Jesus Goes After The Lost
Imagine one day discovering that you
were a lost, missing child. Marx Barnes—now named Steve Carter—was born in
1977, and he had no clue he was a lost, missing child until January 2011, when
he searched missingkids.com. He found himself staring at a composite image
created to show what Marx would look like as an adult. “I got chills,” Carter
said.
A DNA test ultimately confirmed his
identity. Marx went missing at six months old on June 21, 1977, when his mother
placed him in a stroller and went for a walk on one of the Hawaiian Islands.
Through a strange series of events, Marx’s mother was placed in a psychiatric
hospital, while Marx was placed in protective care, ultimately becoming a ward
of the state.
Marx was placed in an orphanage only
30 miles from where he lived with his parents. As an adult, Carter “never had
any strong desire to locate his family. “By contrast, his half-sister had only
one desire in life: to find out what happened to her brother. Her
efforts—convincing officials to reactivate the investigation—led to the
composite image Carter discovered online. An official from the Missing Child
Center in Hawaii said, “If it weren’t for her, it would still be a cold case.”
In one way, we were all lost, missing children. Apart from Christ’s love and
his ultimate pursuit of us, our lives would still be a spiritual, “cold case, a
dead end.”[1]
Last week, we talked about Jesu’s historic
final journey to Jerusalem. Along the way, He taught his disciples how he would
suffer, be killed, and rise again on the third day. As He came near Jericho, he
restored the sight of a desperate blind beggar who sat beside and cried to
Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” After that, Jesus entered the town of
Jericho and made his way through the town. In Luke 19:1-10, Jesus
explains why he came into this World. We will see how Jesus goes after a man
who was lost in sin and shame and rejected by society.
I.
Nothing would hinder Jesus from going after the Lost
Luke 19:1-2, “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing
through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector
and was wealthy.” Have you wondered what it was like for Jesus to walk from
Jericho to Jerusalem? The journey took him through a barren desert and a
lot of elevation changes, totaling 14 miles with an ascent of 3,300 feet.
In the time of Jesus, the road from Jerusalem to
Jericho was notorious for its danger and difficulty and was known as the “Way
of Blood” because “of the blood which is often shed there by robbers who robbed
people.” None of those apparent dangers would stop Jesus from going after a
lost soul, Zacchaeus, a wealthy chief tax collector. What do we know about
Zacchaeus and the tax collectors during Jesus’ time? Probably in every culture, from the
tax collectors of ancient Israel to the IRS agents of today, the tax man has
received more than his share of scorn.
The NT indicates that the occupation of the “tax
collector” (or “publican”) was looked down upon by the general populace for the
following reasons:
First, no
one likes to pay money to the government, especially when it is an oppressive
regime like the Roman Empire. Those who collected the taxes for such a
government bore the brunt of much public displeasure. Second, the tax collectors in the Bible were Jews who
worked for the hated Romans. These individuals were seen as traitors to their
own countrymen. Third, it was common knowledge that the tax collectors cheated
the people they collected from. Fourth, the tax collectors were well-to-do
because they skimmed off the top. This further separated them from the lower
classes, who resented the injustice of their having to support the publicans’
lavish lifestyle.
The tax collectors, ostracized as they were from society,
formed their own clique, further separating themselves from the rest of society.
If you read through the gospels, none of this would stop Jesus from spending
time with tax collectors and even eating with them. The Pharisees saw tax
collectors as enemies to be shunned. Jesus saw them as his friends who were spiritually
sick to be healed. The crowds rejected tax collectors, whereas Jesus accepted
and offered them new life. Let’s see how Jesus went after Zacchaeus.
II.
Jesus walks right to the place where you are.
Vs.3-5, “He wanted to see
who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So,
he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him since Jesus was coming
that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your
house today.”
Several things, such as his name,
status, wealth, and height, were against Zacchaeus. But there was one thing
going for him: his heart was in the right place. He wanted to see Jesus. Once
he made up his mind to see Jesus, nothing was going to hinder him. He ran ahead
of the crowds, climbed a sycamore-fig tree, and waited for Jesus to come on his
way.
He must have heard that jubilant crowd drawing nearer to where he was
and wondered whether Jesus would stop or pass by him. More than Zacchaeus
wanted to see Jesus, it was Jesus who was eager to meet Zacchaeus. When the
crowds came to the tree, Jesus looked straight up and said, “Zacchaeus, come
down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Let’s pause and see the implications
of this straightforward yet strange command, like Jesus’s saying. First, this
tells me Jesus knows our names, our status, and the desires of our hearts.
Secondly, the creator of the universe, the great teacher who taught with more
authority than the regular scholars and teachers, the one who performed
extraordinary miracles, came right to the spot where a notorious sinner like
Zacchaeus was hiding. Thirdly, he commands Zacchaeus to “come down immediately.
I must stay at your house today.” By doing so, Jesus made his intentions very
clear: He wanted to spend some time in the home of a lost sinner.
III.
Jesus Goes after the Lost to save and restore them.
The words of Jesus, “Zacchaeus, come
down immediately. I must stay at your house today,” must have sounded heavenly
to Zacchaeus but did not sit well with the crowds, so they muttered, “He has
gone to be the guest of a sinner.” In the eyes of the crowds, Zacchaeus was a
sinner beyond redemption, whereas, in the eyes of Jesus, he was a lost soul who
needed a savior.
How did Zacchaeus respond to this unusual command from
Jesus? “He took Jesus to his house in great excitement and Joy.”(NLT). After
that, what happened was nothing less than a miracle. Vs.8, “But Zacchaeus stood
up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my
possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will
pay back four times the amount.” As per the law required in Exodus 22:1
What was happening to Zacchaeus was transformation. He
repented of his sins and was willing to pay the restitution. Then Jesus said,
“Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a son of
Abraham.” By doing so, Jesus saved him from his sin and restored him back into
the family. Jesus came into this World to seek and save the lost and restore
them.
Who are the lost? In the story, the crowds, Zacchaeus,
and all of us are lost children today. We are like spiritual orphans in need of
a family. Zacchaeus story is our story. We all have sinned and lost our way
home to God.
Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God.” Like
Zacchaeus, you may feel rejected and lonely. You may be hiding away due to your
sin and shame. Wherever you are, Jesus is reaching out to you with His Love.
Jesus won’t stop pursuing you until you surrender your
life to Him. He is commanding you to come out of your isolation. He wants to
come into your house (heart). How would you respond? As Zacchaeus did, would
you receive Him with Joy? Or take offense at Him as the Pharisees and the
crowds? When you receive Jesus’s love, you will never be a lost child.
