We’re in week 5 of our Costly Confrontations series as we prepare our hearts in this Lent season. We’re looking at encounters that Jesus had with various religious leaders of his day. These aren’t just normal, ordinary encounters. They are explosive encounters that lead to religious leaders plotting to kill Jesus. So far, we’ve read stories of Jesus forgiving sins, healing someone who is paralyzed, allowing a sinful woman to weep at his feet, healing someone who had a severe back disability, and a tax-collectors and pharisee prayer. So, today, we’ll be looking at a Luke 19:1-10 that would have led to a few powerful folks getting angry with Jesus again.

Luke 19 introduces a character whose notoriety needs no introduction, only a brief recital of a Sunday school song that goes like this: Zaccheus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. It’s catchy and great. But there is so much more going on in this story that a kids song can’t possibly include. So, today we’re going to be answering three questions from this story

1.      Why was Zaccheus lost?

2.     Who is God, really?

3.     How does an encounter with Jesus change you?

Let’s read Luke 19:1-10.

The lost are blinded by their faith in a false god.

Zaccheus is given the high title of “Chief Tax Collector.” That phrase is only used one time in the Gospels and it’s used here. That means Zaccheus is the top dog. Jericho was a massive trade hub in Judea, it served as a crossroads for all kinds of products and was a wealthy place. Translation: there’s a lot of money to be made if you’re the chief tax collector.

Zaccheus was of Jewish descent as well. His name is of Hebrew origin and means “the pure, innocent, or righteous one” which is somewhat ironic. But because he was of Jewish descent, it’s a massive betrayal to his people to serve as a tax collector. He would have likely been disowned by his family, alienated from most of society due to his role and wealth, and he would have been verbally abused whenever he was in public. Why would Zaccheus go through with all this?

He lacked faith in the God of his ancestors and instead, embraced faith in a false god of worldly success or wealth. I imagine it felt pretty good to be called the chief tax collector and seen as an important person from the most powerful empire in the history of the world. Zaccheus thought he had it made. He had put his faith and trust that his possessions and his position could bring him deep satisfaction in his life. But before Jesus arrives, I think something happened that caused him to ask: is this what my heart needs? And the reason I think something happened is because Zaccheus was out there trying to see Jesus – even if everyone in the town hated him.

And we can all be like Zaccheus. It just depends on our own inclinations. As I’ve said before, we’re all worship machines. We’ll either worship the true God or we’ll worship of something else or someone else. Think to yourself right now: what are those things or those people who fill up most of your thinking time? How often do you think: “When I finally have that or am in this good situation then I’ll be happy”? Those are good indications of what you truly worship.

Scottie Scheffler is the greatest golf player in the world who’s won all the big tournaments. After his win at the British Open last summer, he was in the press conference afterwards. Often times, athletes will share about how good it felt to win or how all their hard work paid off to get them to this point. But, Scottie asked a deep question that went viral: he asked, what’s the point?

He went on to share: this isn’t a fulfilling life. It’s fulfilling when you accomplish something but it’s not fulfilling in the deepest parts of your heart. He pointed out how silly it would be for him to look for this win as the ultimate measure of his satisfaction. Even though he finds joy in the game and the process, he knows there’s always going to be another tournament that he wants to win. He comes back to the fact that he doesn’t get his identity from the accolades, the wins, or the sponsorship dollars, he gets his identity from being a follower of Jesus Christ and his identity as a husband and father.

For those of us who have other idols on the thrones of our heart like Zaccheus, I’d ask you to consider what Scottie Scheffler said: what’s the point? What’s the point of having lots of money if you have no friends or family? What’s the point of working so hard if it destroys your family or your marriage? What’s the point of spending 5 hours a day watching YouTube Shorts or Facebook Reels if your mental health is crumbling? If we worship the idols of our hearts, we will be destroyed.

To fight against idols, you need to replace them with better things. But it takes effort. For Zaccheus, he had wealth and social status as his false god. So, what did he do? He dedicated 50% of his wealth to go to the poor and wanted to pay back those he wronged by 4x the amounts. And these are just some examples as we all have various struggles:

·       If you struggle with working too much, you need to practice sabbath.

·       If you struggle with greed or desiring more money, you need to practice generosity.

·       If you struggle with lust or self-control with food or technology, you need to practice fasting.

·       If you struggle with receiving praise or being the center of attention, you need to practice doing things in secret so no one can give you praise.

It’ll take effort on your part and these aren’t quick fixes. But with the spirit’s help, you will begin to see transformation over time.

We’ve established that Zaccheus certainly has some heart issues just like us. We can become just as lost as Zaccheus but thankfully, we serve a God who doesn’t write off people like us. Instead, we find that the Bible shows us that…

Our God is a God who seeks and saves the lost.

