Kerry Shook - Room At The Table
We're in a series I'm calling "Dinner with Jesus," because there's so many times in the Gospel that we see Jesus eating dinner with people. Why is that? Because with Jesus, it's all about relationships, and Christianity is all about relationship, it's all about our relationship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. And many times, Jesus ate dinner with people who weren't religious, people that everyone knew lived sinful lives, people everyone knew were far from God. In fact, that was the number one thing his critics accused him of, they said, "He's a drunk and a glutton, and he eats dinner with sinners".
Now, the first ones weren't true, he wasn't a drunk, he wasn't a glutton, but the second one was right on, totally true, he ate with sinners. And they loved hanging out with Jesus, they weren't bored with him, they weren't scared of him, they wanted to be around him. And that amazes me because whenever I show up at a party, it shuts down the parties, like, "Pastor's here, shut her down, no more fun". I think people are afraid of pastors, but they weren't afraid of Jesus. Well, except for the religious leaders who he always pointed out their hypocrisy, and he said things like, "On the outside you look good, but on the inside you're like dead and decaying bones".
Pretty harsh words for the hypocrites. The people who were lost and far from God were drawn to Jesus. Jesus was the life of the party, not because he was a partier. No, Jesus was the life of the party because he is life, he is life in all its fullness. And so many of the greatest, life-changing moments in the Gospels happened when Jesus was at the dinner table, life itself at the dinner table, life that no one else and nothing else could give. So, it's no wonder his enemies' biggest criticism of him was about Jesus at the dinner table.
So I want us to look at one of the occasions where Jesus was criticized for who he ate with, and you've probably heard of him, his name was Zacchaeus. And if you ever attended Sunday school as a kid, you probably heard about Zacchaeus through that little song, "Zacchaeus was a wee little man. And a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree. For Jesus he wanted to see". And Jesus said, "Zacchaeus, you come down from there, because I'm going to your house today. I'm going to your house today". Thank you, thank you. The worship team is gonna do that next week, so be here, it's gonna be amazing. Now, those of you who never went to Sunday school growing up, you're going, "That's a weird song". Well, I want you to look at Luke chapter 9, because we see Jesus eating dinner again.
Now, the Scripture never says specifically that Jesus ate dinner with Zacchaeus, says he went to his house, but it's definitely implied because with Middle Eastern culture, when you invited someone over to your house, you always served them dinner. So, let's look at Luke chapter 19, and would you stand in honor of God's Word?
"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-fig 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'm gonna 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.' And 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.'"
You can be seated. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and he passed through this beautiful town of Jericho. Now, Jericho was this amazing oasis in the desert, it was filled with palm trees and beautiful pools of spring water. Jericho's climate was almost always sunny, there was always a dry, cool breeze blowing through. I've been to Jericho three times and it's still a beautiful oasis in the desert. The best thing about Jericho is there are no mosquitoes there. And when I get to heaven, I'm gonna ask God, "Why in the world did you create mosquitos"? I do not get that. And because Jericho was such a desirable place to live, it was also one of the most taxed towns in all Israel.
The Israelites were being occupied by the Romans, and whenever the Romans came in and conquered a place, they would implement their government, they would take over everything, and they would tax towns like Jericho for as much as they could. But the Romans wouldn't collect the taxes, they were real smart about this, they hired greedy Israelites to collect the taxes. They would hire dishonest, ambitious Israelites, who would be in charge of an area of town, and they would collect the tax from the people and give it to the Romans. And they would always collect extra and keep it for themselves, they would profit from the suffering of their own citizens. And because of this, tax collectors were despised, they were working with the enemy, they were working against their own people, they were despicable, dishonest traders, collaborating with the oppressors. Zacchaeus was one of those dishonest tax collectors.
