I please God to bless us together
this evening as we consider his word. Let's turn to the Gospel
of Luke, chapter 19, reading verse 5. The Gospel of Luke,
chapter 19, and reading verse 5. And when Jesus came to the
place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus,
make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house." The account of Zacchaeus is a
very wonderful and beautiful account and it is probably one
of the more well-known accounts in the Word of God. But it does
have a great deal of instruction and a great deal of teaching
for us as we ponder the events which unfold as we see in this
little account. And it makes us very aware that
the Lord knows where everyone is. The Lord knows where we are
at every moment in our life. And I suppose we often tend to
forget that and we carry on in our normal course of life, day
by day, often failing to realise that the Lord watches over us
and the Lord knows exactly where we are and He knows what our
thoughts are and what our intents are. And so we can be thankful
for this truth and for the blessing that it contains. And so we have
this evidence here of Zacchaeus, and what is Zacchaeus doing?
Well, he was of course a rich man. Zacchaeus being a rich man,
he became a rich man probably not through an honourable way,
because he was outlined here as a tax collector, he's a republican
but he is a tax collector, Tax collectors in those days were
usually dishonest men and they made people pay more than was
their due and so he became rich in that way. Now, this man Zacchaeus,
he was the chief. He wasn't an unimportant person. He would have been well known.
And we see that in his heart he desires to see Jesus and he
sought to see Jesus Who he was? No, he was a little man. And
because there was a crowd and he couldn't get a good view of
Jesus, so what he did, he ran before and he climbed up into
a sycamore tree to see him. Well, it's again surprising to
think of an eminent person like he was doing such a deed. But the desire in his heart was
great that he might have a good view of Jesus, who he was, and
he knew that he was to pass by that way. So Jesus did come and
pass by that way. And when Jesus came to the place,
he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make
haste and come down. For today I must abide at thy
house." No doubt Zacchaeus was very surprised. No doubt Zacchaeus was very surprised
the Lord had even stopped. And very surprised that he should
have spoken to him in this way. And it may be of course similar
in our lives. Sometimes we may be surprised
at what occurs, events which unfold themselves in our lives.
Zacchaeus got up in the morning, probably a normal day, never
expected the Lord to come and to look at him where he was.
It may be so in our lives, we may have got up never really
expecting the Lord to look at us, never really expecting the
Lord to speak to us. But the blessing is that God
has an appointed time in all of our lives. And the line of
the hymn which tells us this, not to propose, but to call by
grace. And that's what God's word does.
God's word makes spiritually alive. When God speaks, that
word cannot be resisted. It is the word of God. And it
comes into our hearts. And it came to this man, Zacchaeus,
on this wonderful occasion. Would it be a good thing if you
and I, in our lives, have an occasion to look back and realise,
yes, Jesus came. As it were, he stopped where
I was. I was surprised. And he stopped, he looked and
he spoke. It's a wonderful blessing to
have Jesus come where we are and to stop and to speak to us. Now the words that the Lord spoke
to Zacchaeus here were very wonderful and very glorious words. Very simple, very straightforward. And I would say this, when God
speaks, the word is clear and the word is straightforward.
