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*Out on a Limb*
Sporting events, events of historic proportions, like this years Super Bowl have a way of bringing people together who otherwise would not have had this unique opportunity to do so before.
That’s exactly what we want to talk about today.
An event that brings throngs of people out offering them a unique opportunity of historic proportions.
We’re gonna use the life of Zacchaeus who shows us how to experience a unique opportunity with the greatest figure the world has ever known; Jesus Christ.
Here’s a little background on where we’ll be in the Gospel of Luke today chapter 19.
Jesus is passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem.
Jericho was the place where centuries earlier Joshua’s men marched around bringing its walls down.
Jerusalem is where Jesus is headed to complete his ministry on a rugged cross.
Previously Jesus had been doing the things that the son of God had been sent to do.
Jesus raised the dead in Lazarus, healed ten men of leprosy and was teaching people that the kingdom of God is near.
Jesus had been performing signs and wonders all in an effort to share the good news that those who believe in the Son of Man will have eternal life.
That’s our backdrop.
We’ll be in Luke 19 today reading the story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus.
But before we read I want you to keep this thought in mind;
*/In order to experience Jesus~/Him we need to go out on a Limb/*
Read.
Pray.
Jesus has come to Jericho.
The crowd is swelling and the anticipation is gathering strength.
The squeeze of the multitude of people grows almost claustrophobic.
The one they call Jesus will be passing this way as more and more people gather, using elbow position, to catch a glimpse of the rumored Messiah.
For one man, Zacchaeus, elbows aren’t enough he is so short that he can’t see over the crowd.
So short that in order to get a glimpse of Jesus he has to climb a tree.
Now, for Zacchaeus, climbing a tree is something that just isn’t done by someone of his standing.
Zacchaeus is a tax collector a chief tax collector which makes him not only wealthy but a dignitary in Roman society.
Just one problem, Zacchaeus is a Jew.
Romans had military control over Israel and used Jews to collect the taxes.
But to be a tax collector one had to bid for the position the way you would bid at an auction, with the position going to the highest bidder.
In order for Zacchaeus to get back his investment he had to inflate the tax, by extortion, getting money under the table, inflated accounts or a little skimming off the top.
Through these means he could recoup his investment and keep the profits for himself.
This gained tax collectors the reputation for being notoriously unscrupulous because they got wealthy off of their own people.
These Jewish tax collectors also dealt with the Gentiles, so not only were they looked at as traitors they were considered unclean, no religious Jew would associate with them.
Zacchaeus was considered a traitor to his community.
So it’s highly unlikely he had any friends to speak of.
So not only was he small in stature but he was short on friends.
That’s the picture of Zacchaeus.
It is also the picture of many people who will go to any means to climb the ladder of success.
What makes a man willing to step on anyone as he makes his way up the ladder?
And when he gets there steps on anyone who threatens to spoil his party?
Is it so that one day he can look back saying, “I showed them all?”
Is it so he can boast that he’s large and in charge?
Maybe its greed or even over zealous ambition with little regard for others.
Or maybe a man like Zack, who invested everything he had to acquire this occupation, was just fed up with being “stepped on” and would take it no longer.
Might it have been that this short man has survived growing up the object of stares?
Growing up even worse, never being considered at all because of his lack of height.
Growing up the brunt of jokes.
Growing up the kid who got pushed around.
Maybe in the process of him growing up a part of his childhood had been stepped on.
Whatever tender part of Zack there was it was dead.
/But somewhere along the way he learned to compensate for his shortcomings./
Being a tax-collector seemed like the perfect fit.
He got to be the “big man on campus” and also got to stick it to the childhood friends who destroyed his youth.
So he stepped on anyone who stood in his way as he climbed the professional ladder.
He was showing them that he couldn’t be pushed around any longer.
That may very well be the part of himself he used to step up his ladder of success.
But it could also be that same part of him, that brought him out of his house of pain and hurt leaving a hole in his heart, that carried him up a tree.
You see, occupation is nothing to stand on.
So in v. 4 it tells us that, “he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree...” So the first thing I want you to see is that;
Zacchaeus went out on a Limb to Seek Jesus
I believe he was fed up with himself, even though his childhood had given him every reason to continue using his business to fulfill his shortcomings.
At least until Zaccheus heard the talk of this Jesus who had met with another tax-collector, Levi dropping everything to follow Jesus.
It’s this Jesus that Zacchaeus had to get a glimpse of.
If he was a friend of tax collectors maybe he’ll befriend me too.
Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus for himself.
It didn’t matter that Zacchaeus was thought of as a ruthless, despised bill collector for a corrupt government.
Jesus it was said ate and drank with tax-collectors and sinners.
This Jesus he heard must be some kind of man to get a tax collector to leave his job not for higher wages but for no wages at all.
Why was Zacchaeus running past the crowd to see Jesus?
Why did Zaccheus run around all the holy men, house wives, shop keepers, teachers, traders, businessmen and bakers?
/Because it’s easy to go out on a limb when what you’ve been standing on is shaky ground/.
/When you have grown tired of expecting your work to increase your stature, then you are ready to go out on a limb to find Jesus for yourself/.
Zacchaeus, the wealthy publican, crawls out on a limb for a better look because when wealthy men are faced with what Jesus offers they are shown their spiritual bankruptcy.
All that would change as Zacchaeus aligned himself in the path where Jesus would cross.
He no longer cared what the throng of folks might say as they watched this wee little man scurry embarrassingly up a tree.
What’s your spiritual stature?
Have you reached a measure of success only to be left unfulfilled?
Are you willing to be shown your spiritual bankruptcy when face to face with Jesus?
Are you so concerned with how you’ll look before men that you refuse to go out on a limb to seek Jesus?
Are you in a place where Zaccheus was, living off of a life of disappointments or ridicule?
Are you living through the hate of someone who trampled your heart?
Maybe there are people living vicariously through your success, compensating for their own shortcomings.
* It won’t matter what ladder you scale in the eyes of man, what Jesus wants to show you is a /unique opportunity of heavenly proportions/.*
In order to see Jesus for who he is and what he offers, you may have to go out on a limb in front of people that may ridicule you.
The alternative is being a part of the crowd that is at a safe distance away from the Lord.
Zaccheus makes an undignified climb.
What have you been standing on that you have to climb off of to see Jesus for yourself?
Maybe you need to climb out of;
· a habitual sin, that keeps you from seeing the power of Christ’s redemption at work in your life
· a lack of forgiveness in a marriage that’s squeezing the love out of the relationship
· your occupation~/someone else’s so that you can see clearly what God has in store for you
Walk, run, and crawl out on the limb for a better look so that you can experience Jesus personally.
Zaccheus was not afraid to separate himself from the masses for a glimpse at the king.
Take the necessary steps to ensure that in your life you will be in the path that He crosses, out on a limb waiting.
If you want to experience Jesus we need to seek him and secondly if we want to experience Jesus we need to respond to Him.
Zacchaeus goes out on a Limb to Respond to Jesus
Scripture continues in v. 5, “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up...”
Can you imagine the astonishment on Zacchaeus’ face as Jesus approached closer and began to cast his eyes on that little man in a tree?
How ‘bout the moments before Jesus got to the spot what was going on in the mind of Zack as he sat there alone on a limb?
Did he recall the years of collecting for Caesar?
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