Zacchaeus: Hurry Down, Jesus Wants to Stay at Your House

Introduction

"Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." Samuel Mabboux, pastor of the Assemblée de Dieu de Nice Ariane, takes these words of Jesus to Zacchaeus in Luke 19 as his theme. They are addressed to someone whose home the Lord urgently, insistently asks to enter and stay in.

The questions come within the first few minutes: does Jesus still dwell in your life? Is he in the middle of your choices and your future? Is he in your house, in your heart? If not, you can still experience the grace of God.

The pastor follows the text verse by verse and draws out a journey: Zacchaeus seeks Jesus, Jesus calls him by name, Zacchaeus welcomes him with joy and repents, and salvation comes to his house. It is a message in which the preacher also opens up his own story, with the conviction that what God did for him, he can do for you.

Message Outline

1. Zacchaeus Tries to See Jesus

• Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and a rich man, "was trying to see who Jesus was." Perhaps at first out of simple curiosity, wanting to know this famous stranger everyone was talking about, the way you might go to see a star passing through Nice.
• He climbs up high to see Jesus, but not close enough to touch him. The pastor compares this with the woman with the issue of blood, who did want to touch Jesus: seeing Jesus is one step, touching him is the next.
• Even if you are distant from the Lord, he wants to call out to you and say: "I want to come closer to you, and I want you to come closer to me." Don't let the opportunity pass. "Tomorrow does not belong to you," but the hour in front of you lets you make a choice, the choice to choose Jesus Christ.
• Zacchaeus took steps to meet Jesus: he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. He did not wait for it to just happen to him. Everyone who seeks finds, everyone who asks receives, and it is opened to the one who knocks (Matthew 7:7-8). God lets himself be found by the one who seeks him with all his heart.
• Zacchaeus had rank, status and money. Hated by the Jews, a friend of the Romans, recognized, rich. And yet you can sense that he is not happy, that his situation is not enough for him, that he is looking for something else.

2. In Jericho, God Takes an Interest in You

• For the preacher, Jericho speaks of God's mercy: God takes an interest in you, God takes an interest in us.
• He uses his own example, "my miserable life": the day he said "Lord, come into my life," God began to restore. It took time, several years, but month after month, year after year, he restored what was broken and even raised to life things that had died inside him. "If he did it for me, he can do it for you tonight."
• God is a God of mercy, love and compassion. That same God is here today in the person of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who raised Christ after three days in the tomb, who searches the depths of God and who still works if you call on him.

3. Jesus Looks Up and Calls You by Name

• In verse 5, Jesus looks up and says "Zacchaeus." The pastor loves these divine appointments where the Lord calls out to you, where you feel laid bare before him. He tells of the moment Jesus called him by name, "Samuel," and showed him his sin: a moment filled with the love of God, where you feel both so at peace and so uncomfortable because of your sin.
• Jesus looked up at Zacchaeus because he was in a tree. But two thousand years ago, God looked down on this earth and sent his Son so that whoever believes would not perish, but have life, abundant life and eternal life (John 3:16; John 10:10).
• In the crowd, Jesus stops for one person. "Jesus is the God of the crowd, but he is also the God of Zacchaeus." He is the God of the Church and of humanity, but he is also your God, and he knows you by name, since you were in your mother's womb.
• He does not say "Sir, come down" or "What are you doing up in a tree?" He starts with "Zacchaeus," because he knows him. There is a divine appointment, and Zacchaeus does not let it pass.
• The scene takes place a few days before the crucifixion. Just before entering Jerusalem for the mission waiting for him there, Jesus still passes through Jericho: there is still a man who has to taste grace. If only for Zacchaeus. "And Zacchaeus is you and me tonight."
• It is Jesus who calls out first. No one can come to him unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). We did not love God first; he loved us first (1 John 4:19), when we were not lovable. Even your desire to know more about Jesus was put in you by him, because he does not want to condemn the sinner, but wants him to repent and be saved by grace.
• Those who considered themselves spiritual murmured: "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner." But God does not look at your past, or your job, or your status, rich or poor. What interests him is your soul. "God has no interest in us. He has nothing to gain from us." He is not bored up in his heaven of glory, he does not need you: he wants you out of love alone. His action is motivated by his love and his justice.

