Turn with me to Luke chapter 19. Luke 19, and beginning in verse 1, the passage that we're looking at here concerns Zacchaeus, the effectual call of Zacchaeus. And we read in verse 1 that Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. He entered and passed through Jericho. Now, I want to just pause here for a moment because there's a spiritual significance here. There's some spiritual importance to the lesson that our Lord is about to teach his disciples here.

And our Lord had just taught the disciples, back in chapter 18, he had just taught the disciples the impossibility for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. But he added that the things which are impossible with men are possible for God. It's possible with God. He can do it. Now, to make salvation possible, to make it so that God could justly forgive His people.

Our Lord declared what He must accomplish at Jerusalem. He testified of the suffering that He would suffer. He testified of His death and His resurrection from the dead on the third day. his substitutionary death our Lord will be made a curse for his people on the cross and he was made a curse to deliver his people the church from the curse that we are born under the curse that we are under because we cannot keep the law of God we cannot please God well and and all things were disobedient, were sinners, were fallen, were corrupt, were ruined by the fall in Adam.

And our Lord was come now to triumph over that curse of the law. He triumphed over the curse. He satisfied the justice of God for his people by his obedience and righteousness to the Father, by keeping and fulfilling the law perfectly to love God with all his heart, mind, soul, body, and strength, and his neighbor as himself. He fulfilled that law perfectly. And then in perfect righteousness, he went to the cross as the Lamb of God to sacrifice himself unto the Father to propitiate his wrath, which was against us. And he redeemed his people through his death on the cross.

Now, this is pictured for us here in that Jesus entered and pass through Jericho." How so? How is this pictured in his entering and passing through Jericho? Well, Jericho was built under a curse. building of Jericho, the rebuilding of Jericho, was built under a curse. Joshua 6 26, Joshua jored them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho.

And he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. And that's exactly what happened. We're told in 1 Kings 16, 34, in his days did Hiel, the Bethelite, build Jericho. He laid the foundation thereof in Abiram, his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son, Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua, the son of Nun.

And so our Lord, by his glorious power and righteousness, entered into that curse for his people. And then he passed through it. He passed through it. He overcame. He triumphed over death. He triumphed over the grave. He triumphed over sin. He triumphed over the devil. He triumphed over all our enemies to deliver his people gloriously. And now on the other side of it, there is salvation brought to the elect children of God, for whom our Lord died. And this is pictured for us here in the salvation of a man who it's impossible to be saved.

This very, very rich man, pictured here in Zacchaeus. showing how what our Lord did in going to the cross and being made a curse for us, he triumphed gloriously over it so that God is just to forgive all for whom Christ came and died. And so now this is what's pictured in this text concerning Zacchaeus. So first, Who is Zacchaeus? Verse two tells us, and behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

Wow, he's got two strikes against him already. This man is a sinner by nature. He's a sinner by nature, and for one thing, he's a publican. He's a publican. And publicans are condemned by the people of God. They look at publicans like they're worse than a used car salesman. They are the worst thing going, these publicans.

Listen to what our Lord said in Matthew 18, verse 17. He said, and if he shall neglect to hear them. If a man comes and he has a problem with a man, this man has sinned against him, this man is doing injustice to another. And that man comes to him and doesn't hear him, you're to bring two or three witnesses with you to testify the things that are being said here, to say, yes, we've seen this. in you. These things are so. And if you won't hear the two or three witnesses, tell it unto the church. But if you neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." And the Jews understood that. The disciples understood that. Oh, a publican. They are awful, awful people.

What he's saying there, of course, is if a man will not hear his faults and his trespasses, If he won't own what he is as a sinner, even though many witnesses bear testimony concerning it, you're a sinner. You're a sinner. And you sinned, right, against this person. You sinned against God. You're a sinner.

And if a man won't confess his faults and agree with that testimony, the Lord says, well, let him be as a heathen man and a publican. He's got no part in the kingdom. of God, because, well, every child of God is made humble. The Lord does strip us of our pride. He does chasten us, and he does humble his children so that we confess our sin. We confess to one another, I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. I've sinned against you. I've hurt you. We own that, what we are, by nature, in general and specifically. We own that.

