WWJD
Luke 19:1-10
Pastor Brian
Fort Bend Community Church
English Service
2017.07.30
Introduction
If you have only ten days to live, what are you going to do TODAY?
TODAY is Sunday, July 30. If you are going to die on August 9, the following Wednesday, what are you going to do TODAY?
For me, I would spend today with my lovely wife, my son and my daughter-in-law. Or maybe I would fly to Singapore to see my daughter. Maybe I would stop by Hong Kong and enjoy my last meal of my favorite wanton noodle soup.
What would you do today if you have only 10 days to live? What you would to today reflects your priority of life, your value system, and the purpose of life, won't they?
What would Jesus do (WWJD) if he had only 10 days to live? Let us find out from today's passage, Luke 19:1-10.
Scene 1
"Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through." (v. 1)
When:
Jesus was on his way to his final visit to Jerusalem, where he was going to die for sinners like us. And Jesus, being the Son of God, knew it all along that the day was very near, probably about only 10 days from Friday, when he was crucified and died.
Where:
Most biblical scholars believe that Jesus died on Friday, April 7, 30 AD. When Jesus passed through the city of Jericho, he was about 22 miles from Jerusalem. He was on the final approach to his death.
Who:
In the city of Jericho, "there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus." (v. 2). Luke tells us three things about this man:
1. His name is Zaccheus. In Hebrew, it means "clean, pure." But he was anything but clean or pure.
2. He was a chief tax collector. One of the three chief tax collectors in all of Palestine. Because of this,
3. He was rich.
We know that every Jew in Jesus' time hated the tax collectors.
First, no one likes to pay taxes, especially when the government was an oppressive regime like the Roman Empire.
Second, the tax collectors were Jews, who were working for the hated Romans. To the Jews, they were traitors.
Third, it was common knowledge that the tax collectors cheated. They would collect more than required and keep the extra for themselves. And everyone knew it and hated it. The tax collectors were rich. This further separated them from the lower classes, who resented the injustice of their having to support their lavish lifestyle.
Finally, the tax collectors were ostracized from the society, hated by the Jews. And they formed their own clique.
"Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was." (v. 3a). He was curious. We don't know why he wanted to see who Jesus was. Maybe he knew his fellow tax collector, Matthew, who became one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. And he wondered why and he wanted to see what Jesus was.
Scene 2
When Jesus came to Jericho, a crowd gathered around him. Zaccheus "was unable to see because of the crowd for he was small in statue." (v. 3b)
Apparently, Zaccheus was a shorty. He could not see. The crowd was blocking him. "So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus." (v. 4).
This is a picture of a sycamore tree in Jericho, Israel today. Not a particularly tall tree. It has a mushroom like head. Easy to climb and hide in. Zaccheus was so determined to see who Jesus was. In his expensive rich man suit, he climbed up into the tree. He sat there waiting for Jesus and the crowd to pass through. All he wanted was just to see, to take a look who Jesus was.
"When Jesus came to the place" under the tree, "he looked up and said to him, 'Zaccheus! Hurry and come down for today I must stay at your house." (v. 5)
It was a very interesting scene here. Zaccheus was up in the tree. Jesus was down there looking up. First, Jesus called him by his name, "Zaccheus!" Zaccheus must be shocked. How in the world did Jesus know him by his name! They had never met.
There are two possibilities:
1. Maybe Zaccheus was pretty well known in Jericho. He was one of three chief tax collectors in the land. Everybody knew him. He was easy to identify. He was a shorty.
2. Maybe it was super-natural. Jesus is God. Of course, he knew Zaccheus by his name. It was his all knowing super-natural power. All my English pastoral staff thinks that it was super-natural here.
Zaccheus must have been so shocked. "Jesus knew my name." He must have felt very special. Not only that, Jesus asked him to come down quickly. A direct command. Come down quickly, because Jesus gave an incredible offer to Zaccheus. "For today I must stay at your house."
The shocking word is the word, "MUST"! I must. It is a self-imposed obligation. It is required by obligation that I must stay at your house. It was a willful choice I make myself to stay at your house.
In the original Greek sentence, the word, "TODAY" was emphasized at the beginning of the sentence. "TODAY at the house of your MUST I stay."
TODAY, not a future date!
TODAY, not tomorrow!
TODAY, not ten days later!
There was an urgency and immediacy to this self-imposed obligation. It was TODAY that mattered. "I must stay with you at your house, Zaccheus."
There are not many things that must be done TODAY, ain't they? Especially if I have only ten days to live! For sure I would not watch a Texans training camp practice today if I have only ten days to live. For sure I would not spend two hours today to look for the best deal to save $10, would you? For sure I would not even go to work today if I have only 10 days to live.
There are more important things, one urgent things TODAY that I must do. Jesus said, "Zaccheus! TODAY I must stay at your house" knowing fully that he had only about ten days to live. Why staying at his house was so important to Jesus? Why spending time with a total stranger, a sinner hated by everyone? Why? Why? Why?
"And Zaccheus hurried and came down and received Jesus gladly." (v. 6). See the above picture. He came down quickly, literally jumping down with a big smile on his face.
But the crowd had the same question. They did not understand why Jesus wanted to spend TODAY with Zaccheus, a sinner in everybody's eyes! They were angry and upset! They ALL began to grumble and complained. I would be upset also.
Why? Why did Jesus spend one of his final days with Zaccheus?
Scene 3
"Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord." (v. 8) Between verse 7 and verse 8, there must be a time gap. Verse 7 ends the scene under the sycamore tree. Verse 8 begins at the house of Zaccheus. Perhaps
it was after dinner, after Jesus spent today with Zaccheus. Zaccheus stood up and made a dramatic declaration to the Lord.
