City Life Starter

I. The Word: Luke 19:1 – 9

19 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. ² Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ³ And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. ⁷ But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ 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.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; ¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

II. Study Questions

1. Where did this event took place?  (Details)

2. Who was Zacchaeous?  (Details)

3. What did Jesus came to do? (Verse 9)

On that fateful day, one man would be saved, Zaccaheus was his name, he was a tax-collector from Jericho, a city well known for Sycamore groves.  The road was filled with people wanting to see Jesus, some said He was a prophet, others have said that he was a great teacher. It would either be Jesus’ excellent teaching or a wondrous miracle, but His intention was to dine and stay with a man, a simple gesture that changed the course of one man’s life forever.  

Zacchaeus was a short man, so he could not see Jesus, the One whom so many had testified about.  Zacchaeus heard of Jesus, for he too was an Israelite, even though he was doing a job most of the Jews hated. He was a tax-collector who collected taxes for the Romans, by doing so he would have gained much wealth, even though he was despised by his own people.  

I can see Zacchaeus running ahead of Jesus so that he can finally see the man whom he heard so much about.  He would give up his dignity, title and pride to see Jesus, by climbing a sycamore tree (Think of politician or CEO of company climbing a tree).  As Jesus drew closer to where Zacchaeus was, there he saw the One that forgives sins.  There were multitudes that surrounded Jesus as He walked through the road of Jericho.  Then all of a sudden the unthinkable happens, He stops in the middle of the road under the Sycamore tree where Zacchaeus was at then Jesus looks up, and their eyes met.

“Innocent, hurry up and come down, today I must stay at your house.” (v.5)

Innocent?  How can a man who took advantage of people be innocent?  Surely, his name is Zacchaeus, the tax collector of Jericho. A tax-collector innocent?  How can that be?  You are probably wondering what I mean by “Innocent.”  Zacchaeus, a Greek name originally derives from the Hebrew name Zachai, which means Innocent.  We know from the text that Zacchaeus or Zachai was an Israelite (v. 9), descendant of Abraham.  To Jesus, Zachai was innocent, why?  Because he too was the lost sheep of Israel and needed to be found and be restored.  What Jesus saw was not Zacchaeus the Tax-Collector but one whom was lost.

“Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (v. 9)

On this day, at the road of Jericho, Yeshua (in Hebrew which means Salvation) restored (Sycamore Tree is also known as the restoration tree) the Innocent (Zachai).

True repentance comes when we too encounter Jesus, He does not judge us for all of our wrong doings or sins but meets us exactly where we are.  We have two options, 1) We can repent of our sins and live to glorify God or 2) We can continue to live the way we previously lived.  As Christians, one who confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and have placed our faith in Him, we no longer live to fulfill our fleshly and sinful desires, but dedicated to the One who restored and saved us.  JY