THE SON OF MAN CAME TO SEEK BROKEN SINNERS
Luke 19:1-10
Pastor Jeremy Mattek – October 30, 2016
You might know that the Chicago Cubs are playing in the World Series right now against the Cleveland Indians. You might also know that the Cubs have not appeared in the World Series for a very long time. The last time the Cubs were in the World Series was 1945. And do you know all the things that did not exist in 1945? Color TV did not exist in 1945. There are currently more than 2200 satellites orbiting the earth. Not one of them was there the last time the Cubs were in the World Series. Super glue didn’t exist back then. Neither did microwaves. Neither did Alaska or Hawaii, or Barbie dolls, or credit cards, or diet soda. The NBA did not exist the last time the Cubs were in the World Series. There are a lot of good things the world has seen since 1945. But until this last week, anyone looking to see the Chicago Cubs in the World Series has been disappointed. And, of course, anyone who has been hoping to see the Cubs win the World Series has been disappointed for much longer. Mavis Bell is a Cubs fan. She is 107-years-old, and not even she was alive the last time the Cubs won the World Series. In other words, she hasn’t had much success seeing one important thing for which she’s been looking.
Is there anything in your life like that? Is there any good thing you’re having a good deal of trouble finding? Sports victories can be pretty important things we’d like to see. But probably not as important as the job you’re hoping to get, happiness in your marriage, or peace in our city. There aren’t many things we hope for more strongly than good news from the doctor after a biopsy, or, at the end of the day, all of our children home safely. But I think you know that not everyone looking for these things ends up seeing them.
I saw a news story recently about a volunteer firefighter in Minnesota named Randy Peterson. Anytime he would get a call asking him to respond to an emergency situation, he would call home on his way to the scene to make sure his kids were safe. But a little over a week ago, as he was on his way to the scene of a car accident, no one picked up when he called home. And when he got to the scene, he found out why. He was responding to the scene of a car accident in which his high school-aged son Carter had been killed.
Some of you know his pain. You know the pain of hoping to see something (or hoping not to see something), only ending up with a lot of tears and disappointment. And if you do, then you have something in common with the man in today’s sermon. His name is Zacchaeus. You might know there’s a kids song about him: "Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see. And when the Savior passed that way, he looked up and said, 'Zacchaeus, you come down, For I'm going to your house today! I'm going to your house today!
That’s a happy little song. But its happy tune can cause us to underappreciate not only the pain that Zacchaeus was in that caused him to climb that tree looking for Jesus, but also the love and power of Jesus that is determined to never disappoint anyone who comes to him with a heart that is hurting.
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ ”8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
At what age does a person stop climbing trees? You might remember the scene from The Sound of Music when the dad and the baroness are driving back to the estate, the kids are hanging from the trees singing Do-Re-Mi, and the barronness says, “My goodness, what is this?” As though even little children shouldn’t be climbing trees and having fun, much less grown adults like Zacchaeus. And yet he did. And in a sycamore-fig tree, nonetheless. The type of tree is significant. The sycamore-fig tree was a symbol of low class poverty. Its fruit was so sour that no one would even think of eating it, unless you really were so poor that you did not have access to any other food besides it. Zacchaeus was a grown and wealthy man who seemed to love being wealthy and wanted no association at all with poverty. Yet he climbed that tree. What Zacchaeus did was not normal. And think about when it is that we do things that are not normal.
Back in 1994, a friend of mine (someone that some of you know – Pastor Ski) took a goat to a Cubs game. That’s not normal either. But it wasn’t the first time someone brought a goat to a Cubs game. The last time the Cubs were in the World Series, back in 1945, a Cubs fan named Billy Sianis bought two tickets to game 4, one for himself and one for his goat. But they told him that his goat stunk and wouldn’t be allowed to stay at the game. He was so mad that he cursed the Cubs, saying, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.” And they haven’t ever since. Ironically, the Cubs advanced to this year’s World Series on the 46th anniversary of Billy Sianis’ death. Some believe that broke the curse. But Pastor Ski tried to break it much earlier. In 1994, as the Cubs were in a horrible slump, having lost 12 games in a row at home, he borrowed a goat from one of his college teachers, went down to Wrigley Field with some friends, talked his way into the game, ended up meeting Ernie Banks, who took the goat and paraded it around the field while all the fans were cheering. The Cubs won that day. Though they finished the season in last place. He took a goat to the game because Cubs fans were desperate to see something they hadn’t seen in a long time. We do things that are not normal when we’re desperate. They were desperate to see a win.
What do you think Zacchaeus was so desperate to see that he felt compelled to climb that tree? To help answer that question, start by answering this one: what type of man did Jesus see when he looked up in that tree? Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, which means that he was not well-liked. He was Jewish. But being a tax collector meant you had to ally yourself with the hated Romans. This would be like you meeting someone who is incredibly passionate about your least-favorite politician (and aren’t those pleasant people to talk with these days?) He was also corrupt. Zacchaeus himself admitted that he cheated the citizens out of money. And everyone knew it. If someone were making political commercials against him, they would have no problem finding enough legitimate dirt to use, which is why, when everyone saw Jesus going to the house of Zacchaeus, the reputation of Jesus took a really big hit. “Oh,” they thought, “that’s what kind of guy Jesus is; either he’s corrupt himself or completely blind to what kind of man he was about to have dinner with.” But he wasn’t.
