Stage 1: Getting To Know Jesus Stage 1: Getting To Know Jesus Stage 1: Getting To Know Jesus

Zac was not a nice guy. There are words that could better describe Zac, but we aren’t going to say them here.  He lived a lavish lifestyle.  He had money and he didn’t care who knew it. If he wanted something, he got it. If you had it and he wanted it, he would take it. He cheated people out of their hard-earned money to get what he wanted. 

You know the type. I bet you are picturing someone like Zac now. But if you need a little help, have you ever seen a gangster or mafia movie? The boss of the crew. The meanest, toughest guy. That was Zac.

You see Zac had one fatal flaw that he couldn’t change. If you brought it up or commented on it, Zac would simply have you “taken care of.” It may not be the worst thing in the world, but to Zac it was the first thing that people saw and the first thing they noticed.

You see, Zac was short. Think Lord Farquad from Shrek. Maybe 5’2 or 5’3. So, he probably had a little man complex, which is why he acted so tough. 

One day, he heard a big commotion while walking down the street. “What was going on?”

Since, well, you know, he had climbed a tree to see over the crowd, he made eye contact with this man that everyone was hovering over. This stranger named Jesus stopped, looked at Zac, and said, “Zacchaeus, come down from there. For today, I am dining with you.”

History and culture lesson: eating with someone in the Jewish culture was to identify with them. In other words, you would approve of their lifestyle.

How could Jesus, a good man, identify with someone like Zacchaeus? Making friends with Zacchaeus just didn’t make any sense to the people in that community. They envisioned Jesus and Zacchaeus sitting around the table, telling jokes, and enjoying life together. It was shocking. The “rules” suggested that Jesus should not be hanging out with a man like Zacchaeus.

Jesus associated himself with people who were shunned by every upstanding Jew.

You are going to read this a lot as you get to know Jesus. He didn’t care about the culture or what the culture said about people. He cared about the person, faults and all, and is saying to that person, “I love you, and I came to have a relationship with you.”

The awesome thing about Jesus is that he knows everything about you, loves you, and wants a relationship with you. This applies to everyone. It isn’t based on sex, skin color, nationality, money, or what else you identify with. It isn’t even based on whether you’re a “GOOD PERSON.” Jesus loves EVERYONE.

This is called Grace, the free, unmerited favor of God. Unmerited means undeserved. No one can do anything to deserve Jesus’ love, yet he gives it freely anyway.

That is what he did with Zacchaeus. He was a horrible little man, but Jesus did not care. He freely spent time with this man because he wanted a relationship with him.

This story is told in Luke Chapter 19, and look what happens to Zacchaeus after spending time with Jesus. 

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

When we meet Jesus and really spend time with him and get to know him, WE CHANGE. This change is for the better. Zacchaeus went from a man who cheated and stole from his community to a man who gave it all back plus more in ONE afternoon with Jesus.

One afternoon with Jesus, Zacchaeus’s heart was changed from the inside out. When we really spend time with and get to know Jesus, it changes us on the inside, and everyone can see it.

Scripture References: Luke 19: 1-10