February 22, 2004 - Rev. Bill Barnes, "Come on Down"

Luke 19:1-10 Jesus and Zaccheus

"Jesus went on into Jericho and was passing through. There was a chief tax collector there named Zaccheus, who was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was a little man and could not see Jesus because of the crowd. So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, who was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to Zaccheus, 'Hurry down, Zaccheus, because I must stay in your house today.' Zaccheus hurried down and welcomed him with great joy. All the people who saw it started grumbling. 'This man has gone as the guest of a home of a sinner.' Zaccheus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Listen, sir, I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much.' Jesus said to him, 'Salvation has come to this house today, for this man also is a descendant of Abraham.' The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

God bless the reading of his word. Amen.

We're going to do something a bit different this morning for a sermon. It might fly, it might crash. We're going to do an inductive Bible study. An inductive Bible study is where you, as the participant, are looking at scripture as to what it does say: Why is this story here and what does it mean to me? So I would ask you, at the risk of falling flat on my face, to do something that we used to do regularly in the 6;00 o'clock service, and that is to ask you to interact a little bit. Lori read this story. It probably isn't the first time for many of you to hear the story of Zaccheus. What were your observations? How did it speak to you? What did you think? What were just some of the observations that came into your mind or heart? Just raise your hand wherever you are.

[Addressing the congregation] Yes, Kathy? [Congregant speaking] Jesus went to the most sinful of people, the people that we often don't want to hang out with. That's an interesting observation.

Yes, Carol. [Congregant speaking] He wasn't passive, was he. He was proactive and sought a way to conquer the obstacles in his way. He didn't just sit back. Good observation.

Yes, Paul. [Congregant speaking] Scholars are divided on that. The minority opinion is that he is actually denying it and standing up for himself. The majority of Christianity has said that this is a sign of his repentance and that he recognizes his fault. So it could be either defense for who he really is or it could be also a sense of repentance for what he has done. Good observation.

Yes, Sara. [Congregant speaking] Three is the Godly number. Why did he choose four? I hope I'll answer that question for you, but one of the most important things in doing an inductive study are the questions we ask. Some of the questions won't even be answered, but the questions themselves are what make us most often wrestle. Isn't that true of all of life? And so that's a great question. Why four instead of the three, which is the Godly number? The Trinity is three. Good question.

[Congregant speaking] If this man Zaccheus can be saved, so can we. Wow. That's a powerful observation.

[Congregant speaking] Good observation. Jesus seemed to know this man without any introduction. What's that about?! Interesting observation.

[Congregant speaking] Jesus acts without concern for public opinion. Good observation. He seems to go against the crowd itself. And also the prevailing wisdom.

[Congregant speaking] Did he offer only half and was Christ waiting for all? Or half is quite a bit. If we just divided everything we had right now and said, "I'm giving away half this afternoon . . ." Whew! So it could be looked at either way, couldn't it? It's quite a bit, but it's not all. Jesus doesn't seem to make a comment about the amount at all. Good observation.

[Congregant speaking] Christ proclaims himself strongly, as Matt said. Who he is and his power to forgive this man, and to make restitution. That's a pretty bold statement. Good observation.

[Congregant speaking] What does that mean to you, JP? He said the transformation-Zaccheus was waiting for Jesus-and the transformation seem to happen immediately. What does that mean to you? [Congregant speaking] Sometimes we just need to ask. Maybe we need to be proactive a little bit.

[Congregant speaking] Yes! He reaches out to people, doesn't he? He says, "Here's my life. Help me evaluate it." How odd is that? How odd is that on the Westside of Los Angeles? I mean, we have trouble disclosing to our tax person, let alone, let the world judge us. Pretty interesting observation.

Allen, you've got one more for us. [Rev. Allen Newman speaking] Yeah! I love it, Allen! Looking at the angles! What did his wife say about all this stuff? Good question.

Let's pray. [praying] Lord, God, for the humor and the joy and the power of looking at your word, please open our hearts to what you have for us. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together speak to each of us what we need to hear from you for you are our rock, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

Would it help you to know a little bit about the place, Jericho, that Jesus was going? We're told by Josephus that it was at that time considered "the most sublime of regions"-his words. That it was a very wonderful agricultural community-that it was known world-wide for its forests of balsam trees, for its rose gardens, for its dates. In fact, the Romans used to transfer the dates and balsam throughout their empire from this town. We know that Herod, that great arch enemy of Jesus's birth and wonderful builder, had his summer palace, a magnificent place, much like Saddam's places, there in Jericho. What we're told is that Jericho was an industrious city that guarded the southern route to Jerusalem and was also in the Jordan Valley and consequently was a great region to be taxed.

The second thing that might help you is this word to describe Zaccheus. Chief tax collector-it's only used once in the scripture. "Artellionus"-it means the boss man of all the tax collectors. Now Matthew, one of the disciples, was a tax collector, but he was not the chief tax collector. And we're told by Luke that Zaccheus is the chief tax collector of this very wealthy region and consequently that he is wealthy.

