We All Need Jesus

Introduction

There are days when it feels like your life is going great. You have a good job, a stable relationship, a bit of money saved up, a full fridge. So when someone talks to you about Jesus, you honestly think: "Thanks, but I don't need that." And there are other days when it's the opposite. You look at your journey, your failures, your reputation, and you tell yourself you've gone too far, that Jesus has nothing left to do in your life.

In this message preached at the chapel, Pastor Loïc Richard revisits the story of Zacchaeus, in Luke 19:1-10, to tell you one thing: no matter where you are in life, we all need Jesus. Zacchaeus had many obstacles to meeting Jesus. He had everything except the essential. And the day Jesus invited himself to his house, his life was transformed forever.

Article Outline

1. The obstacles that keep you from seeing Jesus
2. An encounter with Jesus transforms you
3. Jesus is compelled by love: he wants to stay at your house today

1. The Obstacles That Keep You from Seeing Jesus

Zacchaeus is not the person you'd picture with Jesus. He's actually the last person you'd invite to church. And yet, he wants to see who this Jesus is that everyone is talking about. But between him and Jesus stands a pile of obstacles.

His height. Zacchaeus is short. Too short to see over the crowd. That's the first obstacle, a very concrete one. Maybe in your life, the obstacle is just as ordinary: a schedule that's too packed, a stress that takes up all the space, an exhaustion that makes you say "not this Sunday."

The crowd. And there's the crowd around Jesus that keeps Zacchaeus from getting close. In the text, this crowd is made up of the religious people, the people living good lives, those who see themselves as the "good people." And this crowd judges Zacchaeus. It grumbles with indignation when Jesus decides to go to his house.

Maybe you've experienced that. You know Christians who have judged you. Christians who preach one thing and do the opposite. You've come to the conclusion that all Christians are hypocrites and that God, ultimately, is not for you. Don't let the crowd discourage you. It's not because a Christian has disappointed you that Jesus is going to disappoint you. And for those of us who follow Jesus, it's a question we need to ask ourselves: am I an ambassador worthy of Jesus Christ, or am I part of this crowd that keeps others from seeing him?

His reputation. Zacchaeus is a chief tax collector. At that time, the Roman Empire controls Israel, among other things through exorbitant taxes. The Romans go through Jewish tax collectors to gather these taxes, and these tax collectors add a hefty percentage to line their own pockets. For the people, a tax collector is the worst kind of person. A traitor, a thief, someone who exploits the poor. And Zacchaeus is not just any tax collector: he is the chief tax collector.

Maybe you're here today and you feel your reputation is too bad to get close to Jesus. Listen carefully: if Zacchaeus's reputation did not stop Jesus from coming close to him, there is no one here whose reputation will stop Jesus from coming close to them. No one.

His wealth and power. Jericho sits on a trade route between Jerusalem and the East. It's a wealthy city. And Zacchaeus is in the right place, with the right job, to get rich. He has money, servants, a big house, power.

You might tell me: "Wealth doesn't apply to me. I have debts, bills to pay." But if you can turn on a tap and get clean water, if you can go to the grocery store when you're hungry, if you have access to electricity and to a doctor when you're sick, you are richer than any king from Zacchaeus's time. We are all rich.

And why is that a problem? Because Jesus says a few verses earlier, in Luke 18:25: "For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." When you have everything you need, when you have the resources, the network, the connections, the great danger is that you start trusting your wealth more than you trust God. You start believing that, in the end, you don't need him.

Maybe it's been years that you've been walking with Jesus. He has done great things in your life, but slowly, you start believing the lie that you're getting there on your own. Comfort always takes up more and more space, and Jesus slides to the edges. Or maybe you think Jesus is for other people. For those who've lived through tragedies, those who were suicidal, those who were addicted to drugs. You, you have a good job, a good business, things are going fine with your spouse. You're "fine."

Listen to what God says in Revelation 3:17: "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." Sometimes our Western comfort can make us believe we don't need Jesus. We don't realize just how desperately we need him.

2. An Encounter with Jesus Transforms You

Zacchaeus, for his part, had the humility to say: "I just want to catch a glimpse." He climbs a sycamore tree, a large tree very common at the time, with low branches. From among the leaves, he thinks he'll watch Jesus quietly, discreetly. But Jesus does not just walk on by. He stops, looks up, and says to him: "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today."

There's something fascinating in the text: we read everything that happens before the meal, and everything that happens after. But of the meal itself, we know nothing. There's a blank. And yet, when Zacchaeus comes out of that meal, he is a different man: "Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold."

Picture the scene. His accountant is right there. Zacchaeus announces 50% to the poor. The accountant turns pale: "Zacchaeus, that's still a lot of money." Then Zacchaeus continues: "And if I stole from anyone, I'll pay back four times as much." At this point, everyone chuckles, because stealing was literally his job. The accountant waves his hands: "Zacchaeus, stop, time out, 50% plus 400%, that's more than 100%. You're giving away everything."

What happened during that meal? What technique, what program, what religion did Zacchaeus adopt? It's not a technique. It's not a program. It's not a religion. It's a person. You cannot welcome Jesus into your home and stay the same person. An encounter with Jesus will transform your life.