Sometimes we misinterpret it. We sometimes misinterpret God's
word because it doesn't necessarily suit our little plan in our life. But God's word is clear and it's
always clear. And sometimes it may take quite
a long time for us to realise the true meaning of the word
that the Lord may have spoken. We may have put our interpretation
on it, which we have to prove was not correct or right. But
here we have a statement really from the Lord which really couldn't
be misrepresented or misunderstood. And he came and he said, Zacchaeus. There wasn't any doubt, was there,
who the Lord was speaking to. He wasn't speaking to the crowd. He was speaking directly to Zacchaeus. And that's a blessing as well,
when God comes and speaks directly to you and me. We don't have
to look around and think, well, who's that for? Sometimes we
do that, you know, and it's not a good thing to do. When a word
is spoken, we think, well, perhaps that's so and so. You know, we
should always consider whether the word is applicable to our
own case and whether the Lord is speaking to us. He was speaking
here in this way to this man, Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus couldn't
doubt it. The Lord had stopped. He was
looking at him and he was calling him by name. And then what did
he say? Make haste and come down. for today I must abide at thy
house." He was up this tree and the Lord told him to come down,
to come down quickly, to make haste. Well I believe there are those
occasions when, as it were, we may have been up a tree and wondering
what was going to happen. Perhaps we've been looking and
desiring to see Jesus. We may have run on ahead of the
crowd, as it were, and climbed up into a tree so that we might
get a better view, perhaps a clearer view. We may have perhaps, as
it were, just peered through the crowd and not had a very
good view. We want to have that clear view
of the Lord Jesus. Well, it is important for every
one of us that we do have a clear spiritual view of the Lord Jesus
as that one who can save our souls. The one who can deliver
us from the wrath to come. We don't want to be in any place
of misunderstanding. We do need to know the Lord is
addressing us in a personal way. and speaking to us, and here
was his word, make haste. What it means is, Zacchaeus,
don't dawdle. Zacchaeus, don't just stop where
you are. Zacchaeus, make haste. What a
blessing that is when the Lord speaks to us with regard to our
spiritual state, make haste. The tendency is often to put
things off, especially when it comes to confessing
the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. The tendency
is to perhaps find an excuse and we may look around. Here
was the word very direct and very clear, Zacchaeus, make haste. It's a good thing in our lives.
The Lord speaks to us in this way. Make haste. Because the things of God do
require our urgent attention. You might say, why? Why do they
require urgent attention? I'll tell you why. We don't know
whether we'll see tomorrow morning, do we? What a terrible thing it would
be if the Lord was to come and take us and we had never confessed his name. And yet, there may have been
this word, make haste. And we may have made excuses. You see, the devil is a past
master at producing excuses. He's a past master at producing
excuses. My friends, how easy it is for
us to find an excuse. Now, Zacchaeus was being spoken
to him, being commanded to do something. And it was a commitment
that was being requested of him. He couldn't sit on the fence
any longer, could he? He couldn't say, well, I'm not
sure whether that's directed at me or not. The word was clear. Zacchaeus, make haste. So the Lord speaks to us in similar
words. Make haste. Let us not put things
off. Let us not say, well, I think
I'll wait for a more convenient time, because a more convenient
time may never come. May never come. Let us realise,
when the Lord speaks, we should not try and make excuses. We may think, well, that might
be rather costly for me. Well, it may have been costly
for Zacchaeus. There he was, a crook. And following
this way, no doubt it came into his mind that he would have to
be honest from henceforth. Well, you know, talking in spiritual
ways, we may have been a crook. Yes, we may have been a deceiver. We may have not been honest in
our spiritual dealings. We may have made excuses and
turned this way and that way. Well, here we have this clear
statement. Zacchaeus, make haste. It was a very clear word to him.
Come down. Come down, Zacchaeus. He was
up in the tree. Zacchaeus, come down. And perhaps
in our life, we have to come down. We may be high up in our
own estimation. We may have a good view of ourselves.
We may think we're better than we really are. The Lord comes and speaks in
this way. Make haste and come down. It's
a good thing to be in a low place. and not a high place. Yes, because
he that is low need fear no fall. But if you and I are high, we
may fear falling. And if we fall, you know, falling
can do damage. Sometimes serious damage. It's
a good thing if we're low and in a low place. Because then
we don't have a high opinion of ourselves. And it's then we're
in a right condition and situation to have a high opinion of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And so here was this clear instruction
to this man, that he was to make haste and to come down. Come down from that tree, Zacchaeus.
