We'll be in Luke chapter 19.
Luke chapter 19. In the name of the message of salvation
is unmerited, unmerited, unsolicited, and unthought of. Unmerited,
unsolicited, and unthought of. Before we're saved, even after
we don't merit salvation, we don't seek it. We don't seek
it before we're saved. And it's unthought of. We don't
think we need to be saved before we're saved. But oh, when the
Lord Jesus Christ has a divine appointment with His sheep. Luke
chapter 19, verses 1 to 10. And Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho, and behold, behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans. So he wasn't
just a normal publican, he was, he was in charge. Chief among
the publicans. He was rich. He was rich. And he sought to see Jesus, who
he was, and could not for the press because he was of little
stature. So he tried to, he tried to see
the Lord, He was small. Everyone was taller than him.
He couldn't see him. And he ran before and climbed
up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass 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. Little
note, he called him by name. He called him by name. He made
haste and came down and received him joyfully. Remember our song,
I Would Not Be Controlled? How I love the shepherd's voice. Oh, he received him joyfully.
When they saw it, they all murmured, here's the religious folks, that
he had gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner. Praise
God, this verse is in the Bible. Oh my. And Zacchaeus stood and
said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord. He calls him Lord. Half of my
goods I give to the poor. And if I have taken anything
from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus
said unto him, this day is salvation. Come to this house for as much
as he also is a son of Abraham, the true Israel of God, a true
son of Abraham. Not just the son by flesh. And
there's some who think that Zacchaeus, various commentators are saying
they don't know if he was a Gentile or a Jew. They're not sure. Various
commentators are saying that they don't know which one. But
if he was a Gentile, then that speaks to even more of Genesis
where, I mean, Galatians where we're talking about that the
Israel of God are those who believe. Those who believe. He's the son
of Abraham. In all the elect of God are sons
of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come,
and here's why our King came to this world. Here's why our
great King left the glories and splendors of heaven. For the
Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. That which was lost. Here before
us in our text, we have a man named Zacchaeus. A man named
Zacchaeus in a city called Jericho. And he did not know, he did not
know that he woke up that morning and he had a divine appointment.
He had no clue. He woke up that morning not knowing
that he was having a divine appointment with God incarnate in the flesh. He had a divine appointment.
Jericho was a very rich city in the tribe of Benjamin. was
less than 20 miles from Jerusalem. The name means a place of fragrance,
and it was a noted city abounding in balsam, honey, cypress, plums,
roses, and other fragrant products. It was a very rich city, a very
rich city. And it was near the north shore
of the Dead Sea in the tribe of Benjamin between Jerusalem
and the Jordan River. And it was a city of a large
population. So imagine this as we read the
text here. Let's set, as some old preachers
say, let's set the table. So here they are. Jesus is going
through this city. It's a large city. There's a
lot of people, a lot of folks. And we can, in our minds, picture
what the older cities were like that way. And they're busy, very
busy, very busy. And this especially sounded like
it was a trade city, so it would be even more busy than some of
the other towns and cities. And it says here, and Jesus passed
through Jericho. So he passed through Jericho.
Here we see God's distinguishing grace at work. God's distinguishing
grace at work. The Lord Jesus Christ is seeking
one of his lost sheep. He passed through Jericho. He
passes all these other people. Remember what he said about the
lady at the well? I must needs go through Samaria.
I must. Because there was not just one
sheep there. There was a whole bunch of them on there. But here,
one of his sheep, one of his sheep that was given to him by
God from eternity. He's in this city and he's seeking
him out. He's seeking him out. And as
he passes through the city, he's passing all kinds of people. But he's seeking the sheep. He's
seeking the sheep. What a picture of God's distinguishing
grace. And it was that sheep's appointed
time that he would hear the shepherd's voice. that he would hear the
shepherd's voice. And the great shepherd of the
sheep will seek him out, and he calls him by name. He
calls them by name. My sheep what? Hear my voice.
And they follow me. They follow me. Oh, what hope
it gives us, doesn't it? When we preach the gospel, when
we talk to our loved ones, what hope gives us? What hope? God
will call his sheep. He will. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. John chapter 10, verse 27 and
28. My sheep hear my voice. You see who it's dependent upon? Oh, what mercy, what mercy God
has upon us. Keep these precious words in
mind. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, which is Gnosk.