It might help you to know something about the Roman taxation system. When they came in and conquered a land, rather than go to the struggle of taxing the people themselves, what they would do is determine the wealth of a region. And they would say, "We need to collect this much money for taxes." And then industrious, entrepreneurial businessmen would bid for the privilege of extracting those taxes. And as long as they made the amount that Rome had set, they had the power and strength of the Roman government behind them and could set the taxes at anything they wanted. Consequently, it was a license to steal, and most tax collectors gouged the people and became immensely wealthy at the expense of the taxation process. Do you know that most tax collectors were viewed by the Jews of the time as sinners, as robbers, and in fact they were not even allowed into the synagogues?

It might also help you to know a little bit about the context of the story. Luke organizes his gospel for a purpose. Right after Jesus is baptized by John, beginning in Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Luke, there is a story that ends with this phrase, "Jesus came to seek the lost and to save them." Now at Chapter 19, as he's right before-just as we are-before the passion period in Jesus life. This last chapter bookends with that same phrase, "Jesus came to seek the lost and save them." Beginning of Jesus ministry, end of Jesus Earthly ministry and the beginning of the passion of his offering of his own life on our behalf.

Interesting to note also that the chapter right before has another visit with a rich man, the only other visit with a very wealthy man. It's the rich young ruler. And in that story if you recall, the rich young ruler comes to Jesus and says, "What must I do to gain salvation?" And Jesus tells him, "Have you kept the law?" And he says, "I have kept it faithfully." And then Jesus says, "Good. Go and sell what you have and give it to the poor." And the man leaves because the price is too great. And it says, "He leaves sorrowfully." And yet here's a rich man who's not even offered the purpose but discovers it and finds something in what Jesus says.

Finally, let's look at the details of the story. Do you know what the word "Zaccheus" means? It means "pure or innocent." What a humorous oxymoron. It would be as if the most grumpy person in your work or school were named Joy. Here is a man who is gouging the people just by his chosen profession. He's hated by all, even though we know his power and wealth are great. And yet, his name is Zaccheus. And why? Why was he wanting to know Jesus? What that a question that you had in your hearts? Luke never tells us. Was he, because of his wealth and power, curious about this itinerant preacher he'd heard of coming to town? Was he like the paparazzi, wanting to just get a glimpse, maybe to get a good candid photo of Jesus in action? Or was there something in his life, as wealthy and powerful as he was, that was missing something? Luke doesn't tell us. He simply tells us that this man had obstacles. He was short, and in that day, it meant really short, because we're told that the average height was about 5'8".

So he was a short guy, and he couldn't see over the crowds that were there to see Jesus. So as Carol said he was proactive. He went down the parade route and climbed into a sycamore tree and climbed out. We don't even know if he wanted Jesus to say anything to him or even see him. But then we observe something. Jesus comes to him and he says, "Zaccheus!" He calls him by name. How did he know? Was this man so powerful that he was recognizable by everyone, or did Jesus just realize and have a sensitive understanding of the needs of people? What we do know is that he called him by name. What a powerful connection! And then in the chosen language of Luke, in the imperative, he says, "Come down, Zaccheus!" I like the way Lori read it. "Come down, Zaccheus, for this day I have to have lunch with you in your home." Jesus invites himself in.

And the response of Zaccheus we're not told, as J.P. said, "Why?" What was the transforming process, because in my life, it's a process. But for whatever reason, he comes down filled with joy and happiness and then the people grumbled. Do you know another contextual thing that's important to understand? There are three times in Luke's gospel where people are grumbling about what Jesus does, and it's specifically about him being with sinners and eating with them. But in the first two times, it's the scribes and the pharisees, the religious folk, the folk who live intentionally religious lives. They're the ones who challenge it. This time it's everyone gathered. The whole crowd is against him. And so Zaccheus stands there and he says boldly-we don't know as Paul said whether it's a defense of who he is or whether it's an apology for who he is. He says, "I will give half of my wealth away, and if I have betrayed anyone, I will offer recompense fourfold."

Now, Sara, your questions was a good one. In the Old Testament scripture, even though this man was excluded from the synagogue, he knew his scripture. In Exodus, Chapter 22, verse 1, it says, "If you have wronged somebody and steal their cattle, you must replace that cow and give them five others. If you take in a sheep, you must restore it four-fold." He'd read his Old Testament. He knew what it was to be responsible for the actions that we take, and he offered four-fold for any time that he'd maligned someone, and he offered it publicly.

It's interesting to go through the text. That's why we've got such a great wealth of commentaries and Bible dictionaries that you all can use along with reading to find the wealth of this. But I'm still left with the question: What does this mean for me? As I struggled with this, I thought about my Christian life. When I became a Christian, it was a very powerful experience, and I have seen lives dramatically changed from contact with Jesus Christ. But most often it was people whose lives were jeopardized, broken, troubled. People who were strung out on drugs in the 60's, people who had ailing diseases, people who had lost everything, were hanging by a thread, who came to discover the love and hope and strength that Jesus gives. I read books like The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch woman who because of her love and compassion and sympathy for the Jews during World War II. She was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp and watched her sister die a horrible death but struggled to maintain the loving attitude of a Christian because of Christ's love. Also, one of my favorites was The Cross and the Switchblade. David Wilkerson, a young, itinerant, naive preacher went to he heart of New York City and began to minister among the street gangs. And in their lostness, they came to know Christ. And always I thought that's what it took.