In fact, it says, "He was a chief tax collector," which probably means he was over all the other tax collectors. He was very ambitious, working his way to the top because he had placed everything he had on the bet that his money and possessions would bring him happiness. But instead, the more wealth he accumulated, the emptier he became. But then he met Jesus. You know, I can say that about myself, "But then I met Jesus," "But then I met Jesus," can you say that? "But then I met Jesus". "Here's the way I was before, but then I met Jesus and everything changed". If you can say, "But then I met Jesus," be grateful, Jesus walked into your life and he changed everything. Well, I want us to look at this passage closer.
Let's look at Luke 19, verse 5, it says, "When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up". It says, "When Jesus reached the spot," what spot? The very spot where Zacchaeus was. You see, Jesus knew where Zacchaeus was. Jesus is coming through this beautiful village of Jericho, and the crowd had already gathered because they wanted to see Jesus of Nazareth, this miracle worker, this prophet who was coming through their town. And Zacchaeus was no different, he wanted to see Jesus, but he was short, he couldn't see over the crowd. So he climbs up in a sycamore tree so he can see over the crowd. Jesus is coming through Jericho with this huge crowd pressing in all around him, and he comes to the very spot and he stops, the very spot where Zacchaeus was.
And here's the first big principle that you really need to get. Jesus always meets us where we are, he always meets us where we are, he comes to the very spot where we are, he came to the very place Zacchaeus was. Now, I'm not talking about the physical location, I'm talking about Zacchaeus's spiritual location. He came right to where Zacchaeus was spiritually, this place of emptiness, this place of guilt and shame and sin, Jesus came to him right in his mess. And Jesus doesn't wait until you clean up your act and get your life together before you can come to him, he doesn't say, "Well, if you'll clean up the mess of your life, you'll get your life together and you start living right, then maybe I'll love you, but first you got to do that".
I'm so glad Jesus meets us in our mess so he can work a miracle. It says, "When Jesus reached the spot, he stopped and he looked up," and he sees Zacchaeus in that tree, and sometimes Jesus looks up to see us. Maybe you're climbing the ladder of success and when everyone else sees you, they see success, they see that you got it made, they envy you. They see influence, they see power, they see that you must be so happy, but when Jesus sees you, he sees the emptiness in your soul, because he really sees you, he sees your regrets, he sees your longing for meaning, he really sees you. Sometimes Jesus looks up to see us, but sometimes Jesus looks down to see us.
Some things that you care deeply about, some hurts that you're carrying, tell someone else, they don't think it's a big deal, but it's a big deal to you, and it's a big deal to God, because he meets you right in the middle of your hurt. Well, let's look again at Luke chapter 19, in verse 5, it says, "When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I'm gonna stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly".
So Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus's home. Now, what if I told you, "The Son of God is coming to your house tonight in a physical form, he's coming over to your house this evening for dinner"? You'd probably leave church right now in a panic, you'd do a little picking up around the house, you'd go to the store and you'd get something to make a big dinner with. But Zacchaeus didn't even have time for that, Jesus said, "I'm coming to your house and I'm coming right now".
And Zacchaeus was so excited he almost fell out of the tree, and he welcomed Jesus into his home without hesitation. And here's the second big principle that I want you to get, when Jesus meets you where you are, you have to invite him into your house and give him a seat at your table. When Jesus meets you where you are, you gotta make a decision right there. Are you gonna invite him into the house of your heart right then and now or are you going to reject him? Zacchaeus opened the door of his house, invited Jesus in and gave him a seat at the table.
And Zacchaeus didn't have time to tidy up the house, he didn't have time to set a beautiful table with a luxurious meal. No, he invited Jesus into his house and gave him a seat at the table just as it was. And you don't have to pretend with Jesus, you don't have to clean up your act with Jesus, you invite him into the messed up house of your heart, you give him a seat at your broken and barren table, and he cleanses you from all your sins and guilt, he heals your brokenness, he makes you whole. The great news is, we invite him into our lives just as we are, it's just as I am, without one plea, without excuse, without trying to clean up my mess, because he's the only one that can really clean it up. It's just as I am, in my brokenness and sin, and he works the miracle.