I know them intimately. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. Keep these precious words in
mind, as our great king, as our great king enters into Jericho. As we look at this wonderful
picture of God's Distinguishing grace unfolding right before
us. Now we know, it says in the next verse, and behold there
was a man named Zacchaeus which was chief among the publicans
and he was rich. So he was in a place of authority
amongst the publicans. And he was rich. And he was rich
because he extorted a lot of people too. He stole money off
them. But he's one of God's lost sheep.
He is an object of divine mercy and he doesn't even know it. He doesn't even know it. He's
a publican. He's hated by the Jews. Remember
today I said that God's people, his sheep, are found amongst
those who the world says, well, I have nothing to do with them. He was hated. He was despised
by the Jews. The Romans had tax collectors
and they were called publicans. And the office was loathed by
the Jews because the Romans were conquerors. So these publicans
were representatives of that government. And the Jews, oh, the Jews hated
them. They were, in the eyes of the
Jews, the publicans were the most worthless of men. The most
worthless of men. And they always classed them
with those they thought were sinners. And he was rich, as I said, because
he had extorted money from people. We'll see that later on in our
text. Those he had collected taxes from. Look at verse 3. And he sought to see Jesus, who
he was. And he could not for the press,
because he was of little stature. And then verse 4. And he ran
before and climbed up into a sycamore tree. Some people would say,
oh that tree's there by chance. No, that's a divinely planted
sycamore tree. That's a divinely planted sycamore
tree. Oh my. That little tree, that
seed, either it was a seed or a small tree that was planted
and it grew into what it was and it had one purpose. Oh my,
the mercy of God in Christ. Zacchaeus had a desire to see
the Lord Jesus Christ. And maybe he was just curious.
Maybe he had heard of Him. That's what I would assume from
the scripture. It doesn't say that he was seeking
Him like when a sinner seeks Him. He just was curious. It
says, and he sought to see who He was. And I ask you, do we not see
here the drawing of the Holy Spirit of God, drawn a sinner
to Christ? Here before us is a lost sheep
of God, one of his sheep from eternity named Zacchaeus, one
of the elect of God, a publican, a chief publican, hated by the
Jews. And this man, Zacchaeus, has
been loved by Christ since before the foundation of the world,
and he has no clue. And Zacchaeus doesn't have any
idea that he's one of God's elect. He doesn't have any idea that
he has a divine appointment with God. God incarnate in the flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ. Was it
not so for us when the Lord saved us? We weren't looking for Him,
were we? We who believe. So Zacchaeus
climbs up a tree. He climbs up this sycamore tree. As I said, a divinely planted
sycamore tree. It's been planted there to give
him a view where he can see Jesus. Here we see pervenient grace,
the pervenient grace of God at work in Zacchaeus' life, making
him curious to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 5. And when Jesus
came to the place, oh, here's our Master. He's walking through Jericho.
He's passing by all these others, right? And He sees His sheep. And when Jesus came to the place,
He looked up. Oh, what a look. What a look. and saw him, and said unto him,
Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must
abide at thy house. I must. The king of glory, God
incarnate in the flesh. What mercy we see here, don't
we? The shepherd seeking out one of his sheep. He's despised by man, hated by
man, but loved by God. Oh, my. Our Lord Jesus Christ looked
up and saw him, saw his lost sheep and speaks to him. And
note here in the text, as far as we know, Zacchaeus had never
met our great King. Had never met him. But our text
says that our Lord and Savior calls Him by name. How does He know? Because He's engraved in the
palm of His hands. He's one of His sheep of eternity. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
49. Let us note here that this man
who is loathed by man is loved by God. What grace we have. What grace we have here before
us. What mercy magnified in the love of Christ for his sheep.
