long He hated being hated the hassle he got from people was probably exactly what he had given to them and he was tired of it It was that same type of dissatisfaction that drew St. Augustine as he wrote this of God Your goad was thrusting at my heart, giving me no peace until the eye of my soul could discern you without mistake. - St Augustine - Big Z was drawn by the severe mercy of dissatisfaction God was letting him know and pricking him in his very own heart and soul, You won t ever be satisfied without me And maybe for some of you this morning that very same goad, that very same sharp stick is pricking at your heart It s called; the mercy of dissatisfaction Christ is letting you know in his relentless mercy and love for you that you will never be satisfied without Him And so Zacchaeus 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. I picture things like this the crowd was probably trying to box him out elbowing him stomping on him a little Oops sorry about that Z didn t see you there But this short little big guy, and you got to picture this, he girded up his loins that means he grabbed his kilt like thing that he was wearing put it between his legs and ran ahead of the crowd Which BTW wasn t a dignified thing to do in that culture and he runs toward that tree, a sycamore-fig tree, which was a sturdy tree about 40 feet high with a short trunk and wide branches very easy to climb Maybe he hoped that he ran ahead far enough that nobody saw him climb the tree hiding up there just to get a glimpse of this Jesus he had heard so much about 4

5 That the crowd would just pass by and he would go unnoticed but at least he would get a look at Jesus Well going unnoticed was definitely not in the cards on that day 5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. Zacchaeus! he said. Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today. You know up until v.4 we see all of mans part we see the initiative of a seeking sinner Don t misunderstand, God is prodding, God is calling, the Holy Spirit is convicting The Great Hound of Heaven is chasing you down with His relentless love But there must be a response Here We see Zacchaeus taking off, I can t stand it anymore, I got to take a look at Jesus That is one side of the grace coin Whomsoever would come, whomsoever believes Now Here in V.5 we see the other side This journey through Jericho was not just a happenchance thing This was a very specific divine appointment set up by the Savior Himself Picture it for a second little big Z trying to hide going unnoticed This BTW is why we say turn off your cell phones you know how it is if the phone goes off, one head turns, then another and suddenly you got a whole crowd looking at you its automatic not trying to embarrass anyone, shoots it s happened to me But as the crowd passes by under the tree, suddenly Jesus stops right below him and I could just picture little big Z trying to be chameleon like Jesus looks up and the whole crowd looks up (Must have been a couple of giggles from the crowd) But Jesus calls him by name And at that moment I don t think it mattered anymore to Zacchaeus How in the world does Jesus know my name? Luke 12:6 7 What is the price of five sparrows two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Isaiah 40:26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Don t you know that if He knows the name of all of the stars in the entirety of the universe, He knows your name! (Tell your neighbor, God Knows your name) 5

6 He certainly knew Zacchaeus name And not only that Jesus invites Himself to his house I must be a guest in your home o I love it, that s biblical; I m going to try that who s having steak dinner tonight? This was all a divine set up; this is the other side of the grace coin The seeking savior initiating all of this Jesus had loving intentions He didn t say, I would like to stay at your house, He said, I must Things were going to get turned around for Zacchaeus; his whole world was about to be rocked Jesus was on a divine mission this was pre-ordained Eph. 1: 4 5 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Zacchaeus the camel was about to go through the eye of the needle, the impossible was about to happen. And even though as it says in v.7 7 But the people were displeased. He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner, they grumbled. But for Big little Z it was pure joy! Now I just want to say a couple of things here Some of you like Zacchaeus are hanging out on a limb you re up in a tree and Jesus is calling you down It s time to come down man! It s like the story of one of Charles Spurgeon s students who preached a three-sentence sermon and was applauded for it by Spurgeon himself Zacchaeus was of little stature, so am I. Zacchaeus was up a tree, so am I. Zacchaeus came down, so will I. Some of you need to come down off that tree today God s been calling you and you know it Your heart is being prodded and you need to respond! The second thing I want to mention is this grumbling crowd Some of us here are afraid to hang out with sinners and you know what they know it. We despise it we like the 4 walls of the church and we keep the gospel to ourselves it is the greatest lie of the devil to keep the gospel to yourself God doesn t want isolation he wants infiltration. Hx records that when Oliver Cromwell was ruling England the nation was experiencing crisis: they had run out of silver to mint new coins so Cromwell sent his men throughout the country sides to go through the local cathedrals to see if they could find any more silver and the men reported, we have found some more silver but its in the statues of the saints and Cromwell s famous remark was this: 6