The pastor tells the story of his daughter Adelle, in kindergarten, who was fascinated by the Artemis II mission. This mission flew around the moon, the first to carry human beings since 1972. While watching the videos as a family, they came across an interview with Reid Wiseman, the mission commander. Wiseman, who was not a believer, described being so overwhelmed by the sight of Earth from space that he couldn't put into words what he was feeling. When the capsule splashed down in the Pacific, he asked to see the chaplain from the recovery ship. "I looked at him, I saw the cross on his collar, and I just broke down in tears."

That man was transformed just by seeing God's creation. Now imagine an encounter with the creator. Imagine an encounter with Jesus, God on earth. That is what Zacchaeus experienced.

And Zacchaeus's life was not simply improved. It was transformed. The one who used to take everything now gives everything away. The one who was curious becomes a Christian. The one who was lost is saved. The one who was his own master calls Jesus "Lord." Jesus says: "Today salvation has come to this house, since he too is a son of Abraham." In other words: he too is part of the family. Zacchaeus, who was hated by everyone, joins the community. He is accepted. He had power and money, but what he truly needed was a savior and a family.

And that kind of encounter does not belong to some other era. Loïc Richard tells the story of Marc-Antoine, an engineer, a true atheist who had asked himself the real questions and concluded that faith was incompatible with science. His outward life was going fine, but on the inside, he lived with anxiety so severe he would have stomach pain for entire days. When he met Christina, whose family is Christian, he began setting foot in church "to make the relationship easier," thinking he was living a lie. But while he thought he was taking a step toward a relationship, Jesus was taking a step toward him. Little by little, the stress lightened, chains fell off, the emptiness filled up. Today Marc-Antoine serves on the chapel's operations team. He says: "I come to church to give, and the more I give, the more I receive."

Then Marc-Antoine invites his coworker Max for two years. Max eventually comes. Jesus transforms his life, and Max is baptized in November 2025. Max in turn invites his friend Alex. Alex meets Jesus, and he was baptized last week. One transformed encounter, and a chain reaction is set in motion.

3. Jesus Is Compelled by Love: He Wants to Stay at Your House Today

Go back to verse 5. Jesus looks up and says: "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." There are two striking words in this sentence.

First, "hurry." We often say that God is never late, never in a hurry. Here, Jesus is in a hurry. Why? He is ten days from the cross. You might imagine a list of urgent priorities: preaching to the crowds, training leaders, planning for succession, writing out a ministry continuity plan. Jesus's priority is Zacchaeus. A man rejected by everyone, a man who thought he didn't need him.

Then, "must." Who can compel Jesus, the Lord of lords, to do anything? No one else decides his schedule for him. So who compels him? Love. Jesus is compelled by love. A love so great for Zacchaeus that he is compelled to go to his house.

And that same love, Jesus has for you today. If you're reading this article, it's not by chance. Maybe right now you're like Zacchaeus up in his tree, watching the scene from a distance, keeping your safe space. Jesus is speaking to you: "Come down from your tree, come down from your human reasoning, come down from your pride, come down from your false security. I must stay at your house today."

Key Takeaways

• You have obstacles to getting close to Jesus: your schedule, the crowd, your reputation, your wealth. None of these obstacles is bigger than Jesus's love for you.
• It's not because a Christian disappointed you that Jesus will disappoint you. Don't let the crowd discourage you.
• Comfort can be more dangerous than crisis. It's easy to believe you don't need Jesus when everything is going well.
• An encounter with Jesus doesn't improve your life, it transforms it. It's not a technique, a program, or a religion: it's a person.
• Jesus is compelled by love. He wants to stay at your house today, not later.

Personal Application

1. What obstacle keeps you from getting close to Jesus today: your reputation, your influences, your comfort, your wealth?
2. Do you tolerate relationships in your life that are destroying your soul, just to feel like you belong to the group?
3. Are you an ambassador worthy of Jesus, or does the way you live discourage those trying to get close to him?
4. In what concrete area of your life, money, time, relationships, pride, is Jesus asking you to come down from your tree?
5. Like Marc-Antoine, is there someone in your life you could pass this good news on to, even if you have to patiently keep at it for two years?

Verses Cited

• Luke 19:1-10 · Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus into his home.
• Luke 18:25 · The camel and the eye of the needle.
• Revelation 3:17 · "You say: I need nothing..."

FAQ

Who is Zacchaeus in the Bible?

Zacchaeus is a chief tax collector in Jericho, described in Luke 19:1-10. Wealthy, despised by his people for collaborating with the Roman occupier, he climbs a sycamore tree to see Jesus pass by. Jesus invites himself to his house, and Zacchaeus comes out transformed, promising to give half of his goods to the poor and to repay fourfold anyone he had defrauded.

Can my reputation keep me from getting close to Jesus?

No. Zacchaeus had the worst possible reputation in his society: traitor, thief, collaborator with the occupier. It was precisely at his house that Jesus decided to stay. If Zacchaeus's reputation did not stop Jesus from coming close to him, no one's reputation can stop the love of Jesus.

Why does Jesus say "hurry" to Zacchaeus?

Because Jesus is compelled by love, not by stress. He is ten days from the cross, but that day, his priority is this one man rejected by his community. It's a sign that Jesus doesn't wait for you to be "ready" before coming to your house: he comes today, because of his love for you.