Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Jesus comes to Zacchaeus house
• Examples of conversion:
• House/room conversion
• Car conversion
• Biblical conversion

Biblical Conversion

• Change of use in a person, going form one direction to another
• May happen straight away or over a length of time
• Sometimes we are guilty of focusing on our own experience - our experience is not where conversion begins and ends
• Conversion does not start with us
• Sometimes events seem random, but God has planned them
• As you were seeking Jesus, He was seeking you
• The story doesn't start with you - it starts and ends with Jesus
• This is the lesson of the Bible and in particular the story of Zacchaeus
• The encounter/passage starts with Jesus and ends with Jesus
• Jesus entered Jericho to meet with Zacchaeus
• It is from God and to God
• It is not down to our seeking or merit
• Have you come to Christ?
• Jesus says there is a bigger picture
• The reason Jesus came to see Zacchaeus was because "the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost" (v10)
• Jesus was not sight seeing in Jericho
• Jesus has come as as Saviour
• He is operating under necessity and following a heavenly agenda
• "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house" (v5)
• We don't invite ourselves to other people's houses
• John 4:4 - similar Greek work to "needed to go through Samaria"
• The imperative is to save sinners

Zacchaeus

• A chief tax collector (v2)
• A different Greek word than that used for Matthew
• He was head of the district
• He was wealthy
• He was guilty of sharp practice, pocketing the difference from paying the Roman's their due tax
• This was a trait of tax collectors (cf Luke 3:12-13)
• Doubly hated:
• Worked for the Romans - the occupying power
• Cheated the public
• He was also noticeably short (v3), perhaps to the point of ridicule
• There are four aspects of what Zacchaeus did

Seized the Moment

• He sought to see who Jesus was (v3-4)
• There was a buzz in Jericho as Jesus had recently healed blind Bartimaeus
• He is determined not to miss the moment
• He runs (not walks)
• Immediacy:
• Make haste (v5)
• "I will give half of my goods to the poor"(v8)
• "Today salvation has come to this house" (v9)
• Zacchaeus seizes the moment: it is now or never, today Jesus is there
• No one knows if Jesus will come this way again
• We do not know what will happen between now and next Sunday
• We are good at procrastinating
• There are things we dare not put off
• Seize the moment when Jesus is in reach - take advantage of His presence and His salvation

Swallowed his Pride

• Zacchaeus wasn't averse to risking the indignity or embarrassment of climbing up a tree
• Can you imagine an important man in a suit climbing a tree (like a little boy)?
• There were many who were curious and wanted to know more, but they weren't prepared to risk embarrassment or discomfort
• You will need to swallow your pride in order to be saved
• You must acknowledge that you are wrong
• You must acknowledge that everything the Bible says about you is true
• The older you are the more difficult this can be become
• It might be easier to be saved in your youth
• You must acknowledge that you fail to meet Jesus' standard and that you need His help
• You must acknowledge that it is God's way and not your way
• If I am to be a Christian I must do what He says
• It is the way of blood, the cross and sacrifice
• Example of the Syrian Commander Naaman
• Refused in his pride and arrogance to dip seven times in the River Jordan (2 Kings 5:12)
• When he is obedient to God's way, his leprosy is cleansed
• Are you still living your life as though you are accountable only to yourself?
• You will need to become like a little child
• Just like Zacchaeus climbing the tree

Submitted to Jesus

• Jesus gives Zacchaeus a command "make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house" (v5)
• Zacchaeus would not have the temerity to invite Jesus
• Jesus issued the invitation: not out of any physical need
• Jesus has heavenly business to transact with Jesus
• Zacchaeus submits to the authority of Jesus
• We submit to the authority of Jesus
• Zacchaeus submits to the sovereignty of the grace of Jesus
• Those around are disgusted that Jesus accepts Zacchaeus (v7)
• How can someone who is holy sit down with a sinner and a tax collector?
• Elsewhere in the gospel people object that Jesus sits down with tax collectors and prostitutes
• Have we at times been guilty of muttering like this?
• How can Jesus just forgive them?
• You and I must submit to the sovereignty of God in Jesus
• We are all in the same boat: "we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
• Zacchaeus is a "son of Abraham" (v9)
• He is being incorporated into the blessings of the people of faith
• The people around prided themselves on believing they were a descendant of Abraham
• Zacchaeus has become a son of Abraham by faith - Abraham believed God and that was accounted to him for righteousness
• We leave it to Jesus as to how He dispenses His grace
• Make it your business to seek His grace

Shows that he means it

• Immediately on his encounter with Jesus he gave his goods to the poor
• Grace is not cheap
• Salvation is not something to do merely with words - it involves practical obedience
• Zacchaeus was doing more than the law required
• He cannot go on and live the same selfish and greedy way he did before
• There must be change
• Credible faith involves works and deeds
• The forgiven sinner does not go on in the same way
• Example of the man by the Pool of Bethesda: "go and sin no more"
• Titus 2:11-13
• Zacchaeus priority has changed
• Organising our week changes
• The way we use our money changes

Today is the day of salvation