The focus of this story isn’t Zaccheus. The focus is actually Jesus. Jesus is the hero of the story. In this passage, we see a real-life example of many of the themes of Jesus’ parables found in Luke’s Gospel. In chapter 15 of Luke, Jesus tells three well-known parables: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Two Sons or Prodigal Son. All three parables are different but drive a main point home: God is a God who seeks and saves those who are lost or who are far away from him.

In Luke 19, we see Jesus living that out in a very real way. He’s on his way to Jerusalem, knowing he will be meeting his death there as he’s alluded to it multiple times. But he has to go through Jericho. Why? Well, it is the most direct route to Jerusalem, but it wasn’t just geographical convenience that led him there. He must pass through because he knows Zaccheus is there. Jesus has decided to seek and save someone who is far away from God so that this story would provide hope for those of us here who feel far away from God.

Jericho is full of people wanting to see Jesus. I’m sure there were many influential people or others vying for Jesus’ attention in Jericho but he was focused on one person: Zaccheus. If you’ve ever been to a parade, it’s hard to get through the sea of people but somehow Jesus does it and looks right up at Zaccheus to ask him to have dinner at his home.

By all standards, Zaccheus is the last person Jesus should be asking to have dinner with. And yet, that’s exactly who Jesus is meeting with. Why? Jesus is displaying that he didn’t come to save the righteous or the healthy, he’s come to save those who are sick. I imagine that there were teachers of the law around who were really hoping to have Jesus over for dinner. There may have been important government officials who were hoping to have Jesus over. That’s why in verse 7 it says: “ALL the people saw this and began to mutter.” Everyone knew this was scandalous and disapproved. But Jesus didn’t care – he came to redeem people who were viewed as irredeemable.

When we say the lost, we often mean non-believers and often times, that is what the bible means too. But isn’t it possible for Christians to adopt lost tendencies as well? We can become so lost that we forget that God still needs to seek and save us from our worst tendencies. If you’ve been a Christian for some time, you can fall a trap that the Pharisees and teachers of the law fell into which is: You confuse avoiding bad things or bad people as holiness and growing to be more like Christ. Meaning, if you stay away from bad things or bad people, you’re more like Jesus.

Frankly, I get it. It’s easy to put on a façade of holiness or a checklist to make sure you’re not doing anything bad. Am I cheating on my spouse? No. Am I abusing drugs? No. Am I hanging around with other people who do? No. Great! I’m growing in holiness. But, you’re not. You can become so afraid of lost people having a negative influence on you that you don’t even consider how much of a positive influence you could have on them. Jesus didn’t avoid sinful people, he ate dinner with them.

Thankfully, Paul provides us with a great example in Acts 13. There’s a roman Pro-Consul named Sergius. Sergius is a top dog, pro-consuls have immense power, command troops, collect taxes, etc. By all accounts though, Sergius is a lost person and not someone that you really want to associate with. He’s an enemy of God and God’s people. Does Paul allow that to stop him? No, Acts 13 tells how Sergius was about to be led astray by a sorcerer and false-prophet named Bar-Jesus. So, Paul rebukes Bar-Jesus and actually asks the Lord to blind him for some time which happens. After seeing the power of the God that Paul preached, Sergius believed.  We don’t hear of Sergius ever again in Acts but his story is included in Acts so the early church could have asked Sergius about this encounter. I imagine Sergius made some serious life change and shared the Gospel with his fellow Romans. But that could only happen because Paul interacted with a sinner and believed Jesus had come to seek and save the lost.

As you reflect on how God is the God who seeks and saves the lost, ask yourself: who are the lost in your life? How are you joining God in seeing them come to faith in Christ? Are you praying for them? Are you building bridges with them and having them over for dinner? Are you telling them about Jesus? Are you inviting other people to our Easter service? Now, you’re not responsible for them coming to faith in Christ – that’s on God. Sometimes, you just help get them closer to the Lord. But, you are responsible for sharing the message with them just like Jesus did with Zaccheus and Paul did with Sergius.

But what happens next? What happens after you believe in Jesus and you find he’s been looking for you this whole time?

An encounter with Jesus leads to repentance and reconciliation.

What does Zaccheus do when he finally meets Jesus? He joyfully comes down from the tree and welcomes Jesus. Then Zaccheus does something crazy: he offers up half of his wealth to the poor in the present moment but also for the future. He then seeks to make amends from those he exploited by offering to pay back four times the amount. Why does he do this?

