“Come Down Immediately, Zacchaeus” | Luke 19:1–10

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Good Morning, good morning. We talked whole night through good morning, good moaning to. You and you and you nice dude. I have nothing add to that. I'm this the silver Edition. I apologize, I have nothing. I have nothing to add to that. This is welcome to Kyle on the Bible Guys, the silver Edition, not platinum, not bold. But the last couple of weeks, I've done good Morning on Tuesdays because normally I reserved for Wednesdays or Thursdays late in the week. But by the way that I don't know how that became a thing. I think I did it a long long time ago. I think I had some people, like literally ad Heritage Church, which is the shirt that I'm wearing, by the way, stays to me in the lobby. Hey, that really cheered me up. I like that. So there was one woman in particular lessons every day and I said, well, I'll sing it for you. That's just for you, right, And I did, and then it sort of became a thing. So, oh man, someone's going to ask you this Sunday. You know that now probably anyway, good morning. My name is Chris. This is Kyle, and today we are the Bible Guys Silver Edition. I want to say that I am. You know. That's fine, dude, it's fine. It's silver Edition. It's okay. I got on my gray hair growing out, dude, that's true. Yeah, I get that. It's so. So anyway, Jeff is out of the country and along with Dave Wilson and Tom Blount. Uh and so anyway, they're doing great things, and so are we, Kyle. We're great doing great things here holding on the four that's right. And today we are covering U famous sayings by Jesus and it's really Jesus and the Outsiders, and that's the theme of the week. And today's famous saying is come down immediately, zach keus great names as zach Kus. Yeah, I gotta love that. Yeah, it sounds like zucchini. I always think. Is really I don't know why that's funny, you know, I mean how many how many words are have that sound? No, it's it's strange. And I actually heard somebody recently because this was the message actually that our herited church kids can This is one of the messages, and the person who gave the messager was like, man, this person had a great The name was z A chias anybody here knowing he's a chias Is And the kids were like, hands shot up and they're like, you know, because if you ask the kid, does anybody know? Everybody wants to raise their hand right right right, And there's just funny. All these kids hand shot up and you see and bring their hand down, you know, is a kyus? No, that's funny. Hey, So we're going to do a segment that Desiree is placed in here for us called Phil in the Blank. This is not a common segment. We've only done it a few times. Listen, I'm gonna go on record. Oh boy, I'm gonna go on record and say that this isn't Jeff's thing. Okay, I've tried this with Jeff and this just isn't his. Are they like just sayings or no? This okay, It says, let's see how Kyle does with this segment. Boy, Chris will start a sentence and then Kyle will have to complete it in unexpected ways. Oh boy, okay, okay, so you have to. Use your imagination. Maybe maybe The problem is I didn't give Jeff enough context. Okay, try to make it unexpected. Maybe maybe fun if you can, right, but maybe just something that's maybe a little bit outrageous. All right, Okay, let's give it a whirl. So here's the beginning of the sentence. You're ready. Yeah, I was on the golf course and the other day, and you'll never believe what this one legged golfer did. Comma, they putted the ball in with their big toe. Wow, that's pretty good. I don't know. Okay, Hey, that's that's not about one leged person, you know. I just I just imagine that would be pretty impossible. You're meaning his prosthetic big toe, right, yes, okay, okay. Now, by the way, the reason why I said that is I have a friend who's a prostal golf. Yeah about that. He is a prosthetic limp was leg So I thought of Kevin Balance. Yeah, I've heard a good friend as a pastor in Florida. I've heard he's a very good golfer too. He's actually was one time, one time the number one amputee golfer in the world. Oh my gosh. And they would fly him everywhere. So I go for them like just last look four weeks ago. Yeah, and I still got it. Oah, he's crazy, he's crazy. That's frustrating. Here we are with our with our legs, trying to. Okay, let's let's have another century. Ready, I'll try. I was walking down the steps of my house early in the morning when suddenly. Oh, dude, on first thing out of. Your mouth, it's the first thing in your mind. Go, don't think about it. When suddenly, what. Hurry, Come on, dude, this is so hard. Dude, I'm trying to think of all your cats you got, I'm trying to think of your life. I'm trying to think. Okay, when suddenly, when suddenly a cat yes, jumped on my leg, yes, and took me, tackled me down to the ground. Okay, there you go. I don't know, there you go. I see why Jeff doesn't. It doesn't have to be be okay, why don't you try? Okay, yeah, how about read one because you probably read the next one? Or are they done? No, it's supposed to be. Oh you're making them up. Oh you're making them up. Oh there's great, there's great. Now I got one for you, all