Looking for More, When More Isn't Enough

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Reading: Luke 19:1-10
He wanted to see who Jesus was Luke 19:3a
Intro.

What do you do when you’re meeting all your goals and you still feel empty? Two choices:  

     1) Live with Lower standards.

     2) Learn to live a Different way.

I.   We are all born with Needs

     A.  Some needs we Never Outgrow:

           1.  Food, water and air.

           2.  Human companionship.

           3.  A relationship with God

     B.  Zac. had it all but it wasn’t Enough

           1.  He still lay awake at night, feeling so Alone.

           2.  When all the money was counted and the inventory sorted, all he still had was stuff.

     C.  Looking for more, but not more of the Same

           1.  Zac was at the point in his life where he was ready for some changes

                 a.  Even though he might have felt trapped by choices he made years ago.

                 b.  Even though he really couldn’t even imagine the changes he had to make.

           2.  He knew that his life wasn’t really working. Not really. Something had to change.

II.  Zac. wanted to see Jesus for Himself

vv. 1-4 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus, he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

     A.  Why would a full-grown man Climb a Tree?

           1.  Imagine a short, probably overweight man struggling to get up that tree!

                 a.  What would drive such a man to do that? Curiosity and/or desperation.

           2.  He was looking for more but he knew that More Wouldn’t be Enough.

                 a.  He had one of the positions of highest power in town.

                 b.  He was likely to keep getting richer.

           3.  He believed Jesus might have what he was looking for.

                 a.  He was curious enough to go and see.

     B.  Zac. wanted to see Who Jesus Was

           1.  He wasn’t satisfied with what other people said.

                 a.  He wanted to make up his own mind about this wandering prophet - or whatever he was.

           2.  Someone else’s experience of Jesus is never enough for us.

III. Jesus shows Himself to Zac.

vv.5-6 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

     A.  Jesus invites himself to Zac’s House

           1.  This is really unusual.

           2.  Jesus feels obliged to go home with Zac.

                 a.  I must stay at your house today (v.5)

                 b.  It’s unclear whether Jesus felt it was necessary for Himself or for Zac’s sake

     B.  He isn’t offended by Zac’s Life-Style

           1.  The crowd around Jesus was offended:

v. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

           2.  Jesus didn’t ask Zac. to Change first.

                 a.  He didn’t say, “Tell, you what, you get rid of all that money you extorted and I’ll drop by sometime.”

           3.  Jesus doesn’t ask anyone to change first.

                 a.  Jesus always meets us where we are.

                 b.  The people who need changing the most are the one’s Jesus seems most likely to go looking for!

     C.  Zac. experiences Jesus’ Acceptance

v. 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.”

           1.  Zac. didn't need his money to feel like a person anymore.

                 a.  How did he get so free all of a sudden to give it all away?

           2.  Jesus was Enough.

                 a.  Just as Zac had given up so much of his Jewishness to go after wealth, he now gives up wealth to go after Jesus.

           3.  Jesus’ love and acceptance empowered him to do what he knew was right.

                 a.  Zac’s response follows Jesus activity in his life.

IV. Jesus deals with us in relation to our Needs

vv. 9-10 Jesus said to him “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

     A.  Jesus saw that Zac. was a Child of God

           1.  Jesus looked past his thievery, greed, his complicity with a foreign occupying force.

           2.  That everyone is sinful is no surprise.

           3.  That everyone is also in God’s image sometimes takes a trained eye to see.

     B.  Jesus saw that Zac. was Lost

           1.  Lost in the sense that he didn’t really know where his life was or where it was going.

           2.  Lost as in being ready for change, but not knowing what change, or how to change.

     C.  Jesus is ready to Go Home with us.

           1.  You don’t even have to be a stubby, overweight money hungry tax man.

           2.  You just have to be who you are.

                 a.  You don’t even have to vacuum first.

                 b.  The only thing Jesus is waiting for is for you to welcome him into your life.

The Bottom Line:

Jesus Wants to Go home with you today. He will Accept you as you are. He’ll meet your Need like he met Zac’s.

song: Zacchaeus Blues

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