The Greedy Traitor

Luke 19:1-10


A mondegreen is a misunderstanding or misinterpreting of a section of a song. In a similar way, many of us have misunderstood the figure of Zaccheus, seeing him as a short man who climbed a tree to see Jesus. Yet, Zaccheus was a rich tax collector, stealing from the poor and giving to the rich. His riches meant that he was corrupt, and had gotten away with taking cuts from tax collection for a long time.

Jesus knew the type of man Zaccheus was, but he still called him by name and wanted to dine with him. Though Zaccheus was rich and corrupt, an unlikely convert with an undignified pursuit. Yet, unlike the rich young ruler who held onto his riches, Zaccheus was willing to humiliate himself and give from his riches after his encounter with Jesus.

This is the heart of Jesus: one that seeks the lost, and dines with them. If you are to reject Jesus, reject the Jesus of the Bible and not a mondegreen Jesus. He longs to bring the rebel, the renegade, and the unloveable home. Let this Jesus speak louder than your mistakes, or the mondegreens that you have heard about him.

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7 Nov 2021

Sam Low

Sam joined the team in 2018 as one of our inaugural church planting residents in our Planters Academy. Sam is now the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Gold Coast which launched publicly in 2020. Sam has a passion to see people discover the life, joy, and hope that is only found in Jesus. He loves to preach the bible to whoever will listen and is energised by seeing leaders developed and released to use their gifts and passions for God’s glory. Sam is married to Sally and they have three sons Bailey, Hudson and Zion. He is an ordained Anglican Minister.

31 Oct 2021

Dave Chiswell

Dave serves as the Youth Minister at City on a Hill Geelong. Married to Alexi, father of Eden and Freya, and a golf tragic, Dave loves nothing more than helping people take Jesus seriously – because he’s totally convinced that Christianity makes more sense and offers more hope than any other worldview.

31 Oct 2021

Dave Chiswell

Dave serves as the Youth Minister at City on a Hill Geelong. Married to Alexi, father of Eden and Freya, and a golf tragic, Dave loves nothing more than helping people take Jesus seriously – because he’s totally convinced that Christianity makes more sense and offers more hope than any other worldview.

31 Oct 2021

Khoi Phuong

Khoi is the Associate Pastor of City on a Hill Melbourne West. He has a deep heart for communities of life, love and mission, as he passionately wants to see the gospel of Jesus make an impact in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Khoi’s favourite community, of course, is at home with his wife and two boys. He is an avid sports fan who supports mostly losing teams – which keeps him pretty humble (and sad).

31 Oct 2021

Nick Coombs

Nick is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Melbourne East. He loves Jesus, is passionate about connecting deep theology with everyday life, and eager to make a difference in the time he has by helping plant as many churches as possible. After Jesus, Nick loves his wife Jules, and his two kids, Axel and Aria. He holds an MDiv from Ridley College, is an ordained Anglican minister and gives too much of his time to fantasy sports.

31 Oct 2021

Peter Taylor

Peter moved to Geelong with his wife Emma and their three boys Art, Gus, and Clement in 2018. He serves at City on a Hill Geelong as Assistant Curate. He oversees and cares for the older community who meet on Wednesday mornings and have named themselves ‘City Over the Hill’. He loves working with and serving such a diverse family that is centred on the Gospel. He is also a full time serving member of the ADF, training to be an Airforce Chaplain.

31 Oct 2021

Louis Glazebrook

Married to Esther and father of three girls (Evelyn, Audrey and Winifred) Louis is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Surf Coast. The story that God has written for his life has thus far seen him enjoy a country upbringing, service in the army, working as physiotherapist and now most recently completing an MDiv at Ridley College. A few of his many weaknesses include caramel slice, boys toys, and not putting away his shoes.