Luke 19: 1-10

Theme: Revival

WHEN JESUS COMES TO YOUR HOUSE

Six green beans sat on his daughter’s plate, untouched. Mike says that sort of thing did not usually bother him but that night it did. "Eat your green beans," he told his eight-year-old.

"Dad, I’m full to the top."

"You won’t pop," he responded.

"Yes, I will pop," she said.

"Risk it!" he said. "It will be ok."

"Dad, I can’t eat another bite," she said.

Mike knew that they were having her favorite dessert, so he asked, "How would you like a double helping of pumpkin pie with two dollops of whipped cream on top?"

"That sounds great!" She responded as she pushed back her plate, ready for dessert.

"How can you have room for a double helping of pumpkin pie with two dollops of whipped cream, and not have room for six measly green beans?"

She stood up from her chair and pointing to one side of her belly said, "This is my vegetable stomach. Over here is my meat stomach. They are both full. Here (pointing to the other side) is my dessert stomach. It is empty. I am ready for dessert!" (Leadership Journal, Fall, 2000, 67)

What, do you suppose, Zaccheus had been feeding his soul? Was he tired of green beans and meat and wanted dessert? Or had he been eating dessert only and now he had a soul ache? Zaccheus was successful by worldly definitions of success; but, he was not respectable and he was not happy. His own success had made him unhappy, riches had not yielded the deep soul satisfaction that he was looking for. His choice of careers made his unrespectable in the eyes of his own people. So, while he was rich, he had no one to share it with.

Zaccheus was a short man. He wasn't just short, he was small of statue. No matter how short people perceive me to be, I don't think anyone can call me small in statue. When we think of Zaccheus, we need to think small and frail. In the Hebrew culture, any abnormality was considered to be from God and a sign of unworthiness. He may have grown up snubbed. Whatever his past might have been, he seemed to have little concern for his fellow Jew. You can tell by his choice of vocations. He chose to be a tax collector. In that day, a tax collector was a despised man not so much because he collected taxes—the Jews paid all sorts of taxes and tithes—but because he worked for the Romans. He would contract with the Romans to collect a certain amount of taxes and anything that he could collect above that amount he could keep as his fee. He must have done a good job of collecting taxes because he had become chief tax collector. And the higher up this ladder, the more corrupt he became.

Zaccheus lived in Jericho which was a major customs center. It was a resort town, a sunbaked city filled with the pleasant scent of Balsam tree blossoms. Jericho was centrally located on major trade routes, a perfect place to collect taxes.

I suspect that his riches had not given him the happiness that he wanted. Spiritually he was miserable. He was a Hebrew and he was a part of the people of faith. But, he was not welcome at either a synagogue or the temple. He had not worshiped or talked to the priest or the president of the synagogue in years. Furthermore, no one cared. No one knocked on his door to see how he was doing. No one witnessed to him about the kingdom of God. His church had forgotten that it was a place for sinners, not saint. It is a place where the sinner can come and find God. They had come to believe that church was for the righteous. Had Zaccheus come to church you can imagine the whispering, "what is he doing here?" They had forgotten that Church was a hospital for sinners!

But notice what Luke said, "He was trying to see Jesus." I think that it was more than curiosity. Zaccheus was hurting. Zaccheus had heard about this man Jesus who healed the sick and raised the dead. And most importantly, this Jesus had associated with sinners, even tax collectors like himself. So Zaccheus was trying to see Jesus, he had to see Jesus, but being a little man, he could not see over the crowd. If he had been respectable, the crowd might have let him through to see.

So Zaccheus ran ahead of the crowd. He found a sycamore fig tree. Zaccheus, a grown man, suffered the indignity and climbed the tree so he could see Jesus as he passed by. There is Zaccheus, sitting on a limb waiting for Jesus to come by. Can you imagine everyone's surprise, including Zaccheus when Jesus stopped and looked up smiling and said, "There you are! Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." The people there grumbled that he was going home with a sinner!

The reaction of Zaccheus was to receive Him gladly. What other reaction could Zaccheus give to Jesus? This man was a righteous man and he expressed love and forgiveness; how could he refuse? He came down from his tree and found God.

There is no doubt that Zaccheus became a changed man that day. Look at what he told Jesus. Half of my possessions I will give to the poor. "And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." The Law said that he was obligated to give back whatever he took plus a fifth but he offered four times. You can tell a person has been changed when it effects his pocket book. Money had become Zaccheus' god. Now, he was giving his money away. That is repentance. Repentance means to turn from one direction to another. Zaccheus had turned from his idol to Jesus.

Notice what Jesus said for all to hear, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham." We need to understand, he was not saved because he came from the family of Abraham. He was saved because he came to Jesus by faith. Paul said, Galatians 3: 6 "Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham." All of us are saved the same way, faith in Jesus as our Lord.

Notice that Jesus summarized his purpose in verse 10, "For the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." That is why Jesus came and it was why he died and rose again, to seek those who are separated from God by sin. Jesus came for the most unrespectable of men and women. He had fellowship with the common sinner, the prostitute, the tax collector, the drunk, and the scandalous. Do you understand that by having fellowship with them, he was accepting them even while they were yet sinners? It is this power of fellowship that attracts us to Jesus. Jesus has come to us and by coming to us he has lifted us up. The most foolish thing that Zaccheus could have done is to have said no to Jesus’ invitation. No, you can’t come to my house, no you can’t eat with me. No, you can’t fellowship with me. Can you imagine saying no to Jesus after he had taken notice of you and invited himself into your life?

But, that is exactly what has happened. Jesus has taken notice of you. This very day he says "come, hurry down, I must stay with you." It fact, I imagine that some of you have said no several times. Yet, Jesus comes over and over again and says, "Come down, I must stay at your house." Why would we say no? Is it because you don’t think that you need Him? Is it because you think that He would not stoop down to you? Do you think that you are not good enough? Well, lets settle that matter once and for all; You aren’t good enough! That’s the point. Jesus comes to us anyway! He comes to us while we are sinners and invites us to become his followers, to become his friends, even to become his brothers and sisters, His coheirs so that we too might inherit eternal life.

Some of you are part of the church. You may have not been here in years or you may be here every Sunday. But you know that you have not come to Christ by faith. You just joined the Church. It is not those who are church members who are saved, it is those who come to Christ by faith. When Jesus comes to your house, he wants you to admit that you are a sinner and that what He did on the cross He did as your substitute. He died for you. When you come to understand that and to accept His death as your death and his resurrection as your resurrection, then you have come to Him by faith and you become a true son or daughter.

Today, Jesus comes to some of you and says "come on down, today I must come to your house!" That is pretty awesome. The King of Glory wants to bring salvation to you. So will you come down and be with Jesus?