26 April 2015
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Luke 19:1-10
Luke 19:1-10 (NIV)
1 Jesus entered Jericho
and was passing through.
2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief
tax collector and was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he
could not, because of the crowd.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see
him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him,
"Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has
gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"
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."
9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this
house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was
lost."
--
"Today I was reminded of my purpose"1
-- that
line was the first post I read when I opened up my Facebook account on Friday
morning -- it was from a young friend of mine, and I don't know the occasion
that prompted this statement -- he did not elaborate in his status -- but these
simple words spoke volumes to me and have been constant companions in my
thoughts ever since
-- I have
noticed in recent years the presence of a communal wandering -- a
"lostness," if you will -- a sense that a lot of people in our world
are drifting through life -- aimless and pointless and searching for meaning
and purpose
-- I have
felt this personally in my own life, and attributed it to the familiar mid-life
crisis most men my age are accused of going through -- and while my own
wandering and search for meaning and purpose haven't followed the clichéd path
of a little red sports car and dyed hair, it has been there none-the-less
-- initially,
I thought this lostness and wandering was a by-product of my own middle-aged
generation, but this post from my young friend now makes me think differently
-- when I
stopped for a moment and stepped back and looked at this subject from a bigger
perspective, it struck me that this desire to find true meaning and purpose has
affected our entire nation -- you see it in the recent spate of business
productivity books and self-help guides -- you see it in the wander-lust on the
pages of Facebook as people travel aimlessly from place-to-place looking for
God only knows what
-- I went
back and looked at the recent best-seller books that I have read, and two just
leaped out at me -- the first, "The Four-Hour Work Week," by Tim
Ferris, was written because of his realization that most people are unsatisfied
with the current trajectory of their lives -- that the familiar path of grade
school to college or vo-tech and then careers spanning 30 years until you
finally trudge to the golden gates of retirement -- did not provide the meaning
and purpose so desperately sought
-- the
second is a book I am reading right now -- "My Year with Eleanor" -- in
which Noelle Hancock chooses to live a year doing one thing each day that she
is fearful of in an attempt to find direction and meaning and purpose in her
life
-- I
only mention these two books
specifically because they reflect this new genre of literature that is being
written to address this communal drifting and search for meaning
-- so what
is it that is driving this search? -- why has the quintessential male midlife
crisis been joined by multi-generational searches for meaning and purpose?
-- after
pondering this for some time, I have come to the conclusion this drifting and
sense of lostness is a move of God -- I think it is God shaking our lives and
calling our attention to the fact the American Dream should not be our dream --
that we were created for more than a treadmill to retirement -- that we were
created to love and to be loved -- to be in relationship with God and to live
out of that relationship into the lives of those we come into contact with
-- but in
order to do so, we must learn to see again
-- you
might have heard the story this week in the news about a third-grade teacher in
Colorado who wanted to get to know her students better -- to see them, if you
will, with new eyes
-- so she
gave them a writing assignment that had them answer the prompt, "I wish my
teacher knew..." -- and left it open-ended for the students to write what
was on their hearts
-- some of
the responses were predictable
-- some
showed an awareness of the corporate American Dream treadmill, even at this
young age
-- but
others showed hearts in need of a special touch
-- there is
no way this teacher can go back to business as usual after reading these notes
-- her eyes have to have been opened through the results of this assignment --
and she has to understand that there are more important things for her to
accomplish in her classroom than merely teaching through the mandated
third-grade curriculum
-- through
this assignment, she remembered her purpose
-- so how
can we remember our own purpose? -- how do we add meaning to our lives so when
we look back at the end of our days we don't merely see a forced march to
retirement and death?
-- St. Augustine wrote that our hearts are restless until
they find rest in our God and Creator -- I would add that our hearts are
restless until we remember our purpose and add meaning to our lives -- and that
our purpose and meaning are captured in the command of Christ to love one
another as He has loved us
-- Life
Magazine, of all places, caught the essence of the purpose behind Christ's
command with their inspirational motto: “To
see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer,
to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”
-- we are
called to more than we are doing -- we are called to know and to love others --
but that requires us to first open our eyes and see those around us as they
truly are -- not just the surface they show the world -- but their heart-felt
needs such as those expressed by the children in that class
-- Jesus
gives us that example here in this passage from Luke 19 -- let's look together
now at this passage and see what we can learn about seeking others and loving
them as a means to defining true life and purpose for ourselves
II. Scripture Lesson (Luke 19:1-10)
-- look
back at verse 1
Luke 19:1 (NIV)
1 Jesus entered Jericho
and was passing through.