right, Okay, Okay, So I was driving down Hall Road, yes, in the middle of Christmas season. Yes, And I looked to my right and I see. A man and a Halloween mask scaring everybody, with all the children around him crying in the other cars. Okay, there we go. That's good. It's Halloween mask with all the children. An that was good. Yeah. Yeah. By the way, I I only said that because it's the first thing that came to my mind. I saw that on TikTok. Yeah. Oh really, there's a guy. Wearing a Michael Myer's mask who literally would pull up to people, roll down his window and then and then get the film. The reaction and people would. Scream, Oh really, that's son just so funny. You're like, I could try that. And so anyway, yeah, it's just the first thing that comes to your mind. That's so funny. Yeah, and it's unexpected. Yeah yeah. And so yeah, well that's terrible. All right, Well we may it may not be for me. Maybe you can bring platinum edition into it next time. Okay, we'll try to see next time. He's got a great imagination. All right. Well, hey, Kyle, that was outrageous. It was wild, and you know what else, was outrageous. The story of zach. Tius dude, wildly outrageous, Yes, because actually it is outrageous. Uh, and unexpected. It is unexpected. What happens to is a kias yes, when he falls out. Oh wait, you don't know he fell out of traudvocate. It was a spoiler spoiler alert falls out all right. Hey. By the way, there was a guy that I knew, uh, who's a pastor in California. He preached this entire message on a Sunday morning, the entire message, and he had Nicodemus up in the sycamore tree. Oh my, and he said Nicodemus the whole time. After he read the scripture, he said, zachiis and then. After that he just stuck on Nicodemus and. He said Nicodemus. And not a single person in his entire church raised their hand or shouted or came up and whispered. They allowed the man to just say Nicodemus, even though every person listening knew it was that cute. Oh my goodness. And it's like it's like if you have something hanging out in your nose and nobody says anything yeah, or you know, or like you know whatever it is right, your zippers down, and nobody. Tells this is the trigger for me because this just happened six weeks ago to me. Really, yes, zipper down and nobody told you yep on stage yep, So what happened? Yeah, it was six weeks ago. I hope Kristen's listening my wife because I was a little friends. She was like, what what do you want me to do? So we I was wearing black pants. Luckily what I was wearing underneath was not bright or louder. That was like gray, so it kind of went a little bit. But apparently my zipper had come down, and we're doing this element, remember like the messages about like fear or something like that, where we did like the what's in the box? Oh yeah, yeah, So she noticed when I put my hands around that all of a sudden, like my zipper was down. Yeah. She mentions it to one person next to her. They start giggling and laughing, and then somebody else on our staff was texting saying, texting me saying, hey boss, your zippers down, your zippers down, your zippers down. Nobody got off like no, like this, let me sit there, and then they got done. With the game. I did the announcements with my zipper down. Oh and nobody goodness stopped to say so. By the way, anybody listening in any church environment whatsoever, if you're a church who has a stage hand, yes, here's the right thing to do. Send the stage hand out, yes to whisper something in Kyle's ear or the passer's ear or the person's ear. And then, and by the way, that's perfectly normal. Yes, normal. Yeah, I thought the same thing. I was like, just come tell me. She said, well, that would be more weird. I'm like, it's more weird than sitting on my zipper down. I don't know. So anyways, yeah. So hey, I'm sure she really appreciated that you throwing her into the yes in front of all of our listeners. Let me know next time. Yeah, that's so funny. Yes, all right, Well, hey, we need to move on. So we are in Luke chapter number nineteen yep, and today we're talking about the story of Zechiez. That's right, So Luke nineteen Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zachias. He was the chief tax collector in the region. He had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. There was a song about that, probably when you're growing out, like a Wana song or whatever. Yep. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree beside the road for Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zechias and called him by name, Zakias. He said, quick, come down, I must be a guest in your home today. I'm going to your house. Dude. Yeah, I was thinking of the zia wee little man, A wee little man. That's that's the one to say, Oh, he'll be combined. It good, there you go. Uh, quick, come down, I must be a guest near home today. Zakias quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner, they grumbled. Meanwhile, Ezekiah stood before the Lord and said, I will give half my wealth to the poor Lord. And if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much. Then Jesus responded, Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost. Love that verse, yeah, Luke, nineteen ten. That's