Living A Life Of Breakthrough

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus and Zacchaeus

Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem. When they passed by Jericho, there was a man in Jericho by the name of Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was very rich. He wanted to see who Jesus was but he could not do so amidst the crowd because he was very short. So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed on a sycamore tree since Jesus was going to pass by that place.

Zacchaeus was a Jew but he was also a chief tax collector. The Roman rulers hired these Jewish men to collect tax from their own people. They extorted money from the people to fill their own pockets. When the Jewish public saw the luxurious lifestyle of these corrupt tax collectors, they could not hide their disdain for them. They hoped that when the kingdom of God finally arrived, these great sinners would be judged by God and perish.

When Jesus arrived there, He looked up and saw Zacchaeus atop that sycamore tree. Jesus knew very well the dark side of sinners. He saw through Zacchaeus’ greed, corruption, lack on inner peace, and loneliness. Jesus is able to bring healing to the souls of those who are besotted by sin so that they may be free from the bondage of sin and live a new life.

Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus came down at once and received Jesus with great joy. However, those who saw what happened grumbled and murmured among themselves, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

Zacchaeus truly repented. In Jewish thought, repentance means a change of heart and, through action, makes restitution for past sins. Not only did Zacchaeus make restitution for the sins of the past, he was also very generous and charitable. His generosity resulted in him losing everything but he could not care less because he gained the precious salvation that Jesus was giving to him.

Today, for those who have received Jesus’ salvation, what are your responses?

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the perished.”  (Vv. 9-10).

Jesus came to bring salvation to sinners so that they may have life. For where Jesus is, there is salvation! As long as a person is willing to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and repent from their sinful ways, he or she can be re-admitted into the mainstream of society and live a full and overcoming life.

Zacchaeus had some serious problems. He was a chief tax collector – a villain in the eyes of the Jewish people. He was a social outcast. He was also very rich. Typically, a rich man finds it hard to follow Jesus because they are wealthy. Due to his small stature, Zacchaeus bore physical and psychological insecurities. He was unable to draw close the Jesus. No one cared for him. The synagogue would not welcome him. Everyone complained when Jesus received him.

Today, do we also feel lowly and inadequate? Let’s examine how Zacchaeus overcame his inadequacies and obstacles so that we too may have a breakthrough and live out a victorious life.

Zacchaeus Never Give Up

First of all, Zacchaeus did not shrink in the face of difficulty.

The crowd did not welcome Zacchaeus. Instead, they obstructed and excluded him. Yet, he still thought of a way to see Jesus. Although the crowd came out to see Jesus, they were not actually seeking Him. Some were there for the festive atmosphere. Others were there to ridicule Jesus. Still others came, perhaps, to take advantage of him. But Zacchaeus did not allow these irrelevant people to affect his relationship with God. He was truly hungry to see Jesus. He did not allow others to obstruct him from meeting Jesus. He also did not allow his own inadequacies and lowly stature to stop him from knowing Jesus and receiving grace from Him.

Today, many Christians become shaky in faith when they face cynicism, obstruction, and negative comments from others. They are easily fed up by circumstances and very quick to accuse other people for being hypocritical Christians. As a result, they are not willing to attend church services or serve in ministry or committed to their own calling in the past. We should not allow the attitude or the opinions of others to affect our personal relationship with God. It is simply not worth doing so.

Those who always feel that they have been rejected by others also have the tendency to fall into negativity and self-pity. They may say, “So-and-so does not show love to me, does not accept me, so why should I be here? Good bye.”

God wants us to be full of zeal but He also requires us to be mature in faith and grow daily in our spiritual lives. Mature Christians are those who are rooted in the Bible and understand God’s purposes. Such people do not waver from their God-given missions. They will not be affected by negative responses from others.

Instead, they will find encouragement and positivity from the good testimony by others. Furthermore, they will not engross in their own lowliness and inadequacies, which might prevent them from trying new things and accomplishing goals.

Today, are you matured in faith? Is your life rooted in the word of God? Turn back to Jesus and serve Him! Pursue the full knowledge of Christ and draw nearer to Him. By the grace of the Lord Jesus, we can accomplish great things that are beyond our own imagination and talent.

Zacchaeus was Proactive and Creative

Secondly, Zacchaeus was proactive and creative. Although his goal was impeded by a hostile crowd and obstructed by tall trees, he resolved not to remain “small in stature.” He let go of his pride and, without caring for what others think, he happily ran ahead of the crowd like how children back then would and even took the risk of climbing up a tree so that he may see Jesus.

He was also very creative. Instead of having his view blocked by the tree, he turned it into resources with which he was able to draw near to Jesus. Ultimately, he obtained salvation and his life was transformed and lifted up!

What obstacles do you face today? Are you facing criticism by others? You feel that you do not have any friends? Are you experiencing financial difficulties? Do you feel you are lacking in talent? Are you too young? Are you too old? Seem hard to find any free time to serve God? Too introverted to be willing to contact other people? Is your faith or love fading away?

Let’s encourage and remind each other to always maintain a positive attitude. Be determined to seek for change, be willing to go the extra mile, be humble, and work hard in matters big or small, the Holy Spirit will grant you the wisdom to be creative in order to overcome your obstacles. Then you will be able to live a life of breakthrough, an extraordinary life of an over-comer.

Jesus Knows You and Accepts You

The Scriptural does not say that Zacchaeus saw Jesus. Instead, Scripture emphasizes that Jesus was the one who looked up, seeing Zacchaues, and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today” (v. 5).

Jesus already knew his name – Zacchaeus. This indicates that Zacchaeus cannot rely on himself to see Jesus. It was Jesus who saw him and sought him out. Although he wanted to increase his stature by climbing a tree, he quickly came down again; to humble himself. By obeying the commandment of Jesus to come down, Zacchaeus obtained salvation.

Scripture emphasizes that Jesus came to lower those who are exalted and exalt those who lowered themselves.

In some sense, we are all “Zacchaeuses.” We are all bound by sinfulness. We are limited by our own inadequacies. We cannot rely upon ourselves for salvation. We are unable to have breakthroughs in every aspect of our lives. Yet, while we were yet sinners, God knew us and sought after us so that we may become His children and be accepted into God’s community to shine for Jesus. This is amazing grace!

Since God has received us as His children, we are all in one family. We ought to also accept one another, love one another, and render help to each other. We must not reject one another. Other than this, we must not be too quick to give up serving God and thereby abandon the status and blessing of being children of God. Do not be too quick to give up the goal that you have been fighting for all this while.

Jesus knows our situation and needs. He knows us more intimately than anyone else in the world. This includes our spiritual and physical needs. We ought to be like Zacchaeus who, having been shown so much love by Jesus, responded positively to God.

Let’s now declare together, “It is so good to know Jesus. We accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. We want to follow Jesus and serve him. We want to offer up our money, our time, and our energy to build God’s work in his Kingdom and to help the brothers and sisters who are in need. We want to forgive one another. We want to correct our past mistakes. With the help of Jesus, we want to be pro-active and creative to overcome difficulties and obstacles in life!”

Conclusion

It is our attitude and our relationship with God that determines the kind of lives we get to live and the kind of blessing and harmony we can bring to our community.

Let’s commit all our obstacles, worries, inadequacies, and weaknesses to Jesus. We need to repent and repair the wrongs we have made in the past. Let’s be resolute in our pursuit of the Lord. Let’s desire after Jesus, serve Him to the best of our ability and obey His commandment to love one another.

This is what it means to offer up ourselves as living sacrifices. Jesus will certainly lift us up so that we could live a life of breakthrough, transforming from “small in stature” to being great, excellent and victorious!