Jesus and the Wrong Crowd

Welcome to the Table explores the radical hospitality at the heart of the Christian faith through the lens of two tables; the Lord's Table and the ordinary hospitality table of home and neighborhood. Beginning with God himself as the original pursuing host, the series moves through the covenant welcome of Mephibosheth, the table-fellowship scandal of Jesus, the contrast between cold religion and lavish grace in Simon's dinner, and the multiplying power of the early church's daily breaking of bread, eventually culminating in the eschatological feast of Revelation, where the entire arc of redemption ends at a table.

The driving conviction throughout is simple: every hospitality table is a rehearsal for the Lord's Table, and the Lord's Table sends us back to our hospitality tables with new purpose. As such, building an invitational culture is not a church growth strategy, it is a theological imperative rooted in the very character of God.

Transcript

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Thank you for listening to an audio resource from Stanwich Church, located in Greenwich in Stanford, Connecticut. The vision of Stanwich Church is to know Christ and make him known.

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The gospel lesson for today is from Luke chapter 19, verses 1 through 10. This can be found on page 1043 of your pew Bible. The eagerness of Zacchaeus to catch a glimpse of Jesus results in a life-changing encounter when the Lord invites him to dine with the sinful tax collector. A reading from Luke chapter 19, beginning with the first verse. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 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. Jesus said to him, Today, salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. May God add his blessing to the reading of his holy word.