one of my favorites. For the son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. Yeah. So I love this story. Yep. First of all, those who are those of us who are vertically challenged, love the fact that Jesus honors a man who is short. Okay, So I never. Realized how short I am, Kyle, until I see photos of me next to people. So I'm five, like barely under five eight, yeah right, And I never really viewed myself that way. And I see myself next to the average person who's usually five ten. Yeah yeah, and I'm like, god, dude, yeah, I love Yeah. When you get around somebody and they take a photo and then you look like that's me, who's that guy? Yeah? Yeah? And we just take pictures all the time, yeah, of our staff and I'm like, are you kidding me? That guy? And they're like, hey, put the short people in the front. You're like, yeah, short people should go on in the front, and they're like no, no, no, short people go there. That's funny. Yeah. So anyway, so that's one reason why I like it. Reason obviously I'm joking about the short I like it because I have a heart for those who are far from God. So I've made no secret about this before. Let me try to say this in the really correct way, because I often say it in the incorrect Okay, but one of the things that let me see if I can say this delicately, because again I say this indelicately all the time. One of the things that frustrates me the most about being a pastor for the last thirty four years is the thing that I dislike the most are the culture of christian some of the how about this? The negative culture of Christian how about that? Right, So it's sort of the same thing we mentioned yesterday. It's either a Christian can be legalistic or a Christian could be judging right. And by the way, even in the healthiest of churches, that still happens, right And so you know, for instance, like we have a very healthy church, our current church, and we have I think it's actually a great culture. Our staff. Cultures pretty good, right, it's a pretty great culture. But in the church our size, there's always going to exist a group of people who fall in that sort of like that typical Christian category of either somebody who either you know, writes in all caps or doesn't understand the true mission of God or doesn't understand you know, and all those different kinds of things. Well, for me, I get very indignant and frustrated with people who ruin people's lives, Like, for instance, I'll give you an example that's associated with me. So I just had become a no. In fact, I wasn't even a Christian. I wasn't even a Christian yet. And I was invited to a car wash to do this great, big serving event at this church. And I was there doing this wash. I was not a Christian. I was only fifteen years old, and here I'm trying to serve. And I run into the bathroom to use the restroom. And there was a guy who had worked on staff at that church. And it was a legalistic church that I grew up in. And I was singing in Elvis Presley song, right, and I was washing my hands because in the eighties that's what people did they sung fifty songs now that we're in the twenty twenty five as we sing eighty song, right, it's the songs of our parents, right. So I was singing fifty songs and this man comes out of the stall in a three piece brown suit and he and he says, that's the devil's music. And he started going off and he says, if you have to tap your toe before listening to the lyrics of any song, that's from the devil. And he just started yelling at me and condemning me and telling me that, you know, this was no place for me, and all these kinds of thing. Now, I could have very easily been like, well, I'm never coming back to this church or any church for that matter. So do you catch the strength the weight of that, right, you know? And it's like but instead, thank God that I just said, oh, okay, well that guy is a goober, and I'm just going to come back in spite of that guy. You know, I'm not going to stay away because of him. One of our ladies on staff told me one of the worst stories I've ever heard in my life, in my whole life, where a guy in the seventies came to church and he had longer hair back then in the seventies, and and the pastor looked at him and said, young man, you're not going to step foot in my church with that hair. Go get a haircut and then come back. Oh my gosh. And I'm like, and I get so I had a visceral reaction. I literally I go, what I'm like. That guy could be in hell right now for all we know, because he never because he never went over over a haircut, right, that's the negative hairbne. That's negative stuff I'm talking about, right, that's terrible. And so anyway, all that to say this so because I've tried to say that politically correct, I took a long time. But by the way, I think that's important for. Our listeners right hundred percent. But to see it says he's gone to the guest of a notorious sinner. They grumble. So they were angry because Jesus decided to forgive a notorious sinner. Well, zach Kius was a tax collector right there. It was a man. He was a chief tax collector in that reason, not just the tax collector of the chief of them right now. Tax collectors were people known in that culture to have betrayed