LITTLE-BIG MAN: ZACCHEUS: (PROVIDENCE OF GOD)       

Luke 19:1-10

And He entered and was passing through Jericho. [2] And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; and he was a chief tax-gatherer, and he was rich. [3] And he was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. [4] And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He w as about to pass through that way. [5] And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” [6] And he hurried and came down, and received Him gladly. [7] And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” [8] And Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, 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.” [9] And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. [10] For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

In this our first sermon in the series Encounters with the Master, we are dealing with a situation not unlike many of Jesus' encounters in the Gospels.  Jesus often came under attack for having even the slightest association with those of dubious character.  The religious leaders of the day prided themselves in having nothing to do with the social and religious outcasts, such as prostitutes, law breakers, tax collectors and other sinners.  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. [11] The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer.’” (Luke 18:10-11) Jesus was criticized for even talking with any of the above, but when He made it a point to do so He was really blasted for it.   

The account of one such encounter is the topic of our text this morning.  Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to cele­brate the Feast of the Passover and would, Himself, become the Passover Lamb to be given “as a ransom for many.”  And on the way the Bible says that He passed through Jericho.  This story reflects one of the most wonderful aspects of our Savior: He was always aware of the needs of people--He had agenda that revolved around people.  He was not so tunnel-visioned in to His own life-situation that He missed any God’s chosen ones. “While I was with them, I was keeping them in You name which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 17:12) 

Now imagine with me if you will for just a moment: our Lord is on His way to Jerusalem to be beaten, illegally tried, convicted for our sins and then hung on a cross in payment for our sins.  He knew all that was to be done to Him.  For some time now, He had been preparing His disciples for what was to be.  He was telling them that He would die.  And with all this in mind He was still sensitive to the eternal needs in another's life.   

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem for sure.  But He had another reason for being in Jericho--the spiritual needs of one person in particular, a man by the name of Zaccheus.  Though one of the city's most powerful men, politically, he was cer­tainly not one of Jericho's most liked men.  He would not have won Jeriocho’s Man of the Year honors.  Though he was rich, he was probably never able to enjoy his wealth to any great degree because of the way in which he came by his wealth. 

You see, Zaccheus was a tax collector.  I know that there are many clouds of doubt and suspicion that follow the IRS agents, but none that has ever lived ever had the reputation of Zaccheus.  IRS agents, however unfeeling they may come across to us, do so as a part of their job.  Though some might inter­pret the laws more strictly than others, Zaccheus. would have made all of them look like a Barney Fife character.   

Let me explain to you how tax collection was done during the days of Jesus.  Jerusalem was a part of the Roman Empire, The Caesars demanded that the peoples of conquered lands pay for the privilege of having “protection” from the enemies of Rome.  Since Rome did not care to use soldiers to collect these revenues themselves, they hired certain nation­als to do the job for them.  If a collector had trouble collecting, then they could call on the army would come in and force collection.

These were not good times for Judeans.  Even though Judea was under the "protection” of Rome, Rome’s presence did not stimulate the economy at all.  If anything, it stunted it.  Keeping soldiers in a foreign land demanded high taxes from the local inhabitants.  Not only were taxes high, the collector had the "legal" right to get as much as he could from the people beyond what Rome de­manded from them.  Some collectors had enforcers who ar­ranged for the "health care" of those who refused to pay the "insurance premiums."   

Nice guys, huh?  Greedy, heartless, scheming, cruel and vicious.  Those are good descriptive words for the lot.  You can see why Zaccheus was not really able to enjoy all that he had accumulated.  It is obvious that God was already at work in Zaccheus’ heart.  People who think that wealth will satisfy them find that it does not.  Wealth simply becomes an idol that never satisfies.  Though he might have enjoyed the power that he wielded, he never had one thing that he wanted most—respect (an even bigger idol).  Oh he may have been feared by his fellow countrymen, but at the same time he knew they hated him.  Perhaps he began this kind of work to get rich thinking that people would accept and respect him.  Perhaps he originally did this kind of work to get back at the people who always put him down and made fun of him because of his size. 

Whatever had driven him to do this kind of work; whatever wealth he had attained to this point; whatever power and respect he thought that he would be able to demand from people had instead, brought him to a place of dissatisfaction and emptiness. 

The human spirit cries out for inward freedom and satisfaction.  Though the spirit can only be fed by spiritual things, most people try and satisfy or gratify spiritual side of man with material things.  It is impossible to do. “God created man," according to Blaise Pascal, "as a spiritual being.  And somewhat like a vessel or a vacuum only God's spirit and truth can fill that vacuum or emptiness.”  And yet man strives for, as Zaccheus did, riches, honors, prestige, degrees and awards, thinking that they will make him feel satisfied with life.

You know wealth and status is all relative.  I could be just as proud of my hundreds as Bill Gates is of his billions.  Though my achievements might not be as pronounced as some great person, I could be as proud of my achievements as any other person.  It is not so much the value of what we have that matters, it is whether or not we trust in those things to bring satisfaction to our lives.  Comments have surfaced from all the mega-wealthy people of this century noting that the accumulation of wealth did not satisfy them, but rather left them feeling lonely, and depressed.  I have known people who had nothing of the world's prestigious possessions, but had a peace and joy of which has no price tag.  I was watching a piece on “A&E” the other day about child “super-stars” and how fame had adversely affected their lives.  The young group of musicians known as the “New Kids on the Block” sought fame and fortune, assuming that this would bring them a satisfaction of life.  The fame that came to them had the opposite result.  One of the members said that he felt like a slave, imprisoned by his team of advisors and agents.  He said he felt empty, discouraged and thought many times of taking his life.   

Fortunately, by the grace of God working in his heart, Zaccheus discovered that his pursuit of wealth and fame had led him to his own precipice of despair.  Jesus was nearing the end of His three year ministry.  There is no way that Zach would not have heard of Jesus, of his power His power to heal; His power to forgive sin; His acceptance of sinners.  The Holy Spirit had borne a deep witness within his heart that he was a sinner in need of forgiveness.  Climbing up into a tree, be­cause of his stature, in order to see Jesus, no one could have been more surprised than he when Jesus stopped, looked up and said, "Come down, for I must stay at your house."