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Today's research shows that being lonely and disconnected are a major public health crisis. COVID impacted it, and now tech and AI are offering further distractions from real human interaction. From birth, we need it. Emotional pain and isolation impact our brains in the same region as physical pain does. So that means that it actually hurts to be on our own. That's especially true when we feel unseen, unwanted, and on the margins. This is a story of how Jesus stepped into someone's life and transformation happened. We're in a sermon series right now on the table, and this theme is at the heart of our faith story, from the garden to the Last Supper and ultimately to the heavenly wedding feast. God pursues us and invites us to his table. The people Jesus chose to hang out with scandalized the religious leaders of his day. And today's passage shows us that Jesus' presence transforms people at the table, and he invites us to bring his presence to others at our own tables as well. Now to understand Zacchaeus' story, we need to see it in context. Ancient Near East culture highly valued, welcoming strangers and offering hospitality. Imagine if you were traveling across a desert in search of food, water, and respite. Hospitality was required for survival. The host was offering fellowship, but also trust and acceptance. This was especially important for the vulnerable. Throughout the Old and the New Testament, we see God has a heart for the people on the margins, for the widow, orphan, and alien. Those were people who had no power, no financial status, and no legal protection. God's justice and mercy extended to them, and his people were commanded to also care for those on the margins. Hospitality in Greek is phyllozania, which means love of strangers. The early church grew quickly because of this practice. Traveling missionaries were cared for and churches were opened up for house churches to happen. In our passage for today, there are six times that we hear words related to seeing. There's see and looked and behold. So what I'm going to invite you to do with me now is to try to see this story, the first eight verses, in a fresh way. I'd like you to try to see it with some holy imagination for what's happening in the scene, to see it with your mind's eye. What does it look like? How were the words spoken? What were the expressions on the face of Zacchaeus, the crowd, and Jesus? What was it like to be there in the noise and the crush of the crowd? Luke 19. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through, and behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was. But on account of the crowd, he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and he said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled. 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. Did you see the story? Behold it in a new way. A transformation is happening. It's a fast-paced scene, and there are three perspectives in it to unpack. We have Zacchaeus, the crowd, and Jesus. So Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. And what that tells us is that he was in charge of other tax collectors, and it was a prosperous city, Jericho. So because of that, he was very wealthy. And to many in his community, he was seen as a crook. He was also very small in stature. And this disadvantage all his life turns out to be a blessing because it led him to being seen. To be small in that day meant that you lacked physical strength, social power, or favor. But here he is in the tree, and he scrambles up it, showing us that he was curious, he was eager, he was straining to see Jesus. And don't you wonder what was he expecting? What had he already heard that caused him to have such a reaction? Maybe he knew he needed something, even if he didn't know what it was. And did you notice that Jesus calls him by name? Now, unlike in our coffee hour, Zacchaeus was not wearing a name tag. But Jesus knew him already. And he used his name to address him and then said some very important words. I must come and stay in your house today. Jesus said, I must. This was a divine commission. This is why Jesus went to Jericho. This needs to be done right now. And twice we hear the words, hurry and come down. It makes me imagine what it might be like to be on a parade route in London, standing up on a lamppost, so you're trying to get a view of the king passing by. Imagine, and how might we respond if the king stops and he says, hurry and come down. I must stay at your house today. Now, if that happened to me, I hate to sort of admit this, but my first thought would be, is the house tidy and do I have any good food to offer? But nonetheless, uh, that's not probably what was on Zacchaeus's mind, as we can see in the story. And did you notice that Jesus didn't criticize him or condemn him? In fact, there's nothing else recorded that Jesus said to him before this sinner repents, turns away from his ways, and offers his apology in action. That tells us that just being with Jesus, just being in his presence was enough to inspire change. Now, being in the presence of Jesus can change us. And his spirit living in us can do the same for others. Zacchaeus' apology in action was to give away half of what he had to the poor, and this was caring for those on the margins. And then he was restoring to those he defrauded or cheated four times the amount. And under Old Testament law, this was an extreme repayment in cases of theft. While his generosity was important because it's the way that he was walking out his repentance, it actually had another benefit. And that is, it would have helped restore his relationships with others. Jesus saved his soul and redeemed his social standing. In verse 9, it begins with these words, and Jesus said to him, Today, salvation has come to this house. Jesus is salvation that has come to this house. He brings it with him. And it's repentance that allowed Zacchaeus to take hold of it. Today, Jesus is restoring his status as a child of God, giving him dignity and a way to make things right. And Jesus goes on to say in verse 9, not only today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. Now these are surprising words. And to unpack them, you need to understand what Zacchaeus's name means. It comes from Hebrew Zachai, and that means pure, innocent, and righteous. So when Jesus called Zacchaeus down from the tree, Jesus was doing more than getting his attention. He gives him a prophetic calling. Jesus is saying, You are a true Jew, walking in the footsteps of Abraham's faith, even if your community has excluded you. Jesus calls him back to his true identity as a pure, righteous son of Abraham, despite his corrupt lifestyle. And Jesus calls himself in that text the Son of Man. This is a messianic title from Daniel, and it is a title that Jesus uses to describe himself in all four Gospels. So Jesus is being very clear in this text about his identity and his purpose. He is the Messiah, and he has come to bring salvation and the kingdom of God. But not everyone is happy with this turn of events and this sinner's transformation. We saw that in verse 7. And when they saw it, they all grumbled. Well, that they refers to the Pharisees. We see that in Luke 15. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled. They liked to grumble, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. Now why are they offended? Well, they believed God is holy. So God's people need to be separate from anything or anyone unclean. Ritual purity mattered. And at that time, eating with someone meant they were your equal, and you accepted them, even condoning their behavior. As the message put it, Jesus was treating them like old friends. Eating with sinners and outcasts was an insult to the law and seemed to lack integrity. Jesus was validating Zacchaeus, a rule breaker and a traitor to being aligned with Rome in his role. Now we have to remember: not all Pharisees got it wrong. Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, the unnamed Pharisees that warned Jesus about King Herod. Gamaliel defended the apostles, and Paul and many of the early believers were also Pharisees. But the question I ask myself when I'm confronted by this text is who would I be in the story? I can be a rule keeper, which means I can find myself judging those who don't live, act, believe, or do what I think is right. Even if I'm not obeying all the rules fully myself. Do I pause to ask, what if I'm wrong? What if Jesus sees this person differently than I do? And that's our third perspective, Jesus. The verses we just looked at, the very ending there, tells us very clearly about his purpose to seek and save the lost. That word in Greek, sozo, you've heard us define it in the past, it's a powerful word. It means save, rescue, heal, restore, or make whole. In Luke 5, Jesus says, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He is the great physician, making the sick well. And we see Jesus seek and save the lost over and over again in the Gospels. He tells us in the parable in Luke 14, the master adds to his guest list, saying that go out quickly into the highways and byways, bring in the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. The byways were those out-of-the-way areas that only the outsiders and marginalized were. Jesus invited them in and tells his disciples to do the same. Jesus was constantly crossing boundaries and creating space at the table for others to join him. He went to the other side of the lake. He traveled to Samaria. He sought out the outcast, lepers, the infirm, possessed, the grieving, the trafficked, the children, and the poor. He saw people differently and he invited them all. This became a trademark of the early church. In practicing radical hospitality, the church offered a new equality and a new unity for all types of people. This broke down language, ethnic, socioeconomic, and political barriers, male and female, Jew and Greek, bondservants and free. This hospitality was counter-cultural, but it was so winsome, and it drew many to follow Jesus, just as it does when it is practiced today. Jesus expanded on hospitality and gave us many words for us as his modern-day disciples. Matthew 25 is where he talked about when we welcome and care for the hungry, thirsty, stranger, and prisoner, the least of these, we do these acts of love for and to him. Hebrews 13, 2 says, Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. I love that. And before we can invite other people to come to our table, we need to come to the table ourselves. Whether we're prideful or wayward, both ways of sinning are equally destructive to our relationship with God. And if we think we're better and more deserving because of who we are or how we performed, we're really just like the Pharisees who missed the point. We are all sinners in need of grace and transformation. We can imagine Jesus saying, even when you were an outcast, you were worthy for me to come share a meal and to come alongside you. We have no idea what God is doing in another's heart. So it's not our place to judge, no matter how far they may seem to be from him right now. We have to hold out that hope, just as he does for us, that Jesus will take our shame and our bad reputation all the way to the cross and by his death bring us to the Father. When we recognize that truth, we can be a lot like Zacchaeus. We can be generous because we know that we are securely loved by God. Love is the governing principle that controls everything God is and everything God does. And so, as his children, that should be ours as well. And we love like Jesus when we don't give up on people, when we go the extra mile, and when we love others, even when they hate and revile us and when we are misunderstood. Love heals, love casts out fear, love has eternal value, and love never fails. As a church, we're about to open our doors in Stanford from backcountry Greenwich to an urban city. We will encounter difference. We will meet people who have been offended and wounded by the church and not felt welcome. They'll come from all different backgrounds, ages, stages, and experience. And we hope our witness will challenge some of their preconceived notions about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Just as God will challenge and change some of our assumptions as well. By the power of Jesus in us, we are the hosts inviting them to the table to break bread and to share stories. But crossing boundaries isn't easy. I want you for just a moment to try to imagine someone in your life who makes you uncomfortable. They may be from a different background, a different age, a different political party or theological camp. Do you have someone in mind? The thought of having to start a conversation with them or sit at the table with them may feel uncomfortable or scary. We may be concerned about what's going to happen? What are they going to say to me? What are they going to want from me? And I'm amazed how often God uses someone that I seem to be having some trouble relating to as the very person I needed for myself. Sanctification. I needed them to make me more like Jesus. God uses them to teach me patience, humility, and self-restraint. And actually, oftentimes I find myself falling in love with them because his love can flow through us towards people we don't initially feel drawn to. So what blocks our hospitality? Well, in his boundary crossing, Jesus turned the world upside down for those religious leaders. His values didn't make sense. And when our worldview gets challenged, we feel disoriented and queasy, even afraid. This is a growth edge, but it requires us to give up control. Like Boot Camp. We need to go beyond our comfort zone and to trust that God can use even our disorientation to break us and remake us even stronger. How do we cross boundaries and build bridges? It's actually easier than you think. Be curious. Listen to other stories with an open heart and without judgment. One of my favorite quotes is from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He said this if we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. And what he's saying in that is if we could read their secret story, if we could hear their past pain and loss and suffering, we would feel compassion instead of anger or disdain. That to me is listening for the story beneath the story. I love Pastor Chuck's lead-in question with people he doesn't know. Tell me your story. And we discover because we have that, we can have more empathy for others. But we still all have blind spots to loving well. And when we're open to examine them, the Holy Spirit can convict us and can use so often relationships in order for us to see them and in order for them to be healed. Encountering difference can challenge us, but it can change us for the better. Learning how to relate to those we don't we don't get along with or we disagree with is a skill that we need to keep refining every day. And if you've had a teenage child or you're married or anything else, you understand how important those skills are. They need constant work. We need to build that muscle. That helps us to become better hosts at inviting people around our table or at other tables in the community. And I want to give you all a very practical next step for how to do this. Later today, there is an opportunity to explore more deeply what gets in the way of loving well. This afternoon at 4 p.m. in a mass hall, Lauren Sumner and Taya Looney, both with backgrounds in therapy, will provide a teaching and will learn how to see where our unseen assumptions, our habits, and perspectives shape the way that we see and respond to others. And for those who can join in, you are in for a real treat. I have heard this twice. And I know you'll be blessed as I was. I came away from both with different insights. With Jesus, there is always a seat at the table for everyone. And he loves us so much. And in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can take risks and love with radical hospitality to join his mission of seeking and saving the lost.

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