I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      There are some people in every society who are castoff, despised, and rejected.  During the first century in Judea, tax-gatherers were such people.

B.      Zaccheus was one such castoff, despised person.  Let us consider his story from Luke 19:1-10.

                                                             1.      First, we should understand what it meant to be a tax-gatherer among the Jews in the first century.

                                                             2.      Then, we will notice how salvation came to the house of Zaccheus when Jesus came to town.

II.      TAXES AND TAX-GATHERERS

A.      It is God’s will for men to pay taxes for the support of the governments that He has ordained.

                                                             1.      When asked whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, the Lord said, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21).

                                                             2.      Paul gave a full explanation of this necessity in Romans 13:1-7.

a.       First, he explained that God has ordained the governing authorities for our own good.

b.       Then, he wrote: “For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.  Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”

B.      Consider the taxes paid by the Jews at the time that Jesus was on earth.

                                                             1.      When the Jews questioned Jesus about paying taxes in Matthew 22:15-22, the specific tax they mentioned was the poll-tax (lit. “census”) that each individual was required to pay each year (see Matt. 17:25).  It was essentially a tax for living under Roman rule.

                                                             2.      Additionally, the Jews paid many other taxes and customs.

a.       Rome required taxes on land, on personal property, and on imports and commodities (the latter was collected at ports and borders and on public roads).

b.       Herod imposed additional taxes on fishing rights, salt, oil, and clothing.

c.        The Jews also paid a temple tax (Matt. 17:24-27) as well as their tithes.

C.      The Jews despised the professional tax-gatherers who were employed by the Romans to collect taxes.

                                                             1.      Under the Roman system, contracts for the right to collect taxes were sold to the highest bidders.  Those who were awarded these contracts were chief tax-gatherers, and they hired others to go and collect the taxes.

                                                             2.      The Jews despised these tax-gatherers for several reasons.

a.       The men who collected taxes were considered to be enemies because they served the Romans.  Jewish tax-gatherers were considered to be traitors.

b.       Because the Jewish tax-gatherers had frequent contact with Gentiles, they were considered ceremoniously unclean.

c.        Tax-gatherers often collected more than was due and thereby became rich.  This is why John told them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to” (Luke 3:12-13).

III.   SALVATION COMES TO ZACCHEUS

A.      Zaccheus was a wealthy chief tax-gatherer in the city of Jericho (Luke 19:1-2).

                                                             1.      It is safe to assume that Zaccheus was a Jew, and as such he was especially despised by his fellow Jews.  They considered him to be off limits as an unclean sinner (see v. 7).

                                                             2.      It is also safe to assume that Zaccheus had acquired his wealth via extortion as was common among tax-gatherers.

                                                             3.      Jesus was passing through Zaccheus’ city, Jericho, toward the end of His ministry as He made His way to the Jerusalem area for the last time.

B.      Zaccheus was eager to see Jesus, and Jesus was eager to see Him (Luke 19:3-5).

                                                             1.      Being a short man, Zaccheus was unable to see Jesus because of the crowds.  Therefore, he ran ahead of the crowds to a place where Jesus would pass and climbed a sycamore tree.

                                                             2.      Verse 3 says that Zaccheus “was trying to see who Jesus was.”  It is unknown how much Zaccheus knew about Jesus, but Zaccheus’ reaction to Him makes it evident that he had a degree of faith.

                                                             3.      Upon seeing him, Jesus said, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

a.       Obviously, Jesus and Zaccheus had not met, but Jesus knew who Zaccheus was, and He had sought him out.  Jesus could have stayed in any house that night, but He purposefully chose Zaccheus to give him an opportunity for salvation.

b.       Jesus depended upon the hospitality of others, but in truth it was they who needed His blessings.  It is thought-provoking to consider how many homes He must have stayed in and how many lives He must have affected in this way during His ministry.

C.      When Zaccheus had received the Lord, he expressed his repentance (Luke 19:6-8).

                                                             1.      Zaccheus hurried down from the tree and received the Lord gladly, but the Jews were appalled that Jesus would be the guest of a sinner.

                                                             2.      It was true that Zaccheus was a sinner, but he demonstrated his repentance by his willingness to make amends for his sins against others.

a.       Zaccheus did what the gospel of Christ calls upon all men to do, which is well-summarized in these words of Paul: “…they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:20; see also Matt. 3:8; Luke 3:8).

b.       Zaccheus’ voluntary surrender of his possessions and wealth was an expression of his confession and repentance.  By taking this action, he made his repentance effective, and the Lord declared that salvation had come to his house.

D.      Jesus considered Zaccheus to be worth His efforts (Luke 19:9-10).

                                                             1.      The other Jews had dismissed Zaccheus as an unclean sinner (v. 7), but Jesus said, “He, too, is a son of Abraham.”

a.       By saying this, Jesus acknowledged the truth that others had overlooked, which was that this despised sinner was one of their brethren, a child of Abraham, and a child of God.

b.       Jesus did not consider Zaccheus or any other soul to be worthless or hopeless.  Whereas others had given up on sinners, Jesus sought them out and gave them a chance.

                                                             2.      Jesus often appealed to tax-gatherers and other sinners, and they often received Him.

a.       The Lord’s encounter with Zaccheus is not unique, for He often sought out tax-gatherers and sinners because they were lost.

i.         One of the Lord’s own apostles, Matthew, was a tax-gatherer (Luke 5:27-32).  When the Pharisees and scribes questioned Christ’s association with such people, Jesus said: “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

ii.        The three parables of Luke 15 (lost sheep, lost coin, prodigal son) were prompted by the Pharisees and scribes criticizing Jesus because he received tax-gatherers and sinners.

b.       Typically, Jesus had a better reception with the tax-gatherers and sinners than He had with the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders.

i.         When the tax-gatherers heard Jesus praise John, they “acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John” (Luke 7:29-30).

ii.        To the chief priests and elders, Jesus said: “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him” (Matt. 21:31-32).

iii.      Jesus even used the figure of a tax-gatherer in a parable to demonstrate the correct attitude of prayer whereas he used a Pharisee to demonstrate the opposite (Luke 18:9-14).

                                                             3.      The great lesson in the story of Zaccheus is simply stated by the Lord in verse 10: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      The story of Zaccheus shows that Jesus does not give up on anyone, and neither should we.

B.      If our Lord’s mission was to seek and to save that which was lost, then it should be our mission also.  Like Jesus, let us give sinners the opportunity for salvation to come to their houses through the gospel of Christ.