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THE SON OF MAN CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE WHAT WAS LOST Luke 19:10
At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus and remind ourselves why He was born. Why was He born? Why did He come? The answer to that question is like a diamond. It has many facets. It can be looked at in many ways, but whichever way you look at it, it sparkles. Today we will answer it with the words of Jesus in Luke 19:10.. The Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost. He spoke these words to a man named Zacchaeus and to people who were muttering because Jesus had befriended him. Jesus was the friend of sinners. He mixed freely with all sorts of people - no matter who they were or what they had done. Was He the sinner’s mate.. bending the elbow with them.. condoning what they did? No. He befriended them and empowered them to change! Some allowed their stubborn independence to get in the way and kept Him at arms length. Others allowed Him to get close to them and were radically changed as a result. Zacchaeus was one of those who was radically changed. As with the story of the father and his two sons.. that we looked at last week.. my understanding of this man has been greatly enriched by cultural insights provided by Dr Kenneth E. Bailey [Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, IVP Academic]. We read about Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.. Here we have five snapshots of this man.. Here we see a man..
Luke 19:1,2.. 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. Zacchaeus lived in Jericho.. a tropical paradise deep in the Jordan rift valley. Here there were spacious villas, wide streets and leafy parks. Zacchaeus was a tax collector.. and Jericho was just the place to collect taxes.. on assets, income, on imports and exports passing through this trade route town. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. He had won a contract to collect taxes for the Roman overlords. He had contracted to pay them so much each year.. now it was up to him to raise the money from the people. He hired a team of collectors and went to work. There was ample scope for making a profit. Make artificially high estimates of the value of property, of items being traded, of income.. and tax accordingly.. lend money to those who couldn’t pay.. at a very high interest rates. Each time Zacchaeus paid the Romans there was a tidy profit for him.. and he became very rich.. and was despised as a collaborator.. as that man who had sold out his country.. who worked for the Romans.. who did their dirty work for them.. who fleeced his own people.. Zacchaeus was a man nobody liked.. in fact.. most hated him!
Here we see a man..
Luke 19:3,4.. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. Tax collectors knew what was going on in their region. Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus.. knew He was on His way through Jericho.. and he was eager to get a close look at Him. But this was not an easy thing for him to do. He was a little man.. probably less than five feet tall.. and in a crowd that was a problem. On top of that.. he was hated.. and people like him did not mix in crowds. They kept away from them. He summed up the situation.. worked out where Jesus was headed.. and then did two things that men like him would never do in public – run and climb a tree. He ran ahead of the crowd.. trying not to be seen.. climbed a spreading sycamore tree - a tree made for climbing with its strategically placed lateral branches, and made for hiding in, with its dense foliage.. and waited. No mere idle curiosity would have made this hated man do this. Something deeper was at work in him. It was the tug of God - God urging him to consider Jesus. Have you experienced that? I remember how God was tugging at my heart in 1959.. making me very sorry for the kind of teenager I had become.. giving me a yearning to change.. and sparking my interest in Jesus and the Billy Graham crusades..
Here we see a man..
Luke 19:5.. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today “ Zacchaeus was settled in his tree.. The crowd was coming.. began to veer his way. Jesus stopped right next to his tree.. Zacchaeus, come down immediately..’ Jesus knew his name. How did He know his name? Did He catch it from the crowd who had spotted him in the tree and was hurling insults at him? Or did He know it because He was not just an ordinary man but the God-man? Either way.. He knew his name.. and addressed him by name. That means a great deal to us doesn’t it? We like people to call us by name.. we get a buzz from being known.. Zacchaeus was deeply touched by this.. and even more by what Jesus went on to say.. I must stay at your house today. He was probably expecting Jesus to give him a lecture.. demand he change his ways.. and go to the Temple to offer sacrifices. The people around him were more than expecting Jesus to give him a lecture.. they were waiting for it! They wanted to see this collaborator cut down to size. Jesus blew them all away. No lecture. Instead.. He invited himself into the home of Zacchaeus. Guests did not do that. They did not invite themselves, but waited to be invited. But Jesus.. He invited Himself! Jesus knew him.. and sought him out! He had been wanting to know more about Jesus.. and Jesus found him! That is the way it is. When we seek Jesus.. He finds us!
Here we see a man..
Luke 19:6.. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. Zacchaeus was delighted. He didn’t hesitate.. but scrambled down from the tree and walked with Jesus to his home. I cannot help but think of Revelation 3:20.. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Jesus invites Himself into the Church in Laodicea. He invites Himself into this Church.. is Jesus out there.. or in here.. a welcome guest? He invites Himself into our homes.. is Jesus out there or welcome within them.. a welcome guest at every meal.. a welcome witness to all we do.. a welcome listener to all we say? He invites Himself into our lives. Is Jesus out there.. or in here? Let’s be like Zacchaeus.. and welcome Him!
Here we see a man..
Luke 19:7-10.. 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 what was lost.” The people grumbled. ‘Here we go again. He doesn’t spend time with the people who are worthy of Him.. He spends time with sinners like this fellow.’ They had little or no concept of grace.. of being kind for the sake of being kind.. with no strings attached.. Jesus was very different. He was all grace.. mixing with those who needed Him most.. not to bend the elbow with them.. not to make them feel good in their sin.. but to redeem them.. to empower them to change. Just a few minutes before, the anger of the crowd had been focussed on Zacchaeus.. now it was focussed on Jesus. Zacchaeus knew what Jesus had done. He had put Himself in the firing line - for him. Zacchaeus stood up.. No ‘if’ about it.. He was making a confession.. and making restitution.. 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.” Apply maths to this. He says he will give away 50 percent of his assets.. and then he promises to pay back four times what he has taken unfairly from the community.. That makes a very large hole in his remaining 50 percent! This was typical Middle Eastern exaggeration.. to make sure the people would believe he was sincere. Zacchaeus had changed.. had been radically changed.. selfishness and dishonesty had been rooted out.. He had been changed by grace. Zacchaeus.. a descendant of Abraham.. and disowned by his own people.. had now been reclaimed by Jesus. And according to tradition.. he went on to become the Christian Bishop of Caesarea.
That day in Jericho he heard these words of Jesus with delight.. The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.. and not long after.. came to understand their full meaning. Jesus the Son of God.. had come from heaven and died on a cross.. and risen again and returned to heaven. Why? To seek and save the lost.. people like him.. people like you and me.
This Christmas.. take a walk down memory lane. Remember how it was you came to trust in Jesus.. remember the difference He made.. and keeps on making.. And consider your attitude to other people.. decide to be kind and gracious.. with no strings attached! If you have not yet welcomed Jesus into your life.. be like Zacchaeus! Be eager to know more about Jesus. Seek Him. And when He finds you.. and you sense Him saying, ‘Open the door and I will come in’ .. open the door and welcome Him into your life.
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