Striving to See
TRANSLATION
(1) Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. (2) And a man was there named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. (3) He was seeking to learn who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. (4) So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, since he was passing through that way. (5) When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” (6) So he hurriedly climbed down and welcomed him joyfully. (7) When the crowd saw this, they grumbled, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
(8) And Zacchaeus stood up and said to him, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will restore four times the amount.” (9) And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, for this man too is a son of Abraham. (10) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
OBSERVATIONS
We find three words repeated in this segment. The first, “passing through,” informs us of Jesus’ plans for his time in Jericho (in both vss. 1 & 4). Apparently, the Lord’s intent to stop in Jericho was not revealed to the disciples until he encountered Zacchaeus. The second repetition, “see,” (found in both vss. 3 & 4) describes why Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed the tree. No doubt, Luke intentionally chose this word to remind us of the theme of the previous segment, namely, the blind man’s recovering his sight. In both cases, Jesus’ arrival marked the moment when each of these men had their ability to see restored. The final repetition, “seeking/seek” (vss. 3 & 10), described Zacchaeus’ desire to see Jesus and Jesus’ corresponding desire to save the lost.
The narrative contained several wonderful surprises. First, it was surprising that a grown man as wealthy as Zacchaeus would do something so lacking in dignity as climbing a tree to see Jesus. It showed how eager he was to find out more about him and his message. Even more surprising was the moment when Jesus looked up, saw Zacchaeus, and then invited himself and his disciples to stay at Zacchaeus’ house. This shocked everyone, not only because of Jesus’ presumption, but because a teacher of righteousness would not ordinarily lower himself “to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
Far more surprising than anything so far was Zacchaeus’ astonishing announcement that he was sorry about his sins and would try to right all the wrongs he had committed as a Roman tax collector. The story climaxed with the greatest surprise of all, Jesus declaring Zacchaeus forgiven and restored to a place of good standing in the company of the godly. Luke closed this breathtaking account of Zacchaeus’ conversion with a verse that many would consider to be the theme verse of the entire Gospel of Luke: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk. 19:10).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus entered Jericho with the apparent intention of passing through. (1-4)
II. Jesus encountered Zacchaeus and invited himself to stay at his house. (5-7)
III. Jesus endorsed Zacchaeus’ declaration of repentance and pronounced him forgiven. (8-10)
IDEA STATEMENT
Jesus’ life-transforming encounter with Zacchaeus portrayed the essence of what Jesus had come to earth to do, namely, to seek and save the lost.
APPLICATION
“Tell me the story of what happened when you first met Jesus.” This is something we should want to hear from other believers soon after we first meet them. Not only is it a great way to get to know one another, it can be a huge encouragement to everyone involved. No story is ever the same. Can you imagine what it would have been like to hear Zacchaeus personally retell the story of his encounter with Jesus in Jericho after a few years of growing in Christ?
My father loved to share with others how he had found Jesus or, as he would prefer to phrase it, how Jesus found him. He had grown up in a home where the idea of believing in God had been ridiculed. The first turning point took place as his father (my grandfather) lay dying. Just one statement from my grandfather started my father on a lifelong search for God: “I fear dying. Please pray for me.” The second turning point came many years later when he expressed his desire to marry the young woman who would eventually become my mother. They first met because she had been looking for a financial advisor to help her invest her savings. Soon he began showing more than a financial interest in her. After his first wife had died of cancer, he found himself falling in love with her and proposed marriage. She responded, “I could never marry someone who is not a Christian.” He then asked her, “Well, then, how do I become a Christian?” To make a long story short, my mother wisely arranged for him to meet her father who was a pastor. My grandfather gladly shared the Gospel with my future Dad who would later say, “It was like a light turning on. I realized that this was just what I had been looking for all those years.” Like Zacchaeus, my father invited Jesus into his life, and his life was never the same. Six months later, my parents married and shared seventeen wonderful years together before my father died.
So, what is your story? It may not be as dramatic as my father’s testimony, but God can use it just the same. All of us should be ready to share with others how meeting Jesus has opened our eyes and changed our lives.