Then I started ministering at Brentwood. We have among our congregation some of the wealthiest people in Los Angeles, some of the most powerful in their industries as well as people who are homeless, as well as people who are struggling to make their rent check. This family of faith is so incredibly diverse, but I found that like Zaccheus, the people who have sometimes the greatest wealth and power and position, also tend to have that gnawing fear and need for something more.

Troy Aikman, the famous quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, after his first Super Bowl victory decided not to join in the festivities downstairs, but rather sat alone in his room. He was in a kind of depression, and he found himself asking what it was like and what was next. He'd reached the pinnacle of his profession and he sat alone in his room asking what is next. He said, "I thought back on all my problems in life as a teenager, and I thought how the moment I turned 16 and was able to get a car that would solve everything. Well, here I am now at the top of the professional football world, and I found myself thinking, 'Now what? Now what?'" And when he was challenged by a reporter about this depressed realization, he said, "Well, isn't that what it's all about-to keep raising the bar for yourself?"

Zaccheus kept raising the bar, until he had all the power and wealth. He couldn't see where to raise the bar anymore, but he still felt a gnawing pain inside. We're not told what that was about, but one thing that I have come to notice is rather than being like the frog thrown in the boiling water, where a frog thrown into boiling water will hop out immediately. Wealth can be a little like the frog that's put into the tepid water and then the burners lit underneath it. And as the water slowly warms up, without understanding what is happening, the frog continues to stay in the comfortable water, until the frog boils to death. And that's what wealth is like. We can be so fixated on what's happening with us, so worried about the next thing, that we begin to isolate ourselves from the needs of the world, the needs of those around us, because it takes all of our attention. And then church offers something different like it offered to Zaccheus.

I think it was 1989, I'm not really good on the year, but I remember a group of people who were at the top of their game. They'd made a decision after sitting here week after week hearing the stories of Jesus, that they could no longer keep focusing simply on their lives, but they noticed that there was a world out there of homeless people, and they wanted to know why. So they began meeting here in the church in one of the classrooms in the Sunday School department every Tuesday night. They started in confusion, not really knowing, but it got to be every week for a year, learning the facts of homelessness, discovering what was happening. And then at the end of that year, they'd developed a plan. They discovered that the most vulnerable part of the population of homeless were women with children. They didn't have the resources among themselves to do anything, so they got creative. To my knowledge, it was a very creative event, because it included the Venice Community Center and HUD, Housing and Urban Development of our federal government. And they took these two partners and sold them on the need for creating Westminster House.

Now, I wonder if that's what Zaccheus was doing when he said, "Here's half my wealth, and if I've done anything else, let's look at it and see." There are some brothers and sisters who gather in the back on this sanctuary in a little nursery school room every Sunday at 7:30 to pray. They're not praying for themselves. They're praying for you all and for the experience of God touching our lives as we meet here, that a service beyond yourself. Is it possible that that's what the story is about? It's letting us know that if we're in a trap, whatever tree we're in, however far out on the limb we are, God is available to us. Ken, as you said, '"If Zaccheus can be saved, so can I."

Let's say that's not the way it hit you. Maybe rather than be Zaccheus, you were one of Jesus' followers. You knew Jesus and you were walking in the parade with him. And all of a sudden you watch as Jesus stops and looks up and says, "Zaccheus, come down! I want to have dinner at your house." If you're a parent, there have been times when you kids have come home with their best friend right next to them and said, "Can Johnny stay for dinner?!" And you're going, "Oh, my gosh! I just have enough food for this, and they always ask right in front of their friend!" And it takes us a time to kind of process out of kids that natural inclination to be open and inviting. But Jesus is open and inviting. He calls him by name. Who do you need to call by name this week? Not just the people at church, but I think that's wonderful. Wear your name tags, call them by name, make people feel welcome. But also in your places of work, on the streets, in your activities. Do you know the people you're around? Do you call them by name? What kind of transforming power went on in Zaccheus, when he heard his name from this itinerant preacher?

And then Jesus invited himself home. Maybe if we're the followers, maybe church on Sunday should be more than worship, but it should be worship plus going out to lunch with someone who needs to go out and connect with me. I need to connect with them. Have you invited anybody to share a meal after worship?

An inductive Bible study-what does this scripture tell you? Let's pray.

[Praying] Lord God, the little stories that equip us to be better people draw us into light and love. God, speak to each of our hearts this week. Help it not to stop here, but as we reflect on this little story of this short man, help us to see you and your grace and help us to express that, for you are our rock, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

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