Bible Text: Luke 19:1\u201310 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Beni Leu\u00aden\u00adber\u00adger | Series: Like you and me | God trusts us to grow bey\u00adond our\u00adsel\u00adves and thus beco\u00adme a bles\u00adsing for others. Litt\u00adle Zac\u00adchae\u00adus expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced much con\u00adtempt in his life, but the loving care of Jesus chan\u00adged ever\u00ady\u00adthing. Jesus gave him the strength to grow far bey\u00adond hims\u00adelf. In the same way, Jesus turns to each of us and bles\u00adses us with his atten\u00adti\u00adon so that we in turn can bless others with care and encouragement.<\/p>\n
Think about it: Can you think of a situa\u00adti\u00adon whe\u00adre you were with a group and one or two peo\u00adp\u00adle moti\u00adva\u00adted the who\u00adle team to go bey\u00adond them\u00adsel\u00adves? It could be a work team or a sports team. Or a group in church or in a club. And the\u00adre was this one per\u00adson who somehow mana\u00adged to inspi\u00adre the others and not sett\u00adle for the sta\u00adtus quo. We some\u00adti\u00admes hear that about a sports team, but I hope we have expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced that ourselves.
\nWe pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly know the oppo\u00adsi\u00adte as well: one per\u00adson in our team mana\u00adges to tip the mood and spread nega\u00adti\u00adve thoughts. Sud\u00adden\u00adly a pro\u00adject no lon\u00adger seems fea\u00adsi\u00adble or hope\u00adl\u00adess\u00adness spreads. It is fasci\u00adna\u00adting to see that indi\u00advi\u00addu\u00adals can have a gre\u00adat influence on others, eit\u00adher posi\u00adtively or nega\u00adtively. Today, the ques\u00adti\u00adon is how we can grow bey\u00adond our\u00adsel\u00adves. You have the the\u00adme \u00abLike you and me\u00bb this year. It is about being bles\u00adsed to beco\u00adme a bles\u00adsing to others. Some\u00adti\u00admes a cer\u00adtain con\u00adtempt gets in the way of us gro\u00adwing bey\u00adond ourselves.
\nFee\u00adling despised
\nWe see this very impres\u00adsi\u00adve\u00adly in a man cal\u00adled Zac\u00adchae\u00adus (Luke 19:1\u201310). We don\u2019t real\u00adly know much about this man and we only meet him in the Gos\u00adpel of Luke. He is descri\u00adbed to us like this: \u00abZac\u00adchae\u00adus, the chief tax coll\u00adec\u00adtor, a rich man, wan\u00adted very much to see who this Jesus was. But he could not, becau\u00adse he was small and the many peo\u00adp\u00adle blo\u00adcked his view\u00bb (ver\u00adse 2\u20133). So he was a tax coll\u00adec\u00adtor by pro\u00adfes\u00adsi\u00adon and the\u00adr\u00ade\u00adfo\u00adre rich and he was small. Luke descri\u00adbes this man to us in such a way that we do not miss it: Zac\u00adchae\u00adus was a des\u00adpi\u00adsed man among the peo\u00adp\u00adle. This beco\u00admes quite obvious at the latest when Jesus invi\u00adtes him to din\u00adner and the peo\u00adp\u00adle react indignant\u00adly: \u00abDoes\u00adn\u2019t this Jesus know what kind of sin\u00adner he is?\u00bb (V.7)
\nWhy was he des\u00adpi\u00adsed? His pro\u00adfes\u00adsi\u00adon was to bla\u00adme. He was a tax coll\u00adec\u00adtor. That meant that he work\u00aded with the occu\u00adpy\u00ading power, with the Romans. Jeri\u00adcho was a town whe\u00adre many peo\u00adp\u00adle went in and out and they all had to decla\u00adre their goods. Now it was well known that the\u00adse tax coll\u00adec\u00adtors were not only coll\u00adec\u00adting money for the Romans \u2013 which would have been bad enough \u2013 no, they were taking even more from the peo\u00adp\u00adle and put\u00adting it into their own pockets. Zac\u00adchae\u00adus was even the head of this group. He was respon\u00adsi\u00adble for making sure the who\u00adle sys\u00adtem ran smoothly.
\n
\nWhen peo\u00adp\u00adle saw him in town \u2013 obvious\u00adly he was known ever\u00ady\u00adwhe\u00adre \u2013 and dis\u00adco\u00adver\u00aded that he had new clo\u00adthes or owned an expen\u00adsi\u00adve house, they basi\u00adcal\u00adly knew that this wealth came from them.
