1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,100 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:09,100 --> 00:00:13,720 This week we're continuing with our sermon series around the table as we explore the 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:15,880 story of Zacchaeus. 4 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:20,720 And Rob shows us how this story reminds us that Jesus really sees us, and that when Jesus 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:28,000 sees us and affirms us, it changes everything. 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:37,560 Today's reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, verses 1 to 10. 7 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,240 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,200 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus. 9 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,680 He was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 10 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:57,300 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. 11 00:00:57,300 --> 00:01:05,160 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that 12 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:06,160 way. 13 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:14,040 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. 14 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,960 I must stay at your house today. 15 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:21,800 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 16 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,100 All the people saw this and began to mutter. 17 00:01:25,100 --> 00:01:28,960 He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. 18 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:36,520 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, look, Lord, here and now I give half of my 19 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,100 position to the poor. 20 00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:45,640 And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. 21 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:53,440 Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a son 22 00:01:53,440 --> 00:02:00,600 of Abraham, for the son of a man came to seek and to save the lost. 23 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:02,720 The word of the Lord. 24 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:08,920 Well we are smack dab in the middle of a teaching series, which is called Around the Table. 25 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:13,920 And what we're doing is we're looking at all the meals that Jesus ate with people throughout 26 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:15,000 the gospels. 27 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,180 And believe me, there were a whole lot of meals that Jesus ate with people. 28 00:02:19,180 --> 00:02:23,400 But while we've been going through this series, we've also asked you to send us some photos, 29 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,800 some pictures of the meals that you are eating with people. 30 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,040 And a number of you have been doing that. 31 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:36,800 So for example, Linda Patchett sent this photo of her and her life group enjoying a meal 32 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:37,800 together. 33 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:39,120 That's a beautiful photo. 34 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:40,820 We also have this photo. 35 00:02:40,820 --> 00:02:48,040 This is a photo of the beer and banter gathering that took place a few weeks ago. 36 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:54,600 This is a men's ministry here at Trinity where the men meet at the local pub once a month 37 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:56,800 to gather around a table. 38 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,260 So there was beer and banter. 39 00:02:59,260 --> 00:03:06,960 This is a photo of our first community dinner that happened just this past Thursday. 40 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:08,600 It was an amazing event. 41 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,680 I think, I don't remember how many guests we had there. 42 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:15,940 I think it was something like 40 or 50 guests and all of our volunteers serving those in 43 00:03:15,940 --> 00:03:16,940 our community. 44 00:03:16,940 --> 00:03:20,040 It was a wonderful, wonderful event. 45 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:25,480 And this is a picture of the staff having some food together, gathering around a table 46 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,160 as we welcomed our discipleship year students. 47 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:30,760 There's Honor and Johanna. 