Isaiah 49, 16, Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of
my hands. Thy walls are continually before
me. Now let us draw deep from this
well, beloved. This is a deep well of God's
grace before us. Behold, I have graven thee upon
the palms of my hands. God's people are graven upon
the palms of His hands. Therefore, they are ever before
Him. He knows this sheep. This is
one who was given to Him from eternity. Harker says this in
light of the crucifixion. This, behold, I have graven thee
upon the palms of my hands. Harker says this in light of
the crucifixion. I have, saith the Lord, engraven
thee upon the palms of my hands. And how was this fulfilled, Hawker
goes on to say, when the hands and feet of Jesus were bored
and fastened to the cross. Surely there can be no remembrance
like this, no memento for the believer to look at, as well
as his Lord, to ensure an unceasing attention to his wants. Remember
how today we looked at how wherever before, we're hidden. We're hidden
in Christ. To give every blessing that cross
purchased. He knows the kiosk by name. He
knows every single one of his sheep by name. By name. The very hairs of our head are
numbered. What an intimate knowledge our King has of us. Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
as a seal upon thine arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy
as cruel as the grave, the coals of fire which hath the most veminous
flame. Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
as a seal upon thine arm, for love is strong as death. Song
of Solomon, chapter 8, verse 6. Oh, here before us in our text
here, look again back to Luke 19. 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. Here
before us, we have a picture of effectual and irresistible
sovereign grace at work. He will have mercy on whom He
will have mercy. He has not left us to ourselves.
Praise God. Praise God that He not left us
where He found us. We can't save ourselves, can
we? But the Lord Jesus Christ saved His people, and He saves
His people. He has redeemed His people from
all their sins. All of them. Look at verse 6. Look at this effectual, irresistible
calling. And he made haste. He made haste
and came down and received him joyfully. Our Lord calls Zacchaeus
by name. And what is his response? He
makes haste. He flies down that tree. He flies
down that tree, skin and bark all the way down. He comes just
down as fast as he can. He makes haste. Thy people shall
be made willing in the day of his power. Oh, my. He did not say, well, you know,
I'm going to stay up here and exercise my free will, did he?
No. No, he didn't. Well, I've got
to make a decision before I come down. No. No. No, beloved. He made haste. He made haste. He came flying
down that tree. Our Lord calls him by name. This
call was irresistible. Irresistible. And this sinner
before us is made willing by the Holy Spirit, and he makes
haste. He makes haste. Psalm 1103, I'll
read it. I know we've heard it many times,
but it's so fitting. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the
womb of the morning. Thou hast the due of thy life.
or do of thy youth, thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power. In the day of thy power. Turn if you would again, or stay
in Luke chapter 19, we'll look at verses 7 to 10. And what joy, what joy, look
at verse 6, and he made haste and came down and received him
joyfully. What joy that Christ brings to
a soul when he saves him. Oh, he fills our hearts with
joy. Look at Luke 19, verse 7-10. And when they saw it, they all
murmured, saying that he was gone to be a guest with a man
that is a sinner. Oh, my. Oh, praise God. Oh, my. And Zacchaeus stood and
said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half... And he calls Him
Lord. Notice that too. 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 him fourfold." Oh,
he's repentant for what he's done. And Jesus said unto him,
this day, look at this, this day is salvation come to this
house. Because the shepherd has called
one of his sheep. For as much as he is also as
a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to
save that which was lost." Oh my. So let us note a few things
here in our text so far that it was not Zacchaeus seeking
Jesus. He sought to see Him, but he didn't seek Him. And the Lord knew exactly where
he would be. Did Jesus seek Zacchaeus? Yes. Did Jesus call Zacchaeus? Yes. Did Jesus incline Zacchaeus to
receive him? Yes. Did Jesus bring salvation
to Zacchaeus' heart that day? Yes. Yes. Salvation is up the
Lord. It's up the Lord. Look unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. Three things I'd like to look
at about the conversion of Zacchaeus. It was unmerited. It was unmerited. He didn't deserve it. It was
unsolicited. He didn't seek it. And it was
unthought of by Zacchaeus. He woke up that morning. He didn't
have a clue what was going to happen. Not a clue. So let's look at our first point.
Salvation was unmerited by Zacchaeus and we can see from our text
and knowing who Zacchaeus was that he did not merit salvation. He was an unjust and oppressive
man. He collected taxes for the Romans
and he extorted money from people and he was hated by the Jews.