-- I want
you to notice something there -- Jesus was just passing through -- this is
important on two levels
-- first,
it implies Jesus knew where He was going -- He knew what His purpose was -- He
knew His destination -- there was no lostness or wandering or drifting with
Jesus -- He had a plan that had been given Him from His Father -- and, as Luke
points out elsewhere in this gospel, Jesus had resolutely turned His face
towards Jerusalem -- towards the goal His Father had set before Him
-- what I
want you to understand here is that we only find purpose and meaning when we
follow the Father's will for our lives
-- which
brings us to our second point -- although Jesus was just passing through --
although Jericho was merely a feature in the path He was following -- He never
wavered from His true, ultimate purpose -- which was to love and redeem the
lost of Israel -- even as He was passing through, He kept His eyes open for
those who needed to know Him -- for those who were ready to love Him
-- we need
to learn to keep our eyes open, as well -- in the midst of any path we tread,
we need to remember God has placed us here to reach others with the good news
of Jesus Christ -- and we need to be ready, in season and out of season, to
share this good news with all those God brings into our path
-- verse
2-4
Luke 19:2-4 (NIV)
2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief
tax collector and was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he
could not, because of the crowd.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see
him, since Jesus was coming that way.
-- "a
man was there by the name of Zacchaeus" -- there's meaning in that phrase
-- you see, the name Zacchaeus was taken from a Hebrew word meaning pure or
innocent -- but Zacchaeus was not living up to his name
--
Zacchaeus was a tax collector -- you need to know that tax collectors were
despised by the Jews -- not only did they serve the Romans who occupied the
Holy Land, but they taxed their own people unmercilessly
-- they
were not paid a salary by the Romans to be tax collectors -- they made their
money by skimming off the top -- taxing the Jewish people more than the Romans
demanded and keeping the difference -- the more they took from their Jewish
neighbors, the more they could keep for themselves
-- and not
only was Zacchaeus a tax collector, but he was a chief tax collector -- he was
the chief of sinners and probably the most despised man in all of Jericho --
rich -- dishonest -- and short of stature -- someone who was looked down on by
all, and not just because of his height
-- but when
Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was passing through, he got curious -- the text says
that he wanted to see who Jesus was
-- that's a
curious phrase, isn't it? -- he wanted to see who Jesus was -- we can assume
from this that Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus and about His miracles and about
His teachings -- but now, he wanted to see who He really was
-- we come
into contact with a lot of people like Zacchaeus every day -- they've probably
heard about Jesus -- they know about church -- maybe they've even been to
church off and on -- maybe they even call themselves a Christian -- but they've
never really experienced Jesus -- they don't know who Jesus is -- they know
about Him, but they don't know Him
-- that's
where Zacchaeus is -- he's looking for something more in his life -- and he
wonders if Jesus might be that something more he's been trying to find
-- verse 5 -6
Luke 19:5-6 (NIV)
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him,
"Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
-- now I
want you to get the picture of what the street looked like in Jericho that day
-- Jesus is passing through with His disciples -- and Luke tells us a crowd has
gathered -- the sides of the street are crowded with people -- to the point
that Zacchaeus can't even get close to where Jesus is passing -- it's like a
parade -- just people everywhere -- just faces in a crowd
-- but Luke
tells us that Jesus came to the spot and stopped and looked up -- as we said
before, Jesus wasn't just passing through without paying attention -- Jesus was
looking for someone who was seeking Him -- Jesus had His eyes open -- and when
He reached the spot, Luke says He stopped and saw Zacchaeus
-- I like
that phrase, "the spot" -- that implies this wasn't an accident -- it
wasn't just chance that the Savior came passing through Jericho that day -- it
wasn't just a coincidence that in the midst of the crowd Jesus stopped at
"the spot" where the chief of sinners -- the chief of tax collectors
-- waited to see Him and looked up -- no, the spot was a divine appointment
--
Zacchaeus was lost and he knew he was lost -- he was trapped in a job that I'm
sure he didn't like -- who wants to work in a place where you are daily
castigated and hated by your own countrymen? -- he wasn't living up to his name