And he gave a reason. What a wonderful reason it was,
for today I must abide at thy house. The inference is clear,
isn't it? If Zacchaeus had continued to
stay perched up in that tree, and the Lord had passed on, then
the Lord wouldn't have come and abode at his house. If he'd disobeyed the Lord, The
Lord would have gone and passed on. So how necessary it is that
we observe these accounts which clearly show us the right way
and the way that you and I should react and act in the things of
God. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down, for today I must abide at thy house. Now the instruction
will be given for him to come down and to make haste. And what
do we read? And he made haste and came down. It's good to be obedient to the
word of the Lord. It's good to be obedient to the
word of the Lord. Again, just remember, The devil
will produce all manner of excuses why you should not obey the Lord. I'm sure I don't have to run
through a list. I'm sure you can run through
a list in your own mind. You may have proof of those occasions
that you may have regretted when the devil has had the upper hand. The devil has had the sway. And the days have passed by,
and you find now that you regret the occasions when you did not
obey the simple, clear instruction of the Word of God. You see, one of the biggest excuses
is to say, well, I'm just too bad. Well, couldn't have been
worse than Zacchaeus, naturally, could we? He was a crook. He was the chief of the publicans. But you see, he heard the word
of God. And what did he read? And he made haste. And he came
down. It's a blessing to have the answer
with good conscience when we obey the word of the Lord. And I tell you this, if you disobey
the word of the Lord, it will be a nagging in your conscience. Yes, you won't be able to get
away from it. You may try and hide from it.
You may try and say, well, I'm going to do this, I'm going to
do that. The Lord has spoken to your heart. You won't be able
to get away from it. Because when the Spirit works,
the Spirit works in such a way that he writes his word, as it
were, indelibly in our heart. And you will not be able to escape
from the word of the Lord. And so here we have this statement
here. What Zacchaeus did, he made haste
and he came down and received him joyfully. Received the Lord
joyfully. Now, just ponder that. He knew
that the Lord Jesus was a righteous man. He knew he was the son of
God and he knew he was very different but nonetheless he received him
joyfully well what a favour it is if you and I can receive the
Lord into our heart joyfully and I believe it will be like
this when we realise The Lord has looked upon us, that we never deserved it. Zacchaeus
never deserved it, that the Lord looked upon him. We never deserve
it. So the Lord's looked upon us
and has spoken to us. Surely we can receive him joyfully
for his great goodness toward us, in causing us To be in a
certain place at a certain time. To hear His voice speaking to
our souls. Surely there is a wonderful blessing
and a wonderful favour in that. And so here we have this statement.
He came down and He received him joyfully. It was a result
of Him doing that which the Lord had spoken to him of. come down, for today I must abide
at thy house." And the Lord did that which He said He would do.
He came and abode with Him in His house. Now, do we want the
Lord to come and to abide with us? Well, I hope we do. And I hope we want the Lord to
come, as it were, into our heart and abide for us, abide with
us, to come to us. I hope that is our real desire
and our real prayer. It would be a poor show if we
don't have any desire for that. If we haven't any concern, the
Lord will come and dwell with us. And I say that because of
this. One day you and I will pass out
of time. We shall enter into eternity. And if we enter into eternity,
it will be in one of two places. It will either be where Jesus
is, in glory, or where Jesus is not, in hell. If we don't
desire Jesus now, we shall not want to be with Jesus in glory. And therefore it would be a wonderful
blessing if our hearts desire that Jesus will come and abide
with us. And so here we have Zacchaeus
saying this, or making haste and coming down. And then of
course there were those who were critical. They were critical. My friends, don't be surprised
if in our spiritual life We're criticised. People may speak
against us and say, well, I don't think that person is very suitable,
and why has the Lord looked upon so and so, and in fact, was that
really true or was that really right? Expect opposition. Expect opposition. The Christian
path is always one of opposition. But it is also the path of a
good conscience. as you and I may hear and obey
the voice of the Saviour." And these people, they murmured,
and when they saw it, they all murmured saying that he was gone
to be a guest with a man that is a sinner. Yes, people may
be surprised, but the Lord touches our hearts. They may be surprised,
and they may speak against us, but my friends, the answer to
a good conscience is a wonderful blessing. And so the Lord did
come. And then we see Zacchaeus then
confessing his situation. Confessing his situation. I believe
when the Lord comes into our hearts, we have to confess our
situation. Because we will realise then,
we can't hide anything from Almighty God, because God has come and
He's seen where we were. He's found us. He found us, you
know. He found Jacob, didn't he? In
a very far off place, we're told. He found him in a waste, howling
wilderness. That's where the Lord found Jacob. The Lord found Zacchaeus up this
tree. My friends, the Lord finds His people. And the great blessing
is, if He's found you and me, And if we have the evidence in
our heart, yes, the Lord has found me. He found me when I was a stranger,
wandering from the fold of Christ. And He, to deliver our souls
from danger, interposed His precious blood. Yes, what a glorious thing
that is to realise that this blessed Lord Jesus who came where
Zacchaeus was in no less manner comes to his people today and
speaks to them today and makes them honest today. It's the evidence
of the gracious work of God when we rejoice in the Saviour and
we come bowing down and confessing our sins. We can't hold ourselves
up. We bow down before the Lord.
