A Tax Collector Converted

Sermon 80 in Series Luke 19:1-10

[1] He entered Jericho and was passing through. [2] And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. [3] And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. [4] So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. [5] And 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 and came down and received him joyfully. [7] And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” [8] And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” [9] And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. [10] For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions 1.  How does this narrative in conjunction with the healing of the blind beggar serve Luke’s purposes at this point in the Gospel? How does this affect your interactions with people? 2.  How does Zacchaeus compare or contrast with other individuals/characters we’ve read about in Luke? What is the significance of his role as a chief tax collector? 3.  Why is Zacchaeus so eager to see Jesus? What does this imply about God’s preparatory work in the human heart? 4.  How does Luke emphasize Jesus’ initiative in this narrative? What does this tell us about the nature of salvation? 5.  What is Jesus’ message to Zacchaeus, and how does he respond? How is he a model of repentance? 6.  Where else in Luke have we seen the kind of grumbling described in v. 7? What does this suggest about the stubbornness and pride of the human heart, and particularly of Israel’s leaders at that time? 7.  How do vv. 9-10 give us the overall point of the narrative? How do they anticipate the gospel going out to the Gentiles?

References: Luke 15:1-10 (corporate reading); 5:27; 9:51; Colossians 1:16; John 1:47-48; Luke 13:33; 5:30; 18:9-14; 12:33-34; 18:18-27; 3:8, 12-13; 16:19-31; 13:16; Galatians 3:7-9.