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LOJ #205: Zacchaeus: Little Man, Big Faith Pt 2

Andover Baptist Church-November 3rd, 2013

Opening

A. Text for today is Luke 19:7-10 and our sermon is continuation

of Zacchaeus: Little Man, Big Faith

B. Scripture NET:

1. Last Week: Luke 19:1-6

“1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 Now a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man he could not see over the crowd.4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, because Jesus was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because I must stay at your house today.”6 So he came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully.”

2. This Week: Luke 19:7-10

“7 And when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”8 But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he too is a son of Abraham!10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

C. Children’s Sermon (SLIDE)

1. Have the kids come forward

2. “Have any of you seen Brian?” [Brian hiding behind the

piano]

3. “Maybe he got lost after handshake time”

4. “He has to be in here somewhere, will you help me find

him pretty please?”

5. “Wow we found him” (Brian up front)

6. “This is what Jesus wants to do for everyone who

doesn’t know He died on the cross for them.”

7. “Jesus came to seek (look for) and save the lost. And

that is why we should tell everyone about what Jesus

did for them”

8. “What did Jesus do for us?” ‘He died on the cross’

9. “And what did He do 3 days later?” He rose from the

dead

10. “And since He rose from the dead what does that mean

for us?” ‘That if we believe in Him that that He died

for our sin we will go to heaven with Him”

D. Introduction (SLIDE)

1. The most decorated American soldier of World War II,

almost didn't make it into the military

 

a. The Marines told him no

b. The Navy told him no

c. And the Army told him no

2. They had good reasons in their mind to turn this young

man down

a. First, he was only 17 years old, a year shy of the

minimum age to enter

b. He was ridiculously under the physical

requirements to join the military

1. He was a mere 5 foot 5

2. And soaking wet he didn't even weigh

115 pounds

3. Through persistence he finally was accepted in the

United States Army

a. How did he do it? He purposely started eating

more

b. Oh and he had his sister vouch for him that he

was a year older than he really was

c. I'm sure the recruiter chuckled to himself smugly

that this little guy before him on June 30th, 1942

was surely not worthy of the task at hand

d. How wrong he was

4. By the end of the war Audie Murphy had racked up man

accomplishments (SLIDE)

1. He was accredited with over 200 combat kills

2. He single handedly amid a burning tank used a

machine gun to hold off 250 enemy troops while

his men retreated, and then rallied them for a

victory

3. He received two silver stars

4. He received three purple hearts

5. He received the Medal of Honor

6. In fact he received every single medal of valor

that you could get, but one

7. Just Thursday he was posthumously awarded the

Texas Medal of Honor

 

5. By everyone’s estimate he was insignificant to the

calling given him, but he proved everyone wrong

  

6. So too in how Zacchaeus was judged by those around

him 

a. He was too corrupt

b. He was too sinful

c. He was too far beyond the grace of Jesus

d. Or so they thought before Jesus proved them

wrong

  7. Zacchaeus’ story is interwoven into the story of God’s

love for mankind, His love for you and His love for me

a. In calling him down from that tree that day, Jesus

showed us that no one is too sinful or

insignificant to be saved by His grace. Even you

and even me.

b. And Jesus, just before His cross, chooses

Zacchaeus to show this fact

 

c. The fact that Jesus went to the cross for people

just like Zacchaeus, and you, and me

Sermon

READ: Luke 19:7 (Scripture slide)

“And when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

A. When the crowd heard that Jesus was going to go to

Zacchaeus’ home they were none too happy

1. And this just wasn’t a small group of naysayers

2. This was ‘all’ the people, everyone that was following

along

3. The word for complained is used only twice in the New

Testament (here and in Luke 15:2) and each time it was

directed at Jesus for socializing with tax collectors

Luke 15:2 (NET) “But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

4. It means dissatisfaction to the point that you grumble or

murmur out loud to one another (you can just hear it

rippling through the crowd)

B. Why were they upset? ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man

who is a sinner’ 

1. Recall that Jesus had invited Himself to be Zacchaeus’

guest and Zacchaeus had joyfully accepted Him 

2. The word for guest means literally ‘to unhitch’ so Jesus

was going to unhitch from His travel to Jerusalem and

become a lodger of Zacchaeus’ for the night

a. There were not Motel 6’s or Hyatt Regency’s  in

that day like today

b. People who were traveling would have to depend

upon the hospitality of people they didn’t even

know

c. As stated last week hospitality was an important

cultural action

d. The host would guarantee the traveler’s food,

lodging and even entertainment

e. Hospitality was such a socially important

responsibility that the Jewish homes would have

a special room set aside for such guests (this

room was often and unfortunately translated as

‘inn’)