48 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:33,000 So we of course had to have some food. 49 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,580 I want to show you one other photo. 50 00:03:35,580 --> 00:03:41,800 This is a photo of me sitting down with a young man by the name of Finn Denine. 51 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:47,120 And this is an exciting photo because actually next Sunday at this service, Finn is going 52 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:49,520 to be baptized right here at Trinity. 53 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:51,400 And we're super excited about that. 54 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,360 Woo, yes. 55 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:59,760 And so Finn and I met at the Sunset Grill and did a little bit of baptismal preparation. 56 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:05,720 So hey, if you've got a photo or take a photo this week, tell us some of the meals you're 57 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:06,720 having. 58 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,840 Tell us who you're eating with and share those with us and we'd love to feature them in the 59 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,120 weeks ahead. 60 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,440 But here's a question for you to think about. 61 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:22,320 What is one meal that you have had that you will never forget? 62 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,640 Just take a moment and think about that. 63 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:27,880 You'll never forget. 64 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:29,640 It might have been a meal that you had with someone. 65 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:32,080 It might have been the very first meal you had with them. 66 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:36,720 Or it might have been the very last meal you had with someone. 67 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:41,360 Think of a meal that was a great celebration or maybe it was a great disaster, whatever 68 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:43,680 happened at this meal. 69 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,560 What's one meal you've had that you will never forget? 70 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:53,320 Would you just take a few seconds and turn to maybe someone who's sitting beside you 71 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,120 and just if you feel comfortable, share. 72 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:57,120 What's that one meal? 73 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,080 What's a meal that you've had that you will never forget? 74 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,080 Go for it. 75 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:21,060 Okay, one more thing. 76 00:05:21,060 --> 00:05:31,300 Thank you very much. 77 00:05:31,300 --> 00:05:37,300 Fantastic. 78 00:05:37,300 --> 00:05:47,340 Now at that meal that you enjoyed or didn't enjoy, you may or may not remember what you 79 00:05:47,340 --> 00:05:53,660 actually ate at that meal, but you definitely remember that meal because of the people that 80 00:05:53,660 --> 00:05:55,180 were around the table. 81 00:05:55,180 --> 00:05:57,460 And you see, this is what Jesus knew. 82 00:05:57,460 --> 00:06:03,740 Jesus knew that there was so much more going on at meals than just the food. 83 00:06:03,740 --> 00:06:06,980 Meals with Jesus were never about the food. 84 00:06:06,980 --> 00:06:13,340 Instead, Jesus knew that meals had this incredible power, and here was the power that meals had. 85 00:06:13,340 --> 00:06:18,220 Meals could either include people or they could exclude people. 86 00:06:18,220 --> 00:06:22,080 They could do either of those two things, right? 87 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:29,020 And you just thought of a meal where you were included, but you can probably think of another 88 00:06:29,020 --> 00:06:34,140 time, another meal, when you were excluded. 89 00:06:34,140 --> 00:06:38,260 Maybe it was back in high school or elementary school or something, and you didn't get a 90 00:06:38,260 --> 00:06:40,120 birthday invitation. 91 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,780 Everybody on the block got an invitation to so-and-so's birthday, but you didn't get one. 92 00:06:43,780 --> 00:06:44,780 You never understood why. 93 00:06:44,780 --> 00:06:47,540 Why didn't I get an invitation? 94 00:06:47,540 --> 00:06:52,940 Or maybe it was during one of your jobs that you had, and there was this habit in the office 95 00:06:52,940 --> 00:06:57,580 that every Friday after work, everybody would go out for pizza and wings together, and for 96 00:06:57,580 --> 00:07:02,040 some reason, they never invited you to go along with them, and that kind of hurt. 97 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:03,740 You felt very excluded and left out. 98 00:07:03,740 --> 00:07:08,060 You would just kind of go home at the end of the day on Friday while everybody else 99 00:07:08,060 --> 00:07:10,820 went out, and it was hurtful. 