Luke 19:1-10 Who’s Looking for Who?
Good morning! Turn in your Bibles back to Luke 19 and verses 1-10, page 878 in the Pew Bibles.
Today we are going to look at an account that serves as a summary for all of chapter 18 of Luke’s Gospel, the account of Zacchaeus, the wee little man, and a wee little man was he!
But first, let’s pray.
You may remember from last time in Luke 18 that Jesus was outside the city of Jericho when He met a blind man who longed to recover his sight. Now, at the beginning of chapter 19 Jesus has entered Jericho and was passing through on His way to Jerusalem that He encounters another man that also wanted to see.
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.”
If you allow yourself, I’m sure you can see what a comical picture this is. A “vertically challenged” guy wants to see Jesus as He passes through the city but he can’t see over the crowd because he is so short.
I know it’s not fair for me to laugh at this but it would be a little bit like poor Neena standing behind me and my boys during worship! That’s why I stand off to the side. It’s a good thing there are no trees in here!
His height is not all that we know about Zacchaeus, we know that he was a chief tax collector and was rich.
We’ve talked about tax collectors before and how they made their living by adding on to the percentage of tax that was required by Rome to the people of Israel. Tax collectors were so despised that even the title of tax collector was synonymous with the title of sinner.
These were Jewish men that were collaborating with the Romans and were extorting their own countrymen, and Zacchaeus was one of their overseers. It stands to reason that if the common tax collectors were good at extorting extra money from the people that their boss would have been even better at it and it had made him rich.
But strangely, his wealth did not satisfy his heart. One can only assume that he longed for more. Without knowing it, he longed for Jesus.
Well as it happened Jesus was passing through.
This is where we can see Zacchaeus summarizing Luke chapter 18.
[Jesus] 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.
In Luke 18:35-43 Jesus encountered a blind man who longed to recover his sight. Zacchaeus also wanted to see but because of his physical limitations he was unable to.
In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus described an unjust judge and a persistent widow who was granted justice because she refused to give up bringing her request to the judge. Zacchaeus persisted in his efforts to see Jesus.
He didn’t give up because he was too short to see over the crowd. He came up with a plan and executed it.
In Luke 18:15-17 Jesus instructed that if anyone does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
Do you know what community leaders and well respected rich tax collectors didn’t do in the First Century? Run around and climb trees. Do you know who did? Kids. And unlike the proud Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14, he humbled himself like the tax collector and allowed himself the undignified position of sitting in a tree so he could see Jesus.
4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
Can you imagine this? This is like the president of Bank of New Hampshire up a tree in a business suit to watch a parade! How undignified! But like I said, Zacchaeus’ wealth did not satisfy his heart, something else was gnawing at him.
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.
Sycamore Fig trees are very common, stout trees with fairly low branches making them easy to climb even for wee little Zacchaeus. He wouldn’t have been hidden but in plain view for all to see including Jesus.
Jesus called him by name and asked him to hurry down and he hurried down and received Jesus into his home joyfully. And of course the crowd, who always loves a good redemption story, cheered, right?
No.
7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
In their pursuit of holiness by works the Jews that made up this crowd had no use for grace. They only saw Jesus as dirtying His hands by having anything to do with that lousy tax collector and sinner. It’s a good thing that this attitude no longer exists, isn’t it?
In Luke 18:18-30 Jesus interacted with a young man who possessed great wealth, but actually, his great possessions possessed him. Jesus said in chapter 18 verses 24-27, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But He said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Are you ready?
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.
Zacchaeus proved that his wealth didn’t own him, he willingly laid it down at the feet of Jesus.
Warren Weirsbe wrote, “Under Mosaic Law, if a thief voluntarily confessed his crime, he had to restore what he took, add one fifth to it, and bring a trespass offering to the Lord (Leviticus 6:1-7). If he stole something he could not restore, he had to repay fourfold (Exodus 22:1); and if he was caught with the goods, he had to repay double (exodus 22:4). Zacchaeus did not quibble over the terms of the Law; he offered to pay the highest price because his heart had been truly changed.”
It wasn’t the fact that Zacchaeus gave away his money that saved him, it was evidence that he had already been saved by faith in Jesus, he wanted to prove his thankfulness to Jesus for saving him.
RC Sproul wrote, “Scripture is silent about the future of Zaccheus, but church history is not. The Bishop of Alexandria, Clement, whose writings exist to this day, mentions in one of his homilies that Zaccheus continued faithfully in the growth and nurture of the Lord, and served Christ to the end of his life with distinction, being elevated ultimately to the role of bishop of Caesarea. So this little man, who climbed the tree to see Jesus, left the lucrative money-changing tables at the cross-roads leading to Jerusalem, and became a spiritual leader in the church.”
In this account we can see the humble, persistent, child-like, Zacchaeus do whatever it took to see Jesus, but the great mystery is that though Zacchaeus went looking for Jesus, the truth is that Jesus was looking for him.
Do you remember the account of the last tax collector that Jesus called? His name was Levi, but he’s better known as Matthew, maybe you’ve heard of him.
When Jesus called Matthew in Luke 5:31-32 He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
And here in Luke 19:10 He says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
I want us to think about that statement, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.”
This is an incredibly humbling saying.
In order to be found we must admit that we are lost. We must admit that we have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and need God’s saving forgiveness. People are consumed with “finding themselves,” when what they need is to recognize that they are lost and can only be found and saved by Jesus.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost is also an indescribably comforting saying.
To know that God loved the world so much that He willing gave His only Son that whoever would believe in Him would not die but have eternal life.
To know that although, as Romans 3:10-12 says, that “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one,” to know that He still loves us and seeks us and saves us is incredibly comforting!
For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost is also a powerfully sanctifying saying, helping us to grow in Christ.
As Alistair Begg put it, I’m paraphrasing, “Following Christ will cost you much more than your money, it will cost you your sin. But it is much more costly to say, ‘no,’ to Christ.”
If you are found stop acting like you are lost!
If you have been found by Christ you can say, “no,” to sin, you can know Him better by knowing His Word, worship the Savior in Spirit and in truth, and share the Good News that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost just like you once were.
So, be humble, child-like, persist, let go, climb a tree, but most importantly, repent and believe the Good News that Jesus came and died to seek and to save the lost just like you and me.
Amen.
