Zacchaeus

by Scott J. Toney, Lance King

ZacchaeusIssue 1 of ‘Pulpit to Page’This is a sermon given by Lance King at Chestnut Grove and scribed by Scott J. Toney, so that it may be a blessing. Full permission to scribe this sermon is given by Lance King and 50% of all revenue is donated to Chestnut Grove so that it may be used toward Church ministries.*Excerpt*Now, today you heard the story about Zacchaeus. How many of you know about Zacchaeus? How many of you know the song about Zacchaeus? Well let’s just hear it.Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.Perfect. Zacchaeus is a man you know. And what you know about Zacchaeus, even if you don’t know anything else, is you know that he was a wee little man, right, and so you probably have a cartoon image in your head that you got in second grade about Zacchaeus. This is the little tiny guy that climbed a tree, right?Well I invite you today to consider suspending what you think you know about Zacchaeus. Epic Tettus taught that you can teach a person anything except that which they think they already know. Many of you think you know Zacchaeus. Luke introduces five characteristics about Zacchaeus that I hope will challenge what you think about him. And today’s text tells the story. In Chapter 19, Verse 2, we have the first of five. One thing we know about Zacchaeus. It’s something about what he did. We see that a man was there in Jericho named Zacchaeus and he was a chief Tax Collector. Zacchaeus lived in a town, Jericho, where there was lots of commerce. It was on a trade route, lots of business, so there would have been lots of tolls and taxes to collect. Zacchaeus would have been a prominent figure. He was a business owner. He was someone who had some social status in the community. He wouldn’t have been liked by others because he had a legal legitimacy, a power legally to go to the ordinary folks and say you owe twelve coins, but I want fourteen or else I’m gonna turn you in or steal your sheep or something like that. He had the power legally to do that. That kind of power generally creates a kind of awkwardness socially. If I said that to you you’d think, I’m not so sure I want to be around that fella. Zacchaeus was that guy. He was known by everyone and liked by almost no one. He was a chief tax collector, a man of status in Jericho. His relationship with the crowd socially would have been tenuous at best and tumultuous at worst.

14 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 8, 2013

About the author

{April 2014 - One of the "TOP 100 MOST POPULAR AMAZON KINDLE BOOKS" in Religious Science Fiction / Fantasy} - The Ark of Humanity

Barbershop Singer, Father, Husband and Author, Scott J. Toney is a family man first and a great lover of the written word. With over 45,000 copies sold he tackles Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Christian genres, using his Journalism and Public Relations background in constructing characters and worlds.

His first book, The Ark of Humanity, is a what-if mer novel based on the story of Noah and the flood. Scott is also the author of NovaForge, Eden Legacy, {Lazarus, Man} and Hearts of Avon, a Romantic Suspense novel dedicated to his wife. For a breakdown of Scott's novel genres, look below.

NovaForge - Sci-Fi *Releasing May 3rd

The Ark of Humanity - Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Religious Fiction

Eden Legacy - Fantasy/Religious Fiction

Lazarus, Man - Christian/Historical Fiction

Hearts of Avon - Romantic Suspense/Christian

Scott joins forces with other authors as a member of Breakwater Harbor Books and is enthusiastic about the worlds and stories to come!