to Seek & to Save the Lost

When I was nine, our neighbors had a pool with a connecting hot tub. My brother was three and a half. He and the neighbor boy were walking on the seat of the hot tub when my brother must have slipped off the seat into the middle. He didn’t know how to swim and began flailing and sinking. I was standing on the side of the pool. I remember staring at my brother for a second or two before I realized what was happening and that he needed help. I jumped in the hot tub and pulled him to the side where I got him out of the water. He was OK.

I love my brother. When I saw he was lost on his own in the hot tub, I didn’t have a second thought about trying to save him. This is the heart of Jesus. His purpose in taking on human flesh, suffering, dying, and rising again to life was to seek and to save the lost. Today I want to look at a familiar story. Some of you may have sung about this story in a Sunday School as a child, but the children’s song leaves out the key elements of Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus.

He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”[1]

Luke

We will work our way through this account and discover that it is about much more than a wee little man climbing a tree to see Jesus. Let’s begin with what we know about Zacchaeus. He was “a chief tax collector and was rich” (vs 2). We don’t read of this title elsewhere in Scripture, and it is a little unclear. At the least, Zacchaeus was a tax collector, but it is possible he was something like the head of the local tax office. Regardless, tax collectors were despised and considered sinners (vs 7). Zacchaeus was Jewish, but he was regarded as an outcast because tax collectors were known for not only collecting the taxes due (which no one likes to pay in the first place) but also for extorting above and beyond the tax amount for their own gain. In contrast, when tax collectors came to John the Baptist to be baptized, he instructed them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do” (Luke 3:13). Zacchaeus must have been a fairly good tax collector and extortionist because he is described as rich.

Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus and “was seeking to see who Jesus was” (vs 3), but there was a crowd and Zacchaeus was “small in stature” (vs 3). This didn’t deter Zacchaeus. He ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to get a better view of Jesus passing by (vs 4). Zacchaeus was despised by his own people as a tax collector, but he was still rich and likely influential. Yet, he had no qualms about running ahead and climbing a tree much like a child might. In seeking to see Jesus, he put aside position and dignity to do what he needed to do to see Jesus.

As Zacchaeus waits in the tree, Jesus comes to the place. Jesus looks up seeking Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was seeking to see Jesus, but Jesus was seeking relationship with Zacchaeus. Not only does Jesus look for Zacchaeus, but Jesus calls him by name, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” If I were Zacchaeus, I probably would have fallen out of the tree.

I am reminded of the account we looked at last week of the woman who was bleeding for twelve years. She sought to secretly touch the hem of Jesus’ clothes from the anonymity of the crowd, but Jesus sought her. Zacchaeus is up in a tree out of the way, but Jesus seeks him. He addresses Zacchaeus by name and tells him to hurry up “for I must stay at your house today” (vs 5). Like the woman, Zacchaeus was alienated from his own people, and yet in both cases, Jesus sought them and called them to a personal encounter. Their status with other people did not keep Jesus from seeking them.

Jesus could have preached to Zacchaeus in the tree. He could have repeated John the Baptist’s words – convicted Zacchaeus and continued on, but He didn’t. He called Zacchaeus to fellowship.

This is where the children’s song ends, but we are just getting to the best part of this account. Zacchaeus hurries down and receives Jesus joyfully. If Zacchaeus wasn’t willing to come out of the tree, he never would have experienced what comes next. He joyfully responded to Jesus’ invitation and welcomed Jesus into his home.

As we often read, when Jesus shows compassion, there are those that grumble (vs 7). In fact, it says “they allgrumbled” meaning the crowd. They complained that Jesus was a guest of a sinner completely blind to their own sinfulness and need for Jesus. I wonder if they weren’t jealous that Jesus chose to fellowship with Zacchaeus in his home instead of with one of them.

Now we get to the heart of this account. “And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.’” Jesus didn’t go to Zacchaeus’ house to get a hot meal. He went to seek fellowship with Zacchaeus that led to change, and dramatic change occurred. Zacchaeus’ declaration was evidence of a repentant heart. He didn’t just promise to do what the law required in restoring what he had defrauded, but he promised to restore fourfold as well as give money to the poor. Zacchaeus’ relationship with Jesus led to repentance and the fruit of repentance.

Jesus confirms Zacchaeus’ true repentance, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham” (vs 9). Jesus pronounced Zacchaeus’ saving faith and as well as reminding others that he was a real Jew. Like the woman who was bleeding, Jesus makes known that there is a status change. Zacchaeus has gone from sinner to saved, accepted, and loved.

Then Jesus adds, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (vs 10).” Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus, but Jesus was seeking Zacchaeus for a life-changing transformation because Zacchaeus was lost. Zacchaeus recognized he was lost and humbly and joyfully received Jesus. But how many, like the crowd, are blind to their need for Jesus. In that hot tub, my brother knew he needed help. He let me help him. How foolish he would have been if he had kicked at me, pushed me away, and refused my help. But that is exactly what many do today.

You may be thinking this is not you. You have come to saving faith. You were lost but now are found. But we need the good news of the Gospel every day. We still get lost as we try to do things in our own strength and wisdom or give in to a temptation to sin. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by life’s circumstances. Jesus is seeking fellowship with you every day. He wants to and is continually transforming you to His image. Like Zacchaeus, we need to be humble and seek Jesus, we need to come down from our tree of self-sufficiency and fellowship with God, and we need to joyfully receive Him and the help He offers us.

Reflection

1. Where do you feel a bit (or completely) lost right now? What have you tried in your own strength and wisdom to do to save yourself in your circumstance?

2. In Luke 18:18-25 a rich ruler approaches Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life (vs 18:18). He says he has followed the law, so Jesus tells him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when the rich ruler hears this, he becomes very sad, for he was extremely rich (vs 18:22-23). Compare this to Zacchaeus’ joy in receiving Jesus and voluntarily giving to the poor and restoring what he had defrauded. When you are feeling lost, are you more likely to cling to the things of this world or joyfully receive Jesus and His ways?

3. What is one step you can take today to joyfully receive Jesus’ help? When did you last fellowship with God? Pray? Read Scripture? Worship God in song outside of corporate worship? This morning part of my reading was Psalm 119:28, “My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to Your Word.” God’s Word strengthens, encourages, comforts, convicts, and instructs us. I have a friend who is feeling so overwhelmed right now that she doesn’t feel able to pray or read Scripture. It can start with a simple plea for God’s help or even listening to Scripture being read, but maybe you feel so lost that you need to ask a friend to pray with and for you. Ask them to share Scripture with you. God can accomplish much even with our little steps of faith.

4. Do you know someone who is lost and needs to hear the good news of the Gospel? Seek them out and share the hope you have.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 19:1–10.