\nIn addi\u00adti\u00adon, Zac\u00adchae\u00adus was obvious\u00adly small. On the one hand, this refers to his height, becau\u00adse he obvious\u00adly could not see over the crowd to see Jesus. Some peo\u00adp\u00adle even think that he might have been a mid\u00adget. But we can also under\u00adstand this being small ambi\u00adguous\u00adly. Peo\u00adp\u00adle loo\u00adked down on him. They des\u00adpi\u00adsed him, may\u00adbe some even real\u00adly hated him. And all this is expres\u00adsed by the fact that they did not let him pass. If he had been a popu\u00adlar or respec\u00adted per\u00adson, peo\u00adp\u00adle would have let him pass. But not like this. What does that look like in your life? Do you know tho\u00adse moments when you feel des\u00adpi\u00adsed? Tho\u00adse moments when you think peo\u00adp\u00adle look down on you? Find you \u00absmall\u00bb? Or do you know moments when peo\u00adp\u00adle stop you becau\u00adse they actual\u00adly des\u00adpi\u00adse you? I often strug\u00adg\u00adled with fee\u00adlings of con\u00adtempt in my teenage and young adult years. I was not one of the peo\u00adp\u00adle I wan\u00adted to belong to. I was very sen\u00adsi\u00adti\u00adve to what peo\u00adp\u00adle thought or said about me. I often thought that I was \u00absmall\u00bb and that others loo\u00adked down on me. The deepest expres\u00adsi\u00adon of felt con\u00adtempt is thin\u00adking that no one would care if we were no lon\u00adger here. But the sto\u00adry does not end here.\u2026
\nJesus looks at you\u2026
\nJesus shows up, sees Zac\u00adchae\u00adus sit\u00adting on this tree and invi\u00adtes hims\u00adelf to eat with him. It says: \u00abWhen Jesus pas\u00adsed by the tree, he loo\u00adked up and cal\u00adled out, \u00abZac\u00adchae\u00adus, come down quick\u00adly! I must be a guest in your house today\u00bb (v.5). Jesus says sur\u00adpri\u00adsin\u00adgly litt\u00adle in this pas\u00adsa\u00adge. It is the expe\u00adri\u00adence Zac\u00adchae\u00adus has here that turns ever\u00ady\u00adthing upsi\u00adde down.
\nBut what exact\u00adly is Jesus doing here? Not\u00adhing spec\u00adta\u00adcu\u00adlar, appar\u00adent\u00adly. He looks up into the tree whe\u00adre Zac\u00adchae\u00adus was. But how he must have loo\u00adked at him! This look tog\u00ade\u00adther with the invi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon seems to chan\u00adge ever\u00ady\u00adthing. We all know that a person\u2019s eyes eit\u00adher under\u00adline or cross out a state\u00adment. Our eyes are a win\u00addow into our soul and what we real\u00adly think about a per\u00adson beco\u00admes visi\u00adble in them. Jesus is loo\u00adking at Zac\u00adchae\u00adus here and his gaze under\u00adlines what he is say\u00ading. One sen\u00adses a gre\u00adat urgen\u00adcy in Jesus\u00bb state\u00adment: He wants to be Zac\u00adchae\u00adus\u00bb guest. It is important to him!
\nA meal tog\u00ade\u00adther was very meaningful in this cul\u00adtu\u00adre. Even more so than today. When you ate with someone, you told that per\u00adson that they belon\u00adged to the peo\u00adp\u00adle and the fami\u00adly. It was more than simp\u00adle hos\u00adpi\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty. It was a strong sign of belon\u00adging. That\u2019s why it was unthinkable for reli\u00adgious Jews at that time to eat with for\u00adeig\u00adners or known sin\u00adners, becau\u00adse then you iden\u00adti\u00adfied with them. But that was exact\u00adly what Zac\u00adchae\u00adus nee\u00added so much in his con\u00adtempt: someone to look at him and iden\u00adti\u00adfy with him. Jesus brought him out of his con\u00adtempt with his gaze and this invi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon. He show\u00aded Zac\u00adchae\u00adus a way out of this fee\u00adling of being \u00absmall\u00bb and des\u00adpi\u00adsed. It is also signi\u00adfi\u00adcant to see what Jesus does not do here.
