BEHOLD A MAN

Sermon of the Week #200932 – August 30, 2009

And He entered and was passing through Jericho and beholds, a man called by name Zacchaeus, and he was a chief publican, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who He was and could not for the crowd because he was little of stature. And he ran on before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him for He was to pass that way.

Evidently there must have been some reason why such a crowd thronged about Jesus in Jericho. The reason is not mentioned, but from other similar events the reason was evident. According to Mark 2:2, “And when He entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was noticed that He was in the house. And many were gathered together, so that there was no room for them, no, not even about the door: and He spoke the Word unto them.” This is typical of the drawing power of the Word of God.

And this is not an isolated case; once in Luke 5:1 Jesus was preaching in the synagogue, and the multitude pressed upon Him and heard the Word of God. He saw two boats standing by the lake, one boat belonged to Peter, and Jesus borrowed the boat and taught the multitude out of the boat.

Now it may seem strange that Jesus would even go to Jericho. There is no indication that He had gone there before, and after He went there on His way to the cross, He never went back after the resurrection. Then we remember Jericho was a city that was under a curse because of the thievery of Achan who stole a wedge of gold and a goodly Babylonish garment, after Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down. God said in Joshua 6:26, “Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up, and buildeth the city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he sit up the gates of it.” Then about five hundred years later in 1st Kings 16:34, the prophecy was fulfilled.

But on second thought we can understand why Jesus went to a city under a curse. In Genesis 3:14-15 we read: “Almighty God put a curse on the serpent, because of that debacle in the Garden of Eden.” God said unto the serpent, “Because thou hast done this, thou are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Then God said to Adam, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life until thou returnest unto the ground; for out of it thou was taken: for dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return.” Because of sin, Adam and Eve and the whole human race were put under the curse of death.

The Devil being under a curse seems to be running the show; just a look at the news is sufficient proof. Evidently the curse will last until the Judgment Day because in Matthew 25:41 Jesus will say to all the disciples of the Devil, “Depart from me ye cursed into the eternal fire which is prepared for the Devil, and his angels.”

And that is why Jesus came into the world that was under the curse of sin and death. He came to seek, to save, and redeem that which was lost, and that is why He could enter into the accursed city, Jericho. Actually some of the cities of America seem to be under a curse. Chicago may remind us of gangsters, as Las Vegas may remind us of gambling, but some might wonder why Zacchaeus went to all the trouble to run and climb a tree. What a spectacle, no doubt the crowd chanted, “Behold he joggeth.” Why did he not ask someone in the crowd what they thought about Jesus and take their word for it? Zacchaeus was a man who was not satisfied with second-hand information on this important matter. He wanted to see first-hand.

Were you satisfied with second-hand information about your knowledge of Jesus and His Word? Did you take some preacher’s word for it, or do you know what the Bible says from first-hand experience? Did you run on ahead and climb the sycamore tree? I want to see Jesus who He is, and see for myself.

In the book of Acts is a good example for us regarding a hand-me-down religion. Paul and Silas preached in the city of Berea in Acts 17 and it is said of the Bereans, “They searched the Scripture daily whether these things were so.” These people checked the Scripture to verify the words of Paul. A good motto for any of us regarding knowledge of the Word of God is in the words of a former President, “Trust, but verify.” Personally, I don’t want a hand-me-down religion. Behold a man. There are a great number of preachers I would trust with my salvation, but while I may trust them, I also want to verify.

BEHOLD A SHORT MAN

Behold a short man. Zacchaeus sought to see Jesus who He was, and could not for the crowd because he was little of stature; he was a short man. Zacchaeus was not only a short man physically, but he was a short man spiritually. Paul referred to him and to us also in the book of Romans when he said, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” No one is tall enough to see Jesus in the crowd. Behold a man, a short man.

Now Jesus looked up and saw him up in the tree, and said, “Zacchaeus make haste quickly and come down for today I must abide at thy house,” and he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. Actually that is the only way to respond to an invitation from Jesus. Acts 9:20 says, “When the Lord called Saul in Damascus, straightway in the synagogue he preached Jesus that He is the Son of God.”

Then in Acts 16:10 when Paul received the invitation to preach at Macedonia from the man standing, and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us,” they concluded that God had called us to preach the gospel unto them.

Then there was Matthew 8:14, “And when He was come into Peter’s house, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick of a fever. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto them.” She did’nt need time to recover from the healing by Jesus; there was something to be done, and she responded immediately to the need. That is the only way to respond to an invitation from the Lord. It needs to be done immediately, and straightway.

Then the fact that Jesus told Zacchaeus He must abide at thy house has a further blessing and example of having the presence of Jesus in the home is noted in Luke 24:29-32: Two disciples had been walking with Jesus the day of the resurrection, not knowing His identity. They invited Him to abide with them, and in the breaking of bread they recognized Him and declared, “Was not our hearts burning within us as He spake to us in the way, and opened unto us the Scripture?” The presence of Jesus in the home, always gives the warming of the heart by His presence. Make haste and come down for today I must abide at thy house. Zacchaeus gives us a good example when he received Jesus into his house.

