ZACCHAEUS

(Preached on THANKSGIVING SERVICE conducted by Mr Sunder S.Thapa & family on his youngest son graduation with a B.E ( Electronics) and his appointment with INFOSYS)
ZACCHEUS- (a Greek name from the Hebrew, pronounced zakkay, meaning pure) was a chief publican, or superintendent of customs
Zacchaeus means pure and innocent
Zacchaeus was an innocent person who is out of the way. The best person who knows you is your mother. - she will tell all about you. A MOTHER IS ALWAYS A CHILD IS!
In the Old Testament and in the Jewish culture the name tells about their traits and characteristic.
However, Zacchaeus is the high ranking official, Prince of evil among the people, corrupted. So he is not popular among people
Ø Silence is the only reply he gets.
Ø Everybody avoided him.
Ø “Curse is the day you were born”, Zaccheus.
Ø He was absolutely lost.
Our moral fibre is lost, innocence is lost, our nation is lost.We are lost! The one person who can find us is the one who found Adam , Moses , Elijah, Peter, James & John. In the midst of the story Jesus found Zaccheus on a tree.

Zaccheus was the chief tax collector. He was the Supdt. of Customs. The name Zaccheus means “righteous one” but the tax officer was not living up to his name. He was collecting more tax then required.
Jericho is the city of Palms in the Old Testament.
Zaccheus was short in stature and powerful. Rich- “plousis”- abundance, wealthy person.
There are three things about this person:
1. Chief Tax Collector
2. Short -
3. Not popular

Our life is full of brokenness- broken relationships, broken promises, and broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives
- Thomas Nouwen

Carl Young a Psychologist said “The central neurosis of our time is boredom and emptiness”
Actress Celine Holm said “we live by encouragement and die without it- slowly, sadly and angrily.”
Discouragement affects relationship- A SENSE OF LONELINESS, REJECTION AND ISOLATION GRIPS A PERSON
Zaccheus was curious. John Calvin wrote “Curiosity and simplicity are a sort of preparation for faith.
< SINNER TOO SHORT TO SEE JESUS (vv 1-4)
Short- mikros ( micros)- very short person. So, short little Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus in such a crowd; he needed to get higher, someplace higher to see over the crowds. He didn’t have a stepladder but he saw a sycamore tree, right there on the side of the road that Jesus was travelling. Zacchaeus ran ahead and cleverly climbed that sycamore tree. Now a sycamore tree is like a fig tree but taller; some 50 to 75 feet tall and some 50 feet wide. It has large leaves, like a maple or an oak tree. A sycamore tree is a shade tree, and so Zacchaeus climbed up, took out his bag of popcorn or pomegranates, his bottle of pop and waited.
The sycamore tree was meant for shade. It was planted on the road side. Zaccheus wanted height not shade.
How Zaccheus life was changed?

< ZACCHEUS A SINNER TO HIGH IN THE TREE (vs 5)
.Sure enough, here came Jesus. Just like he planned. Zacchaeus could see the donkey and The Man through the leaves, coming up the road. People were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Wow! What a seat. And then the donkey stopped right beneath his branch. What luck. My friends will never believe it. Ringside seat.
Though Zaccheus was too short, Jesus came and stand in front of the tree. Zaccheus was popular in Jericho Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, you come down, for I’m coming to your house this day.” You know the song from childhood. “Zacchaeus, you come down, for I am coming to your house today.”
Zaccheus thought quickly to himself: “How does he know my name? ... How would he know me? ... Why me? ... What does he want with me?” Zacchaeus quickly slid down the tree, the buttons bursting from his shirt with pride. “Jesus, I would be honored to have you come to my home, the loveliest villa in Jericho, right down there overlooking the river.” As Zacchaeus sashayed to his house, everyone was gawking at Jesus and Zacchaeus too, which pleased Zacchaeus immensely.
But the crowds weren’t too pleased with Jesus’ choice of a new found friend. Zacchaeus was the most despised man in Jericho, a crook, a cocky little crook. Not only was he a tax collector at the toll booth; he was the chief tax collector. The big boss. The richest man in town. He worked for the Roman government, collecting their taxes, and Zacchaeus would pad the tax, for his own personal benefit. If there was an immoral skunk in town, Zacchaeus was the man. A thief, a con man, but untouchable because he was protected by the Roman government. What a poor choice Jesus made.