Jesus knew what kind of man Zacchaeus was. In verse 10, Jesus said that he came to “seek and to save the lost.” But that word lost is flavored with a very particular type of meaning. That word for “lost” literally means someone who is completely broken. That’s what Jesus saw when he looked at Zacchaeus. And for a moment, I want you to stop thinking about Zacchaeus, stop thinking about politicians, stop thinking about Cubs and billy goats, and just think about the times in your life when you kind of feel the same way. When do you feel completely broken; like all your mood, your hope, your confidence, and your joy are completely shattered beyond repair or recognition?
Isn’t it sometimes when our lives resemble the life of Zacchaeus; for example, when you are unliked; when someone has made it clear that you don’t quite meet the standard for which they’re looking? You’re not friends with the right people. You don’t make the right decisions. You’re not the right color, shape, or size. Zacchaeus was a short man. The bible wants us to know that, maybe because it wants us to see someone who was looked over from time to time. Maybe you have been too; for a job, for a promotion, or in a relationship. Maybe you feel like you’re overlooked every day by someone who once stood by your side and promised in front of God and many witnesses that they would never do such a thing.
Zacchaeus was also broken in the sense that he was corrupt. And maybe you wouldn’t describe yourself like that. But if you were a politician, and your opponent were putting together a television ad trying to turn voters against you, in what part of your life would they need to look in order to find the most dirt? ‘He says he’s a family man, but all his kids talk about is how much time he spends working.’ ‘He says he’s fiscally-responsible, but look at how he’s lied on his taxes.’ She says she has your back, but listen to these recorded conversations in which she’s bad-mouthing people behind their back or gossiping.’ ‘They say they have a moral compass, but look at their internet browsing history; look at their alcohol consumption; look at the places they go looking for satisfaction.’ We know where Zacchaeus was broken.
And if he was desperately climbing a tree, it not only meant he was aware of his brokenness. It also meant that every day for him pretty much ended with him feeling the same way: Disappointed. With life. With himself. And how many people in the world does that describe? Do you think more people end each day feeling happy,successful, and satisfied, or anxious, worried, sad, lonely, broken, and pretty well convinced that any attempt to turn things around will not end up working?
That was the case for Jeff and Margaret Boemer. They were expecting a baby girl, but during the second trimester, they learned that their baby girl had a large tumor growing out of her tailbone. The tumor was already as large as the baby, and doctors told them that it would kill their daughter in the womb if nothing were done. They suggested surgery, but that would be incredibly risky, both to the daughter and the mom. It would require taking the baby out of the uterus at 24 weeks, removing the tumor, putting her back in and closing the uterus again. At best, the baby had a 50% chance of surviving. It was possible Margaret would never be able to have children again. It was risky. And Jeff and Margaret weren’t all that confident. It had only been a year since her miscarriage, and there were many days Margaret was afraid this pregnancy was going to end with the same sad disappointment. But they went forward with the surgery. And earlier this month, 12 weeks after the surgery, Margaret was able to hold something she often convinced herself was never coming. Her daughter, alive and healthy and an incredible blessing.
Can you imagine how that must have felt, seeing and holding something so good you were once convinced you never would? Zacchaeus could. Zacchaeus knew he was broken. He knew his life was missing something important. But do you know what he found when Jesus finally walked by him? Someone else making a climb that not too many adults would.
This conversation with Jesus happened in the city of Jericho on a Thursday. 8 days later, Jesus would be in Jerusalem; which means that, over the next 8 days, Jesus would walk more than 20 miles and climb nearly 3500 feet in elevation, and once he reached Jerusalem, climb just a little bit higher onto a tree shaped like a cross where he would be unliked, unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and taken through a procedure that would give him a 0% chance of living; because all he wanted to do was heal, love, forgive, and stay by the side of anyone who has ever been broken, no matter the reason, no matter the sin; assuring them that all the good things we long to see on earth we will one day see right by his side in heaven, the only place where there is no more death, or crying, or pain, where you never have to say goodbye to your loved ones again, and where every last broken-hearted tear is wiped away.
That is the only reason Jesus came, “to seek and to save those who are completely broken.” He knows that we are. Before Zacchaeus said even one word to him, Jesus already knew his name, the location of his house, his occupation, his past, his sin – he knew everything - and he wanted nothing more than to be with him. Zacchaeus ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a tree to find someone like that. But you don’t have to work quite so hard. You only need to open the Word to hear his voice calling to you, loving you, and reminding you that he will not leave your side for any reason. You only need to remember the day God washed you clean of every sin and promised to hold you and never let go – at your baptism. You only need to kneel at his table today and receive the body and blood he was willing to give so that you could walk through life with the blessed assurance that God’s children, in the end, will never be disappointed.
When Zacchaeus found someone like that, he gave away a lot of his wealth. He paid back what he had cheated (and then some). In other words, he realized that the greatest wealth one person could ever hold, the greatest heritage we could ever pass along to our children; the greatest thing we could ever help anyone see, with our lives, our actions, our money, and our decisions, is the Jesus calling out to Zacchaeus from underneath that tree, eager and ready to stay by his side, just as he always will for you and me.
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