7 Then melt down the saints and put them into circulation - Oliver Cromwell - What a great word for us saints melted down and put into circulation Do you know what the holiest moment of any church service is? When you go out those back doors and take the message of the gospel and you go out into circulation. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much! Sometime during that night as Jesus and His disciples ate with Zacchaeus something happened Zacchaeus called Jesus, Lord You know this would be the only time in the 4 gospels that Jesus invites himself to someone s home and it illustrates the words found in Rev. 3:20 Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Jesus is the perfect gentlemen and He will never force Himself on anyone A meal is a very intimate thing in the Middle-East culture as you dip the pita bread in the sauces all eating from the same bread and some even double dipping there s a lot of stuff being shared together Our American culture we don t like that double dipping stuff too much Little big Z was a short guy and in a great sense all of us spiritually are short Rom. 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God s glorious standard. So really no one measures up, we are all too little to enter into heaven But here s the tragedy of it all, many lost sinners think they are too Big They measure themselves up by man s standards, money, position, authority, and popularity. The people thought that Zacchaeus was a wealthy man but in reality he was only a bankrupt sinner like all of us in great need of God s glorious grace of eternal life the greatest and richest gift of all The declaration that Zacchaeus made was not he buying his way into heaven but rather it was the response of a saved soul For Zacchaeus to give 50 percent of everything he had to the poor. That went way beyond the requirement of the law And then, from the remaining 50 percent he pledged to make restitution four times the amount he had extorted He had cheated a lot people, and now the entirety of his fortune was in jeopardy just because he wanted to make things right. He was actually living out his faith This little man had become a big man because he had met a big God! That whole drive for money, that whole drive for the things of the world was gone 7

8 The passion and the drive to get had now become a passion to give. And all because of Jesus And this is really important; all this is was the evidence of his salvation o Not him earning his salvation I love what some one once said, If Christianity were illegal and you were arrested would there be enough evidence to convict you? Would your life show it? Zaccheus life was now showing it 9 Jesus responded, Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. And all that simply means is that big Z was a child of faith now Zacchaeus was putting his complete trust in Christ! And that s what faith in Christ is all about putting all your chips in, betting your whole life on Him Zacchaeus was a new man that s why he gave all his fortune away Now as I wrap this study up I don t want you all to get nervous The end of the message is not, Let s all be like Zacchaeus and let s pass out the offering baskets we re all giving our money away Everyone gets nervous when money is mentioned, me included But as believers we need to understand that the gospel is intensely practical And really it s a simple question. Do you possess your possessions or do your possessions possess you? If they possess you then your grip is tight But if you possess them then your grip is loosened Jesus said it is better to give than it is to receive o How many of us know that to be true? The art of simply putting in more than what you take out. Believers are always looking for the opportunity to give whether it is of their time, money, resources or possessions And I do want to say that this church is very, very generous It is the mark of true discipleship, when we step outside of ourselves Can I have an Amen! 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. This is the mission statement of Christ! Zacchaeus was the last man in the world that you d think would be saved If you lived in Jericho you would have written that guy off! I mean he was the baddest, smallest, meanest man in town, hated to the core he was a traitor living off the backs of his own people It was impossible for him to be saved, you would think Except for one thing The seeking Savior 8

9 Who is relentless in His love for people like you and me And I hope that this morning you would see that verse brand new all over again for the very first time!!! It s Jesus MO. Some of us have people in our lives that we have written off They are just way too bad, too mean to ever be saved Maybe we ve given up praying for a spouse or a son or daughter OR MAYBE WE DON T WANT SOME PEOPLE TO BE SAVED The Zacchaeus in life are God s specialty Maybe you re thinking of your own life and you re thinking, there s no way, I m way too far gone, I m way too lost, I m way too mean, I m way too bad But you re here this morning and this is a divine appointment THERE IS A SAVIOR THAT IS SEEKING YOU OUT!!! O And He s calling you down off that tree! Maybe this morning there is something in your heart that is stirring Dissatisfaction in your own life, unease, nothing really satisfies even the best of things in life like being here on Maui!!! You might even be blaming God for it all the dissatisfaction The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of man, and His compulsion is our liberation. CS Lewis - You need to understand that Christ is seeking you out And if that s the case then come down off that limb and start a relationship with the living God For some of you maybe that relationship has kind of waned o It s like the honeymoon period is over When Jesus says he wants to come in and eat with you He s talking about sweet intimate fellowship He wants to be at home in your heart A relationship with God is not one where you walk on eggshells and it s all strained No, rather it s sweet He truly loves you, just the way you are and He ll renew you, restore you and He can make a hardened heart beat brand new for Him all over again Amen! 9