100 00:07:10,820 --> 00:07:14,900 Or maybe you were expecting to get invited to someone's wedding because you thought you 101 00:07:14,900 --> 00:07:18,820 were close to them, and you waited for the invitation, and you waited, and you waited, 102 00:07:18,820 --> 00:07:25,020 and you checked the mailbox every day, but you just never got that invitation. 103 00:07:25,020 --> 00:07:27,140 You never got that invitation. 104 00:07:27,140 --> 00:07:31,420 We've all maybe experienced that feeling of being excluded. 105 00:07:31,420 --> 00:07:36,020 In fact, my wife, Sally, she told me that I could share this story with you, but once 106 00:07:36,020 --> 00:07:40,860 when her family was moving to a new town, it was right in the middle of the school year, 107 00:07:40,860 --> 00:07:46,180 and one of the hardest things was for her to kind of feel included in the new school 108 00:07:46,180 --> 00:07:49,500 that she was part of, and she didn't feel included. 109 00:07:49,500 --> 00:07:50,660 Everybody already had their groups. 110 00:07:50,660 --> 00:07:54,380 Everybody already had their friendships, and it was especially at lunchtime, it was hard 111 00:07:54,380 --> 00:08:00,700 to find someone to sit with, and so in fact, for the first month that she was at that school, 112 00:08:00,700 --> 00:08:01,700 can you believe it? 113 00:08:01,700 --> 00:08:08,860 She ate her lunch in the bathroom because she didn't feel included, and actually, I 114 00:08:08,860 --> 00:08:13,060 think that's probably one of the reasons why Sally's such a great newcomer and connections 115 00:08:13,060 --> 00:08:20,220 director here at Trinity is because like you, she knows what it feels like to be excluded. 116 00:08:20,220 --> 00:08:24,980 Whenever I see a picture of somebody eating alone, I always do feel a little bit sad, 117 00:08:24,980 --> 00:08:28,620 and that's maybe a bad judgment because maybe some people eat alone because they want to 118 00:08:28,620 --> 00:08:33,300 eat alone or they have work to do or they're making a phone call or reading the newspaper 119 00:08:33,300 --> 00:08:38,660 or whatever, but it's still something just makes me feel a little sad because I think 120 00:08:38,660 --> 00:08:46,860 we all really do long to be included and to be welcomed in, and if that's not concerning 121 00:08:46,860 --> 00:08:52,700 enough, we may also have this deep niggling question within us. 122 00:08:52,700 --> 00:08:53,700 What about God? 123 00:08:53,700 --> 00:08:57,380 Am I included with God? 124 00:08:57,380 --> 00:09:00,420 Will God welcome me in? 125 00:09:00,420 --> 00:09:02,180 We've all done things we're ashamed of. 126 00:09:02,180 --> 00:09:03,180 We've all hurt people. 127 00:09:03,180 --> 00:09:08,180 We've said things, and we may wonder, deep down, we may wonder, geez, does God want me 128 00:09:08,180 --> 00:09:10,940 on the guest list? 129 00:09:10,940 --> 00:09:16,260 When the end of my life comes and I go to that heavenly mailbox and open it up, will 130 00:09:16,260 --> 00:09:22,620 there in fact be an invitation for me to be with God? 131 00:09:22,620 --> 00:09:28,580 Now that is what the story of Zacchaeus is all about, and we're going to get to that 132 00:09:28,580 --> 00:09:33,380 in a second, but this story answers a very important question very clearly for us. 133 00:09:33,380 --> 00:09:35,700 The question is, do we matter to God? 134 00:09:35,700 --> 00:09:39,900 If the question is, are we important to God or are we included by God, then here's a 135 00:09:39,900 --> 00:09:41,240 spoiler alert. 136 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:47,500 The answer is yes, we are, because Jesus doesn't want to condemn you. 137 00:09:47,500 --> 00:09:48,740 He wants to invite you. 138 00:09:48,740 --> 00:09:54,260 He does want to change all of us, of course, but he wants to be with us, and this is one 139 00:09:54,260 --> 00:09:58,560 of the hardest things that I think we can get our heads around is this, is that Jesus 140 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:03,380 wants to be with us just the way that we are right now. 141 00:10:03,380 --> 00:10:10,400 You see, our culture conditions us to believe that if we want to be included, if we want 142 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:15,580 to be liked, if we want to be invited with others, then it depends on a few things. 143 00:10:15,580 --> 00:10:19,500 I've actually given you some notes and you can follow along if you want to get some of 144 00:10:19,500 --> 00:10:24,180 these, but one of the things that we look for to find significance and to feel like 145 00:10:24,180 --> 00:10:28,100 we're included is we ask the question, well, how do I look? 146 00:10:28,100 --> 00:10:33,060 We work so hard on our appearance because we believe that the better looking we are, 147 00:10:33,060 --> 00:10:35,700 the more people will want to be with us. 148 00:10:35,700 --> 00:10:40,140 And there's a whole advertising and entertainment industry out there that tells us every day, 149 00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:44,900 the more beautiful you are, the more you will be included. 