Saturday was the Fourth of July, a day traditionally set aside to celebrate the freedom that we enjoy here in the United States. As Rich reminded us on Sunday, we are fortunate to have the freedom to receive an education, to vote, and to worship God. In so many other nations, people are denied the freedom that we get to experience every day. However, as monumental as the freedom that we enjoy as citizens of the United States is, there is still a greater freedom available to us. In his message on Sunday, Rich talked about the freedom that Christ brings to the person who is willing to throw down everything – especially fear – and follow Him wholeheartedly.
To demonstrate this greater freedom, Rich used an unlikely character – Zaccheus. Zaccheus is described by Luke as a “notorious sinner” (NLT, Luke 19:7). A tax collector by trade, Zaccheus most likely made his money by extorting innocent people in the name of the government. Rich theorized that because Zaccheus was the chief tax collector, he was probably quite skilled at preying on the innocent. In short, Zaccheus was a scoundrel. When he encounters Jesus, however, a transformation takes place.
Rich explained that by the time Zaccheus encountered Jesus, Jesus was at the height of his public ministry, so Zaccheus had probably seen him from a distance or heard about him from someone else before that encounter. Perhaps Zaccheus had been convicted by the words of Christ, or perhaps he was beginning to be saddened and repentant over his devious actions of late. Either way, by the time we meet him in Luke 19, something is happening inside of his heart. The narrator explains that when Jesus entered Jericho, Zaccheus “was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature” (19:3). There is nothing unusual about Zaccheus’ wanting to see Jesus. An entire crowd of people was trying to do the same. What is unusual, Rich noted, was Zaccheus’ subsequent action: “he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him” (19:4). Rich explained that most men of Zaccheus’ age and social status would have been concerned with their image. Wealthy men did not typically run and climb trees, Rich pointed out. That would have been behavior reserved for children or madmen. But in this instance, Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus so much that he was willing to risk his reputation and image. This risk hints at the change taking place inside of Zaccheus.
When Jesus passed by Zaccheus’ tree, He did something that deeply touched Zaccheus: He called him by name. In his sermon, Rich noted the significance of this act. When someone calls us by name, we feel special. Immediately, our ears perk up and we listen more intently than before because someone has addressed us personally. We have been singled out of the multitude to receive a message that has been tailor-made for us. Zaccheus received this individualized treatment from Jesus. Though the space around Jesus was packed with needy people, all calling to Him and demanding His attention, Jesus’ focus was intently on Zaccheus: “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (19:5). This must have astounded Zaccheus and made him feel loved all at once. Of all the people in the town of Jericho, Zaccheus had been singled out. Jesus had the choice to spend time with almost anyone in the city, but He wanted to spend time with him.
When the crowd saw this exchange, they “began to grumble, saying, ‘He [Jesus] has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner’” (19:7). It is interesting to note that when Zaccheus hears the crowd calling him a sinner, he does not become defensive or angry. Rather, in the new light of Jesus’ love for him, he is free to admit he was wrong. In the next line of the passage, Zaccheus both admits to his sin and turns from it. Rich pointed out that there can be such freedom in admitting that we are wrong. Some people spend a very long time in the prison of pride, unwilling to admit their mistakes and wrongdoings. But when we are willing to acknowledge our wrongdoings and be sorrowful over them, we avail ourselves to God’s forgiveness and grace, which in turn changes our hearts: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret” (NIV, 2 Cor. 7:10). In Zaccheus’ case, his heart was truly sorry over his actions. He had been hurting others and hurting the God who loved him. Zaccheus turns from his ways at that point, stating to Jesus, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much” (19:8).
Rich explained to us that in his response to Jesus, Zaccheus not only had the freedom to admit that he was wrong; he also had the freedom to give. Zaccheus’ encounter with Jesus made him free. “Freedom,” Rich said, “means that we fear less and love more.”
Rich ended the sermon with a prayer. I was so touched by his prayer. I felt like it contained more truth than twenty sermons, so I wrote it down:
“Father, we thank You for your incredible love. Thank You that when we encounter that, it makes a radical difference. We are then free to look at some people and say, ‘you are forgiven,’ even when they don’t deserve it (but then again, neither do we [deserve forgiveness]). When we encounter Your love, we have the freedom to say, ‘Lord, it all belongs to You.’ We have the freedom to stretch ourselves and say, ‘I know my neighbor needs my time. My schedule’s so full, but he needs a gentle touch from You, Lord. I need to go and help him work on that project.’ When we encounter Your love, we have the freedom to live with a higher calling, a calling that You have for us. Father, thank You for all the freedom that You give to us.”
There is much that we can learn from Zaccheus’ story. Most importantly, though, we can get a picture of how Jesus feels about us. Ostensibly, it seemed like Zaccheus was pursuing Jesus. After all, he ran in Jesus’ direction and scaled a tree to see Him. Then he gave everything he had in order to follow the Lord. In reality, however, Jesus had been pursuing Zaccheus long before Zaccheus began pursuing Him. Jesus knew Zaccheus’ name long before He saw him up in that tree and long before the citizens of Jericho began calling Zaccheus a crook. Jesus knew Zaccheus before he was born and had been beckoning to him since day one, even when Zaccheus was steeped in the thickest mire of his sin. At all points during Zaccheus’ life, Jesus was there and loved him. He had been longing for the day that Zaccheus would finally turn from the behavior that was hurting him and others. In precisely the same way, Jesus longs for a relationship with us – one that is not hindered by our fear of looking foolish or our attachment to our possessions. He wants to make us free even more than we want to be free.
