TO SEEK AND TO SAVE Luke 19:1-10 First Presbyterian Church of ...

1
TO SEEK AND TO SAVE
Luke 19:1-10
First Presbyterian Church of Georgetown, Texas
Dr. Michael A. Roberts October 24, 2010
Luke 19:1-10
He entered Jericho and was passing through it. [2] A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief
tax collector and was rich. [3] He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could
not, because he was short in stature. [4] So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because
he was going to pass that way. [5] When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,
"Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." [6] So he hurried down and
was happy to welcome him. [7] All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of
one who is a sinner." [8] Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord,
I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."
[9] Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.
[10] For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.
And when the Savior passed that way, he looked up in the tree and he said
ZACCHAEUS, YOU COME DOWN
For I’m going to your house today, for I’m going to your house today.
I’m glad Brian led the children and congregation in that song today. Besides it’s hard to read
that scripture without people bursting out in song.
This is a well-loved story from the ministry of Jesus. Children love to sing the song and love to
act out this story. The story is a masterpiece by Luke (it occurs only here in all the gospels)- one
of the most vivid short stories in the whole Bible.
“Children can identify with Zacchaeus; they often find themselves at the back of the crowd and
can’t see what’s going on. Many adults, too, can identify with him; they might like to get closer
to Jesus, but find it too embarrassing to do so and potentially costly” (Tom Wright p. 221-222).
Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem when he came to the town of Jericho which was on the
main trade route. Zacchaeus, we are told was not only short of stature but also rich and a chief
tax collector.
Tax collectors, as we have seen many times, did not have a positive reputation in Judah. Roman
officials contracted with local entrepreneurs to collect the taxes, tolls, and tariffs in a given area.

2
These entrepreneurs, called the “chief tax collector” here were required to pay the contract in
advance. The chief tax collector would then employ others to collect the taxes, hoping that the
amount collected would yield a profit. This system was open to abuse, as you might imagine.
The Jews who collected taxes for the Romans were assumed to be dishonest and were hated by
other Jews for their complicity with the Gentile oppressors (New Interpreter’s Bible pp. 356-7).
As chief tax collector, Zacchaeus had reached the top of his profession. He was likely one of the
wealthiest people in the region. He was also one of the most hated people in that region.
“Nobody in Jericho liked Zacchaeus. They would have been horrified to think that, of all the
inhabitants of the town, he would be the one known by name to millions of people two
thousand years later” (Tom Wright p. 222).
Yet Zacchaeus was also a seeker. A seeker after Jesus. He may have been wealthy but he was
not content. The riches had not brought him happiness. Inevitably, his profession had alienated
him from others and he was lonely.
Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. In doing so, he exposed himself to ridicule.
It was considered undignified for a grown man to run in that time, and a man of his
importance would certainly not climb a tree. The crowd would have thought this was funny or
silly- a tax collector running and climbing up a tree. Perhaps they giggled or laughed at him.
But Zacchaeus did not care about appearances. And Jesus was impressed, Zacchaeus was
willing to be ridiculed in order to seek after Jesus. “Zacchaeus (how Jesus knew his name we’re
not sure), hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today. So he hurried down and was
happy to welcome him.”
Jesus, as a rabbi, would have brought honor to any house that he entered. Therefore, he confers
special honor on Zacchaeus by going to his house.
The laughing of the crowd turns to grumbling. “Jesus has gone to be the guest of one who is a
sinner. the house of a sinner.” “Can you believe that Jesus would spend time with him He’s not
holy! He’s not spiritual! He’s a crook! He doesn’t deserve Jesus’ attention. Jesus should spend
his time with those who are spiritual, those who want to grow, those who deserve his
presence.”
In another place in the gospels, the question was asked “why does Jesus eat with tax collectors
and sinners” Jesus responded by saying “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those
who are sick...For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:10-13). Or as the First
Epistle to Timothy would say later on “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim.
1:15).

3
This is what he does when he goes to Zacchaeus’ home. He seeks out those who some religious
people think should not be saved.
Zacchaeus for his part declares a willingness to change. He acknowledges that he may have
been unfair to people. He declares that he will make amends for any past wrongs he may have
done. Earlier in this gospel, Luke tells the story of John the Baptist. While John was baptizing it
says, “even tax collectors came to be baptized” and they asked “teacher, what should we do” He said
to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you” (Luke 3:12-13). John’s general
counsel was for people to “bear fruit worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8)
Zacchaeus takes steps to show everyone that he’s a changed person. He announces that he is
willing to make restitution: “I will give half of my possessions to the poor; and if I have defrauded
anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” That is serious restitution. Zacchaeus
joyfully pledges to bear fruit worthy of repentance.
Zacchaeus’ pledge satisfies both the laws of restitution in the Old Testament and also the
standard proposed earlier in the gospel by John the Baptist. He is willing to make amends for
what he has done wrong. He is willing to use his wealth in positive, supportive ways.
Zacchaeus is the perfect anti-type to the rich ruler that Jesus encounters in the previous
chapter, Luke 18:18-23. Remember, the rich ruler had asked Jesus what must I do to inherit
eternal life. Jesus instructed him “Sell all that you own and distribute to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when “he heard this, he became sad; for he was very
rich.” Jesus commented: “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the
kingdom of God.” We are glad the crowd asks “then who can be saved” Jesus answers “What is
impossible for mortals is possible for God.”
Then fourteen verses later in Luke’s gospel we have the story of Zacchaeus. Here the
impossible is made possible by God. Zacchaeus is the rare camel who does make it through the
eye of the needle. Whereas the rich ruler leaves Jesus sad, Zacchaeus was “happy to welcome
him”. Whereas the rich ruler makes wealth his idol, Zacchaeus freely gives away his wealth.
This is just as much a miracle in gospel-writer Luke’s mind as the blind who are able to see, the
lame who can walk, and the dead who are made alive.
Jesus pronounces that “today, salvation has come to this house.” At the beginning of the story,
Zacchaeus is depicted as a seeker. He was trying to see Jesus. In the end though, it is Jesus, who
is the one who takes the initiative to meet and brings healing to Zacchaeus. It is Jesus who is
the one who seeks out and saves the lost.
In our story in Luke 19 today, Jesus summarizes his whole mission in verse 10: “For the Son of
Man (this is Jesus’ most commonly used title of self-identification) came to seek out and save the
lost.” Jesus is engaged in a seek and save mission.