150 00:10:44,900 --> 00:10:49,900 And we actually equate our appearance with our significance. 151 00:10:49,900 --> 00:10:58,760 Well, I just want to say this, the trouble with that is most of us are not all that stunning. 152 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:04,660 I'm looking around the room here this morning and I mean, no offense, but most of us are 153 00:11:04,660 --> 00:11:07,020 pretty average looking Joes. 154 00:11:07,020 --> 00:11:13,420 And so if us being included in life depends on us being like great looking and on appearance, 155 00:11:13,420 --> 00:11:15,820 then I think we're all in a little bit of trouble. 156 00:11:15,820 --> 00:11:18,420 The second question though is what do I own? 157 00:11:18,420 --> 00:11:19,420 Right? 158 00:11:19,420 --> 00:11:22,340 Meaning if I have lots of money, then I'll have lots of friends. 159 00:11:22,340 --> 00:11:26,380 If I have the right possessions, then I'll be surrounded by the right people. 160 00:11:26,380 --> 00:11:30,180 So get the right house, get the right car, the right shoes, the right hoodie, the right 161 00:11:30,180 --> 00:11:35,740 phone, go on the right vacations, attend the right school, and then you'll be included. 162 00:11:35,740 --> 00:11:42,820 This is what culture tells us because we equate status with stuff and we equate self worth 163 00:11:42,820 --> 00:11:45,220 with our net worth. 164 00:11:45,220 --> 00:11:46,220 How do I look? 165 00:11:46,220 --> 00:11:47,220 What do I own? 166 00:11:47,220 --> 00:11:48,880 Or what have I done? 167 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:49,980 What have I accomplished? 168 00:11:49,980 --> 00:11:52,300 A lot of people today are workaholics. 169 00:11:52,300 --> 00:11:55,980 They work nonstop because they believe that it's through their accomplishments that they're 170 00:11:55,980 --> 00:12:00,440 going to be included and invited to be with the people they want to be with. 171 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,820 The more trophies you have, the more plaques you have, the more accolades you have, well 172 00:12:04,820 --> 00:12:08,060 then the more friends that you'll have. 173 00:12:08,060 --> 00:12:12,860 And really this all kind of gets summed up in this last one, but how well am I like? 174 00:12:12,860 --> 00:12:15,980 That's a question that drives us all the time. 175 00:12:15,980 --> 00:12:21,220 And it is easy to spend your entire life trying to please certain groups of people and trying 176 00:12:21,220 --> 00:12:24,420 to get others to approve of us. 177 00:12:24,420 --> 00:12:29,100 If I could only get them to like me, well then things would be great. 178 00:12:29,100 --> 00:12:34,460 If I could only get my parents' approval, then my life would finally turn around. 179 00:12:34,460 --> 00:12:38,860 And just as a side note, if you haven't got your parents' approval yet, you're probably 180 00:12:38,860 --> 00:12:41,780 not getting it. 181 00:12:41,780 --> 00:12:46,980 If you want to be included in life, if you want to be invited and welcomed in by others, 182 00:12:46,980 --> 00:12:48,460 then how do you look? 183 00:12:48,460 --> 00:12:50,220 What do you own? 184 00:12:50,220 --> 00:12:53,820 What have you done and how well are you like? 185 00:12:53,820 --> 00:12:57,820 But do you see how unstable all of these things are? 186 00:12:57,820 --> 00:13:00,180 Because as the saying goes, beauty fades. 187 00:13:00,180 --> 00:13:04,860 It doesn't matter how good looking you are today, it's going to fade away. 188 00:13:04,860 --> 00:13:05,860 What do I own? 189 00:13:05,860 --> 00:13:10,740 Well, money comes and money goes and every single possession you own will one day just 190 00:13:10,740 --> 00:13:14,080 be worn out and turned to dust. 191 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,100 Even your greatest achievements are going to be surpassed. 192 00:13:17,100 --> 00:13:20,220 Somebody's going to come along and do what you did and do it even better and the history 193 00:13:20,220 --> 00:13:23,180 books will not remember you. 194 00:13:23,180 --> 00:13:29,780 And you know that friendships can change on a dime and that you cannot make everyone like 195 00:13:29,780 --> 00:13:30,780 you. 196 00:13:30,780 --> 00:13:33,220 I've learned that lesson. 197 00:13:33,220 --> 00:13:40,940 Tim Keller once said that what we think about ourselves doesn't define us. 198 00:13:40,940 --> 00:13:47,140 But what the most important person in our life thinks about us defines us. 199 00:13:47,140 --> 00:13:48,380 So who is that for you? 200 00:13:48,380 --> 00:13:50,900 Whose opinion are you hanging on? 201 00:13:50,900 --> 00:13:51,900 Right? 202 00:13:51,900 --> 00:13:53,380 Is it a parent? 203 00:13:53,380 --> 00:13:58,060 Is it a spouse, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a friend, a boss, some colleague? 204 00:13:58,060 --> 00:14:03,580 You are so concerned with what that person thinks about you that that defines your self-worth. 205 00:14:03,580 --> 00:14:08,700 And if only they would include you, then you would feel included. 