3. The fact that Jesus would stay as a guest at the house of

such a well-known traitor and sinner floored the

crowds 

  a. The word they used for Zacchaeus (sinner) was

used only for those whom were seen as morally

inferior

b. It was a highly derogatory term

c. Peter used it of himself when He came face to

face with the implications of Who Jesus is 

Luke 5:8 (NET) ”But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

  d. The culture of legalism that was around in Jesus’

day would have imposed cultural separation upon

a person like Zach

1. Rabbis taught their disciples not to eat

with such a person 

2. The Talmud stated, ‘If tax collectors enter

a house, the house becomes unclean’

3. If anyone stayed in a person like this

house, they too were seen as unclean for

partaking and sharing in the sin of their

host

4. Zacchaeus was a social outcast

e. And yet Jesus is going to stay at his home 

1. They couldn’t believe that Jesus was

going to eat with and stay with a traitor

 2. Jesus was often criticized for those He

reached out to 

Matthew 9:11 (NET) “When the Pharisees saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  

Luke 7:39 (NET) “Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

3. What would our culture think if you had

dinner with a person who had been

involved in Al-Qaida?

4. Many times the religious forget their own

need alongside those they look down

upon with a holier than thou attitude

5. And being that Jericho was a town in

which many priests made their home it is

not surprising to see this type of attitude

slink itself through her streets

6. It’s the same attitude that has raised its

ungodly head in some Christian circles

today

a. We do it anytime we single out

anyone as being too great of a

sinner for the blood of Jesus to

cover

b. Oh, he’s a child molester

c. Oh, she’s a lesbian

d. As if our sin is any less than a sin

and an affront before God

e. Let us not forget that the Apostle

Paul was a former murderer

f. Or that Jesus told us that if we hate

someone we are as a murder or if

we look upon someone lustfully

we are as an adulterer!

g. All sin, let’s face it, is open

rebellion against God!

6. Does this not mean we are not to judge

sin? Absolutely not. We are to say sin is

sin.

a. Especially we are to deal with sin

in the church

b. We are to discipline those of us in

the church that are in open,

unrepentant rebellion against

God

c. But what of those outside of the

church? It is not our business to

judge them! That is God’s right.

d. We are to speak the truth to them

and tell them that they need the

forgiveness of God, but we are

not to isolate them and keep them

from the message of the Gospel!

Heaven forbid no!

e. Scripture attests to this when Paul

wrote the Church of Corinth in 1

Corinthians 5:9-13

1 Corinthians 5:9–13 (NET) “9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. 10 In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. 12 For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.”

7. Let us constantly look at the model that

Jesus left for us when it comes to

witnessing and sharing salvation

a. When Jesus looked up into that

tree and saw Zacchaeus, how did

He respond?

b. Did He curse him?

c. Did He call him names?

d. Did He condemn him?

e. No church, Jesus didn’t! He

showed that no good sinner

Zacchaeus His love and

friendship and Zacchaeus \

responded with joy!

f. May this be how you, and I, and

Andover Baptist approaches the

lost: with the truth, but with the

love and gentleness of Jesus!

 

4. The crowd here in our text shows their ignorance of

Jesus and His mission

a. Jesus came to save sinners from their sins

b. The Gospel isn’t for righteous people, but for

those who know that they are unrighteous

c. Therefore the Gospel is for every man, woman

and child on this earth!

d. And anyone one willing to accept Jesus as their

Lord and Savior will have Jesus come into their

lives as He did with Zacchaeus! 

Revelation 3:20 (NET) “Listen! I AM standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with Me.”

READ: Luke 19:8 (Scripture slide)

“But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!”

A. When Zacchaeus hears what the crowd is saying the text says

that he ‘stopped’

1. Not too long ago we saw Jesus stopping to see

Bartimaeus in the crowd, but the rolls have switched

2. This is a serious accusation against him and his guest

Jesus

  3. He comes to the defense of both Jesus and himself

 

 B. He makes the declaration to Jesus, 'Look, Lord, half of my

possessions I now give to the poor'

1. In case you didn't understand what he was saying

envision your home and take half of everything you own

out of it and take it to a local charity

2. This is what Zacchaeus is going to do

3. Why would he do this? To show that he had repented of

the life he had once lived, that he was a changed man

and that Jesus, nor he, needs to be chastised

4. Alms giving was seen as a legitimate form of repentance

a. To put into perspective what he is willing to do

it's helpful to know that the Rabbis threw out

that alms giving of 20% for repentance was

fitting

b. Zacchaeus pledges 2.5 times that much out of

gratitude for what Jesus has done for him

c. The repentance he shows would have been

accepted by all

  

  5. He has gone from using people to fuel his wealth to

serving people to help their need: 180 degree turn

Psalm 41:1 (NET) “How blessed is the one who treats the poor properly! When trouble comes, the Lord delivers him”.

  

C. Next Zach goes from repentance to restitution when he says,

'and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back

four times as much!' 

1. This in and of itself is an admittance of sin, but he

doesn't just stop there

2. Anyone that he cheated would get 4x as much back in

restitution

3. He wanted to right the wrongs he had committed against

others effectively going from a thief to a contrite

forgiven former thief

 4. Turning from one's former sinful patterns is a biblical

concept

Ephesians 4:28 (NET) "The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need."