And so we see Zacchaeus when he came and he stood, he stood
before the Lord and he said unto him, Behold Lord, and it's important
to notice how he addresses Jesus. Yes, he addresses him as Lord,
his Lord. He doesn't address him just as
an ordinary man. The Lord has spoken directly
to him. He instructed him and he comes
in this way and he speaks to him as Lord. Well again, the
evidence of life in our souls is when we come and we address
the Lord Jesus as our Lord. as our Lord. And if you really
address Jesus as your Lord, that means that you desire that He
is your Lord and that you might do His will and bow down and
follow Him. Oh, what a favour it is to have
the Lord as our God. So we see here Zacchaeus coming
and saying, behold Lord. He wanted the Lord to behold
what he was saying. It's a good thing, is it not? If we desire, when we come in
prayer to God, that we desire that he will look upon us and
behold what we are saying. So it's not just Words which
fly off into the unknown, but they're words directed to God
himself. Oh, behold, Lord, the half of
my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything
from any man by false accusation, I restore unto him fourfold. Well, that was his confession,
that was the situation, and we might think, well, how is the
Lord going to respond to a statement like that. Is he going to say,
well, that's very well done, you've done well in doing that.
He spoke a far greater thought than that. And he made this statement. He came and he said unto him,
this day. Remember, there he was on this
day, the Lord had come to Zacchaeus, He spoke to him and it was the
same day and he said, this day is salvation come to this house
for as much as he also is a son of Abraham. The Lord knew he
was a son of Abraham. He knew he was one of those for
whom he would give his life and die upon that cross at Calvary. And he was able to speak in these
wonderful terms. This day is salvation come to
this house. Now, we all need to hear such
a statement spoken to us by our God. That salvation has come
to our house, has come to us in a personal way. There were
lots of people, weren't there? There were crowds. The Lord came
directly to Zacchaeus. And may we have the evidence
that the Lord has come directly to us. And to speak like this,
this day, is salvation come to this house. Salvation, of course,
means the saving of the soul. Nothing greater. To know that
we have had a day, or come to a day, when the Lord has spoken
directly to us in this way, that this day is salvation. Come to
this house. And we have the evidence that
we are born again of the Spirit of God. Yes, what a favour that
is. And what an important thing it
is. Many things are important in our lives. We place things
in different categories, but my friends, this is the most
important consideration that you and I can ever consider,
because it has reference to our eternal life, which is far more
important than our little life on this earth. And so we have
a statement like this. This day is salvation. Come to this house. What a wonderful blessing to
know the Lord has come to us, brought us salvation so that
we are born again of the Spirit. You know, there was a wonderful
day, wasn't it, in the life of Zacchaeus. It would be a wonderful
thing if we can find in our lives a wonderful day when the Lord
came and spoke and called us and gave us that good hope in
our heart that we are born again by the Spirit of God and that
salvation has come to us. This day, said the Lord, this
day is salvation come to this house for as much as he also
is a son of Abraham. He was one of the household of
faith. He was one of those for whom
the Lord Jesus Christ was to die. He was one of those who
was ordained, one of those who was chosen by God. What a blessing
to know the truths, as the Lord Jesus said later on in his life,
he said, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and
ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and
that your fruit should remain. It is the blessed and glorious
work of the Saviour. Yes, he it is who chooses and
ordains and blesses. So we have this statement, for
as much as he also is a son of Abraham. And then the Lord says,