It was Jesus who saw Zaccheus; it was Jesus who talked to Zaccheus. Jesus will initiate the conversation.
“Come down……………… go to your home”- Zaccheus never anticipated. Jesus knew his problem.
Vs 6………………. Received Jesus joyfully
i.e.
ü Heart joyfully
ü Life joyfully
ü Home joyfully
Matt 11:28,29
We don’t need an Mt Everest of old newspaper to know the feelings of being trapped under the crush of our work and the burden of overwhelming spiritual demands. Jesus invites the weary to come to Him.
Stay- lodge, I must be guest in your house, comfortable in your life.


< ZACCHEUS TOO CONVINCED TO CONTINUE IN SIN (vs 8)
Zacchaeus was a repentant sinner. He was sorry for the bad things he had done. He told the Lord that he would give half of his possessions to the poor, and if he had cheated anybody out of anything, he would give back four times that amount.
Zacchaeus was dramatically and seriously touched by Jesus
Lev 6:5………… 1/5 i.e. 20%
Exodus 22:4, 7, 9
Zacchaeus came out of the front door by himself and addressed the large crowd who finally quiet down. He said, “I apologize to you folks. I have been cheating you for years now at the tollbooth. You know it and so do I. I have been a cad, taking advantage of my position. I’ve gotten richer at your expense. I apologize. To make it right, I will pay back each one of you from whom I have stolen. I will repay you back four times the amount I cheated you. Yes, each and every one of you. Also, I am giving half of my goods to the poor of our city.”
The crowd was shell-shocked. Their cynical selves couldn’t believe it. One man piped up: “Sure Zacchaeus, we’ll believe it when we see it. The Old Testament law is clear; you need to repay us what you stole from us plus 20%; but you say you are going to repay 400%? What’s the gimmick, Zacchaeus? What’s the trick?”
Another suspicious person chimed in: “Half your goods to the poor? You never cared a rip for the poor. You never dropped a dollar into the alms plate. When they rang bells for the poor at Hanukkah, you walked right on by the bucket. You often said: ‘let the poor go to work and not live off handouts.’ We’ll believe it when we see it, Zacchaeus.”
About that time, Jesus walked out, stood beside the white picket fence, put his arm around Zacchaeus, and quieted the crowds. “Today, salvation has come to Zacchaeus’s house. He has become a true son of Abraham. I have come to seek and save the lost. Zacchaeus has been found.”
Thus ends one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible, about a short little man who climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, a story about a man who was transformed from greedy to generous, from selfish to selfless, from a thieving heart to a thanksgiving heart. We ask ourselves: “What did Jesus say to him there in that house?” If only we knew what Jesus said, then perhaps we could say similar things to each other, and we too would be changed and become equally generous.

After salvation the same way is not there in Zaccheus.

There is a dramatic change in your life.
Vs 9-10…………… It is a theological truth. Jesus came to seek and save you. Jesus came to die, seek (seek to find) accomplish salvation. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost.

When a day begins, you never know how it will end. For Zaccheus, that day ended in joyful fellowship with the Son of God, for he was now a changed man with a new life. Jesus is still seeking the lost and yearning to save them. Has he found you?
God is not looking for perfect people but people whose heart is right. God does not look what you are but you can be.
John 6:12- You can come to God with broken pieces.
The house of the Lord is the only way you can be found. Broken can be mended, shelter in the storm.
There are many things that are lost:-
8 Marriage lost their song.
8 Heart lost their joy.
8 Relationships that is lost.

When you look to Jesus you will find a comforter, a friend, cleansing fountain. Light of the world, heaven’s hope. Turn to Jesus; he alone can save you... By the time you see him he has already seen you.