Now there is no way anyone can see Jesus from the top of a sycamore tree. The only way to see Jesus as He is, is at the bottom of the tree, looking up, and seeing Jesus hanging on the tree.

Peter said of Jesus in his first epistle 2:24, “He who His own self bare our sins in His body on the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes we are healed.”

So when we read in Galatians 3:8: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Jesus, hanging on the tree was the theme of much of the preaching of both Peter and Paul. Peter accused the High Priest, and his crew in Acts five, “God raised up Jesus whom ye slew hanging him on a tree; Him did God exalt with His right hand to be a prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.”

This short man Zacchaeus was not alone in not being able to see Jesus in the crowd; no one is tall enough to see Jesus in the crowd. Some cannot see Jesus because of a crowd of preachers. Many a person could see how to get into Christ, but their preacher stands in the way. A preacher can block the view by lack of understanding about what it takes to attain salvation. Some cannot see Jesus, because of a crowd of hypocrites. Somehow when they think of the Lord they put themselves right behind a hypocrite, and let him block out Jesus. Others cannot see Jesus because of a crowd made up of their friends. The life-style of some friendships is enough to block out the view of Jesus as He passes through their Jericho, and oddly enough sometimes parents can blot out the view of Jesus. I have known many a person who cannot see Jesus because they hide behind the tombstones of their parent’s view of salvation.

That crowd may blot out your view of Jesus as the divine virgin-born Son of God, that crowd may blot out your view of Jesus and His resurrection as the first-born from the dead. That crowd may blot out the view that Jesus started the Church on the Day of Pentecost, and the terms of pardon given that day were for their children, and all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord shall call unto Him, and are still binding to this day. Behold a man.

A WISE MAN

And now, not only was he a short man, he was also a wise man; behold a wise man. Zacchaeus could have said, “I wanted to see Jesus but the crowd was in my way, and under the circumstances it was not my fault.” He was not going to let that crowd cheat him out of what became the greatest moment in his life. Zacchaeus was not a man who blamed circumstances; he ran and climbed the sycamore tree, and got on top of the circumstances.

Once to every man a nation comes the moment to decide

In the strife of good, or falsehood for the good, or evil sid.

Some great cause, God’s great Messiah offers each the bloom or blight

And that choice goes on forever twix that darkness and that light.

Come on down. Behold a man.

BEHOLD A GENEROUS MAN

Behold, a generous man. Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and when he stood before the Lord we are reminded of what John said in his first epistle in the third chapter regarding the Lord’s return. He said, “We shall be made like Him for we shall see Him as He is.” That statement is also true while we are here on earth. Zaccheaus stood before the Lord and saw Him as He is, and wanted to be like Him. Many people today see a ball player as he is, and want to be like him. They may see a movie star as he is, and want be made like him. The greatest model for life for us today is Jesus. Zacchaeus saw Jesus as He was and wanted to be like Him. That is why he said, “Behold, I give half of my goods to the poor, and restore fourfold.” We need to look at Jesus as the Scripture reveals Him, and to be like Him as we hear Him giving the Great Commission to the Apostles, with the orders to preach the gospel to every creature. Be like Jesus as you see Him as He preached the Sermon on the Mount. See Him as He is and try to be like Him. Zacchaeus was a generous man, because he wanted to be like Jesus. Not long before this the rich young ruler had come to Jesus, and the Lord told him to go sell everything he had, and give to the poor. He went away sorrowful for he was one that had great possessions.

As the rich young ruler walked sorrowfully away, Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” Zacchaeus was the exception; he was a rich man who went through the eye of the needle, because Jesus said, “With God all things are possible.” The story of Zacchaeus is the climax of the rich young ruler story.

Zacchaeus said, “Lord, I will give you fifty percent”; the Lord said, “Sounds like a good deal, I’ll take it.” Money was the problem with the rich young ruler, but this was not the problem with Zacchaeus, he was a generous man; in the case of the rich young ruler, he did not have any money, his money had him. Behold a man.

A SAVED MAN

And now last we note a saved man. This was the most important thing about Zacchaeus; he was a saved man. We know he was a saved man because Jesus said so, “Today is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham,” and we can have the same assurance.

Paul said in Galatians the third chapter, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to promise.”

Zacchaeus had no idea that day when he climbed the sycamore tree that salvation would be his that very day. He was like the man Isaiah talked about in Isaiah 65:1, “I am sought of them that asked not for me, I am found of them that sought me not.” No one had tried to evangelize Zacchaeus, nobody cared, but Jesus found him up the sycamore tree, a most unlikely place.

With the Great Physician there is no hopeless case from the disease of sin, even with a man like Zacchaeus, rejected by his own race and countrymen. When Zacchaeus climbed the sycamore tree that day, he never dreamed before the day was over that he would hear the Savior of the world announce, “Today is salvation come to this house.” It is possible that someone hearing this message today may be led to the Lord, even though you were not really looking for Him, and nobody cared, except Jesus.

Behold a man. That phrase sounds familiar as we turn through the pages of God’s Word to John the 19th chapter, and recall how Pilate brought out another man; the battered form of Jesus arrayed in a purple garment, and wearing a crown of thorns, and shouted to a jeering mob, “BEHOLD THE MAN!”