Luke 19:1-10

1. When we seek to understand a truth in the world, the foundation of our understanding is often shaped by our own desires and expectations. For instance, we might choose to read a book on achieving wealth simply because we want to become rich. Similarly, we approach the Bible because we want to know more about God and learn how to build our lives on faith. However, if we approach the Bible with our own desires as the starting point, we risk misunderstanding its true, original meaning. Therefore, the first step when approaching Scripture is to set aside our personal desires and expectations. This is the initial task I undertake when preparing to deliver a sermon for a service. Even I must guard against creating a sermon based on my own preferences rather than the text's original message. Today, we will focus on Zacchaeus and his encounter with Jesus. When Zacchaeus met Jesus, he resolved to change his life. Through this story, we can clearly see what Jesus intended to teach us. Let us read Luke 19:8-10.

Luke 19:8–10 NKJV

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

2-1  This is a short summary of Luke 19:1–10. It tells the story of a man in Jericho who had a life-changing encounter with Jesus. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in Jericho. While this made him a very wealthy man, it also meant he was deeply disliked by his community. In those days, tax collectors worked for the Roman government and were known to cheat their own people by demanding more money than was due. This is why Zacchaeus was widely regarded as a sinner. It's an interesting irony that his name actually meant "clean" or "pure" in Hebrew—a sharp contrast to his public image. One day, as Jesus was passing through Jericho, a large crowd gathered. Zacchaeus, being a short man, could not see Jesus. Driven by a strong desire to see who this Jesus was, he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree along the path. This was an undignified act for a man of his high status, showing just how determined he was.

2-2 When Jesus reached the tree, He stopped, looked up, and called Zacchaeus by name. He then told him to hurry down because He intended to stay at his house that day. Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and joyfully welcomed Jesus into his home. However, the crowd was displeased. They grumbled that Jesus had chosen to be a guest of a "sinner." In response to Jesus' presence and kindness, Zacchaeus stood up and publicly declared his repentance. He promised to give half of his possessions to the poor and to pay back anyone he had cheated four times the amount. This act was far beyond the 25% required by Jewish law, demonstrating a truly profound change of heart. Jesus responded to this transformation by declaring, "Today salvation has come to this house." He affirmed that Zacchaeus was also a "son of Abraham" and powerfully reiterated the purpose of His mission.

3. When we read this story, it always touches our heart, and we naturally desire a life-changing transformation like Zacchaeus experienced. While his conversion is profoundly meaningful for our Christian journey, today I want us to shift our focus. Let us look closely at Jesus's conduct—specifically, the unconventional hospitality He showed Zacchaeus, a hospitality that stood in stark contrast to the judgmental attitude of the religious leaders of the day. Today, we will examine this powerful moment by focusing on three essential truths:

1. Jesus Has No Boundaries When He Approaches People.

2. Jesus Does Not Identify Zacchaeus as a Sinner.

3. Jesus Stays with Zacchaeus, Leading to the Tax Collector's Self-Realization and Repentance.

4. 1. Jesus Has No Boundaries When He Approaches People

When we read the Gospels in the New Testament, we observe that Jesus mostly performed His miracles and ministry outside of Jerusalem and the immediate temple influence. This was not a coincidence. As we discussed several months ago, under the Old Testament Law, when people contracted a sickness or illness, they were often forbidden from staying in Jerusalem or even within their own community. They had to be isolated for a period, and a priest had to examine them to declare them clean before they could return.

Leviticus 13:45–46 NLT

“Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as the serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp.

4-1 However, in the first century, this system often failed. Once people were diagnosed with a disease, especially one considered contagious or chronic, they were frequently permanently isolated because the priests often did not visit them or declare them healed. As a direct result, these people lost their family ties, their property, and their normal lives. The Old Testament law, while intended to maintain purity, tragically led to social death for many.

Jeremiah 23:1–2 ESV

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord.

4-2 In this atmosphere and against this background, Jesus's ministry represented a radical departure. By entering Jericho and calling down a notoriously corrupt man like Zacchaeus—someone the community considered spiritually diseased—Jesus intentionally shattered established social and spiritual boundaries. He went precisely to the places and people the religious system had deemed unclean, untouchable, or unworthy. While the official religious leaders often neglected their own people, Jesus, though not an officially appointed leader Himself, cared for them. Jesus's gaze was not fixed on the highly ranked or the most influential, but rather on the lowest, the lost, the sick, and the vulnerable. Jesus's mind was aligned with God's mind, and He followed God's focus, not any human expectation or prejudice.

Psalm 68:5 NIV

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

Psalm 146:9 AMP

The Lord protects and preserves the strangers and temporary residents, He upholds the fatherless and the widow and sets them upright, but the way of the wicked He makes crooked (turns upside down and brings to ruin).