 

5. Scripture also talks about making restitution for the

sinful taking of another's possessions 

 

Numbers 5:5–7 (NET) "5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a man or a woman commits any sin that people commit, thereby breaking faith with the Lord, and that person is found guilty,7 then he must confess his sin that he has committed and must make full reparation, add one fifth to it, and give it to whomever he wronged."

a. According to this anyone who cheats or robs

another is to pay back what they stole plus 20%

on top

b. Zach is effectively going to pay back 400% more

than he took, far beyond what was required

c. Some have suggested that he is following the

harshest penalty for animal rustlers in Exodus

22:1

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep"

D. Many people may say, 'I have repented', but Zacchaeus shows

it by his actions which Scripture says is true repentance

Luke 3:8–13 (NET) "8 Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 So the crowds were asking him, “What then should we do?” 11 John answered them, “The person who has two tunics must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He told them, “Collect no more than you are required to.”

E. Zacchaeus did what the rich young ruler could not do when

Jesus asked him to

 

Mark 10:21 (NET) "As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

1. With the he shows that Jesus was more valuable than his

wealth

2. And unlike the rich young ruler, Zacchaeus' master is no

longer money, but Jesus!

3. Zach is effectively a new creation as spoken of by Paul

in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NET): 

“So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is anew creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come!”

READ: Luke 19:9-10 (Scripture slide)

“9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he too is a son of Abraham!10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

A. Jesus tells Zacchaeus, 'Today salvation has come to this

household'

1. Now we know why Jesus had to stay at Zacchaeus

'today', it was so salvation could come! 

2. The response of Zacchaeus is the response that all

people should give to Jesus 

a. Turn towards Him in repentance

b. Receive His gift of grace with joy

3. This is what conversion looks like! 

4. And while Zacchaeus owes some people repayment in

repentance, his debt with God is paid!

5. Jesus can save even a rich man! 

B. Now salvation has come to Zacchaeus because ‘he too is a son

of Abraham’ 

1. The Gospel message was first and foremost for the

Jewish people, of which he is from 

 

Romans 1:16 (NET) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

2. Does this mean that since he is Jewish that he is

automatically saved? No! It is because he has the faith

of his father Abraham

 

Luke 3:8 (NET) “Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!”

3. In fact anyone, even a non-Jew, has Abraham as their

spiritual father if they have the same faith in Christ!

Romans 4:11 (NET) “And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, so that he would become the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, that they too could have righteousness credited to them.”

 

Romans 4:16 (NET) “For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants—not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all”

4. Zacchaeus shows the response that all of the Jews

should have had and should have towards Jesus! 

C. Jesus then finishes up with these words, “For the Son of Man

came to seek and save the lost”  

 

1. Jesus’ favorite self-given title was ‘Son of Man’

2. And He tells us what His core mission was ‘to seek and

save the lost’ 

3. This is shepherd language that we find all throughout

Scripture

 

Ezekiel 34:16 (NET) “I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them—with judgment!”

 

Ezekiel 34:22 (NET) “I will save My sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.”

 

John 10:9 (NET) “I AM the door. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

 

Matthew 18:12 (NET) “What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?”

 

3. The Good Shepherd looks for those sheep that are lost

and this is what Jesus does! This is what He would have

us do too!

 

4. Jesus seeing and saving the lost is the theme of the

Gospel of Luke and it is the beating heart of the Gospel

message!

5. Seeing and saving the lost is the mission statement of

Jesus stepping out of heaven and becoming a man! 

6. And it doesn’t matter who the lost are, even if they are

the black sheep of the Jewish family like Zacchaeus

was 

Mark 2:17 (NET) “When Jesus heard this He said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

Hebrews 7:25 (NET) “So He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”

7. Zacchaeus is the real life explanation of Jesus' parables

of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son! In

fact an early church teacher Clement of Alexandria, tells

us that Zacchaeus became a disciple of Peter and later

became a minister of the Gospel in Caesarea

8. Jesus is still seeking the lost and that is to be your

mission church to tell a lost and dying world that needs

to be saved about Jesus, the One Who can save anyone

who turns to Him!

 

Application (slide)

A. What a change we see in Zacchaeus!

1. When we met him he was a sham to his name

2. There was not an ounce of righteousness in him

3. That all changed when he met Christ and accepted His

gift of eternal life

4. Jesus’ righteousness was given to him!

B. You and I, in and of ourselves, can do nothing to fix our own

sin problem

1. But when we turn to Jesus in repentance He gives us

what we could never get on our own

2. He can change us, just as He changed Zacchaeus!

3. You can become a new creation, not based on your own

ability, but because of the all-powerful hands of Jesus! 

C. Jesus sought and found Zacchaeus. I have no doubt that if have

not already been found by Jesus He is seeing you this very day 

D. Jesus is standing at the door of your life. Are you going to

open that door and let Him in so that He can forever stay with

you? 

Invitation

Let us sing our last song # , [pic]

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