Luke 19:1-10                                                                4/1/07
In the Name of Jesus, Dear Fellow Friends of Our Lord,
A friend of mine in college named Tom once told me about how in high school he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.  As expected, he was told that he would have to have his head shaved before the operation.  The surgery itself was enough to occupy his thoughts, but now he also had to come to grips with being without his hair for an extended period of time.

The surgery went well.  But Tom still was wondering how his friends would react to his “new look.”  It didn’t take long for him to find out.  That afternoon his friends came for a visit–and they had all shaved their heads bald!  They didn’t want Tom to feel uncomfortable, so they sacrificed their own hair as a sign of their love for their friend.

Tom’s friends wanted to identify with and experience the thoughts, feelings and attitudes of their friend.  That’s one of the great blessings of friendship.  It makes us realize that we are not alone in the battle of life.  Far greater than this is having the “best Friend” of all, Jesus Christ.  He not only knows what we’re going through, since he took upon himself flesh and blood and became one of us, but he actually took our place and suffered the death we deserved to die so that we might live with him forever in heaven.  As we read earlier in our Epistle lesson (Php 2:7,8), “[Jesus] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!”

There’s an Indian word for friend that means “one who carries my sorrows on his back.”  If that is the definition of a true friend, then today we have every reason to take a closer look at Jesus Christ.  Today we celebrate our friendship with the Lord:
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus!”
I. He’s not ashamed to seek out sinners

II. He comes to us to save our lives
It’s been said that if you really want to know who your friends are, just make a mistake.  Zacchaeus, the man in our text, had made his share of mistakes.  He was a tax collector, a profession that in those days went hand-in-hand with corruption.  Whatever these men could get by overcharging the people went directly into their pockets, so we’re not surprised when we’re told Zacchaeus “was wealthy” (v 2), especially since he was “a chief tax collector” (v 2).  He had heard that Jesus was passing through town, and he wanted to get a look at him.  He was too short to look over the crowds (ever been in the back of the crowd at a parade?), so he found a sycamore-fig tree to climb up.  Perhaps he was a bit timid in approaching Jesus, so at least for now he would be satisfied to catch a glimpse of him.

There are many today who are a bit timid when it comes to finding out about Jesus and what he has to offer.  Perhaps they’re shy.  But there are some who may be afraid of what Jesus might have to say to them.  They’re afraid to hear about what their sins have done to them.  Like Zacchaeus, they’re content to view things from a distance, to keep from getting too involved.

But Jesus looks for those who are afraid to look for him.  He invites himself into our homes.  Zacchaeus found out that he was going to have company that day (v 5), “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.’”  A true friend is one who can come up to you and talk to you about the problems you might be going through.  A true friend is there to help when you need it.  Zacchaeus had a real problem–sin.  And he wasn’t doing anything about it.  Untreated sin is fatal–it leads to eternal death and damnation.  Zacchaeus needed a friend.

The people who knew him were not his friends–they were his critics (v 7), “All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a ’sinner.””  Others looked down on Zacchaeus and wanted nothing to do with him.  But Jesus was not afraid to be seen with him.  Jesus is not ashamed to seek out sinners.

The last verse of our text tells us why Jesus is so eager to seek out sinners (v 10), “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”  What motivates Jesus to be the friend of sinners?  It’s his great love for us!  Jesus once said (Jn 15:13), “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  Jesus came to be our friend, to save our lives from sin.  What a Friend we have in Jesus!

True friendship is more than just words.  A young boy was carrying a basket of eggs down the street to sell at the market place when he tripped on the curb and tumbled to the pavement.  In the process every single egg was broken.  A small crowd of onlookers gathered around the sobbing boy to see if he was O.K.  Some shook their heads and said, “That’s too bad.”  Others offered similar words of sympathy.  But one man said, “I care fifty cents’ worth,” and handed the boy two quarters.  Soon another did the same, followed by one after the other.  In just a few minutes the body had enough money to cover the cost of the broken eggs.

God doesn’t just say, “I love you.”  He also shows us his love.  Romans 5:8 tells us, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Jesus didn’t just talk about friendship–he lived as our Friend and he died as our Friend.  He had to live for us because we couldn’t live the perfect life that God demands of us.  Then Jesus had to die for us–he had to ride into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday even though he knew it meant death for him–because with his death we are given life.  He died for our sins, giving us his perfection, his righteousness in the process.  Jesus came to save our lives, and he did that by being our Friend.  What a Friend we have in Jesus!

The result of his death?  Our sins are wiped out.  A friend of Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, once reminded her of a very cruel thing that someone had done to her years before.  But Miss Barton didn’t seem to recall the event.  “Don’t you remember it?” her friend asked.  “No,” Clara replied, “I distinctly remember forgetting it.”  In the same way God intentionally forgets our sins for Jesus’ sake.  Through faith in him we have full forgiveness and eternal life (Ps 103:12), “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”  That’s the kind of love our God has for us!

The love of our Savior leads us to take great joy in being his friend.  Notice Zacchaeus’ reaction to having Jesus come to him (v 8), “Look, Lord!  Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”  There was a change in his lifestyle because there was a change in his heart.  He now wanted to put away his sinful past so he could serve his Lord in love for all that his Lord had done for him.  He now knew what it meant to have Jesus as his Friend.

Our life also changes when we see what a Friend we have in Jesus.  We put away the things of the sinful nature, the things that are displeasing to God.  Instead we are led to worship our Lord, to honor him with the way we live, to obey his Word out of love, to trust in him in times of trouble, and to thank him for all the blessings we have.  How can we do anything else?  To ignore our Savior would be like having someone sell all he owns to buy you a precious gem, only to have you turn around and say, “Big deal.”  Jesus gave up everything just so that you and I might live with him in heaven.  His gift comes to us with no strings attached.  As our Friend Jesus gave up his life to give us life eternal.  What a Friend we have in Jesus!

There is a legend that tells of a wealthy merchant who heard about the Apostle Paul as he traveled around the Mediterranean world.  On one occasion the man’s business took him to Rome where he made arrangements to meet the Apostle while he was in prison.  Through Timothy the man was able to get to the prison cell, and there he found the Apostle Paul, looking much older and more haggard than he had expected.  And yet there was a sparkle in his eye, and Paul eagerly shared his message of hope and life with this man.  When finally the merchant had to leave the cell, he turned to Timothy and asked, “What is the secret of that man’s power?  He has nothing and yet he speaks as though he has everything.”  Timothy replied, “Paul is in love.”  The merchant looked puzzled.  “In love?” he asked.  “Yes,” said Timothy, “Paul is in love with the Lord Jesus Christ.”  The businessman looked even more confused and asked, “Is that all?”  Timothy smiled and replied, “That, my friend, is everything.”

What a Friend we have in Jesus!  Your best Friend Jesus has given everything for you.  Let us give our all for him!

Amen

–Pastor Jonathan Rockhoff