5. From this radical approach, we learn a crucial lesson about how we can follow God's way: It is by looking after these same marginalized people. As you know, our church has been actively helping vulnerable children through the Soup Haven ministry. This isn't about gaining fame in Yorkton. The reason our church and the Soup Haven started this ministry is simple: We recognized that these children desperately needed daily lunches. When we saw a need for help, we did not neglect it. Instead, we chose to act like Jesus and respond. Similarly, when A.B. Simpson began his ministry, separating from the established Presbyterian Churches, he simply could not ignore the needs of the immigrants around him. Following Jesus's way is not fundamentally about performing religious work or conforming to tradition. It is about actively looking after one another with the kind of boundless love that comes from God.

Matthew 10:40–42 ESV

“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

6. 2. Jesus Does Not Mention Zacchaeus Is a Sinner

6-1 People have a natural tendency to judge, and by judge, I mean the act of defining, categorizing, or making things rigidly clear. In the church, one of the most common religious terms we use is "sinner." We often say, "We are all sinners," or "You were sinners before believing in Jesus." Technically, this is correct. If people don't know Jesus and are separated from God, they are indeed described as being in a state of sin. However, from another perspective, this judgmental approach is not the way of the Kingdom. Why? Because the Bible's purpose is not to use the word "sinner" to create different, divided groups. Think about it: If God intended to create a strict division between "sinners" and "the righteous," He would not have sent Jesus into the world. If God had drawn such a line, there would have been no need for the Gospel. God did not divide the world. Instead, He sent His Son to redeem a world that was already lost. In this story, Jesus does not call Zacchaeus a "sinner" or even address his past corruption. He calls him by his name and says, "Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today." Jesus doesn't label him; He invites him. 

6-2 We must remember the context: people were grumbling that Jesus had chosen to associate with a "sinner." This reaction was rooted in the common belief of that time that sickness or hardship was a direct punishment for sin. While Jesus never stated that the sick were sinners, only that they needed help, the people of the first century often labeled the sick and the marginalized as sinners because they believed disease and misfortune were divine retribution. This deeply ingrained prejudice is precisely why the crowd reacted so negatively to Jesus staying with Zacchaeus.

Luke 15:1–2 MSG

By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.”

Mark 2:17 ESV

And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

6-3 Therefore, for Jesus, there was no problem being with those who were labeled "sinners" at the time. Why? Because in Jesus's sight, there was no permanent division of "sinner" versus "righteous"; there were only people who desperately needed God's presence and His love. This part of the story demands a question of us: Do we see the world as groups of "sinners" to be avoided, or do we see a world full of people who simply need God's boundless love and Jesus's transformative presence?

7. This brings us to our final, and perhaps most powerful, point:

3. Jesus stays with Zacchaeus, leading to self-realization

7-1 In this final point, we must keep our focus on Jesus's simple, profound act. He did not call Zacchaeus a sinner. Instead, He offered to stay with him. The moment Zacchaeus heard his name called and saw Jesus enter his home, he experienced a self-realization—a powerful inner transformation that resulted in his public repentance. Jesus's presence, not His judgment, spurred Zacchaeus to change.

7-2 I once had a friend who was reluctant to come to church. When he finally walked in for the first time, pastors and elders immediately told him, "You are a sinner." They offered no love or hospitality; they just issued that label directly. My friend immediately felt something was wrong and never returned. We must consider why people are so quick to call others "sinners" or label them. It often stems from a deeply human desire to protect what they believe is clean from what they believe is dirty. If they don't apply the label, they fear they can't keep themselves pure, believing they might somehow be joining the "dirty work." For this very reason, Jesus was judged and condemned by the religious leaders of His day. In their eyes, Jesus was actively trying to corrupt their religion, their faith, God's law, and their cherished traditions. That is why they ultimately labeled Jesus with the worst charge possible: blasphemy. They feared contamination, but Jesus offered transformation.

7-3 Let us now pinpoint the exact moment Zacchaeus realized his life's problem and resolved to change. Was it when Jesus mentioned he was a sinner and demanded repentance? Absolutely not. It was when Jesus called his name and announced, "I must stay at your house today." There is no evidence in the text that Jesus ever called Zacchaeus a sinner. In fact, when Jesus used the harsh label of "sinner" or delivered condemnation, it was primarily directed at the religious leaders who used the Law to exclude and control others. For the rest of the people—the marginalized, the sick, and the outcast—Jesus never labeled them but met them with compassion. So, why do we so easily call each other sinners?

7-4 If Jesus truly believed people were only unforgivable "sinners" and nothing more, He never would have called His disciples. He would have simply finished God's redemptive work by Himself. But because He saw people as God's masterpiece—broken but redeemable—Jesus chose to be with them, and they were encouraged and empowered by His presence. The change in Zacchaeus and the transformation of the disciples were not results of them keeping the Law and cleaning up their lives first. Their transformation was the direct result of His love, His hospitality, and His willingness to step into their lives. That is the foundation of our faith.