Now he was a sinner just like you and I. As undeserving of God's mercy
as all of us. undeserving of God's grace, the
same as all of us. And he was looked upon as a traitor
to his people. He worked for the very ones who
oppressed the Jews and who had conquered them. And it's plain
from his own words that Zacchaeus abused the power that was given
to him. Look at verse 8. And Zacchaeus stood and said
unto the Lord, 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 him fourfold. So by his own words, he admits that he abused the
power that he had. So let us think on this. Even
if he had been the most moral man, the best man, the most outstanding
citizen of Jericho, his salvation would still have been unmerited. Absolutely. How perfect do we
have to be to stand in the presence of God? As perfect as God. And we fall far short. But in
Christ, oh my. For all have sinned, right? Why
is he deserving of the wrath of God just like we are? Why
is Zacchaeus deserving of this? For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Turn, if you would, to Romans
chapter 5. Let us ponder this. They who deserve his wrath certainly
cannot deserve his favor, for all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. We come into this world, we know,
dead in trespasses and sins, with no hope. And we are to renounce
all ideas of any merit in ourselves. And we do as believers, believers
renounce any idea of merit for salvation. Salvation is of the
Lord. It is a free gift of God. Free
gift of God. In and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Look at Romans chapter 5, starting in verse 11. And not only so, but we also
join God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement. Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, Adam, and death by sin, and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. For until the
law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there
is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even
over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's
transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." And
it's the same now. We all come into this world dead
in trespasses and sin. but not as the offense, so also
is the free gift. For if through the offense of
one many be dead, spiritually we're dead, come into this world
dead in trespasses and sins, much more the grace of God and
the gift by grace, which is by one man, look at that, one man,
only one, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as
it was by one that sinned, so is the gift, for the judgment
was by one to condemnation, in Adam we all fell, but the free
gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by one
man's offense death reigned by one, much more they which receive
abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign
in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offense
of one judgment came upon all men, Adam, to condemnation, even
so by the righteousness of one free gift that came upon all
men into justification of life in Christ. For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, that's when we fell in Adam,
so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. All of
God's left shall be made righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ in him
alone. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. That is, sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. So this salvation was absolutely
unmerited, and it's unmerited for any one of us. And we who
believe say amen. We know. We know. Next, we see that the salvation
was unsolicited. Zacchaeus did not seek out the
Lord. As far as we know, he didn't want to have anything to do with
Him. He just wanted to see Him. He just wanted to see Him. He
was curious. Who made him curious? Oh, the Holy Spirit of God, the
pervenient grace of God going forth. Was it not the same with us,
beloved, we who believe? Did not God seek us out? Are not all the redeemed sought
out? Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
chapter 62. Do you know that the redeemed of the Lord are
called sought-outs? Sought-outs. Oh, my. Scripture says we are a sought-out
people. Isaiah 62. We don't seek the Lord, but He
seeks us. He seeks us. Oh, my. Behold, verse 11 and 12. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed
unto the end of the world, say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold
thy salvation coming. Behold, his reward is with him,
and his work before him. And they shall call him the holy
people, the redeemed of the Lord. And thou shalt be called sought
out, a city not forsaken. Not forsaken. Turn, if you would, three chapters
over, Isaiah 65. Isaiah 65 verse 1, I am sought
of them that ask not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. I said behold me, behold me unto
a nation that was not called by my name. Christ seeks out
his sheep. He seeks them out. They are sought
out. We do not seek God on our own,
but praise be to God that he seeks us out. By divine grace,
he seeks us out when we're dead in trespasses and sins and enemies,
enemies of God in our minds. By wicked works, he seeks us
out and he translates us from the kingdom of darkness to the
kingdom of his dear son. by the regenerating power of
the Holy Spirit of God. And when God seeks us out, we're
like Lazarus, dead. I was talking to Norm, Brother
Norm Wells, last week, and we were talking about how we're
absolutely dead, spiritually dead. We have no ability. And I said, someone said to me,
you believe that we're spiritually resurrected? And I said, yeah,
that's exactly what I believe. And Norm was like, amen, because
we're dead. And a dead person can't do anything.