206 00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:13,940 Your self-worth is dictated by what the most important person in your life thinks about 207 00:14:13,940 --> 00:14:14,940 you. 208 00:14:14,940 --> 00:14:21,140 And if that is true, then wouldn't it make sense for you to make Jesus Christ the most 209 00:14:21,140 --> 00:14:23,540 important person in your life? 210 00:14:23,540 --> 00:14:26,980 Because I can tell you what he thinks about you. 211 00:14:26,980 --> 00:14:29,460 He's crazy about you. 212 00:14:29,460 --> 00:14:31,100 He loves you. 213 00:14:31,100 --> 00:14:37,560 He thinks you're precious and so, so valuable no matter what the world might say. 214 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:43,020 Now this brings us to our reading this morning from Luke's Gospel, chapter 19, the story 215 00:14:43,020 --> 00:14:44,020 of Zacchaeus. 216 00:14:44,020 --> 00:14:51,620 Oh, and by the way, by the way, Zacchaeus doesn't especially do well on this list either, 217 00:14:51,620 --> 00:14:52,620 does he? 218 00:14:52,620 --> 00:14:55,620 I mean, what do we know about how Zacchaeus looked? 219 00:14:55,620 --> 00:14:58,380 The scriptures tell us that Zacchaeus was short. 220 00:14:58,380 --> 00:15:01,820 The song tells us he was a wee little man. 221 00:15:01,820 --> 00:15:07,420 And in Luke 19, the word for short there actually means kind of abnormally short. 222 00:15:07,420 --> 00:15:14,940 The legend has it, you know, the legend that Zacchaeus was the shortest person in Jericho. 223 00:15:14,940 --> 00:15:19,300 And maybe today we would call him a person with dwarfism. 224 00:15:19,300 --> 00:15:20,420 I don't know. 225 00:15:20,420 --> 00:15:25,960 But probably throughout his whole life, Zacchaeus was laughed at and ridiculed for being short. 226 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,020 Now that second one, what does he own? 227 00:15:28,020 --> 00:15:30,980 Yes, he probably did pretty well when it came to that category. 228 00:15:30,980 --> 00:15:34,820 We are told that he was a wealthy tax collector. 229 00:15:34,820 --> 00:15:39,140 And those next two questions, I mean, that's strike two and strike three. 230 00:15:39,140 --> 00:15:43,700 What have I done and how well am I liked? 231 00:15:43,700 --> 00:15:47,580 The Roman tax collecting system was corrupt to the court. 232 00:15:47,580 --> 00:15:54,940 To even become a tax collector, you had to bribe somebody, which means that Zacchaeus 233 00:15:54,940 --> 00:15:56,500 was not an honest man. 234 00:15:56,500 --> 00:16:00,460 And he was the chief tax collector, we're told, the chief tax collector, which meant 235 00:16:00,460 --> 00:16:04,340 that he headed up the whole racket. 236 00:16:04,340 --> 00:16:09,020 And so if, and you know that tax collectors actually, they don't even really get paid. 237 00:16:09,020 --> 00:16:12,780 The idea is you just collect the taxes that Rome wants you to collect and then you collect 238 00:16:12,780 --> 00:16:15,020 whatever you want on top of that. 239 00:16:15,020 --> 00:16:16,140 Rome doesn't care. 240 00:16:16,140 --> 00:16:19,460 As long as they get their share, you can keep the rest. 241 00:16:19,460 --> 00:16:23,260 And so basically you were this thug and everybody hated you. 242 00:16:23,260 --> 00:16:28,460 In fact, the Old Testament puts tax collectors in the same category as murderers. 243 00:16:28,460 --> 00:16:32,900 And so no, people did not like Zacchaeus. 244 00:16:32,900 --> 00:16:37,940 I don't even think Zacchaeus liked Zacchaeus. 245 00:16:37,940 --> 00:16:44,620 It is hard to be happy with who you are when you have this sense of guilt going on inside 246 00:16:44,620 --> 00:16:46,300 of you. 247 00:16:46,300 --> 00:16:49,460 So Zacchaeus struck out in just about all of these categories. 248 00:16:49,460 --> 00:16:54,820 And yet in the story, the amazing thing about this story, Jesus still eats with him. 249 00:16:54,820 --> 00:16:59,920 Jesus still wants to be with him and includes him. 250 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:04,260 This teaches us four things that I got to share with you this morning. 251 00:17:04,260 --> 00:17:07,080 Okay, so here's the first one. 252 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:13,340 No matter how small you feel, Jesus notices you. 253 00:17:13,340 --> 00:17:18,520 See this story begins by telling us that Zacchaeus really wanted to see Jesus. 254 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:20,940 So he runs down the street and he climbs a tree. 255 00:17:20,940 --> 00:17:25,900 This is an incredibly undignified thing to do, of course, for a first century Middle 256 00:17:25,900 --> 00:17:30,140 Eastern businessman to run, much less climb a tree. 257 00:17:30,140 --> 00:17:33,720 But Zacchaeus really, really, really wanted to get a sneak peek at Jesus. 258 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:39,240 But the irony of the story is that when Jesus comes by, it's not actually that we're told 259 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:44,300 Zacchaeus saw Jesus, but we're told that Jesus saw Zacchaeus. 260 00:17:44,300 --> 00:17:49,860 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and called Zacchaeus' name. 261 00:17:49,860 --> 00:17:51,380 Now just imagine that. 262 00:17:51,380 --> 00:17:55,840 Zacchaeus went looking for Jesus, but it's Jesus who noticed Zacchaeus. 