\nHe does not tell a para\u00adble to show Zac\u00adchae\u00adus that he is a sin\u00adner. Nor does he list all his mista\u00adkes from the past. He sim\u00adply gives him atten\u00adti\u00adon. He knows about the power of atten\u00adti\u00adon. For us, on the other hand, it is often important to tell others what they have done wrong. But Jesus does not do that. He does not threa\u00adten him with hell and he does not give him a guil\u00adty con\u00adsci\u00adence. Ins\u00adtead, he looks at him and invi\u00adtes hims\u00adelf in.
\n
\nAnd Jesus does exact\u00adly the same thing with each of us today. He looks at each of us full of love and says: \u00abYou are more than wel\u00adco\u00adme to me! It would be so nice if you would eat with me. I would be so hap\u00adpy if we could be fri\u00adends.\u00bb Jesus does not threa\u00adten us or make us feel guil\u00adty, but he knows the power of affec\u00adtion. Just as he bles\u00adsed Zac\u00adchae\u00adus with his affec\u00adtion, he also wants to bless you and me.
\n\u2026and has con\u00adfi\u00addence in you!
\nThis power is then cle\u00adar\u00adly felt in the life of Zac\u00adchae\u00adus. He is so inspi\u00adred by Jesus that he obvious\u00adly belie\u00adves that his life does not have to con\u00adti\u00adnue as befo\u00adre. We read fur\u00adther: \u00abBut Zac\u00adchae\u00adus came befo\u00adre the Lord and said to him, \u00abLord, half of my pos\u00adses\u00adsi\u00adons I will give to the poor, and if I have ext\u00ador\u00adted any\u00adthing from anyo\u00adne, I will give him back four times as much\u00bb \u00bb (v.8). Jesus\u00bb care and atten\u00adti\u00adon lead Zac\u00adchae\u00adus to grow far bey\u00adond hims\u00adelf. This gree\u00addy man who could never have enough money beco\u00admes a gene\u00adrous per\u00adson. What he pro\u00admi\u00adses Jesus here is very gene\u00adrous inde\u00aded! He wants to give half of his wealth to the poor. Would we be wil\u00adling to do that? To give away half of our pre\u00adsent wealth? But it does not stop the\u00adre. Zac\u00adchae\u00adus wants to give back four times as much to tho\u00adse he has ext\u00ador\u00adted. In the end, the\u00adre will not be much left for him after this action.
\nTo be honest, I am a litt\u00adle cri\u00adti\u00adcal at this point. Who tells us that Zac\u00adchae\u00adus real\u00adly did this? We may also know that in a cer\u00adtain moment of ela\u00adti\u00adon we take on a lot of things. May\u00adbe for the new year or after a spe\u00adcial ser\u00advice. But can we real\u00adly do it? And what about Zac\u00adchae\u00adus? We don\u2019t know if he kept his pro\u00admi\u00adse? As I said, I would have been a litt\u00adle cri\u00adti\u00adcal. But the\u00adre is not\u00adhing of that with Jesus. He does\u00adn\u2019t say to Zac\u00adchae\u00adus, \u00abThat\u2019s a gre\u00adat idea, but are you real\u00adly going to shoot in like that? Are you going to be able to do it?\u00bb Jesus also does not men\u00adti\u00adon that he will then come back in a month to see if he has alre\u00ada\u00addy imple\u00admen\u00adted the first steps of his announce\u00adment. The ama\u00adzing thing is: Jesus trusts him that he will mana\u00adge. He not only gives Zac\u00adchae\u00adus his atten\u00adti\u00adon, he also trusts him that he can lead a dif\u00adfe\u00adrent life and grow far bey\u00adond hims\u00adelf. Jesus does not react cri\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly. Rather, we read: \u00abThen Jesus said to Zac\u00adchae\u00adus, \u00abToday has brought sal\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon to this house. For, he added, this man is also a son of Abra\u00adham. And the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost\u00bb (vv. 9\u201310). Jesus sees that this man belie\u00adves. Zac\u00adchae\u00adus belie\u00adves that he can beco\u00adme a dif\u00adfe\u00adrent per\u00adson through the power that Jesus radia\u00adtes. And this is exact\u00adly why Jesus came into this world, to give peo\u00adp\u00adle his atten\u00adti\u00adon, to res\u00adcue them from con\u00adtempt and to trust them that they can lead a dif\u00adfe\u00adrent life and grow far bey\u00adond themselves.