4. Receiving Him with Joy and Humility

• Zacchaeus "hurried, came down, and received him joyfully." How do you approach Jesus? Have you come into the house of the Lord with joy, or dragging your feet?
• The pastor shares that the day before had been morally difficult. He put on some worship music, had a service, heard a message of truth, and the Lord filled his heart. "It feels so good to be in the presence of God," and to say: "Lord, come into my house, I receive you with joy."
• Jesus pays no attention to your rank. Only one thing impressed him in the Gospels: the faith of a Roman centurion for his servant, of whom he said he had not found such great faith (Matthew 8:10). What impresses Jesus is your faith, what you put in place to meet him. The rest, poverty, wealth, tax collector, prostitute or president, is human stuff.
• There are also obstacles: "he couldn't because of the crowd, because he was short in stature." There are things for which money, knowledge and advantages do not help, and which do not count for salvation. Even his physical limitation did not keep him from meeting Jesus.
• When you give yourself the means to seek God with all your heart, no one can stop you from meeting Jesus. They can stop you from reading the Bible or singing, but no one can stop you from praying in your heart, because it is spiritual. Nothing will separate us from the love of God shown in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).

5. He Calls You: Today, Not Tomorrow

• The Lord calls each of us by our first name. Isaiah 43:1: "But now Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel, says: 'Don't be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.'"
• Whether you believe in God or not, it is God who created you. Even if your parents did not want you, even if you were abandoned or mistreated, you were not born by chance: "If your parents didn't want you, God wanted you." He alone gives the breath of life.
• "I must stay today": Jesus is not offering an appointment next week, if you feel like it. There is urgency, because the situation is urgent. Don't joke about sin, don't take it lightly, treat it with the seriousness it deserves. "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can deal with today."
• There is also humility: Zacchaeus pays no attention to the murmuring or the mockery. In those days, a tax collector working for the Romans was the equivalent of a "collaborator" in World War II, deeply despised. He did not care.
• God looks for true hearts. You can fool people, wear a white polo shirt, quote verses, close your eyes, serve in the church. "You can fool people, you can fool the pastor, but you cannot fool God." The pastor tells how at school he would confuse everyone and always get what he wanted. But God confronted him, brought him to his knees, and he wept over his sin. God reveals in order to restore.
• For the Lord, hypocrisy is the worst of sins, because it is the only one that stops God from working and keeps you from living restoration. It is better to be the greatest of sinners and come to the feet of Jesus. Zacchaeus was perhaps the worst sinner in Jericho, the most despised, a thief. He will admit it half-way, and repair his mistakes all the same.
• Another urgency is added today: the return of the Lord. The pastor pictures a countdown in God's office, a timer getting closer to zero. There may be months, weeks or days left. Jesus is coming back for his Church, not for those who merely wear a cross around their neck or keep a Bible at home, but for those who are in Jesus Christ, who have asked forgiveness for their sins and have been born again.
• He gives his testimony: if Jesus had come back when he was 20, "even though I was baptized by immersion," he would not have been taken, because he was baptized but not saved. Today he knows he is ready, not out of pride but out of assurance: "Lord, I have made mistakes, but you know that I love you and you know that I am real before you."