263 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,100 Now how did that even happen? 264 00:17:58,100 --> 00:17:59,100 Why on earth? 265 00:17:59,100 --> 00:18:04,820 How could it be that this one person gets singled out and noticed by Jesus? 266 00:18:04,820 --> 00:18:10,340 It seems to insinuate that Jesus knew exactly where Zacchaeus was. 267 00:18:10,340 --> 00:18:17,140 So yes, no matter how small you may feel, Jesus notices you. 268 00:18:17,140 --> 00:18:19,660 And this is a little an aside. 269 00:18:19,660 --> 00:18:24,540 Doesn't it remind us just how important it is for us to notice others in our own lives 270 00:18:24,540 --> 00:18:30,660 as well, to stop and pay attention to the people who we walk by each and every day, 271 00:18:30,660 --> 00:18:32,700 to stop our busy lives? 272 00:18:32,700 --> 00:18:38,060 It's one of the greatest gifts we can give to someone is just to notice them. 273 00:18:38,060 --> 00:18:39,460 And Jesus does this. 274 00:18:39,460 --> 00:18:44,060 No matter how small Zacchaeus is, he's noticed. 275 00:18:44,060 --> 00:18:53,060 Now I don't know what's going on in your life, whether you're up a tree, financially up 276 00:18:53,060 --> 00:18:58,660 a tree, or whether you are personally out on a limb somehow, or whether you are just 277 00:18:58,660 --> 00:19:03,880 hanging on for dear life, spiritually speaking. 278 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:07,100 But you could be sitting there saying, nobody sees what's going on. 279 00:19:07,100 --> 00:19:09,260 Nobody knows what's happening in my life. 280 00:19:09,260 --> 00:19:12,660 No one's noticing how much I'm struggling. 281 00:19:12,660 --> 00:19:18,740 But you couldn't be further from the truth because God knows exactly where you are right 282 00:19:18,740 --> 00:19:20,220 now. 283 00:19:20,220 --> 00:19:30,540 Okay, secondly, not only does God notice us, but God knows us, right? 284 00:19:30,540 --> 00:19:36,020 No matter who else out there may ignore you or not care who you are, Jesus knows you and 285 00:19:36,020 --> 00:19:37,780 wants to know you. 286 00:19:37,780 --> 00:19:42,600 Jesus looked up in the tree that day and he did not say, hey, what's your face? 287 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:44,980 Or he'd say, hey, you loser, come on, come on down. 288 00:19:44,980 --> 00:19:49,700 No, what he said was Zacchaeus come down. 289 00:19:49,700 --> 00:19:52,660 He called Zacchaeus by name. 290 00:19:52,660 --> 00:19:55,660 How on earth did he even know Zacchaeus' name? 291 00:19:55,660 --> 00:20:00,960 It would be shocking, wouldn't it, to hear Jesus call out your name when you had never 292 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,580 even met him before. 293 00:20:04,580 --> 00:20:11,260 What's even more shocking this is, do you know what the name Zacchaeus means? 294 00:20:11,260 --> 00:20:17,940 Zacchaeus comes from the Greek root zake, which means pure or innocent. 295 00:20:17,940 --> 00:20:24,460 So Zacchaeus' name actually means pure one or innocent one. 296 00:20:24,460 --> 00:20:28,140 Now if there was ever a person in the world who deserved the name pure one or innocent 297 00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:33,140 one, surely it should not be Zacchaeus. 298 00:20:33,140 --> 00:20:37,260 And I am sure that Zacchaeus had been called a lot of names in his life, you know, from 299 00:20:37,260 --> 00:20:41,900 the time he was a kid, hey shorty, short stuff, half pint, whatever, to the time he was an 300 00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:47,340 adult when every day I'm sure the passersby were yelling out expletives, words that I 301 00:20:47,340 --> 00:20:57,620 can't even use in church to describe who Zacchaeus was, because they knew what he had done. 302 00:20:57,620 --> 00:21:02,980 And they probably had never uttered, I wonder when the last time Zacchaeus heard someone 303 00:21:02,980 --> 00:21:05,140 use his name to describe him. 304 00:21:05,140 --> 00:21:08,040 When was the last time he was actually called by name? 305 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,540 Because people knew what that name meant. 306 00:21:10,540 --> 00:21:15,000 It meant pure one and Zacchaeus was not a pure one at all. 307 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:22,900 So while everyone excludes him, Jesus comes along and says, hey pure one, come down, let's 308 00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:26,060 go to your house. 309 00:21:26,060 --> 00:21:29,020 And Jesus I think can only be doing one thing here. 310 00:21:29,020 --> 00:21:36,500 He is seeing in Zacchaeus not all of his problems, but he's seeing his potential. 311 00:21:36,500 --> 00:21:44,100 He's not seeing Zacchaeus' past, but he's seeing the possibilities for Zacchaeus' future. 312 00:21:44,100 --> 00:21:49,140 You know, I would say good parents know this, that if all you do is harp on your kids and 313 00:21:49,140 --> 00:21:53,260 beat your kids down and tell them what they're doing wrong and all the problems that they 314 00:21:53,260 --> 00:21:56,260 have in your life, that is not going to go well. 315 00:21:56,260 --> 00:21:58,020 That is not going to go well, right? 