I. Consider What the World Views As Treasure
A. Jericho was a wealthy city
B. Zaccheus was a chief tax collector
Luke 19:2 - There was a man called by the name of Zaccheus, he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.
C. Zaccheus was wealthy, yet seeking
Luke 19:3-4 - Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.
II. Remember What Jesus Values
A. Jesus calls sinners
B. Jesus sees and calls Zaccheus by name
Luke 19:5 - When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
C. Contrast the Rich Young Ruler’s Response (Luke 18:18-27)
Luke 18:24-25 - And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
D. Remember the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44-45)
Matthew 13:44-45 - The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
III. Jesus Transforms Our Desires and the Direction Of Our Lives
A. Jesus is not corrupted by Zaccheus
1 John 1:7 - …if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
B. Zaccheus is transformed
1. Care for the poor rather than defrauding others
Luke 19:8 - Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor…”
2. Greater restitution than is required
Luke 19:8 - Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”
Philippians 3:8 - More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ…
C. Zaccheus received the gift of eternal life
Luke 19:10 - And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
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