their own kind because the Jewish people were occupied by Roman territory. Roman taking over the world, which is why you know, we read, you know, in Jesus's crucifixion. There was both, you know, the Caiaphas and the Pharisees, along with Herod and along with Pontius Pilot. They all had to be a part of jesus death because the Roman government was over the Jewish people. So the Romans would recruit Jewish people as tax collectors, and Jewish people would have to betray their own and they can get as rich as they want by unjust taxing their own people. So they betrayed their own people, worked for the Romans, and then tax their own people unjustly. And so what would people say about that. They'd say, you're not a Jewish person, no trader, trader, you're not one of us. Yep. And what does Jesus say, he is truly a son of Abraham? Yeah? Yeah, wow. Do you realize how intentional that was for Jesus to say that? Yeah? Yeah, even even Jesus. You know, Matthew is another one, if you know, you know scripture, Matthew was a tax collector as well. So even that bringing Matthew into the fold of the twelve, that was quite a you know, that's a big thing. He wasn't the chief tax collector, but he was hated. Matthew was hated among his own people. And I think the thing that stands out for me is, yeah, the whole tax collector thing, just to realize like how much people despised his presence because he was a trader, because he was taking advantage of them, like he was that guy that you see in membery he walks other way and then Jesus says, I want to come to your house, invites himself over. Which is a huge deal. And the thing I think that stands out for me is Jesus was not afraid of being guilty by association. Right when you think about it, how many times was Jesus labeled something often untrue, things like he eats with sinner, he's a sin, like he's a drunker, like he's accused of these things. He doesn't go and be like old just you know, he didn't say he doesn't even say hey, just so you know, everybody in this crowd, I'm going to Zakias's house because I want to lead him to salvation. He's like, no, no, I'm just invite me over. He knew there would be rumblings and grumblings and speculation and rumors and all this stuff. And that made the religious people so mad that this RELI the quote unquote religious leader, that they were unsure about Jesus, that he was inviting himself over to these well known sinners. And it's just I think it's so cool just to look back that Jesus didn't go and say, hey, just want to clarify, here's what I'm doing with this sinner. I've got an agenda here, you know. Eventually he does say by saying for the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. But that's his mission that he shared with Zachiez. And I'm assuming Zachias's friends. But I just love that he's not afraid of being guilty by association of who he spends time with. Yeah, well, it's it's it's also I remember one time at again my college was also filled with rules. I remember one time I went to the Dean of Men who was there, and I remember talking about wanting to go see a movie. Now my family's big Disney people. I went to college in nineteen eighty nine, right, because I graduated high school Navy nine. The Little Mermaid came out in eighty nine. So I literally went to the Dean of men and I'm like, hey, listen, I knew that there is a rule that we don't go see movies. I was like, but can I go see The Little Mermaid? It's a cartoon? Right? Can I go see that? And he said no? And I said, well, I have a question. I said why because you know, obviously I'm a big movie guy, and there's nothing to do in Springfilm, Missouri, by the way, And so I said, I said, if I can't go to movies, and you know, the whole town shots down at ten o'clock, I'm like, what is there to do around here? Right? And I said, why can't I go see this movie? It's a cartoon? And he said, well, because the rule exists because of this. This is the craziest rule I've ever heard. He said, if you walk into a theater, how do I know that you're going to go? You can go be going to see The Little Mermaid, or you can be going to see and he quoted like a famous X rated film. Yea. He goes, and you know it's a it's a title that we all have heard of probably, and he goes, so you could be seeing that film or this film. He goes, and so how do we know? And I was like, I'm like really, and he goes, so therefore no movie theaters? Wow? And I said and I said, okay, let me ask a question. I go, where do you shop for your groceries? And he says, why shop it? And he mentioned something like. Kroger, like yeah, farmer jaz or well it was. It was like, it's called Smitty's, but it's just like a Kroger. I looked at him and I go, how dare you? I literally said how dare you? And he goes, what do you mean? And I go, you know they have a liquor section in that when you walk into that Smittis. I said, how do we know that you're going to not go down that liquor aisle? How dare you like this? And he looked at me and he goes, that's not the same thing. And I said, that is literally exactly the same thing. It is. I said, that is the craziest rule I've ever heard in my entire life. I said, you can get so crazy with rules. Right, And you can argue