Becoming Zacchaeus - January 4th, 2015 sermon

By Pastor Greg

Billy Graham had just finished a tour of the Florida East Coast and was taking a limousine to the airport.  Having never driven a limo, he asked the chauffeur if he could drive for a while.  Well, the chauffeur didn't have much of a choice, so he got in the back of the limo and Billy took the wheel.  He turned onto 1-95 and accelerated to about 90 MPH.  WHAM! The blue lights of the State Highway Patrol flashed in his rearview mirror.  He pulled over and a trooper came to his window.  When the trooper saw who it was, he said, “Um, just a moment, please”. The trooper radioed in and asked the chief, "I have a REALLY important person pulled over and I need to know what to do."  The chief replied, "Who is it, not that senator again, is it?"  The trooper said, "No, even more important."  “It isn't the Governor, is it?" asked the chief.  "No, even more important," replied the trooper.  "It isn't the President, is it?"  "No," replied the trooper, "even more important."  "Well, WHO in the WORLD is it?!" screamed the chief.  The trooper responded: "I don't know for sure but I think it might be Jesus, because his chauffeur is Billy Graham!"

Wouldn't it be cool to have people associate you with Jesus?  Oh, I’m not saying I want the speeding ticket and all, but how cool would it be for people to see you and think of Jesus.  Now I’m not talking about a person being all religious.  You know, dressing a certain way and always coming to church and doing religious things.  A person can be very religious but still not be close to God.  You know the kind.  They come to church and do all kinds of religious things but you know they don’t walk closely with God.  You don’t look at them and think of Jesus.  You think of the other guy.  The kind of people I’m talking about are the people you know really know God; the kind of person you know is really close to God and who seems like they spend a lot of time with Jesus.  You know what kind of person I’m talking about?  Wouldn’t it be cool to be that kind of person? 

Your answer to that question will determine if you really want to walk with God or would rather keep Him at arm’s length.  And if you are content to keep God distant in your life and never develop an intimate relationship with Him then you’re not going to enjoy this whole sermon series because I’m going to be spending some time talking about how to develop a closer walk with God.  I want to talk to the people like Zacchaeus; people who would climb a tree just to see Jesus.

There was an attitude in Zacchaeus that I’d like to see in myself.  And maybe this describes you as well.  We meet Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19, and the attitude of this wee little man really impresses me.

Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. ² There was a

man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. ³ He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. ⁵ When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” ⁶ Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy [1](Luke 19:1-6).

Did you see that?  Jesus looks up at Zacchaeus and says “Hey buddy.  I need a place to say while I’m in town.  Do you mind if we spend some time together?”  And Zacchaeus gets all excited.  He is filled with Joy.  This Jesus, who everyone came out to see, will be spending the evening with him.  Wow.  I wonder how that must have felt.  I wonder what it would be like for Jesus to stop at my house and say “Mind if we spend the night?”  This isn't the mayor asking.  Not the governor.  Not the president.  It is Jesus, THE Jesus, the Son of God.  The Messiah.  This is the One who knows all about me, who knows my weaknesses and sins.  And here He is knocking on my door wanting to sit in my dining room and share a meal.  Relax on the recliner in the family room and talk about life.  Would I be all excited and filled with Joy?  Probably not.  But I should be.

This is the truth we need to learn, both the believer and the non-believer.  Jesus desires to spend time with you; to walk with you, to sit around the table and dine with you.  He desires this not so that He might get to know you better, but so that you might learn to know Him.  And trust me, the more you get to know Jesus, the more you will be at peace with yourself and with others. 

It is obvious that Zacchaeus did not remain the same man because of the time he spent with Jesus.  Zacchaeus felt convicted about the way he was living and the way he had treated others.  And perhaps Jesus said something to ignite this change of attitude.  I don’t know.   But it’s obvious something changed.  And I ask you, do you think Zacchaeus’ relationship with Jesus was the same after he made those changes?  Do you think he was closer to the Lord before or after he made those sacrifices?  Duh!  Every sacrifice we make, every time we make an effort to live according to God’s commands, we draw closer and closer to God.  And the closer we draw to God the more joy and happiness will be evident in our lives.

The story of Zacchaeus is amazing.  He found what he was looking for by drawing closer to the Lord.  In contrast, the rich young ruler became very sad.  He desired eternal life yet was unwilling to give up what he had in order to walk closely with God (see Luke 18:23).

What I find interesting is that Jesus gave us some instructions in how to walk more closely with Him.  He says that if we want to draw closer to Him and to the Father, there are certain attitudes and behaviors we must change.  And He shares these in the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew chapter five through seven.  There are things we can do to become “Blessed”.  We can learn to walk closely with God; living a life filled with peace and joy.

So here is what I want you to do.  Read Matthew 5:3-16.  Look closely at what Jesus is saying.  If you have questions about these selected verses, write them down and send them to me.  I will try to incorporate them into the sermon next week.  But next week we will begin exploring the many ways we can change in order to walk closely with God.

^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Lk 19:1–6). Carol Stream, IL