316 00:21:58,020 --> 00:22:02,780 But good parents actually are constantly reminding their kids of who they are and who they were 317 00:22:02,780 --> 00:22:07,580 made to be and what their potential could be, because when you call someone by their 318 00:22:07,580 --> 00:22:12,180 potential, you actually help them live into that potential. 319 00:22:12,180 --> 00:22:13,580 And the same is true for us. 320 00:22:13,580 --> 00:22:19,820 God didn't send Jesus to speak words of condemnation to you and to point out all your faults to 321 00:22:19,820 --> 00:22:22,340 you and all the things you've done wrong. 322 00:22:22,340 --> 00:22:28,380 No, instead God calls you by name and he says, listen, listen, I know who you are. 323 00:22:28,380 --> 00:22:34,180 I made you and I know what you're meant to be. 324 00:22:34,180 --> 00:22:40,140 So no, not loser, not, not idiot, not bleep, whatever they call Zacchaeus, right? 325 00:22:40,140 --> 00:22:42,580 Pure one, Zacchaeus, come down. 326 00:22:42,580 --> 00:22:46,460 I'm going to eat at your house today. 327 00:22:46,460 --> 00:22:52,700 No matter who ignores you, Jesus knows you. 328 00:22:52,700 --> 00:23:00,460 And thirdly, this story tells us that no matter what you've done, Jesus wants you. 329 00:23:00,460 --> 00:23:03,020 Zacchaeus is about as guilty as anyone I can think of. 330 00:23:03,020 --> 00:23:05,660 Deep down, we're not that different, are we? 331 00:23:05,660 --> 00:23:07,820 I mean, like Zacchaeus, we've all screwed up. 332 00:23:07,820 --> 00:23:11,860 We probably all sold out at one time or another. 333 00:23:11,860 --> 00:23:16,140 You know, I'm not the father I should be. 334 00:23:16,140 --> 00:23:17,940 I'm not the husband I should be. 335 00:23:17,940 --> 00:23:19,620 I'm not the pastor, the friend. 336 00:23:19,620 --> 00:23:22,020 There's so many ways in which I fall short. 337 00:23:22,020 --> 00:23:26,300 And there's so many ways in which you fall short of the person that you are called to 338 00:23:26,300 --> 00:23:32,700 be and yet, and yet Jesus still wants to eat with me and Jesus still wants to eat with 339 00:23:32,700 --> 00:23:34,300 you too. 340 00:23:34,300 --> 00:23:36,980 You may say, oh gosh, surely I have to clean up my act first. 341 00:23:36,980 --> 00:23:40,680 I got to get my life in order, fix my life, be a better person. 342 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:45,940 But does Jesus say, Zacchaeus, if you give away half of what you have to the poor, I 343 00:23:45,940 --> 00:23:48,220 will come and visit you. 344 00:23:48,220 --> 00:23:51,780 Or does he say, Zacchaeus, if you pay back everyone you have wronged four times what 345 00:23:51,780 --> 00:23:55,260 you took from them, then I will invite you into my presence. 346 00:23:55,260 --> 00:23:57,020 No, that is not how it works. 347 00:23:57,020 --> 00:24:00,460 That is the wrong order of grace. 348 00:24:00,460 --> 00:24:02,300 Grace works the other way around. 349 00:24:02,300 --> 00:24:07,860 While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. 350 00:24:07,860 --> 00:24:12,240 And Jesus says, I want to be with you now, not later. 351 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:22,080 Even though you and me, we may still be swimming in sin, Jesus still wants to be with us. 352 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,100 So no matter how small you feel, Jesus notices you. 353 00:24:25,100 --> 00:24:28,100 No matter who ignores you, Jesus knows you. 354 00:24:28,100 --> 00:24:29,860 And no matter what you've done, Jesus wants you. 355 00:24:29,860 --> 00:24:37,500 And finally, and quickly, no matter what others say, Jesus affirms you. 356 00:24:37,500 --> 00:24:40,660 Look at the reaction of all the people who were there that day. 357 00:24:40,660 --> 00:24:46,180 All the people saw this and they began to mutter, oh goodness, he's going to be the 358 00:24:46,180 --> 00:24:49,920 guest of a sinner. 359 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:53,580 You may know what it's like to be called names or labeled by others. 360 00:24:53,580 --> 00:24:56,660 People have said all sorts of horrible things to you, maybe to your face, behind your back, 361 00:24:56,660 --> 00:24:59,060 or especially these days online. 362 00:24:59,060 --> 00:25:03,380 But listen, it doesn't matter what names people call you or may call you. 363 00:25:03,380 --> 00:25:08,420 What matters is that Jesus affirms you and Jesus defends you. 364 00:25:08,420 --> 00:25:10,440 And here's the scary thing about this story. 365 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:14,900 Who is Jesus defending Zacchaeus against? 366 00:25:14,900 --> 00:25:17,380 Mostly religious people. 367 00:25:17,380 --> 00:25:19,100 Ouch. 368 00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:23,300 Was the religious people who were against Zacchaeus. 369 00:25:23,300 --> 00:25:24,660 Jesus was actually for Zacchaeus. 