4
I am reminded of the movie Saving Private Ryan. The movie received a great deal of attention a
decade ago primarily because of its dazzling and quite graphic opening sequence depicting D-
Day in 1944.
The story of the movie, which historians admit stretch the bounds of reality, is essentially this:
three brothers have all died in the fighting of World War II. A fourth brother remains. In order
to save one son for the family, a team of soldiers are commissioned by the army’s chief of staff
with a unique task- to seek out and save Private Ryan. These soldiers go through the storming
of Normandy on D-Day and then search the countryside of France looking and seeking after
this one soldier, attempting to save Private Ryan. Ultimately, they are successful, at great cost
and sacrifice.
The story line of this movie is similar to the mission of God in the world. To seek out and save
human beings. In more recent days, we could also think of the Chilean miners. What an
amazing story that has been- a great story of a seek and save mission. What must those 17 days
have been like for those miners before anybody discovered them: “Have we been forgotten
Do they even know we are here”But they did. An amazing story of engineering, technology,
love, and perseverance. To seek and to save.
The gospel of Luke is full of examples of Jesus pursuing this seek and save mission. There is the
parable of the lost, prodigal son who is saved from his failures. There are the parables of the
lost sheep and the lost coin- when they are sought and saved- there is rejoicing. There is the
parable of the great banquet which includes the saving of the poor, the lame, and the blind.
There is the leper in Luke 17 who is saved from leprosy and is grateful. When we come to Luke
19, Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem for the final week of his life. But there is one more story,
one more great example of Jesus’ seek and save mission: Zacchaeus.
This story, almost as much as any other, almost as much as the parable of the prodigal son,
reveals the mission of Jesus. As I have thought about this story this week, there are two
implications that spring to mind from this story.
The first is this- each of us has been and still is the target of a seek and save mission. This is a
search that is motivated by love. This is a rescue mission. This is God’s quest for us. The
“hound of heaven” as C.S. Lewis used to say, is after us. Christ comes to seek and save because
he loves us. Zaccheus thought he was seeking to see Jesus, but in reality Jesus was seeking
Zacchaeus.
This mission is not completed even after we accept Christ into our lives. We continue to be in
need of saving. All of us still find ourselves in the wrong place at times, lost at times. All of us
continue to need the challenging, transforming presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. All of
us need guidance, perspective, and peace. All of us are continually the targets of Christ’s seek
and save mission in the world today.

5
One more implication- the church’s mission is primarily a seek and save mission. Our call is
to seek people who are in need of Christ’s love, which means everybody. To communicate as
effectively as we can that God loves us. This God calls us to live differently and promises
ultimate fulfillment.
When people come to our church we are called to educate and deepen their faith, to help them
learn how to love God and people more fully, to send people out in mission.
It is so easy to be distracted from this life-saving mission. To get involved in many other
worthy pursuits. To confuse being nice with saving lives. To form a club and not a mission. The
church has always struggled with “mission creep”. The original mission to seek and save
human beings can easily “creep” or change into something quite different.
In conclusion, let me share with you the parable of the life-saving station which seems fitting
today.
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little lifesaving
station. There was only one boat but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the
sea. They went out day and night, tirelessly searching for the lost. Some people in the
surrounding community and some of the people who were saved wanted to be associated with
the life-saving station. They gave of their time, money, and effort to support the work. New
boats were purchased and new crews were trained. The little life-saving station grew.
Some of these new members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so
crude and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided as the first
refuge of those who were saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and
put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now, the life-saving station became a popular
gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully because they used it as sort
of a club.
Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired
lifeboat crews to do this work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in the club’s decorations, and
there was a memorial lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held.
About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in
boatloads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. The beautiful new club was in chaos and all
messed-up. At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the
members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities because they felt they were unpleasant
and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. A small number of members insisted upon
lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving
station. This small group was voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives, they could
begin their own lifesaving station down the coast.

6
They did. As the years went by, however, the new station experienced the same changes that
had occurred in the first station. It too evolved into a club and yet another lifesaving station
was soon founded. History continued to repeat itself and eventually there were a number of
clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but many of the passengers are
lost at sea because there is no one to throw them a lifeline.
The church’s mission is the same as Jesus’ mission- to seek out and to save.