that with music that you have in your car, or you can nowadays you can argue like having a phone or going to a beach, like what was your attention by going to beach? Like I just want to go with my fifty There's so many things, right. So the point of that called conversation is that when Jesus was in the home of a tax collector or a sinner, right, or if he's drinking wine with somebody, or he's saying listen, it's very clear Jesus never sinned. So and Jesus was with them, and he was getting called a drunkard, and he was getting accused of eating with notorious sinners. Just know this. Jesus responded and said, I have come for those who are unhealthy. I've not come for the healthy. I've come for the sick. I'm not going to be affected. I'm not going to sin. They're not going to affect me whatsoever. But I am on mission, and I am in proximity with them. I'm at a prostitute's house, I'm having conversations with lowly people. I am I'm yes I'm around those who drink. Yes, I'm around those who you know, betray their people and they have bad reputations and everything else. But I'm not being affected, right, I am being christ to them. I'm bringing the message. And Jesus was on mission, but he was around them. That's my point. And so for those people who complain and say, how could you be around to tour sinners, Well, as long as that person is unaffected, as long as they are godly, as long as they're on mission and they're there for a reason, right, then you're on mission. Then then you know, then then let's let's all realize that this is actually modeling what Jesus did. One hundred percent. I actually manage a hockey team on Tuesday nights in Rochester and I've been like the manager of the team for like the last ten years. There's like thirteen fourteen guys who play every year, and people have asked me, you know, because I only have like one night a week I can commit to this. I'd like to play more, but that's what we have available. People say, hey, why don't you turn that into like a church league. Why don't you get like a church you know, Christian Hockey League. I'll be honest, like I have no I have no interest in that. Like we have guys on the team who are Christians. I have a friend who works at a local church. I have other friends who are Christians, are even serve on our teams. But I love the fact that like half our team doesn't know geez. I love that. There was a situation last year where a guy on our team who we end up having a confrontation at the end of a game because of something that happened on the ice. And then I called them that next week and we had a loving like conversation where I was able to share like truth and grace with him about something that happen where he got in a fight with that It was a whole story, but anyways, I was able to be a light to this guy on this team. And I think that sometimes. I think when we where people a especially new Christians, they tend to leave the old behind them, the old people behind them. I think there's a season of time. It's good if there's a temptation to want to go back into the partying ways or at a certain like, I think it's good. Well, you have to use your discernment, and again it's that it's that whole. Are they affecting you? Yes, that was a great way of looking at it. But I do think that at the end of the day though, like sometimes the mistake we make is to think I have to leave all of those people. But at the end of the day, people don't care how much you know they They want to know how much you care. And if you love those people and you love them before, you could be the best influence for them. So yeah, you know, the way I looked at it, when I became a Christian, I actually did stop hanging around eighty five percent of all my friends. I stopped spending time with them, but I still tried to be friends with them, and some of them walked away from me because I stopped going to party and stopped drinking and all those kinds of things. I stopped all that. And and by the way, I was like in the you know, ninth grade, like coming coming into the ninth grade. But because my father, my grandfather owned a bar, there was a point in time where I was supplying liquor for all the underage parties. And and come to find out, they just liked me because I was I was the person who can get them liquor right, and so so I stopped all of that, but I try to still be a friend. And I think that I think that there are times where we have to realize I need to surround myself with good influences, and there are some relationships I need to not spend time with at all, but I can still maintain a loving relationship. And I did. I think, I personally think that I even back then, without having any knowledge, I found the fine balance of ditching all the unhealthy relationships and trying my very best to still be a light and an influence, trying to maintain the friendships right, so you don't have to spend time with them, but you can still have them as friends. Right, So that's good. Good, Hey, well that is our time. And so what a great discussion and a great passage. And by the way, so much more in there that we didn't unpack, but it's still a good time. We'll hit it again next time. So we'll see you then on the Bible. Guys,