In the Gospel of Luke, chapter
19, is a very familiar story to most. The story of a man named
Zacchaeus. Now, the Lord tells us the moral
of this story. In verse 10 of chapter 19, the
Lord says in conclusion of this story, the Son of Man is come
to seek and to save that which was lost. That is the moral or
the theme of this story. And the fact is, that is the
theme of all of God's Word. How the Lord Jesus Christ came
to this earth to seek and to save His lost sheep. Now back in chapter 15 of the
same gospel, Luke's gospel, he told a three-part parable of
a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. And it says in chapter
15, verse 4 and 5, What man of you, having a hundred sheep,
if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine
in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he
find it, and when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders
rejoicing." Now, it does not say the sheep found him. No, that can't be. The sheep
is lost, but the shepherd goes after the sheep. It does not
say if he is able to find it. It says when he hath found it. The same thing is said of the
lost coin, verses 8 and 9, what woman having ten pieces of silver,
if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, sweep the house,
and seek diligently till she find it, and when she hath found
it she rejoices. The same thing. Not if, but when. And this whole three-part parable
in chapter 15 is the story of God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
who illuminates, who is the light, and God the Father. All three
who seek their sheep and find them. It could not be plainer. That is the story of salvation.
Now that God has a people, they are called sheep, and they are
lost. according to God's purpose. And
in time, the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth and through
the Holy Spirit comes and finds his sheep. Here in chapter 19
is the story of one of Christ's lost sheep. And Christ comes
to find him. Verse 1 says, He entered and
passed through Jericho. Now, Jericho was a big city.
Many people in this city. There were many Jesus followers. Everywhere the Lord went, he
had a big following. But, in another passage, it says
that the Lord did not commit himself to men because he knew
what was in man. Quite often they followed him,
he said, because they saw the miracles. They were enamored
with his miracle working. That sounds familiar, doesn't
it? Same thing happens today. He turned to a group in one place
and said, you follow me because you've got your bellies filled
because of what I provide for you. And that's the same today
also. Many Jesus followers because
of what they can get out of Him. Well, he passed through Jericho,
and it does not tell us that he saved or dealt with anybody
there at this time. But on the way in, he saved a
certain blind man by the wayside begging, a man named Bartimaeus. And he passed through the large
city, passed by many people. And on the way out of the town
was this man named Zacchaeus. Verse 2, there was a man named
Zacchaeus which was the chief among the publicans, and he was
rich. A man named Zacchaeus, if you
had known him, you would not have liked him. He was a publican,
a crooked fellow, an extortioner, a fellow hired by the Roman government
to exact taxes from his own people, the Jews, and quite often he
pocketed a lot of money for himself. This fellow was the equivalent
of a crooked politician or lawyer or something like that. And he
was the chief. He had several under him. And
he was rich, it says. That is, he had everything and
everyone that money could buy. He didn't need anything or anyone.
So he was a rich, crooked publican. If you'd have known him, you
wouldn't have liked him. Nobody did. Quite often it says
throughout the Gospels that it talks about publicans and sinners
in the same voice. Well, the Lord came to seek and
to save sinners like this man, and it says in verse 3 that Zacchaeus
sought to see Jesus, who he was, and could not for the press,
or that is because of the crowd, because there were too many people,
because he was little of stature. He was a short fellow. Now Zacchaeus
heard of Jesus, and out of curiosity, like so many, he went to see
Him. He heard He was coming through,
and he went to see Jesus. And you know, it's the same with
most churchgoers today. Most come out of curiosity about
Jesus or about religion. Zacchaeus certainly wasn't lost,
or that is, he didn't know he was, didn't think he was. He
certainly was not a sinner. He did not think he was. He wasn't
poor and needed. That is, he didn't realize it
yet. He thought he was rich and increased with goods and had
need of nothing and no one. Why, he's the chief publican. Well, many people come out of
mere curiosity who are not poor, needy, lost sinners, or don't
know that they are. But the Lord reveals that to
all whom He seeks. Well, it says Zacchaeus was little
of stature. He probably didn't think he was.
At least in his own eyes, he didn't think of himself as being
a little fellow. But do you know what? The fact
is, God only saves little people. He only saves those who are little
in their own eyes. The nothings and the nobodies.
That's what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 to the church there
in Corinth. He said, You see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish
things. The weak things. The base things. Things which
are nothing. The nothings and the nobodies.