for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was
lost. By nature, we're all lost. We're all lost. were lost and
ruined in the fall of Adam. Adam and Eve when they committed
that original sin in the Garden of Eden. And sin passed upon
all mankind. And because of that we are all
lost. What a wonderful thing it is to know the Lord Jesus
came to seek and to save that which was lost. The Lord sought
out Zacchaeus. He sought him out. He found him. As the Lord sought you and me
out. As he found us. And tonight, do we bless God
for it? Do we rejoice as Zacchaeus did? Do we rejoice and bless God for
his amazing grace? Like John Newsome said, amazing
grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Zacchaeus was a wretch, yes,
and you and I are wretches, and we'll confess that before our
God. We won't claim to be a self-righteous
person. We'll confess who we are, and
we'll be so thankful then that Lord Jesus He has come, the Son
of Man. Note how this is spelled out.
The Son of Man. He has come to seek and to save
that which was lost. That's why the Lord Jesus came
into this world. To save His people from their
sins. Never lose sight of the great
glory of the plan of salvation. and the great glory of the life
of the Saviour, and the great glory of the death of the Saviour,
when He so willingly came and gave His life. He gave His life
for Zacchaeus. My friend, has He given His life
for you and me? Do we come and realise that there
is all our hope in what Christ has done. No help in ourselves,
but there is hope in the finished work of the Saviour. And what
a glorious work it was, and what a wonderful work, what an amazing
work it was. The Lord Jesus Christ, the only
begotten Son of God, let us never underestimate the sacrifice,
the sacrifice of the Father in giving His Son and the sacrifice
of the Son in giving His life so that you and I might be saved
from all our sins. Oh, what a blessing it is to
know that we have such a Saviour, who was so willing to endure
the cross, so willing to endure the agony, that He has a face
in order to save our souls. Isn't there a wonderful glory
in the death of the Saviour? And then to think, death could
not hold Him. He rose from the dead, a great
and glorious conqueror, over sin, death, hell and the grave. And now, my friends, He sits
victorious in glory on the throne, at the Father's right hand there,
to intercede for you and me today. Today, if you will hear His voice,
harden not your hearts. What a blessing it is when the
Spirit of God comes and makes us willing in the day of His
power, when He comes and softens our heart, when He comes and
reveals Himself to us as our all-sufficient Saviour, like
He did to Zacchaeus all these years ago. Well, we're thankful,
I hope we're thankful that the Lord of God Almighty has seen
fit to record this wonderful, short and simple account, but
how relevant it is for you and me today. It is the truth of
God's Word, and it speaks very clearly, and oh may we take heed
tonight for the words that we read as a text, make haste and
come down, come down from our high position, from our wrong
position, from our wrong thoughts, come down, for today I must abide
at thy house. And having been made willing
in the day of His power then to realise the glory of these
words for the Son of Man, the only begotten Son of God, the
Son of Man came to seek and to say that which was lost and to
have a humble and yet true hope that such words apply to us will
bring us comfort and joy and peace and we can then look forward
to believe that there is and inheritance, incorruptible and
undefiled, which God has reserved for us through His grace, through
His mercy, because of His great love wherewith He loved us. Great love, oh my friends, what
love there must have been in the heart of the Saviour to love
a wretch like Zacchaeus, and perhaps we might say a greater
love, to love a wretch like you and me but oh may we tonight
be thankful for the gospel and may we indeed have the evidence
and oh may we have the evidence that God has looked on us like
he looked on Zacchaeus and spoke to him and called him oh to have
that evidence is to possess eternal life Amen.