And therefore, God's children are easy to be entreated. And that's what he's saying. But if you're not entreatable, if you can't hear this, that we're sinners and need the grace of God, well then, you're a heathen. You're a publican, because that's not how the Lord reveals himself to his people. He makes us to know what we are in ourselves.

But my point here is that Zacchaeus is a publican, and that's an occupation synonymous with living in sin. Because of the cruelty, the cruel nature of the publican. Collecting taxes from people who have not the means to pay it. They can't pay. And yet they're held to account for it nonetheless. And it's just a cruelty. And so it's synonymous with living in sin, is what a publican is. And not only that, but this man Zacchaeus was the chief among the publicans. All the other publicans answered to him. He's the chief of the publicans, the chief of sinners. And on top of that all, he was rich.

What our Lord had just said, impossible. It's not even possible for a rich man. How hard is it for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God? It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Now, don't fail to relate this man's awful, sinful condition to your own. This man is a picture of every one of us as sons and daughters of Adam, and what we are by nature, we are sinners. We might like to think of ourselves as good people who don't sin and don't offend people and don't have things wrong with us, but that's not so. We're all sinners in need of God's grace. We've all offended one another in various ways, and we've certainly offended God. We've certainly offended God. And so if he was to be saved, and if we're to be saved, it's by the grace of God.

That's what the Lord is showing us. He's not saving us because we're so good people. We're such good people and do things perfectly. If we did things perfectly, we wouldn't need a savior. But as it stands, we need the grace of God to save us. Entirely the grace of God, because it's by the grace of God that makes the salvation of a sinner even possible. All right, that God may do it justly, be just to forgive those whom he forgives. And so this man is the chief of the sinful publicans.

Next, we wanna see how Zacchaeus was brought into the way of Christ. How is Zacchaeus brought into the way of Christ? Well, it says in Luke 19, verse three and four, and he sought to see Jesus who he was. and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way."

Now, the scriptures take notice of some very interesting characteristics about this man, about this chief publican. We're told that he was little of stature, and that's the assessment of scripture. And as we'll see later this morning regarding Moses, Moses said, I'm slow of tongue. I'm not eloquent. I can't speak good. Well, this man's infirmity was that he was short. He was short.

And as we see, that's a mercy of God. That is a blessing of the Lord. This man was shorter than his peers, and he could not see Christ, and yet what we find is that God made him that way on purpose. God made Zacchaeus that way on purpose. The Lord teaches us that our infirmities, our weaknesses, are given to us. They're given to us on purpose. Our Lord, in John 9, heals a blind man. He heals a man that was born blind, and he tells his disciples that when they asked him, like, who sinned? Was it this man that sinned, or was it his parents? He was born blind from birth. Who sinned that he's blind? And Christ reveals neither. This isn't about what they did specifically to cause their son to be blind.

This is that the works of God should be made manifest. Manifest. John 9, 30. They should be manifest. It pleases God to use earthen vessels to reveal these things. Earthen vessels. And then we're told that In order to see Jesus, he ran before, like a little boy. He's running, and like a little boy, he's climbing up trees to see Christ, who was to pass by. He climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him.

Didn't our Lord also just recently teach his disciples something about those who fill the kingdom of God? saying that little children are the ones who fill the kingdom of God. When he told the disciples back in chapter 18, verse 16 and 17, suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. And here's Zacchaeus, running and climbing like a little boy, just so he could see our Lord, but to see him not just as person, but to see who he was, to see who he was.

He wanted to know, who's this man that they're talking about? Who's this man that I hear such wonderful things about and what he's doing and accomplishing? I want to see for myself, is this the Christ? Is this the promised one who should come? Is this the Lord?

And that's what he's doing. So therefore he climbs up into a sycamore tree and it's a spirit It's a picture of what the Lord does for his elect children, for the elect children of God, that we see in this man a description of us. By nature, he's a publican. He's a sinner. He's rich in himself. He's rich in what he, by nature, can do. But he's made little.