That is, those whom God reveals to them that they are nothing,
have nothing, can do nothing, nobody. Certainly God doesn't
need them, but they need Him. That's what God reveals to His
people. That they're lost. That they're
small in their own eyes. Verse 4 says, Zacchaeus ran before,
that is, in front of the crowd, climbed up into a sycamore tree
to see him, to see Jesus, for he was to pass that way. There just happened to be a sycamore
tree in the path where the Lord was walking. This one tree just
happened to be where Christ was passing. No, this didn't just
happen to be. There is no accident. There is
no such thing as an accident with God Almighty. The sovereign
Lord of the universe purposes all things. This one tree where
the Lord was to pass by was there because God Almighty, years and
years before, either planted it himself And there are quite
a few of these sycamore trees down on the river where I live,
evidently planted by God Himself. Or God, in His purpose, had some
man plant this tree right in that very spot where He was to
pass by one day, years later in His purpose, where He would
have one man climb, climb up this tree. This man was up a
tree on purpose. up a tree on purpose. Now, if
God Almighty is going to cross your path, He's going to have
you in a particular place. You're going to have your own
sycamore tree where you're going to be found, where Christ will
pass. Everything is according to His
sovereign, all-wise purpose. So here this man sits in a tree. And here comes the crowd. Huge
throng of people. Now, most of these folks looked
alike back then. They didn't dress in bright,
colorful clothing as we do today, in very different clothing. No,
they all looked pretty much the same, wearing robes and hooded
robes and so forth. Zacchaeus is looking, he's watching,
he's hoping to get a glimpse of Jesus. Well, it says in verse
5, when Jesus came to the place, The Lord came to where Zacchaeus
was. And it says, he looked up and
saw him. The Lord Jesus Christ looked
upon Zacchaeus and saw him. He looked on him first. Zacchaeus
didn't even recognize him yet. He didn't see him in the crowd
yet. But the Lord came to where Zacchaeus
was before Zacchaeus saw the Lord. the Lord saw him. That's exactly the way it is
with every single lost sheep which the Great Shepherd comes
to find. He looks on them long before
they are even looking for him, long before they see him or recognize
him, long before they see any beauty in him that they should
desire him. He looks on them in love, in
mercy, in grace, according to his covenant, according to his
mercy, according to his purpose, he looks on them. That's what
it means, for whom he did for know. That is, before the world
began, looked on his people in his purpose, in his covenant,
looked on them in love and mercy and grace, and according to that
purpose had determined to save them, those who would be lost
in time. Christ in time would come and
find them through the gospel. Another story of a man named
Nathanael who was also around a tree, but he was under a tree,
under a fig tree. And he came walking one day and
the Lord said, Behold Nathanael, behold an Israelite in whom is
no guile. And Nathanael said, How do you
know me? The Lord said, when you were
sitting under the fig tree, I saw you. And Nathanael recognized
that this is none other than the Lord of glory who knew him
long before he knew him. And so it is with all of Christ's
lost sheep. The Lord sees them. He sees them
before there was any existence. In Psalm 139, before they were
created, he saw them in his purpose. In the womb he saw them, as a
babe, as a youth, as a rebel, as a sinner, as a lost person.
He sees them, looks on them in love, mercy, and grace, with
an eye to save them. And he comes where they are,
up a tree, out on a limb. He stops and looks upon them. And in this look at Zacchaeus,
it was a look that convicted him of his sin, exposed him,
and yet with the same look, The look of love, mercy, forgiveness,
grace removed all sin and guilt from him, instantly transforming
this publican and sinner into a believer, a son of Abraham. It goes on to say that the Lord
said to him, Make haste and come down, for today I must abide
at thy house. And Zacchaeus made haste, came
down, and received him joyfully, all by the power of God. in a
look. And the people, it says, verse
7, when they saw it, they murmured, saying that Christ was gone to
be a guest with a man that is a sinner. No, if you had asked
Zacchaeus, he would tell you Christ wasn't his guest. Christ
gave the command for him to come down. Christ commanded that he
was coming to his house. It didn't ask him anything. No,
Zacchaeus would tell you Jesus Christ is not my guest. I am
His. And so it is with everyone whom
God sovereignly saves, whom the Lord comes to seek and to save
and to find His lost sheep. May He find you through His Word.
In Christ's name, this message is brief. Amen.