Luke 19:1-10 The Wee Little Man

Rev. David Holwick ZH Running Into Jesus series

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

October 9, 2016

Luke 19:1-10

THE WEE LITTLE MAN

I. How to rise up in life.

A. How some government officials have succeeded.

Pronab Adhikary was a low-level official near Calcutta, India.

His salary was $173 a week.

Neighbors said he lived frugally, buying inexpensive food at

the local grocery store and riding his motorcycle to work.

Private building contractors complained that Pronab's office

was harassing them for bribes before he would approve

their building plans, so police investigated.

Pronab's six-room house contained money hidden under the floor,

in the ceiling, the cupboards, under the bed, and even

stuffed in an (unused) toilet.

The man earned under $10,000 a year but police discovered

$31 million in his humble house.

Apparently this is not unusual in India.

The year before, a city engineer's house near Delhi contained

$15 million.

Government jobs are always the best.

Corruption in America doesn't quite measure up.

Back in 2014 an IRS agent was arrested for accepting a bribe

from a medical marijuana storeowner in Washington state.

The agent told the owner he would cut him a deal that would

save him a million dollars in taxes.

In return, the owner could slip him $20,000 to pay off his

student loans.

The owner went to the police, who rigged him with a wire,

and the agent was arrested.

There is no word on how much tax the storeowner ended up

paying....

#65329

B. False income is not ultimately satisfying.

1) Today's story is about a man who made a bundle, but ran

into someone who changed his perspective on everything.

2) He didn't just change his attitude, but showed it by his

actions.

3) What is there about YOU that shows what you really believe

in life?

II. Today's story is about an IRS agent.

A. He was more like the first example rather than the second.

1) Zacchaeus was an IRS agent, and a high-up one (chief)

in a big town.

2) They had an interesting way to raise taxes back then.

a) Agents would be assigned to raise a certain amount of

money from their district.

b) If they raised more, they got to pocket the excess.

c) They all raised more, and Zacchaeus must have been a

master at it.

1> He skimmed off the guys who were skimming off of

everyone else.

2> He was loaded with money.

B. The one thing Zacchaeus didn't have is stature.

1) He was looked down on in the city because of his job.

a) Tax collectors were hated for being corrupt.

b) They were also hated for being agents of the Roman

Empire, their foreign dominators.

2) He was also looked down on because he was short.

a) Some take verse 3 to mean that Jesus was the short guy

but this is unlikely.

b) Zacchaeus climbs the tree before Jesus ever showed up,

showing he knew how to adjust to his limitations.

1> One preacher says that all Zacchaeus could see was

backs and bottoms.

c) Even today we look down on short people.

Randy Newman had an infamous song back in 1977.

The second stanza goes:

Short people got nobody

to love

They got little baby legs

That stand so low

You got to pick 'em up

Just to say hello

They got little cars

That go beep, beep, beep

They got little voices

Goin' peep, peep, peep

They got grubby little fingers

And dirty little minds

They're gonna get you every time [...]

Don't want no short people around here [1]

In 1978, state of Maryland delegate Isaiah Dixon

attempted to introduce legislation making it illegal

to play "Short People" on the radio.

He was told this would be unconstitutional. [2]

III. Running into Jesus.

A. Why did Zacchaeus want to see Jesus?

1) It may have been the celebrity angle.

a) If you heard that Kim Kardashian was in the Ledgewood

Walmart right now, all you would clear out of here.

b) So it could have been his natural curiosity.

2) It may have been a deep spiritual thirst.

a) The way Zacchaeus responds a few verses from now, I

think his interest in Jesus was far deeper than

curiosity.

b) Perhaps Zacchaeus was looking for someone who might

make him feel big and accepted.

3) How interested are you in seeing Jesus?

a) I had the midnight slot at our Friday prayer vigil.

1> The sanctuary was dark, but I had the sense that

Jesus was looking at me (all these windows...)

b) How much do I really see him?

1> How much effort do I put into discovering what he

is really about?

2> How much am I willing to yield my life to him?