6. Zacchaeus Repents, and Salvation Comes to His House

• "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much." With these words, Zacchaeus regrets his life and wants to change it: this is called repentance. He begins with "Lord" and acknowledges the power of the one who is there, in his house.
• The pastor imagines Jesus on his own couch: he would put pressure on himself, make a quiche, tell himself he hasn't vacuumed. "Can you imagine? Jesus is there, at his place, in Zacchaeus' house."
• The man who was greedy, who always wanted more money, gives half of his goods, and the other half will perhaps go to paying back four times what he stole. Financially, he may not have much left. Spiritually, he has never been so rich.
• It is as if he has just realized that the treasure was not the money he had piled up: the treasure was sitting across from him, at his table. When you find something better, what you had seems bland, like an old car once you have a new one. Money does not measure up to Jesus.
• It is also a symbol of forgiveness: "Lord, forgive my theft, forgive that I was greedy, forgive the lie. Now I want to change." Jesus is here in the Church through the Holy Spirit: where two or three are gathered, he is in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).
• There is enormous power in confession. What matters is not going to church, lighting a candle or following rituals; what matters is confession. Jesus listens to Zacchaeus and does not lecture him, he does not say "you are a thief, you are a sinner": his mere presence reveals sin.
• Coming to Jesus means repairing your mistakes, asking forgiveness from those you have hurt and restoring what can still be restored. "Biblically, that holds up."
• It is in contact with Jesus that Zacchaeus changes. It is not up to the pastor to change people: being a pastor is "just repeating what Jesus said." We can change small habits for a week or two, but when Jesus works deeply, it changes everything.
• Verse 9: "Today, salvation has come to this house." The house symbolizes life, and the Lord can enter your house tonight. Zacchaeus had everything, a beautiful house, fine possessions, a lot of money, but he lacked what mattered most, Jesus Christ. With him, everything else is only vanity of vanities (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
• Verse 10: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." All are lost and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but few admit it; some believe they are saved by their works or by fate. There is only one name given among people by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the only mediator (1 Timothy 2:5): without him, your prayers do not get past the ceiling, and it is in him that we have access to God.
• The message ends with an invitation: say to the Lord "I invite you into my house," "I welcome you into my house today," "I receive you with joy, as Zacchaeus did." And a prayer that the Spirit of God would reveal hidden sin, not to accuse or humiliate, but to cleanse, restore and transform.

Key Takeaways

• Zacchaeus took steps to meet Jesus. The one who seeks with all his heart lets himself be found by God.
• Jesus is the God of the crowd, but he is also your God: he calls you by name, and he is the one who loved you first.
• Nothing impresses Jesus, neither rank nor money, except faith. Your past and your status do not interest him, your soul does.
• "I must stay today": sin must be dealt with urgently, and hypocrisy is the only sin that keeps God from restoring.
• Repentance is visible: Zacchaeus gives, pays back four times as much and realizes that the treasure is at his table. Salvation then comes to his house.

Personal Application

1. Does Jesus still dwell in your life, in the middle of your choices and your future, or do you keep a certain distance, like Zacchaeus up in his tree?
2. What have you concretely put in place to seek the Lord and meet him?
3. How do you approach Jesus: with joy and humility of heart, or dragging your feet?
4. Is there a sin you are putting off until tomorrow instead of dealing with it today through confession?
5. Whom do you need to ask forgiveness from, and what do you have to give back or restore, so that your repentance is as visible as Zacchaeus'?

Verses Cited

• Luke 19:1-10
• Matthew 7:7-8
• John 3:16
• John 10:10
• John 6:44
• 1 John 4:19
• Matthew 8:10
• Romans 8:38-39
• Isaiah 43:1
• Matthew 18:20
• Ecclesiastes 1:2
• Romans 3:23
• Acts 4:12
• 1 Timothy 2:5

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house" mean?

For Samuel Mabboux, these words of Jesus to Zacchaeus (Luke 19:5) are addressed to everyone: Jesus urgently asks to settle into your life, your choices and your future. "Hurry" speaks of urgency: don't put off until tomorrow what you can settle today. The house symbolizes life, and salvation can enter it tonight.

Why does Jesus call Zacchaeus by name?

Jesus does not say "Sir, come down." He says "Zacchaeus," because he knows him. The preacher recalls Isaiah 43:1: "I have called you by your name. You are mine." Jesus is the God of the crowd, but he is also your God. He already knew you in your mother's womb, even if your parents did not want you.

How does Zacchaeus show his repentance?

Zacchaeus calls Jesus "Lord," gives half of his goods to the poor and pays back four times as much to those he wronged. The man who chased after money realizes that the treasure is sitting across from him. For the preacher, coming to Jesus also means repairing your mistakes, asking forgiveness from those you have hurt and restoring what can still be restored.