370 00:25:24,660 --> 00:25:28,620 It was all the churchgoers and the religious people who were against him. 371 00:25:28,620 --> 00:25:37,540 And I have to say, unfortunately, today, the church is known more for who it is against 372 00:25:37,540 --> 00:25:41,620 than who it is for. 373 00:25:41,620 --> 00:25:43,180 Christianity is against this. 374 00:25:43,180 --> 00:25:45,720 The church is against that. 375 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:50,020 I don't know how the most inclusive message, the most loving message, the greatest message 376 00:25:50,020 --> 00:25:56,380 that the world has ever known got somehow turned upside down to the point where many 377 00:25:56,380 --> 00:26:02,620 people think that the church is against them rather than for them, that God is against 378 00:26:02,620 --> 00:26:04,740 them rather than for them. 379 00:26:04,740 --> 00:26:12,940 The story of Zacchaeus shows us no matter what other people say, Jesus affirms you. 380 00:26:12,940 --> 00:26:14,420 So let's wrap up. 381 00:26:14,420 --> 00:26:17,140 How do we respond to a story like this? 382 00:26:17,140 --> 00:26:21,780 You can't just read a story like this and go home and watch TV and remain unchanged. 383 00:26:21,780 --> 00:26:25,460 This is calling us to change in radical, radical ways. 384 00:26:25,460 --> 00:26:28,940 So here's the first possible response we could take from this story. 385 00:26:28,940 --> 00:26:33,380 And that is simply this, to take Jesus home. 386 00:26:33,380 --> 00:26:39,840 Did you know that in the language of the scriptures, to go and stay at someone's house in those 387 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:43,420 days actually meant room and board? 388 00:26:43,420 --> 00:26:47,420 So if you understand that, then what Jesus was doing when he went to Zacchaeus' house 389 00:26:47,420 --> 00:26:49,000 is he wasn't just going for dinner. 390 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,140 He was going to stay for a little while. 391 00:26:52,140 --> 00:26:53,140 Hey, Zacchaeus. 392 00:26:53,140 --> 00:26:56,780 Do you mind if I move in for a few days? 393 00:26:56,780 --> 00:27:01,220 Zacchaeus, therefore, was not just inviting Jesus to a one-off dinner. 394 00:27:01,220 --> 00:27:06,900 He was inviting Jesus into the very center of his daily life. 395 00:27:06,900 --> 00:27:11,540 And in Middle Eastern culture, the center of daily life, and in fact, the most intimate 396 00:27:11,540 --> 00:27:15,360 place in daily life, was the table. 397 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:18,100 It was the family home. 398 00:27:18,100 --> 00:27:23,980 So I hope all of us can take Jesus home with us today, because the point of what we're 399 00:27:23,980 --> 00:27:28,940 doing here every Sunday is not just to get you to come back here next week to hear more 400 00:27:28,940 --> 00:27:30,820 about Jesus next week. 401 00:27:30,820 --> 00:27:36,940 Our goal is rather for you to take Jesus home into the center of your life, because that's 402 00:27:36,940 --> 00:27:39,840 exactly what Zacchaeus did. 403 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:41,820 That's one way to respond. 404 00:27:41,820 --> 00:27:47,260 A second way to respond is this, and that is to be generous to others. 405 00:27:47,260 --> 00:27:55,300 The way we know for sure that Zacchaeus' conversion was real is that he became incredibly generous 406 00:27:55,300 --> 00:27:57,020 with other people. 407 00:27:57,020 --> 00:28:02,180 Zacchaeus stood up and he said to the Lord, look, here, I am giving half of my possessions 408 00:28:02,180 --> 00:28:03,520 to the poor. 409 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:08,980 If I've cheated anyone, I'll give them four times what I took. 410 00:28:08,980 --> 00:28:14,940 This is a telltale sign of someone who has had an encounter, really had an encounter 411 00:28:14,940 --> 00:28:15,940 with Jesus. 412 00:28:15,940 --> 00:28:18,060 Their attitude toward money changes. 413 00:28:18,060 --> 00:28:22,980 Their attitude toward their possessions just changes, because now Jesus has become their 414 00:28:22,980 --> 00:28:25,980 true treasure. 415 00:28:25,980 --> 00:28:30,100 And then finally, as we leave this place, here's one more thing that we can do. 416 00:28:30,100 --> 00:28:34,500 As I said earlier, let's make sure we pay attention to others. 417 00:28:34,500 --> 00:28:36,460 Jesus noticed Zacchaeus. 418 00:28:36,460 --> 00:28:40,460 In a crowd of hundreds, he noticed him, he saw him. 419 00:28:40,460 --> 00:28:46,140 Let's make sure that we are paying attention and looking for others, that we don't just 420 00:28:46,140 --> 00:28:51,660 walk by those people who are up a tree or out on a limb or hanging on for dear life, 421 00:28:51,660 --> 00:28:59,540 but that we look at them in the eye, that we call them by name and we say, hey, I want 422 00:28:59,540 --> 00:29:06,740 to be with you, just like Jesus wants to be with you too. 423 00:29:06,740 --> 00:29:07,740 Thanks be to God. 424 00:29:07,740 --> 00:29:08,740 Amen. 425 00:29:08,740 --> 00:29:13,740 Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 426 00:29:13,740 --> 00:29:18,980 This episode was recorded at Trinity Church, Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario on September 427 00:29:18,980 --> 00:29:39,340 29th, 2024.