3> Every true Christian has to ask these questions.

B. He had only wanted to see Jesus, but Jesus saw him.

1) Surrounded by a mob, Jesus notices the little man in a tree.

2) He invites himself into Zacchaeus' house.

a) Throughout the gospels, many people invite Jesus over

for dinner but it is never the other way around -

except here.

b) Zacchaeus is thrilled.

C. The crowd is not thrilled.

1) "All the people" may have included the disciples, too.

2) Public figures should not associate with the notorious.

a) Imagine Hillary Clinton having lunch with a KKK leader,

or Donald Trump playing golf with an ISIS general.

b) They are not that stupid - it would be all over the

cable news shows.

3) The badness of bad people can rub off on you.

a) What they didn't consider is that the goodness of

Jesus can rub off, too.

b) Jesus enters the home of a sinner and is welcomed

by a new man, a saved man.

1> I would love the details on what they talked about.

2> None are given. Did Jesus challenge him to repent,

or did Zacchaeus come up with it on his own?

3> All that really matters is that Zacchaeus changed.

IV. Christian change is concrete change.

A. The rich tax collector made an expensive promise.

1) He gave half his wealth to the poor.

a) That's a pretty steep contribution.

1> 20% would have been considered extra generous.

2> 50% is astounding.

A> I have heard of only 3 modern people who have

done it.

b) Who of us would do such a thing?

1> Maybe if Jesus was standing right here - with a gun.

2> Perhaps Zacchaeus has more faith than we do.

c) "Here and now" is not in the original Greek.

1> The NIV supplies it to bring the sense out.

2> His words are in the present tense, so some believe

he is saying he has been doing these things

already.

A> But this is unlikely, because Jesus says the

change in him came on this very day.

B> What Zacchaeus is stating on that day, will be

his normal behavior from that point on.

2) He promises to pay four-fold back to anyone he had cheated.

a) In the Old Testament, those who confess to cheating

had to pay back the original amount and 20%.

b) Thieves who were caught had to pay back double in some

cases and four-fold in others.

c) So Zacchaeus is applying the harshest standards to

himself.

1> He is being ultra-generous and ultra-scrupulous.

B. In what concrete way has Jesus changed your life?

1) Do you do anything different now than you did before?

2) What habits have changed (or not changed)?

3) How have your finances changed?

a) Your attitudes toward the poor and needy and outcast?

C. Does salvation have to be expensive?

1) Ultimately, you can pay nothing to be reconciled to God.

a) Zacchaeus is not making a financial contract to get

God on his side.

b) God has paid for our salvation in full.

The Book of Revelation, adapting a verse in Isaiah, says:

Revelation 21:6 --

"To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost

from the spring of the water of life."

c) Nevertheless, the sincerity of your heart will always

be backed up (or betrayed) by your actions.

1> Genuine repentance goes beyond words.

2> Zacchaeus is showing he really believes in Jesus.

2) Jesus acknowledges his faith and calls him a son of Abraham.

a) Abraham was the friend of God, and now Zacchaeus is.

b) You can be as well.

1> It comes by personal faith, not family heritage.

V. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

A. That includes you.

1) Everyone is lost, whether they realize it or not.

2) Perhaps you realize that all your schemes to get ahead and

be happy aren't panning out.

3) Have you tried Jesus?

B. Jesus doesn't just save - he seeks.

1) He invites himself into your home, and your heart.

2) You have to decide if you are going to accept him or not.

C. How should you respond to that kind of God?

1) You should do it the way Zacchaeus did.

2) "He came down at once and welcomed him gladly."

3) Have you done this?

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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:

1. Randy Newman, “Short People,” 1977; <link>.

2. Wikipedia, “Short People,” <link>.

#65329 “Corruption Can Be Lucrative,” by Rev. David Holwick, adapting

these articles: "House of cash: police find $31m inside home,"

19 August 2015; <link>,

and "IRS Agent Arrested for Accepting Bribe," by Michael

Patrick Leahy, 24 Sep 2015; <link>.

These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be

downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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