Well, let's look again at Luke 19, verse 7. "All the people saw this and began to mutter, 'He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.'" So the people criticized Jesus and they said, "He's going to a sinner's house," and it was true. You see, in Christ's time, there were two religious groups that dominated. There were the Pharisees, and the Pharisees believed the truth of the Old Testament, they believed the 10 Commandments, they believed in the resurrection of the dead, they believed in heaven, they believed strongly the truth, they had held to the truth, but they had no grace. They had truth with no grace, they were judgmental, always judging everyone else, they were legalistic, they were really hypocrites because they were religious on the outside, but they weren't obeying the 10 Commandments on the inside, it was all about show. And then there were the Sadducees.
Now, the Sadducees had given up on truth, they didn't believe in heaven or the Resurrection, they had just given up totally on truth, and really they were religious because they used it as a way to get ahead and to get in with the Roman government, and it was all about getting ahead with power and influence. They were religious, but why? I mean, why? And I know some pastors, today, that don't even believe God's Word is true, and I think, "Man, get a real job. Why, why are you even being a pastor, why even be religious if you don't believe it"?
That's the way the Sadducees were, and I think Zacchaeus saw both of these groups. And he saw these hypocrites that believed the truth but weren't living it, and then he saw the Sadducees that didn't have any truth, and he thought, "Forget that, forget that, I'm just gonna do what I want, forget all that, that's not real". And I know, today, there are some churches that preach the truth, they stay true to the Word of God, they believe the truth, and that's so important, they hold on to the truth, but there's no grace, they're so judgmental, they're always hitting people over the head with the truth.
And the Bible says Jesus came with truth and grace. But then there are more and more churches, today, that are giving up the truth and saying, "We're all about grace, we love everybody, we're all about grace". And because culture has changed, and what culture thinks is wrong and sin and not best for us is not what God says, God's Word has always been the same. And now culture is saying, "Well, that's probably okay, that's probably okay, that's probably okay," and they're just going along with culture instead of Christ, and it's all about grace. But did you know there's no grace without truth? Because truth makes you realize how much you need grace, the truth is, my sins are so bad, they cause the God of the universe to have to die on a cross so they could be washed away.
And so you have to admit the truth so you can experience grace, and I'm gonna tell you, this church is gonna stay with the truth because the truth is the only thing you can build your life on, the truth of God's Word. God's Word is true, it doesn't matter what culture says, what matters is what Christ says, and so we're gonna stay on the truth, founded on the truth. And the foundations, today, of society are crumbling, the foundation of the family is crumbling, and that's why society is crumbling, and we need Jesus desperately to stay on the truth. But also, we're gonna give grace, we're gonna love everybody, everybody's welcome at Woodlands Church. We're all in the same boat, we're all broken and we need him.
And everyone who admits, "Hey, I've sinned like everyone else, I wanna come to Jesus Christ, at his table of grace," forgiveness is for all those who admit that they need forgiveness. It's all about truth and grace, it's all about being like Jesus, and that's the hardest thing to be. It's really easy to stay on truth and just batter everyone else. It's real easy to say, "Just love everybody, it's all about grace". Everybody's going to love you, nobody's going to think that you don't like them, it's all great, but when you're truth and love like Jesus, you're gonna love everybody, but you're gonna stand on the truth.
And some people, because you're standing on the truth, are gonna think, "You're awful, you're terrible," they're going to hate. And when you love everybody, there's people that'll get upset at you because, "Why are you loving them, why are you eating with sinners"? And that's what happened to Jesus, but that's who we're called to be like, it's truth and grace. We'll look at verse 3, of chapter 19, it says, "He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd".
Zacchaeus couldn't see Jesus because the people were in his way, and sometimes lost people can't see Jesus because Christians are in their way, they can't see Jesus because a judgmental, unloving Christian is in the way, and the only way they'll see Jesus is if they see Jesus's grace and truth in our lives, that's the only way. You know, years ago, there was this saying, "WWJD". And there was bracelets that we would wear, WWJD, What Would Jesus Do? And you were supposed to go through the day looking at that bracelet and before you did anything, you're supposed to ask, "What would Jesus do in this situation, what would Jesus do"? And then you're supposed to do what Jesus did.
