Zaccheus

Just hours before His "triumphal entry" to Jerusalem, we see how Jesus took the time to build a relationship with an unsavory character.

Click here for the recording of this 3/22/26 Service, and you can fast-forward to 22:29 to get to the start of the sermon.

Our text is from Luke 19. 1-10

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.

3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature.

4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was 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 joyfully.

7 When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!”

8 But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving 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.”

Introduction

• Jesus is just a day or so out from Jerusalem, and what Bible scholars call his “triumphal entry”

• Because he is omniscient, he knows what is ahead

• He is likely less than a week away from death- if you knew you were dying is 6 days, what would be going through your mind, and what would you be doing?

• Is this morbid, or is this Jesus’ reality?

V1-

• The text tells us that Jesus entered Jericho, and that He was “passing through”- meaning, He was on his way to somewhere else, that being Jerusalem, 15m away

• What was on his mind?  Have you ever been on your way some where and were traveling with a sense of dread?

• IF he was ”very God-very man” there had to be some human emotion there- we have always struggled more with Jesus’ humanity than His divinity

v2

• The man’s name is Zaccheus- it means “righteous or pure one”- this is ironic

• He was a “chief tax collector” architelōnēs- an overarching chief of tax collectors

• He had purchased the Jericho tax franchise from the govt and then farmed work out to agents who did the actual collecting- they all reaped huge commissions, and got rich off poor and rich alike

• Jericho was known for palm groves and balsam, from which money was to be made; Archelaus, son of Herod the Great, built his palace there

• Tax collecting was given to the lowest bidder who then inflated the tax to pad their own salary

• He likely was one of the most hated men in Jericho

• ”he was rich”- he made his wealth off of what amounted to being party to govt extortion (ZPEB, 5.1027)

V3-4

• He was trying to see who Jesus was

• He was unable to because of the crowd, (who was there to get something from Jesus- they wanted a piece of Him)

• he was short of stature

• So he runs on ahead to a sycamore tree and climbs up into it

• Why would a wealthy man, who has anything he wants, be so motivated to get a glimpse of an itinerant preacher?  Was the HS drawing him?

V5-

• Jesus arrives, stops at the tree, and calls him down

• “today, I must stay at your house”

• Jesus invites himself to the home of likely the most resented man Jericho- Was Jesus insensitive to the cultural sentiments of the crowd?  Was he trying to inflame them?  Or, did he care more about Zaccheus than what the crowd thought?

V6-7

• Zaccheus descends and receives Jesus “joyfully” chairō- with gladness and delight, meaning, he takes Him to his home

• The crowd’s reaction- they all (pas) began to complain, diagonguzō- mutter, grumble

• ”Jesus is crossing the threshold of the house of a man who is a sinner” (hamartolos- one who has missed the mark)

• Crowds are fickle- Jesus knew not to get His identity in what they thought; they loved him until they didn’t

V8- Zaccheus’ reaction

• He stops on the way back to his house and says-

• I’m giving (didomi- present tense) half of my possessions to the poor

• If I have extorted anyone, I’m giving 4x as much; this is 2x what the law required for restitution, Ex 22.1, Num 5.6 (thus, there was a sizable depletion of his assets)

• Jewish custom was that 1/5 of a man’s annual income be given to works of love (ZPEB, 1.1028)

• There was a change in his behavior- lots of people had encountered Jesus, but not all allowed him to change their behavior

V9- Jesus’ response

• Salvation has come to thishouse today- the implication is that his actions influenced the entire household to become Christ followers

• He too, is a (true) Son of Abraham

• Jesus comes to seek, and save, the lost, apolluō- to destroy, cause to lose (especially a life); to die or perish by or in sin

Something to act on

1. If we are to be like Jesus, we stop and make meaningful time for relationships, like He did

2. Doing so will bring us across the path of unsavory people- do we care more about obedience, or reputation? (freeman and the 5 gal bucket)

3. The world is looking for the Jesus in us- do we have Him, and are we giving Him?

4. This is more than a casual encounter, but real (sometimes home) fellowship and relationship

5. “The crowd” won’t understand your friendship with sinners- some will malign you

6. The real Christ follower changes his behavior

7. Merely coming to church, without engaging the lost, is like paddling the lifeboat past a drowning man

8. A burden for the lost, is a wonderful, horrible thing