Radically Changed
Part 74 - Luke 19:1-10 (ESV) - Pastor Tim Kroeker
2 Corinthians 5:17:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
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Who do you know that is so far from Jesus you can’t possibly imagine them ever darkening the doorway of a church? It could be an old high school friend who’s belligerent against the very idea of God, or a coworker whose cursing and off-color remarks would make a sailor blush, maybe a gay relative, or perhaps even your spouse. You can’t imagine that person ever getting saved.
That is just the kind of person that we read about in this episode of our salvation story. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Tax collectors were notorious fraudsters, gangsters who imposed their will on people by physical coercion. Worse than that, Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector in Jericho, an important hub of commerce and trade. He was the worst of the worst. In addition to all of this, Zacchaeus was rich. Just two episodes ago Jesus had said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to be saved.
However, what is impossible with man is possible with God. Jesus intentionally sought out and radically saved the sinner Zacchaeus. That Zacchaeus was saved is evident from his radical transformation. He publicly declared that he would make restitution to those he had wronged and give half his possessions to the poor.
Luke uses this story to again answer Jesus’ question posed at the beginning of chapter 18, “Who are the ones that will be found faithful when the Son of Man comes? Who are the ones that will escape judgment? Who are the ones that will be saved?” The ones who will be found faithful when the Son of Man comes are those whose life gives evidence that they’ve been radically changed by Jesus.