But oh, when the Holy Spirit quickens us, we make haste. We make haste, and we flee to
Christ, and we receive Him joyfully. Joyfully. And this is our prayer,
that the Holy Spirit would regenerate those who know not Christ. And
oh, that you'd make haste and receive Him joyfully. God seeks
us out. God must resurrect us. We are dead spiritually. And
our nature is dead. Therefore, our will is bound
to a dead nature. But our great God, our great
sovereign, calls us by name. And like Lazarus, we come out
from the grave. rise from the dead and were made
alive in Christ Jesus our Lord. We do not ever begin to pray
until God of His own grace and mercy has given us the spirit
of grace and supplication. Salvation is of the Lord. It's unmerited and it's unsolicited. And salvation is all in Christ. We are redeemed by His precious
blood. We are clothed in the robe of His righteousness. We are justified by Him. You take Christ out of the Gospel
and you have no salvation. None. But oh, what wonderful
news we have for sinners. Salvation is in Christ and Him
alone. The last point is, this salvation
was unthought of. Now Zacchaeus was a rich man,
and his thoughts were set upon his wealth. And he only wanted
to see Jesus to gratify his curiosity. Nothing was further from his
thoughts than the idea of becoming a follower of Christ, an heir
of salvation. And here before us we see that
God will bring the blind by a way that they know not. And lead them in paths that they
have not known. God in his providence will lead
his sheep into situations and circumstances favorable for the
communication of his grace. Zacchaeus did not imagine What
would be the result of his climbing up that tree? He simply wanted
to see Christ. He could not imagine what God
intended when he thought about climbing
up that tree. And little do many know or think
when God leads them to this church, or 13th Street, or Lantana, or
up in the Dalles in Oregon, or any other grace church. Some may come because they're
invited by friends. Some may come because they're
invited by family. They do not know what the result
of it will be. The beloved of God, our great
King and God, who sees the end from the beginning, orders all
events. He orders all events that the
purposes of His grace toward His chosen people will be accomplished. I always think when someone comes
to church who does not know Christ, it's not by chance. No, we don't
believe that. It's by the divine providence
of God. Oh my. Philippians 2, verse 13, turn
there if you would. The sheep of God will hear the
gospel, and they will hear His voice. And let us think of this, if
any desire to come to Christ originated with the sinner, then
we would boast, wouldn't we? And we would glory in it. And
it would be a man-made salvation. But salvation originates with
the Lord. Originates with the Lord Jesus
Christ and finishes with Him and Him alone. Look at Philippians 2.13, for
it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his
good pleasure. Oh my, what a sovereign God we
have. Psalm 65.4 says, blessed is the
man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto
thee. That's the same as being made
willing. that He may dwell in thy courts, we shall be satisfied
with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. We who
have been redeemed have absolutely nothing to boast in, do we? We
boast in Christ and Him alone. We boast in what He's done. He's
redeemed my soul. He's done that which is impossible
for man. Remember, that which is impossible
for man is possible with God. Oh, my. What a blessed Redeemer. What a blessed Savior we have.
And all praise and all glory goes to our great King, the Lord
Jesus Christ. His salvation is of the Lord.
It's not by our works. So we've looked at tonight that
salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ comes to all believers,
unmerited. Zacchaeus did not deserve this.
He didn't deserve it. Neither do we. Oh, but God has
what? Mercy. Mercy upon his people. It was unsolicited by us and
by Zacchaeus. He didn't seek it out. It was unthought of on our account. And there's no difference between
Zacchaeus and we who are saved by the grace of God alone, through
faith alone and Christ alone. Let's look at verse 10 to close.
And we'll see that this is why our Lord Jesus Christ left the
glories of heaven. This was his mission. This was
his mission. Luke chapter 19, verse 10. This
was his mission. And this is what we see him doing
in our text, right? Seeking, seeking that which was lost.
This is one of his lost sheep. And we know that he redeemed
his people upon the cross. He left the glories of heaven.
This was his mission. We see him doing this in our
text, and this is what he does even with the preaching of the
gospel today, beloved. He still moves. He's still seeking
his lost sheep. Still saving his lost sheep. For the Son of Man, God incarnate
in the flesh. For the Son of Man has come.
He came to earth. He left the glories and splendor
of heaven to become a man. to seek and to save that which
was lost. His sheep are scattered all through
time. He came to seek and to save that
which was lost, to purchase, to redeem our eternal souls. These are just shells. But that which we all, every
one of us has an eternal soul. And Christ has redeemed His people. He's redeemed our eternal souls,
so we who believe. He came to seek and to save that
which was lost, that which was unmerited for us, that which
was unsolicited by us, that which was unthought of by us. He planned
and purposed it and executed it. And He's redeemed His sheep
and now He's drawn draws his lost sheep in. And
let us take from our text tonight that Zacchaeus went up that tree,
that divinely planted sycamore tree. He went up that tree, right?
A man dead in trespasses and sins. Dead. And he came down from that tree
a child of God. regenerated by the power of the
Holy Spirit, trusting and resting in the Lord Jesus Christ, he
received Christ joyfully. Oh, when the good shepherd, the
Lord Jesus Christ, calls his sheep, they make haste, and they
run to him. May God grant you faith to believe,
to make haste, and flee to Christ.