ZACCHAEUS
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Zacchaeus
Luke 19:1-10
19 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
a) Zacchaeus is a familiar figure to Sunday School children, who sing and learn about him. Since they are short people, and most of them like to climb trees, I suppose they identify with Zacchaeus. However, Zacchaeus has a lot to teach us grown ups, especially about true repentance.
b) Zacchaeus was socially somewhat on the outer. First, he was a rich man, and the implication is that he became rich by collecting taxes with rather too much commission, that is to say he was corrupt. Therefore he was probably not well liked. Secondly, he was a man of short stature, so short that he found it necessary to climb into a tree in order to see Jesus, because the crowd around Jesus blocked his view. Zacchaeus was probably more surprised than anybody when Jesus stopped under the tree and honored Zacchaeus by inviting himself to be a guest in Zacchaeus' house.
The End ...
1. Zacchaeus Luke 19:1-10
19 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
a) Zacchaeus is a familiar figure to Sunday School children, who sing and learn about him. Since they are short people, and most of them like to climb trees, I suppose they identify with Zacchaeus. However, Zacchaeus has a lot to teach us grown ups, especially about true repentance.
b) Zacchaeus was socially somewhat on the outer. First, he was a rich man, and the implication is that he became rich by collecting taxes with rather too much commission, that is to say he was corrupt. Therefore he was probably not well liked. Secondly, he was a man of short stature, so short that he found it necessary to climb into a tree in order to see Jesus, because the crowd around Jesus blocked his view. Zacchaeus was probably more surprised than anybody when Jesus stopped under the tree and honored Zacchaeus by inviting himself to be a guest in Zacchaeus' house.
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