These actions are evidence of a heart changed by the love of Christ. Zaccheus could have just had dinner with Jesus and not changed anything about his life like so many others. But, Zaccheus makes some very radical life changes after his encounter with Jesus.  Don’t think of repentance as this singular act, repentance is the act of consistently turning away from that which brings evil, death, and sin and instead turning to that which brings life, love, and fellowship with God. You didn’t just repent when you came to faith in Christ. You repent every day by your actions which is what Zaccheus did.

For reconciliation, I love how Zaccheus owns up to the fact he has likely cheated some people out of their funds. He doesn’t downplay it and say, maybe I wronged some people. I’ll seek their forgiveness maybe. He puts his money where his mouth is. For Zaccheus, reconciliation with those he had wronged was also a part of his new found faith. He wasn’t going to make light of his wrongs, he was going to make those right at least as much as he could control. I think of Paul’s command in Romans 12 where he says: “¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Peace in that verse means absence of conflict. I imagine Zaccheus had plenty of conflict if he cheated people out of their hard-earned money. So, this act is deeply inspiring and bold.

Why is it necessary to pursue reconciliation then? Think of the power of the Gospel that’s displayed when Zaccheus approaches someone he’s wronged and shares: “I need to tell you that I’m sorry for cheating you out and humbly ask for your forgiveness. It was wrong. I am paying you back 4x the amount I cheated you of. I’m doing this because I met Jesus and his love has radically changed my life. I can’t go back in the past but I can work to make things right with you. After all, that’s what Jesus has done in my life – he’s come into my life, forgiven me, and made it possible for me to be made right with God again.” Do you sense the power of the gospel in that?

Zaccheus’s acts in this story are evidence of his heart change.

You may be thinking to yourself though: didn’t Anthony spend a lot of time last week talking about the idea that we are made right in God’s sight when we profess faith in Christ? Indeed, I did. And it’s true but what’s also true is from James which tells us that faith without works is dead. Faith and action are inseparably linked together. As Westerners, we think faith is just belief in our heads but it’s belief in every facet of our existence. It’s mental assent but it’s also met with behaviors, heart transformation, etc. That’s why Jesus tells us to love God with all our strength, all our mind, all our hearts, and all our soul.

I have faith and belief that there is such a thing as gravity. Because of that, I will not act like gravity doesn’t exist. I know that if I jump off this stage, my knees are going to hurt and I’m not going to float way. Likewise, I have faith and belief in Christ. Since I’ve been dearly loved by him and believe that deep in my bones, I know that he demands me to change my ways through the power of his spirit. You may have raised your hands to get saved but whether you know it or not, you also raised your hand to die to yourself and follow the crucified king. As Dietrich said, When Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die. Faith demands action.

Later on in the New Testament, there’s another example of radical repentance and reconciliation displayed. Paul wrote a letter to Philemon who is a follower of Jesus but who also owns slaves (if you want to know more about slavery and the new testament, let’s talk after because this is a weedy topic). Onesimus is a former slave of Philemon. Onesimus fled from slavery and stole some of Philemon’s money as well.

Eventually, Onesimus becomes a Christian. He meets Paul and they begin serving the Lord together. At some point, Onesimus tells Paul that he had actually fled from a Christian slave owner named Philemon. Paul tells Onesimus that you made a mistake when you left Philemon. We need to make things right with him. So, Paul pens a letter to Philemon urging him to receive Onesimus, to forgive him for fleeing, and to welcome him as a brother not a slave because of the gospel. Paul says if Onesimus has stolen anything, Paul will pay Philemon back. The toughest part? Paul asks Onesimus, the former slave, to deliver the letter to Philemon, the slave master.

Why does Paul do this? Does Paul and the New Testament support slavery like so many folks try to convey? No, Paul had a desire to demonstrate the power of the Gospel through this moment of repentance and reconciliation. In Paul’s eyes, if Onesimus and Philemon could reconcile, it would serve as a powerful witness to the life-changing reconciliation that Jesus Christ made between us and God.

For us today, if you’ve encountered Jesus, it means your life should be marked by repentance and reconciliation like Zaccheus’s was. Does that mean you’re some perfect person? No, of course not. Here’s what I would ask you to do though: take a good, hard look at yourself and your flaws or sinful tendencies. First, praise and thank God for his forgiveness that is offered through Jesus Christ. But second, ask yourself: how do I turn away from these things every day? If you struggle with pride, how do you turn towards humility instead? If you struggle with anger, how do you turn towards peace instead? Sometimes, it is as simple as becoming aware of it and praying that God would transform that part of you every single day.

After you’ve repented, I’d invite you to see how your sin may have impacted others. Sin has a tendency to not just isolate us from God or to hurt ourselves, it also tends to hurt others. Sin multiplies. Have you sought reconciliation with them? Have you shared and acknowledged that you hurt them but you want to make things right? If you haven’t, you must do so in light of this story.