October 30, 2022 Sermon
Sermon title: "Zacchaeus Has a Branch Office!"
Scripture: Luke 19:1-10
(Other lectionary choices include Habakkuk 1:1-4 and 2:1-4, Psalm 119:137-144, and II Thessalonians 1:1-4 and 11-12.)
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus and Zacchaeus
1He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." 6So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." 8Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." 9Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Since Zacchaeus had to climb up a tree to see Jesus, I thought I'd be funny and say he had a BRANCH office, the title of this sermon! As you could tell, Zacchaeus was short of stature - or as we say these days, "He was VERTICALLY challenged." So, in order to see Jesus, he needed to get above the heads of everybody else, and so he climbed a tree.
Just about everybody here probably remembers this story from Sunday School. It's the only story I know of in which somebody climbs a tree to see Jesus. But there may be another reason Zacchaeus climbed a tree. As a tax collector he was hated, and if he had been on the ground, there's a good chance people would rough him up a little bit. Remember that one reason tax collectors were hated is that they essentially worked for the occupying Roman Empire. Here they were, JEWS, FELLOW Jews, working for the enemy. That was bad enough. But in addition to working for the enemy, they sometimes taxed you a little MORE than you owed in order to feather THEIR nest! And Zacchaeus KNEW that he was guilty! Why else do you think he says in what we heard today, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay him back four times as much"? He had a guilty conscience! And he wasn't required to do THAT much! According to the Law as mentioned in the Old Testament books of Leviticus and Numbers, a four-fold restitution was required only if robbery was a deliberate and violent act. Simply being with Jesus made Zacchaeus want to do more than the Law demanded. He showed by his actions that he was a changed man. And look how Jesus reacted. He said, "Today salvation has come to this house."
By the way, when the Bible talks about "saving" or "salvation", it means that things have been put right. Some of our fellow Christians have assumed that "saving" somebody means redeeming their soul for Heaven, and that's NOT what "saving”, or "salvation" means. "Salvation" has at its root the word "salve", and why do we put salve on wounds? Because we want them to heal. And that's what "salvation" means: a healing has taken place. As Jesus says at the end of today's reading, "the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost", not to condemn them to Eternal Hellfire and Damnation, but to seek and to save, to find and to heal.
Do you wonder why Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus in the first place? He certainly had a lot of money. He had financial security. But something was missing in his life. What was it? We can assume he chose to be a tax collector. He was doing what he wanted to do in life. But there was something missing. What was it?
It would be easy to say that he needed Jesus in his life, but that's a little too simple, I think. It could be that he just needed a friend, and he had heard of this Jesus, and he had heard that he welcomed tax collectors and sinners. Maybe, thought Zacchaeus, this Jesus will have a word for me.
I personally find it interesting that Jesus knew who Zacchaeus was, because he called out to him and told him to…"Come on down!" Theologically, Zacchaeus sought the Lord and the Lord found him. If Zacchaeus had not put in the effort, maybe he never would have found the Lord.
This is a good story, because, like the Prodigal Son, he "came to himself" and sought something better. And both found new life. Had they not sought, maybe they would not have found.
Luke's Gospel has at least three recurring themes. First, the problem of riches and what to do with those riches. As noted before, a tax collector, and especially the chief tax collector, had a lot of money. Secondly, the complaint about Jesus is that he associates with "sinners", and tax collectors were at the top of the list! And finally, the faith which recognizes Jesus as Lord, and the discovery of new life which can be had because of that faith.
We should also note that the idea of repentance is big here. But repentance doesn't involve a change of attitude only; it also involves Doing something, LIVING differently. Zacchaeus is definitely a changed man.
Finally, keep in mind that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, where he will be crucified. The phrase, "He has gone in to eat with a sinner" will change to, "He has gone out to die with the criminals", all part of his mission "to seek out and to save the lost." Amen.
Pastor Skip