\nJesus also trusts us that we can grow bey\u00adond our\u00adsel\u00adves and that our lives can chan\u00adge. He trusts us that we can over\u00adco\u00adme greed, pri\u00adde, envy, jea\u00adlou\u00adsy or unf\u00ador\u00adgi\u00adve\u00adness. Not becau\u00adse we are so good our\u00adsel\u00adves, but becau\u00adse his power, the power of the Holy Spi\u00adrit, beco\u00admes acti\u00adve in us. He trusts us to per\u00adform at our best. I know that for many Chris\u00adti\u00adans the term per\u00adfor\u00admance trig\u00adgers a nega\u00adti\u00adve reac\u00adtion. And it is true that if we want to impress God with our per\u00adfor\u00admance, then we are on the wrong track. But it is Jesus hims\u00adelf who inspi\u00adres us and gives us the strength to grow far bey\u00adond our\u00adsel\u00adves. He wants to bless us so that we beco\u00adme a bles\u00adsing to others. And ima\u00adgi\u00adne for a moment what must have hap\u00adpen\u00aded when Zac\u00adchae\u00adus kept his pro\u00admi\u00adse. He went through the city, the well-known and des\u00adpi\u00adsed Zac\u00adchae\u00adus, and dis\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adted half his for\u00adtu\u00adne to the beggars of Jeri\u00adcho. What joy and joyful\u00adness that must have been
\nBles\u00adsing was for the\u00adse peo\u00adp\u00adle! And then only when he went to tho\u00adse whom he had black\u00admai\u00adled and chea\u00adted and gave them back ever\u00ady\u00adthing four\u00adfold. What a blessing!
\nClo\u00adsing words
\nI don\u2019t know exact\u00adly whe\u00adre you yours\u00adelf stand on this issue. Per\u00adhaps you are one of tho\u00adse who are going through a dif\u00adfi\u00adcult time at the moment or who feel des\u00adpi\u00adsed. Then I want to pro\u00admi\u00adse you today that Jesus is tur\u00adning towards you. He looks at you and says \u00abHey you, come down quick\u00adly! I need to be a guest in your house today.\u00bb He desi\u00adres to be with you and beco\u00adme your fri\u00adend. But not only that: He also trusts you to lea\u00adve your old life behind and grow bey\u00adond yourself.
\nPer\u00adhaps today is the moment to enga\u00adge with this Jesus. But may\u00adbe you are also one of tho\u00adse peo\u00adp\u00adle who have alre\u00ada\u00addy expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced this atten\u00adti\u00adon from Jesus and know that his power can do ama\u00adzing things in you. Then you can beco\u00adme a per\u00adson who inspi\u00adres others. A per\u00adson who can shape the cli\u00adma\u00adte in a group, for good and for hope, as I men\u00adtio\u00adned at the beginning.
\nYou can beco\u00adme a bles\u00adsing for others. Our church, our asso\u00adcia\u00adti\u00adons, our work\u00adplaces and our regi\u00adon need peo\u00adp\u00adle like that. Peo\u00adp\u00adle who turn to others and trust them to grow bey\u00adond them\u00adsel\u00adves. Just like Jesus does with us.
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead the Bible text: Luke 19:1\u201310<\/p>\n
\tTell each other the sto\u00adry of Zac\u00adchae\u00adus with as much detail as possible,
\nhow you ima\u00adgi\u00adne the man and the who\u00adle scene.
\n\tTell each other about examp\u00adles in your life whe\u00adre peo\u00adp\u00adle have moti\u00adva\u00adted you.
\nhave to grow far bey\u00adond yourselves.
\n\tHow have you alre\u00ada\u00addy expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced the atten\u00adti\u00adon and care of Jesus in con\u00adcre\u00adte terms?
\nexpe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced in your life?
\n\tDo you trust the power of caring in the lives of others as much as Jesus did? What do
\nwe ins\u00adtead of this?
\n\tHave you alre\u00ada\u00addy expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced that Jesus trus\u00adted you with some\u00adthing? What was it?
\nHave you noti\u00adced any chan\u00adges in your life in the last few months?
\n\tWho spe\u00adci\u00adfi\u00adcal\u00adly could you give your atten\u00adti\u00adon and atten\u00adti\u00adon to in the next week?
\ngive?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bible Text: Luke 19:1\u201310 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Beni Leu\u00aden\u00adber\u00adger | Series: Like you and me | God trusts us to grow bey\u00adond our\u00adsel\u00adves and thus beco\u00adme a bles\u00adsing for others. Litt\u00adle Zac\u00adchae\u00adus expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced much con\u00adtempt in his life, but the loving care of Jesus chan\u00adged ever\u00ady\u00adthing. Jesus gave him the strength to rise far above\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[64],"wpfc_sermon_series":[63],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-beni-leuenberger","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-wie-du-und-ich","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-2684","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"hentry","10":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t