He was a changed man! "Look, Lord! Half of my possessions I will give to the poor." (v. 8a). In one sentence he gave away half of his money. If he had 10 millions, that was 5 millions gone. Zaccheus was a changed man. Before money was everything to him. No one wanted to be a tax collector. The only reason that he became a tax collector was money. He wanted the money more than anything else, more than his reputation, more than his social status, more than how people looked at him. Money was everything to him before. But now, in one sentence in response to Jesus, he gave away half of his possessions. He had changed. His value changed because of Jesus.
He was a repented man! "And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." (v. 8b) He admitted his wrongs and was willing to pay retribution for the frauds he did. In the OT, the law says that you need only to pay twice the among you have cheated anyone of anything. But Zaccheus was paying back four times. What an incredible change. If 12.5% of more of his money were the results of cheating and frauds, he would have given back the other half of his possessions. These two statements had practically costed him everything he had.
The story does not tell us what happened between verse 7 and 8. We did not know what did Jesus say to Zaccheus at the dinner table. Did Jesus pull out a four spiritual laws booklet and share the Gospel with him? Did Jesus use the Bridge or the Romans Road? Or did Jesus open the Bible and explain to him the real purpose of life was not about money, not about career, or about girls? The real purpose of life is to share the Gospel with people like Zaccheus? We just don't know. But that is not the point of the story.
All we know is that Jesus spent TODAY with Zaccheus when Jesus knew that he had only about 10 days to live. And as a result, Zaccheus was saved. He was a very different person. Once he was lost; but now he was found. Once he was a money grabber; now salvation has come to him. Jesus said, "TODAY salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham." (v. 9)
Those who have faith in Christ are sons of Abraham. He too is a son of Abraham. He too God loved and vowed to save.
The Editorial Comment
We come to the end of the story. Verse 10 seems to be a statement by the writer, Luke, to explain the significance of the story.
Why did the Gospel write, Luke, included this story right before Jesus went to the cross in about 10 days? Verse 10 explains why. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (v. 10)
The story of Zaccheus illustrates and explains why Jesus was going to the cross. He came to seek and to save that which was lost, people just like Zaccheus. It was Jesus' purpose statement of life. He came for this purpose. Had Jesus not spent the day with Zaccheus, it would not be congruent with him going to the cross. For he died for people like Zaccheus.
Conclusion
When we talk about evangelism today, it is almost like an after-thought. When was the last time you share the Gospel with a non-Christian? There is so much fear in evangelism. The fear of rejection. The fear of political correctness. Our culture teaches tolerance in a multi-cultural world. Sharing our faith is not socially accepted.
Many of us look at evangelism as a debate with the non-Christian. We are fearful that we don't know enough and we end up losing the argument.
But sharing the Gospel is not about knowing enough to win the debate. It is about the purpose of life. How many of us would think that evangelism is the purpose of life just like Jesus? I exist for the purpose of saving souls. It is about intentionality. And if I had only ten days to live, I would spend TODAY to be with a non-Christian sharing the Gospel with him. For this purpose, I exist on earth.
Next week a lot of us are going into Camp Challenge. Every year, we have about 10% non-Christians in the camp. To the youth and counselors, I encourage you to take this opportunity to share the Gospel with them. Don't be afraid. Tell your story of how you have become a Christian. Tell them how your life is changed.
We have many college students coming back in the summer. We would like to welcome you to FBCC. A new school year is around the corner. You will meet new friends, new roommates, and new classmates. Many of them do not know Christ. Would you spend time with them and share the Gospel?
I too grew up in the church. Very few times I went cold turkey evangelism. There was this one time when I was in college. We went to the student center to do evangelism cold turkey style. We met a girl coming our way. We asked her if she had time. We ended up sharing the Four Spiritual Laws with her. And it was the first time she heard the Gospel. And she accepted Christ right there. We couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. She ended up being our bridesmaid in our wedding! Today she is still here, a member of the church.
There was another time a few years ago, my wife and I visited a young man from China. After dinner, we shared Christ with him. He argued with us and showed contempt to the idea of God. We shared the Gospel and he rejected it. Not everything evangelism is resulted in accepting the Gospel.
Those of us who are in the workplace. What would Jesus do in your workplace? Do you share Christ with your colleagues or friends in the workplace? WWJD? It seems that evangelism is totally out of our mind in the workplace. Spiritual passion is one thing and it does not mix well with our secular purpose. Our faith has become self-enrichment, not to be shared.
The story of Zaccheus tells us about Jesus's purpose statement. He had come for the purpose of seeking and saving those who was lost. There are a lot of Zaccheus out there, wanting to see who Jesus was.
Our new life is in Christ. If our new life is to be abundant, we have to aligned it with Christ. His purpose must become our purpose. His goal must be our goal. Today there is so much boredom is the church. No excitement. No joy. Be there and done that. We go to the same small group every week, seeing the same group of people every week. Hear the same issues every week. We know all the Bible stories. We hear all the good speakers and no sermon excites us any more. For the new life to be joyful and abundant, we must share the Gospel for this is the purpose of Christ. We must align our purpose with His purpose. His heart becomes our heart. His life becomes our life.
There is joy in evangelism.
When we moved into our first house, we met our neighbors a few houses down. A young couple. We got to know them and we shared the Gospel with them. They became Christians and today they are our closest friends and coworkers in Christ. Every time I see them and their family, my heart is filled with joy. For Christian life to be abundant, we have to have the same purpose as our Savior--seek and save that which is lost.
What are you going to do TODAY with the rest of your life? What would Jesus do TODAY? There are a lot of Zaccheus out there. Would you spend TODAY with them and show them who Jesus is?
