Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’ But Zacchaeus stood 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 anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’
Luke 19:1-10 NIVUK
We have learned much about what it means to be lost:
· Alone, hungry, thirsty, exposed and in danger, having wandered off
· Discarded, not valued, dirty
· Far from home and from who we really are
We have also learned much about the joy of being found, and how God loves us as we are, but also loves us too much to leave us that way.
This well-known, and particularly joyous, story follows the same plan as all three parables we looked at. All the essentials are there:
· The wayward sinner
· The call to be found or come home
· The disapproving self-righteous
· The statement that of whom it was that Jesus came for
But there is an extra layer of spice here.
This story happened in Jericho. And many, many years previously, right back in the days of Joshua, something pretty special happened here. We can read about it in Joshua 2.
There was a woman who was living in an immoral city and living an immoral life. She was a brothel keeper – a madam. Given the mores of the people among whom she lived, she was likely wealthy.
But two men came to her – not for her favours, but to hide. They were spies from the approaching Israelite army.
And here is where things take a huge twist.
She not only hides them and helps them escape, she also makes a confession of faith that she knows their army will win the battle – even over a tightly fortified city like Jericho – and asks them to help her.
They take the city. She is rescued. She marries an Israelite man, gets listed as a hero of faith despite not being of Jewish heritage (Hebrews 11:31), marries an Israelite man from the royal tribe of Judah and, lo and behold, is an ancestor of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).
In the very city where God that remarkable thing, we see it all happening again.
We see a sinful man – a tax collector. A small man who likely used Roman muscle to demand taxes people didn’t owe from people who couldn’t afford to pay it. He made his living from shaking down and fleecing his own people – no wonder he, and others like him were despised.
We see a seeking man. He is curious. He wants to see who Jesus us. But stripped of his Roman muscle, and being small in stature, he can’t see over the crowd.
The Bible doesn’t say it, but I can imagine that taller people who had been gouged to pay his tax would have taken great delight in taking petty revenge by blocking his view.
So what does he do?
He climbs a sycamore fig tree to get a better view.
Again, I'm sure they mocked him for this: The tiny little con-man shinning up the tree like an adventurous child would have been very amusing.
People still mock those who seek Jesus. They just don’t understand it – and sometimes don’t see how Jesus could be remotely interested in someone like that.
But Zacchaeus didn’t care, so neither should you.
We see a summoned man. And what a summons!
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
Luke 19:5-6 NIVUK
This exceptional. The lost man, living a lost life, is hosting the Messiah who is on His way to the cross to save him. What a privilege!
But what makes it even more special is what Jesus says to him: He ‘must’ stay at his house to say. That is: It is the will if Almighty God that Jesus stays in the house of this man.
That is absolutely extraordinary.
There were many people in Jericho whose houses Jesus could have stayed at. There was a large crowd around Him.
But it was the will of God that He entered the home of a filthy sinner like Zacchaeus and stayed there.
We then see a saved man. The people mutter about Jesus staying at the home of a man like him!
But Zacchaeus doesn’t want to remain a man like him. He wants to change. He repents, gives half of his possessions to the poor and more than reimburses those he has cheated four times the amount he stole!
Look at Jesus’ response:
Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’
Luke 19:9-10 NIVUK
Zacchaeus was a Jew. Of course he was a son of Abraham. That goes without saying.
What Jesus is talking about here is being a spiritual son of Abraham: someone whose heart had been changed (Romans 2:28-29, c.f. Deuteronomy 10:16, 30:6). This is something He had previously told the Jewish leaders they were not (John 8:39, 44; c.f. the teaching of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8).
In other words, Jesus had come to seek our and to save a man like Zacchaeus and bring him back into His family.
That means He came to save people like us.
People who are like lost sheep, roaming the desolate countryside having wandered off, and can’t find our way back.
People who are like a lost coin: detached from our place, dirty and discarded, not understanding our true value.
People who are like a lost son: either wasting ourselves with wilfully hedonistic living, or ignoring all our father has given us and living in wilful bitterness.
Wherever you are, wherever you’ve gone, whatever you've done, whoever you've done it to, it’s time to come home.
Jesus is looking for you.
Don’t run.
Don’t hide.
Don’t make excuses.
He sacrificed Himself on the cross and defeated death so you can come home.
So don’t stay lost for another second.
Let Him take you home. Today.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I have not lived a good life. I have wasted all you have given me. But today I am coming home to you. I don’t want to live like I used to anymore. I want to live your way. Thank you for dying on the cross and rising from the dead to open the only way for me to be saved. Show me how to live for you. Amen.
Questions
1. What similarities are there between Rahab the brothel keeper and Zacchaeus the tax collector? What can we learn from these people about how God treats those who repent of their sin and turn to Him?
2. Why was Zacchaeus so keen to repent and put right his mistakes? Is there anything you need to do to do the same?
3. What is stopping you from coming home to Jesus today? How can you overcome it?
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