“UP IN A TREE”: THE TRANSPARENT GOSPEL
Luke 19:1-10: LIFEWAY SPRING QUARTERLY 2021 SESSION 6
No more enduring figure of American Hymnody can be found than in Fanny Crosby who wrote over 800 published hymns in her lifetime and was also a gifted poet, missionary, evangelist and philanthropist and by the way- was also blind, had her husband leave her, lived in a slum in New York City, and struggled to support herself as a divorced, disabled female at the turn of the 20th Century. On one hand, she was gifted, talented, and skilled; blessed beyond measure- meeting with Presidents, Pastors, and the Powerful while on the other hand she struggled in life with depression, weariness, and weakness. Strength and weakness/ glory and humility in the same earthen vessel- eternal treasures in a “broken cistern” in a jar of clay. There are two of her hymns that I believe truly reflect her deep belief, trust and faith in God and His power and glory, and the confessional introspection of her own weaknesses: Blessed Assurance, and Pass Me not O Gentle Savior. In Blessed Assurance the glories and majesties of God and the assurance of His immutable presence divinely revealed leads to great exaltation and praise of His might! Yet in Gentle Savior she pleads her helplessness and deep need of His presence to simply make it through a single day. Crosby’s praise and exaltation of God’s greatness and her personal confession of her deep need of Jesus shows a woman of a great and enduring faith that is rooted in who God is and who she is not, belief in what God can and will do and her confession of her own powerlessness without Him and deep need of Him.
To have a faith that is enduring and pleasing to God we must KNOW HIM and KNOW OURSELVES. We must know the Truth and distinguish the lie, we must trust in Him and His great love for us, and not trust in ourselves or anything that sets itself up as God’s equal or above Him. This is crucial to having “Saving Knowledge” of Christ and possessing a Faith in Jesus that bears spiritual fruit and will endure in life. Our lesson today is about a “wee little man… who climbed up in a Sycamore tree for the LORD he wanted to see…” But more than that, Luke wants his listeners and us to see how need draws us to Jesus and the difference that makes in life, in relationship, in growth, and in eternity. Remember our interpretive framework for Luke: Jesus and the Gospel are a gift from heaven, Jesus and the Gospel are a gift humbly accepted and received, Jesus and the Gospel are a gift proclaimed. Let’s take a look!
In verses 1-4 Luke introduces the Story of Zacchaeus, Jesus is making his way through Jericho (the world’s oldest surviving walled city) headed steeply upwards on the Jericho/Jerusalem road. Luke tells us Jesus is “passing through” there are no planned visits on the schedule- or is there? Then we are introduced to Zacchaeus a despised “sinful” chief tax-collector whom his community views as a Roman “turncoat” and extortionist. (Just an aside here but the term “turncoat” was popularized during the American Revolution in reference to the traitor Benedict Arnold. American military officers wore Blue long coats while the British and the Tories wore Red. Arnold was wounded and won rank and fame in the Battle of Saratoga but after giving the British Fort Ticonderoga he appeared in subsequent battles leading loyalist troops in Red- his former soldiers said of him- “he’s ‘turned coats’ on us!”) Zacchaeus was more despised by his brother Jericho Jews than Benedict Arnold- he was not only small in stature, but in character and in the sight of others. Yet under the large powerful bully in a little body was a lonely, desperate, needful man… Would anyone see his need? No one in town cared- maybe Lord Jesus would care?! How would Jesus view (SEE) the town pariah?
Are there pariahs in our community? In our churches? Before we address how we treat them perhaps we need to examine how we see them… Can we see past the exterior? Can we see past the behavior, the appearances? Their pasts and their present to see God’s vision of a future and a hope? Are we petitioning God in prayer to see others and ourselves with His eyes? We must always remember that hypocrisy not only hides pride and sin but hurt and fear. All four are locked in the human soul- in our neighbor’s and in our own. We hide them deep down and try to keep them from being noticed, but our souls and lives are as transparent as glass before Jesus… We can pretend and go through the motions of being really “good” or act up and out cruelly on others but God knows the truth of our inner-selves. He sees us. He loves us. He desires us. He wants to heal us- save us and meet our desperate need- transforming us into New Creation and then conforming us to His image daily (see Phil 1:3-11). Will we let Him? We can keep pushing Him away, but He will keep showing up. Will we hide and/or ignore our desperation or take that step- that “little bit o’ faith” and put ourselves out there and reveal our desperation to Jesus. The time for that “faithful revelation” grows shorter every day for ourselves and our neighbor- we have such a short time- how long will we resist? How long will we ignore? The presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit can bring anxiety and judgment or conviction and peace determined by whether we respond with fear and rejection or faith and acceptance. How did Zacchaeus respond? How will we? Without the Son of Man welcomed in our hearts we are wretched “legalist” or shameless pariahs- pretending and trapped in fear instead of freed by Faith. Zacchaeus experienced freedom in Christ on that Jericho road when he encountered Jesus from a Sycamore Fig tree…
This little man climbs up into a tree- it must have been a taller one so he could see Jesus over the heads of the crowd- and put himself “out there”. You see, not only could Zacchaeus see Jesus but Jesus could see him, and so could all the people that were there- the ones Zacchaeus had hurt, and extorted, those who hated him and the ones he hated- Zacchaeus was exposed… Zacchaeus would “never hear the end of it” for such a bold and desperate act. Zacchaeus was trusting Jesus would respond differently to him than his foes- he had probably heard stories of how Jesus had seen and treated other “sinners” but would he get the same treatment? The stories and accounts of others pointed in that direction- but there were no guarantees… Zacchaeus’ faith required a risk.