8-1 Conclusion: As I prepared for this message, I listened to several sermons, both in English and Korean, and I was quite surprised by two examples. They reminded me of when I was a youth pastor. A preacher once used this very passage to say, "True repentance happens when our wallet repents." He then explained that just as Zacchaeus opened his wallet after encountering Jesus, we too must open our wallets when we experience Jesus’s love. He preached this kind of message multiple times. Frankly, that interpretation is a poor reading of this profound event. This passage is not primarily about Zacchaeus’s repentance or his money.

8-2 Instead, it teaches us who Jesus is and what He has done for us! He is God who intentionally sought out those who desperately needed His love. And when those people experienced His love—when He called their name and announced He would stay with them instead of condemning them with religious law—they were moved to self-realization and changed their lives. The change was the result of love, not the condition of acceptance. So, the question for us today is: What can we do to share the God’s love that is within us? Do we want to follow the example of Jesus’s boundary-breaking grace, or do we want to create divisions and apply labels, like the religious leaders He opposed? Let us choose to share God’s love as Jesus showed us. Jesus is our Savior and Lord, so let us follow His footsteps and His example in all we do.

Podcast: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/3f7576db-f98d-423b-8809-62a360a18cf7?artifactId=100d84b9-3fe7-4859-baa1-3d228b97cc91

Video overview: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/3f7576db-f98d-423b-8809-62a360a18cf7?artifactId=2b26aabb-cf23-4c9e-a439-c653797cc89e

Quiz: Short Answer Questions

Instructions: Based on the source text, answer the following ten questions in 2-3 complete sentences each.

1. According to the sermon, what is the crucial first step one must take when approaching Scripture to understand its original meaning?

2. Describe Zacchaeus's professional role and social standing within the community of Jericho before his encounter with Jesus.

3. What specific, undignified act did Zacchaeus perform out of his strong desire to see Jesus, and what did this action demonstrate?

4. The text argues that the primary focus of this story should be shifted. What is the traditional focus, and what does the sermon propose as the new focus?

5. Explain the concept of "social death" as it relates to Old Testament purity laws and the practices of priests in the first century.

6. How did the crowd react to Jesus's decision to stay at Zacchaeus's house, and what underlying cultural belief motivated their reaction?

7. The sermon states that Jesus did not label Zacchaeus a "sinner." Toward which group of people did Jesus primarily direct harsh labels and condemnation?

8. According to the text, what is the primary motivation behind the human tendency to label others as "sinners"?

9. A specific interpretation of the Zacchaeus story is described as a "poor reading." What is this interpretation, and why is it considered incorrect?

10. What is the cause-and-effect relationship between Jesus's actions and Zacchaeus's transformation, as presented in the sermon's conclusion?

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Answer Key

1. The crucial first step is to set aside one's personal desires and expectations. This is necessary because approaching the Bible with one's own preferences as the starting point risks misunderstanding its true, original message.

2. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in Jericho, a position that made him very wealthy. However, because tax collectors worked for the Roman government and were known for cheating their own people, he was deeply disliked by his community and widely regarded as a sinner.

3. Because he was a short man and could not see over the crowd, Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. This was an undignified act for a man of his high status, which demonstrated how determined he was to see Jesus.

4. The traditional focus of the story is on Zacchaeus's profound conversion and repentance. The sermon proposes shifting the focus to Jesus's conduct—specifically, the "unconventional hospitality" and boundary-breaking grace He showed to Zacchaeus.

5. "Social death" refers to the permanent isolation experienced by people with certain illnesses. Though the law intended isolation to be temporary, priests often neglected to examine and declare people "clean," leading to the permanent loss of their family, property, and place in the community.

6. The crowd grumbled, complaining that Jesus had chosen to be the guest of a "sinner." This reaction was rooted in the common belief of the time that sickness or hardship was a direct punishment from God for sin, leading them to label the marginalized as sinners.

7. Jesus primarily directed harsh labels like "sinner" and delivered condemnation toward the religious leaders. He did this because they used the Law to control, exclude, and judge others, rather than showing compassion.

8. The tendency to label others stems from a human desire to protect what they believe is "clean" from what they perceive as "dirty." They fear that if they do not apply the label, they cannot keep themselves pure and risk being corrupted by association.

9. The "poor reading" is the interpretation that "true repentance happens when our wallet repents." It is considered incorrect because it makes the story about Zacchaeus's money rather than the true message, which is about who Jesus is and His mission to seek out the lost with transformative love.

10. The sermon concludes that Zacchaeus's change was the result of Jesus's love, not a condition for His acceptance. Jesus first offered unconditional love and hospitality by announcing He would stay with Zacchaeus, and this act of grace is what prompted Zacchaeus's self-realization and repentance.