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Luke 19:1-10 & Jeremiah 29:11



 
      

Zacchaeus¶ did. Before Jesus approached him, Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector. We all
know the story: he abused his position and took more than the required amount from the
taxpayers, keeping aside a portion of the money for himself. Because of this, Zacchaeus was very
wealthy. But, as we read on in Luke 19, it is clear that something was missing in Zacchaeus¶ life.
As Jesus passed through Jericho, the typical crowd gathered, and Zacchaeus was right there
with them. He was trying to see who Jesus was.

We all tend to look for God whenever things aren¶t going right in our lives. Either because we
want someone to blame for the troubles we¶re having or because we are looking for help.
Whatever the situation, we instinctively look Up.

Zacchaeus couldn¶t see Jesus because he was too short to see over the massive crowd of people.
In the same way, there are things that block our vision from seeing Jesus. Sinful habits and
relationships, for instance. All Zacchaeus had to do was climb up into a tree, and the after effects
of this action were lifechanging. If we actively seek Christ- climb up the Sycamore tree¶s in our
lives- chances are, things will begin to change for us. People who are constantly striving to live to
the fullest for Christ rarely complain about how boring their lives are.

When Jesus reached the Sycamore tree, he called out to Zacchaeus: º

  

 



. So, what did Zacchaeus do? He jumped out of the
tree, of course! None of us would challenge Jesus if he invited himself over for dinner, either :P.
Whenever the people in the crowd saw how Jesus treated Zacchaeus, they all grumbled. How
dare Jesus dine with a Sinful Man? When Zacchaeus heard the crowd, he told Jesus that he
would give half of his possessions to the poor, as well as pay back the people he had taken
money from« four times over!

As soon as Zacchaeus made his honest declaration, Jesus told the crowd that salvation had come
to him. 
Zacchaeus made a decision to change his lifestyle, it was obvious that he was
saved. His life had begun to reflect that he was a child of God. We know that doing good works
and living correctly aren¶t the things that save you« but the Christian life is defined by much
more than a simple prayer. There is no shame in being recognized as a Christian, but so many
times we find ourselves hiding that label underneath many others. How can we ever reach the
lost if we ourselves struggle with proclaiming our salvation?

What shortens us/keeps us from seeing Jesus: Basically sin. This is what makes us short greedy
jews. And no one wants to be a jew. Not now. Every time you mess up without turning it over to
God, you spiritually shrink about an inch. In order to see at this point you have to find your own
tree to climb. Romans 3:23 (we all fall short) backing up scripture with scripture

Our trees: making a decision to seek out jesus. Doesn¶t have to be a sycamore. This is actively
seeking Christ which means reading the bible and praying daily in every situation and not just
during our quiet times. Jesus meets you halfway seeking christ is not the same as following
christ. Jesus will seek you out and challenge you to hop down from your lofty tree and follow
Him. Then you must make the decision to go or run away.

Grumbling followers: When you make the decision to follow Jesus there will be those other
³followers´ who will .

Sharing a meal with christ: we eat 3 times a day. This should be similar to how fundamental
spending time and building your relationship with christ is. Before Zaccheys could reach the
point where he was able to radically change his life and influence others, he had to establish a
real relationship with christ and not the phony balony one he had with God before.

Giving back what you stole before: Once we have built a relationship with christ it becomes our
mission and want to do to give back what jesus has given us the best we can. Zaccheus gave his
money but what do you have to give?