-- his life wasn't pure or innocent -- his hands were dirty -- his soul was
stained -- all that lay before him was more of the same -- but he longed for
something better
-- and so
God led him to "the spot" where the Savior of the world was watching --
and when Jesus saw him, Jesus told Zacchaeus that He must stay at his house
that day -- Zacchaeus was overjoyed and came down immediately to welcome Jesus
into his home and into his heart
-- verse 7
Luke 19:7 (NIV)
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has
gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"
-- this is
a reminder to us that most people God puts in our path are not going to be
well-respected in society -- God leads us to those who most need His touch --
who need to know His presence -- regardless of their station in life
-- in my time
working with the homeless and in the reading I have done about them, I have
learned that the one thing they desire more than anything else is to be seen --
to truly be known by another
-- too
often when we pass the homeless in the street, we don't see the person -- we
don't see the heart -- we see another nameless face in the crowd -- and while
we might give them a handful of change -- we don't really see them for who they
are
-- we need
to learn to open our eyes and see the people God has called us to minister --
to look within -- to look at their heart -- no matter if they are the most
respected politician in town or whether they are the chief of sinners as
Zacchaeus was
-- and we
need to be prepared for the response we may receive from those around us as
they question why we are associating with someone like this -- the residents of
Jericho muttered against Jesus because He was helping a sinner -- we will
experience the same as we minister to those God puts in our path
-- verse 8
Luke 19:8-10 (NIV)
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."
9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this
house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was
lost."
-- after
Jesus saw him and knew him, Zacchaeus found a different path -- he repented of
his sins -- he turned away from his previous life -- and he chose to walk a new
life of meaning and purpose in the Son
-- Jesus
proclaimed that salvation had come that day to Zacchaeus and his whole
household -- that the lost had been saved and that God's purposes had been
fulfilled
III. CLOSING
-- In the
3rd-century, a skeptic named Celsus made fun of Origen (a Christian leader of
day) -- Celsus said, "When most
teachers go forth to teach, they cry, ’Come to me, you who are clean and
worthy,’ and they are followed by the highest caliber of people available. --
But your silly master cries, ’Come to me, you who are down and beaten by life,’
and so he accumulates around him the rag, tag and bobtail of humanity."
-- And
Origen replied: "Yes, they are the rag, tag and bobtail of humanity. --
But Jesus does not leave them that way. -- Out of material you would have
thrown away as useless, he fashions men, giving them back their self-respect,
enabling them to stand on their feet and look God in the eyes. -- They were
cowed, cringing, broken things. -- But the Son has set them free."3
-- for
those who find themselves adrift in this world today, seeking meaning and
purpose in life, let me point you down a new path -- Jesus said here in verse
10 that He came to seek and save that which was lost -- and that's where we
will find our purpose and meaning in life, too
-- our goal
-- our objective -- is to see and be seen -- to know and to be known -- to love
and to be loved -- our calling is to rescue the cowed cringing, broken things
of society and to love them into the kingdom
of God
-- at the
end of your days, what will be the measure of your life? -- a retirement
certificate on the wall? -- a last-ditch effort to travel and see what you
missed your whole life? -- or the remembrance of lives touched for the kingdom
-- of souls saved from the fire -- of eternity changed for many because you
took the time to seek them out and to see them and to love them
-- this
week, I want to challenge you to look at life as never before -- to look into
the eyes of another -- to seek their heart -- and to speak into their life the
good news of Jesus Christ
-- that is
where we find meaning and purpose -- that is what we are searching for
-- let's
pray
1 Carl Glen T. Caballas
2Liz Klimas, Apr. 17, 2015 8:25am, The Blaze:
"‘I Wish My Teacher Knew’ Assignment Reveals Third-Grade Students’
Heartbreaking Secrets"; http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/17/i-wish-my-teach-knew-assignment-reveals-third-grade-students-heartbreaking-secrets/
3From a sermon by Jeff Strite, Stewardship of a
“Patchless” Life, 1/3/2010, http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-sermon-central-staff-stories-evangelismthelost-75194.asp
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