Now, that's great, I understand that, and nothing really wrong with that, it's better than WWKD, What Would Kerry Do? Because you're gonna go wrong if you do that. But really, when you think about it, we don't know what Jesus would do because he was always surprising people, he always did the unexpected, and here he is walking through Jericho, the crowds are all around him, he's going to the cross, to Jerusalem, to die for all mankind. And what does he do? He stops for a tax collector, a cheat, and he says, "Hey, I'm going to your house today". That wasn't on the agenda, at least the disciples didn't think so, it's like, "Jesus, that's not on your schedule, you've got important things to do. And don't you know what this man is like? He doesn't deserve this, he doesn't deserve you honoring his house. What are you doing, are you condoning his behavior, what are you doing"?
Jesus is always surprising us in Scripture, so how do you know what Jesus would do? And then, if you know what Jesus would do, how can you do it? Because we're human beings, we're weak and we fail. But here's the amazing thing. When you invite Christ into your life, you have Jesus in your life, and the only person who's ever lived the Christian life successfully is Jesus Christ. But when Christ is in your life, he can give you the wisdom to do what he would do in that situation, and it might surprise everyone else. And then he'll give you the power to do it, he will give you the power to do it because he'll live the Christian life through you, through his power. You can't do it in your own human strength, you have to surrender every day to his power and his strength.
Now look at verse 8, of chapter 19, it says, "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've cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.'" So Zacchaeus comes to the table of truth and grace and his whole life is changed, but then he met Jesus and everything changed. And here's the point, Jesus loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way. He loves you just the way you are, in the middle of your mess, but he loves you too much to stay that way, he wants to work a miracle in your life.
Zacchaeus's life was changed forever, he's no longer a selfish taker, he's a sacrificial giver, that becomes the signature of his life, not a taker, but a giver. And when you really come to the table of God's undeserved grace, you will become an unreserved giver. When your heart is changed, your actions change. You become a giver because, "For God's so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son," you become like Jesus, a giver rather than a taker. You're never the same again, you see people differently. Zacchaeus, before, when he saw people, he just saw someone else he could exploit, but now he sees people as someone Christ loves, and we see every person as someone Christ loves. Even the atheist that hates you, that's all against God and rails against God, when I look at him, I see someone Jesus died for and loves.
You see, so many times, we think that someone who is against us, someone who is against God, someone who is our enemy, that we're to come back the same way, with hate. But God says, "No, you're to love your enemies". It's like, "Wow, Jesus, I don't know that I can do that". He says, "You can't, but I can do it through you with love and truth and grace". We're to see everyone as someone Jesus died for. Well, look at this last verse, the very first verse of the whole passage. "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through". Jesus was passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem, to go to the cross, to save the world, but he stopped to save one man? I love that, because he always stops to save one man, one woman, one child, that's what Jesus does, so that he can bring them to his table, because there's always room for one more.
When Chris and I started the church, I've told you many times how second week of the church, only eight people came and we thought we had failed, and we're like, "God, we thought that you're gonna do something big, that you're calling us to a huge vision, and you're gonna do this, and now look at this". But God really impressed upon our hearts, "Hey, it's my church, I'll build my church. And here's your job, to make room at the table for one more". And he's impressed on our hearts, and we talked about it a lot, "If just one person comes to Christ because of what we're doing, isn't it all worth it? If just one person's eternal destiny is forever changed, isn't it all worth it"? We're like, "Yeah, of course it's worth it".
And that really took all the pressure off. We went back the next week and our goal was just one person coming to Jesus, one person coming to Jesus Christ, one person. And at our first celebration service, four people prayed to receive Christ and their eternal destinies were forever changed. We said, "You know, if nothing else happens, it's all worth it. But you know what? God wants one more to come to Christ, so we're gonna come back next week and we're gonna pray for one more, one more, we're always gonna make a seat at the table for one more". Because it's not about numbers, it's not about lots of people, it's about one person, about you.