Leading a Rebellion: Zacchaeus

Leading a Rebellion: Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

Rebel: Anyone who resists control, authority, or tradition.

-In Acts 2:37-38, the audience listening to the first Christian sermon were shaken to their core, and asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter responded, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

            -Repentance: To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it; To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.

            -What if you committed a crime and got away with it? Should you turn yourself in to the authorities?

            “January 19, 2004—the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s office received a tragic call: a mother, Renee Coulter, had discovered her 19-year-old daughter, Ashley Wilson, dead in her apartment. A pillow case was over her head, and the cord from her high school graduation gown was wrapped around her neck. It looked as though she’d hanged herself.

            We received a call to investigate a death. This one looked very cut and dry because of the way the whole situation played out The evidence in the apartment suggested that there had been a suicide—the way the body was positioned, the door being locked from the inside, and a note suggesting suicide.

            All the evidence pointed to suicide. A letter was found that could be interpreted as a suicide note. ‘While it didn’t actually say she was going to kill herself, it did state that she was extremely depressed because she was pregnant and the person she was pregnant by was not going to be there for her to raise the child.

            March 2004—Less than six weeks after Ashley’s death, The Passion of the Christ came to Richmond, a small town outside of Houston. Like most other locations around the country, the theaters were packed as a result of all the buzz about the film. A young man bought a ticket and went into the theater for an experience that would change his life forever. Shortly thereafter, that man walked into the Fort Bend County sheriff’s office and turned himself in for the murder of Ashley Wilson. The police were perplexed. That case was closed. Her death was a suicide. There was no murderer. Dan Leach convinced them otherwise.

            Sheriff Wright: When he came in, he was very, very cooperative and gave us explicit details of how he had planned the murder committed it, and the things he had done nobody else could have known because the information was not public knowledge. He had to have been there because he had knowledge of what had gone on during the murder.

            The authorities were stunned. What makes this case most peculiar is the fact that this person had already gotten away with it, but he could not live with his conscience. Just a couple of days after [committing the crime], his conscience began to eat at him and eat at him and eat at him. He became very ashamed, very disgusted with himself over the crime. He needed to tell someone; he needed to get back in God’s grace. He wanted to do that, but he really didn’t know how.

            Dan struggled for about six weeks after the alleged crime. Then he went down by the river and prayed to God for an answer He was torn; he already had gotten away with it and he wanted to get right with God. At that point in time, he felt that God spoke to him and told him: “Go confess.”

            It was in the midst of making the decision to confess his crime that Dan went to see The Passion of the Christ. There was no turning back. Experiencing the killing of an innocent man was more than he could take. Seeing the thief on the cross being executed, and knowing that he was going to be with Jesus in eternity, no doubt spoke directly to Leach’s equally dire circumstances. He was compelled to come clean on the heinous crime he had committed—knowing full well that in Texas, they kill you for crimes like that. When asked why he came forward now, Dan said that The Passion of the Christ had moved him spiritually.

            On August 11, 2004, Dan Leach’s trial began. Leach changed his plea to “guilty,” stating, “I assume full responsibility for my actions.” Leach wept and displayed a tremendous sense of remorse in the courtroom as the jury was to shortly determine his fate. He told his attorney, “It doesn’t matter what they give me.” Attorney Gonzalez told me, “He has more faith and courage than I do.” Two days later the jury pronounced the sentence: 75 years. Twenty-one-year-old Leach will not be eligible for parole until 2041, when at least half of the sentence has been served. “Dan Leach got away with a perfect crime,” said Attorney Gonzalez. “He got away with it, but he could not live with the fact that he took a human life.” God had changed a murderer’s heart.” (http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/screen/Passion_eldred_texaspassion.aspx)

The Rebel: Zacchaeus

            -Sing the “Zacchaeus Song”

-It’s troubling that Zacchaeus was a wonderful godly man, a biblical example of repentance and recompence, and the only thing 99% of all Christians know about him was that he “was a wee little man.”

The Rebellion: Luke 19:1-10

He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

-There are at least four rebellions in this passage. The first is that people like Zacchaeus, people with money, power, and influence generally weren’t as interested in seeing Jesus as Zacchaeus seemed to be. Secondly, men in that culture, especially rich and powerful men did not climb trees, even more especially to see a religious man walk by. Third, Zacchaeus was a Jew, taxing other Jews for the hated, occupying Roman army.

-But we’re focusing on the fourth act of rebellion.

-Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Tax collectors purchased their job, much like a franchise owner purchases the right to own a hamburger chain. Tony Pietsch, purchased the right to sell Firehouse Subs in the Milton, Pace, and Pensacola area. The way the tax collector made money was that Rome demanded a certain amount of money from each village, but anything above and beyond that which a collector could get, was profit.

-Zacchaeus acknowledged that he did wrong. Taking more money than was necessary, or even worse, more money than the people could afford to pay. He vowed not to do that anymore. That’s repentance. Then he vowed to restore any money wrongfully gained four times what he originally took. That’s recompense. Making what you did wrong right.

-Paul wrote about the difference between Godly Sorrow and Worldly Sorrow in 2^nd Corinthians 7:10. Basically, Godly sorrow leads to repentance, which leads to a changed life, which leads to making things right with the people you have wronged. Worldly sorrow can be defined as, “Oh crap! I got caught.”

-The man in Texas knew that he would either get life in prison or the death sentence if he turned himself in. Did he have Godly sorrow or worldly sorrow?

-Zacchaeus was just doing what every other tax collector had ever done, but when he met Jesus, he repented and made recompense. Did he have Godly sorrow or worldly sorrow?

            -Jesus answered that question by saying, “Today salvation has come to this house.”

-What about you? Do you generally have Godly sorrow? Or do you generally just feel bad you got caught?

Application:

-Maybe you have never known God, or paid much attention to this Jesus guy. Or maybe you feel like you used to be close to God but now there is a big chasm between you and Him. If you’re saying to yourself, “I don’t know God, but I would like to,” or maybe, “I used to feel close to God, but not anymore,” I will tell you the same thing Peter told the people at Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized.” Repent and then make recompense. Change your life and then make things right.