IF we had a magic time machine and could take Zacchaeus’ place on that Jericho road- not as him- but as ourselves would we climb the tree too? What would others think? What would Jesus say to us as “He looked up in that tree?” “DARRIN! You come down for I’m coming to your house today!” Which would win out, a desperate faith, or a complacent fear? Do our prayers individually and corporately have a spiritual Sycamore Tree in them in which we put ourselves “out there” confessing ourselves and our need of Jesus, His greatness and might to save- discarding the protection of our anonymity (as a nameless, forgotten face in the crowd) - and not caring because the need is great and the salvation Jesus offers is EVEN GREATER with the active testimony of His forgiveness and ongoing restoration TODAY in our lives providing a solid witness to the world! We have to confess, ask, and accept (Luke 11:9-13) before we are empowered from on High to repent and evidence a real and transformed New Creation life to others. Faith tells the Truth about us, and believes the Truth about Jesus and His gracious and loving salvation power- this is what Zacchaeus was commended for as a “Son of Abraham” see (Romans 4:1-8).
I think we have lost our desperation as God’s people… Our churches are full of self-sufficient, spiritually anonymous- “grounded” believers who want to see the Spirit move in the lives of the Lost but are unwilling to let the Spirit move in their own lives through honesty and confession- through the dangerous humility of putting themselves up in a tree- exposed and confessing to friends, family, enemies, anyone and everyone we NEED JESUS today just as much as the first day we decided to follow Him. As believers we put ourselves up in the tree- we put ourselves out there because Jesus put Himself ON A TREE for our salvation. Our testimony of Faith in Jesus does not end with our salvation- it begins there! Jesus says salvation has arrived at Zacchaeus’ house- Luke does not elaborate further, the listener is left after the shocking repentance displayed in restitution to wonder how else Jesus’ salvation will transform Zacchaeus in the days and years to come! Don’t be afraid to share your struggles, your desperation with others- how you are “depending” on God- awaiting answers, being challenged, the pain, heartaches, and joy of your growing Faith in Him and His answers to prayer and the growth in your life. Share as the “WORD OF GOD becomes alive and active sharper than a double-edged sword in your life penetrating even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; judging the thoughts and attitudes of your heart.” (Hebrews 4:12). Ours is an ongoing testimony- the witness of a dynamic Faith instead of JUST ONE static moment (no matter how powerful or mundane that moment was)… The Holy Spirit is deftly wielding the WORD OF GOD in, over and through your life- He is deadly and in passionate earnest against the dark powers and obstacles that attempt to ensnare you- He wants to lead you in following Jesus. Salvation HAS COME- what is Jesus up to in you and our Church now? We don’t just share a moment- we share a lifetime! The sharing of a reviving Faith in Jesus at work in the lives of God’s people is what will be ours strongest testimony to the Lost and of the vibrancy and difference the Gospel makes.
So, are you desperate today like the “wee little man” Zacchaeus was to see Jesus? Jesus saw and made a divine appointment with Zacchaeus long before Zacchaeus saw Him. Yet the “sinner” welcomed Him GLADLY! Desperate people welcome those who meet their needs- even the needs they feel but don’t understand or can’t explain. Jesus met Zacchaeus’ greatest need- that of a SAVIOR and it changed His life then and for eternity. We often talk about the danger of accepting Jesus as Savior and failing to make Him LORD but there is just as much danger and hindrance to the Gospel when we are “Saved” and make Him LORD but forget that we need His saving power daily to live the Christian life successfully and be a witness for Him. As a volunteer chaplain I often visit families in the waiting room of the ICU. I ask if they need and would like prayer. One of the most ironic answers I receive (even with the obviousness of a loved one in critical condition, physical life changes coming, and looming anxiety of medical debt) is when I get a pleasant smile or grin and the words: “I’m (we’re) good!” “Really???!” I got this answer from a middle-aged “successful” adult man speaking for his family concerning his father on life support awhile back. I thanked them and turned to leave- his pleasant smile still written all over his face… When the man’s elderly mother yelled: “WAIT!” “Son- I’m NOT good and neither are you- or any of us. Only Jesus can save Dad now. I want and we need prayer!”
Like the mother, I wouldn’t be “good.” It is always “well with my soul” because of God’s salvation but it wouldn’t be good with me personally- I have salvation but I still need a Savior and that daily! You see I’m desperate and living in desperate times. I can’t process 500,000 + dead Americans from COVID in one year. There is no room for smugness. I need a Savior- the Savior I KNOW- Christ Jesus and His Word the Bible revealed to calm the storm within me. I need prayer, I need to examine my heart and anxiety like David did in Psalm 51 and Psalm 139:23-24. I need to know God knowing the real me and in mercy and grace forgiving and saving me- hiding me in the “cleft of the rock” by His mighty hand- finding the wisdom of the Secret place – the repentance of being anxious for nothing because we are continuously turning and casting that anxiety on Him in prayer and faith. This is the testimony of our saving, the testimony of the ages- our age! We are a desperate people (let’s stop pretending and smiling at all the wrong places). We serve a God who delights to meet us at our point of desperation and loves us too much to leave us there! So put yourself “out there,” put yourself up in that tree for the LORD of your Salvation- The LORD of the Transparent Gospel that heals our honest and contrite hearts and heals our brokenness is passing by- THE SAVIOR is offering you the Kingdom of Heaven. He sees you. He knows your desperate need and He wants to bring salvation to your home and your community. Will you receive Him gladly today and let Him? “Revive us again. Fill each heart with thy love. May each soul be rekindled with fire from above. Hallelujah thine the glory. Hallelujah amen. Hallelujah thine the glory- revive us again!” Know I am praying with and for you this week and all the best as you follow Jesus!
Love in Christ, Darrin.