Scriptures Referenced in Sermon
Luke 19:1-10
2 Corinthians 7:10
To demonstrate this greater freedom, Rich used an unlikely character – Zaccheus. Zaccheus is described by Luke as a “notorious sinner” (NLT, Luke 19:7). A tax collector by trade, Zaccheus most likely made his money by extorting innocent people in the name of the government. Rich theorized that because Zaccheus was the chief tax collector, he was probably quite skilled at preying on the innocent. In short, Zaccheus was a scoundrel. When he encounters Jesus, however, a transformation takes place.
Rich explained that by the time Zaccheus encountered Jesus, Jesus was at the height of his public ministry, so Zaccheus had probably seen him from a distance or heard about him from someone else before that encounter. Perhaps Zaccheus had been convicted by the words of Christ, or perhaps he was beginning to be saddened and repentant over his devious actions of late. Either way, by the time we meet him in Luke 19, something is happening inside of his heart. The narrator explains that when Jesus entered Jericho, Zaccheus “was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature” (19:3). There is nothing unusual about Zaccheus’ wanting to see Jesus. An entire crowd of people was trying to do the same. What is unusual, Rich noted, was Zaccheus’ subsequent action: “he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him” (19:4). Rich explained that most men of Zaccheus’ age and social status would have been concerned with their image. Wealthy men did not typically run and climb trees, Rich pointed out. That would have been behavior reserved for children or madmen. But in this instance, Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus so much that he was willing to risk his reputation and image. This risk hints at the change taking place inside of Zaccheus.
When Jesus passed by Zaccheus’ tree, He did something that deeply touched Zaccheus: He called him by name. In his sermon, Rich noted the significance of this act. When someone calls us by name, we feel special. Immediately, our ears perk up and we listen more intently than before because someone has addressed us personally. We have been singled out of the multitude to receive a message that has been tailor-made for us. Zaccheus received this individualized treatment from Jesus. Though the space around Jesus was packed with needy people, all calling to Him and demanding His attention, Jesus’ focus was intently on Zaccheus: “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (19:5). This must have astounded Zaccheus and made him feel loved all at once. Of all the people in the town of Jericho, Zaccheus had been singled out. Jesus had the choice to spend time with almost anyone in the city, but He wanted to spend time with him.
When the crowd saw this exchange, they “began to grumble, saying, ‘He [Jesus] has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner’” (19:7). It is interesting to note that when Zaccheus hears the crowd calling him a sinner, he does not become defensive or angry. Rather, in the new light of Jesus’ love for him, he is free to admit he was wrong. In the next line of the passage, Zaccheus both admits to his sin and turns from it. Rich pointed out that there can be such freedom in admitting that we are wrong. Some people spend a very long time in the prison of pride, unwilling to admit their mistakes and wrongdoings. But when we are willing to acknowledge our wrongdoings and be sorrowful over them, we avail ourselves to God’s forgiveness and grace, which in turn changes our hearts: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret” (NIV, 2 Cor. 7:10). In Zaccheus’ case, his heart was truly sorry over his actions. He had been hurting others and hurting the God who loved him. Zaccheus turns from his ways at that point, stating to Jesus, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much” (19:8).
Rich explained to us that in his response to Jesus, Zaccheus not only had the freedom to admit that he was wrong; he also had the freedom to give. Zaccheus’ encounter with Jesus made him free. “Freedom,” Rich said, “means that we fear less and love more.”
Rich ended the sermon with a prayer. I was so touched by his prayer. I felt like it contained more truth than twenty sermons, so I wrote it down:
“Father, we thank You for your incredible love. Thank You that when we encounter that, it makes a radical difference. We are then free to look at some people and say, ‘you are forgiven,’ even when they don’t deserve it (but then again, neither do we [deserve forgiveness]). When we encounter Your love, we have the freedom to say, ‘Lord, it all belongs to You.’ We have the freedom to stretch ourselves and say, ‘I know my neighbor needs my time. My schedule’s so full, but he needs a gentle touch from You, Lord. I need to go and help him work on that project.’ When we encounter Your love, we have the freedom to live with a higher calling, a calling that You have for us. Father, thank You for all the freedom that You give to us.”
There is much that we can learn from Zaccheus’ story. Most importantly, though, we can get a picture of how Jesus feels about us. Ostensibly, it seemed like Zaccheus was pursuing Jesus. After all, he ran in Jesus’ direction and scaled a tree to see Him. Then he gave everything he had in order to follow the Lord. In reality, however, Jesus had been pursuing Zaccheus long before Zaccheus began pursuing Him. Jesus knew Zaccheus’ name long before He saw him up in that tree and long before the citizens of Jericho began calling Zaccheus a crook. Jesus knew Zaccheus before he was born and had been beckoning to him since day one, even when Zaccheus was steeped in the thickest mire of his sin. At all points during Zaccheus’ life, Jesus was there and loved him. He had been longing for the day that Zaccheus would finally turn from the behavior that was hurting him and others. In precisely the same way, Jesus longs for a relationship with us – one that is not hindered by our fear of looking foolish or our attachment to our possessions. He wants to make us free even more than we want to be free.
Scriptures Referenced in Sermon
Luke 19:1-10
2 Corinthians 7:10
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