He's made like a child. and given that awe and that desire to see who Christ was. And in the day of grace, when Christ chooses to draw near to his child, that's what he does for us. He makes us small, small of stature before the Lord to know how small we are, and he makes us to seek him as a little child. seeks him. Lord, teach me. Lord, reveal yourself to me. I want to know, right? We're made, all our wisdom is lost. All our righteousness goes by the wayside like it's dung. It's of no importance.

We need the Lord and it's the Lord that does that. And where does he see the Lord? When he's in the lifting up of Christ on the tree, where our Lord was crucified for us. That's where we begin to gain a sight of the holiness and the righteousness of God who gave himself for us there on that tree, being made a curse for us to deliver us from the curse. And so that's a picture there that from the perspective of the tree where he climbs up, that's where he sees that this is the Lord. Think about that. Think about that, where do you see Christ? It's not in this world, it's not in this flesh, but we see him there on the tree. And there he climbs up in the tree, and that's where he gets a better understanding of who the Son of God is, of who Christ is, that he is the Son of God, that he came and died for me, the chief of sinners. And that's a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. This man is the chief publican, the chief sinner.

And that's what the Lord does for his people. And so that thing here is that the Lord had ordained this man's life to bring him to this day, to stir up in him in the day of grace a hunger and a thirst to know Jesus Christ. And he felt his need to know the Lord. And God had a purpose in stirring this man's heart up.

And stirring him up and making him so that he just had to see. He had to see Christ. And he ran before to see him, for he was to pass that way. How did he know that he was to pass that way? I don't know, but he knew it. He knew that he was gonna be passing by that way, and so he went and climbed up a tree by the way that Christ would be going. And there's a word for us.

If you would see your Lord, if you would see the Lord Jesus Christ to know who he is, where are you gonna see him? What is the way in which he passes by his people? Are you gonna get it laying in bed, sleeping? Are you gonna get it going on an excursion out into nature, right, doing some fun thing on a Sunday? Or are you gonna, is the Lord gonna pass by you gathering with the people of God, with the sheep of God, hearing the word of God preached? and where he passes by and ministers his spirit of grace to his people. That's where the Lord passes by, that's where he visits his people, and he calls his people to stay upon those ordinances which he's given to us through the preaching of the word, gathering with the sheep, and fellowshipping with one another, encouraging one another, in these things which he's revealed unto us and done for us. And so this is the way that he shall pass, right?

And we preach the gospel because he said, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me. We lift him up in the preaching of Christ crucified. That's how the Lord is pleased to save his people. Now, what this really led to was not so much what Zacchaeus saw, but what the Lord saw, right? What the Lord did for him. That's the beauty here in this passage here. It's what our Lord did in looking upon Zacchaeus and inviting himself right into Zacchaeus' heart, effectually, so that Zacchaeus was delighted and rejoiced. It says in verse five, and when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste.

Come down, for today I must abide at thy house. Well, this verse is full of gospel meaning for the children of God. Jesus came to the place where we are, brethren, to this lost, ruined, fallen world. He came to the place where we are. dead in trespasses and sins, ruined and lost in the weakness of our flesh, and yet he is without sin. And he looked up, and our Lord came trusting and being perfectly obedient to the Father in all things, in all things. And he saw, he saw Zacchaeus, Christ saw him who was given to him by the Father before the foundation of the world.

He looked upon his child and he beheld him where? In the tree. I had a picture of our Lord beholding his children when he went to the tree. When he went to the cross, he beheld you for whom he died. He knows your name. He looked upon you there on the tree.

Isaiah tells us he shall see the travail of his soul. He sees it, he knows it, and shall be satisfied, well pleased with his inheritance, well pleased with his people. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. And so our Lord, he saw him in the tree. That's where our Lord saw each of you that are his, each of you that believe, each of you that trust him for all your righteousness. He saw you in the tree. When he hung on the tree, he knew exactly for whom he was dying. He knew whose sins he was bearing. And he bore them willingly for his people. as his inheritance.

And so, and then it says that he said unto him, our Lord's voice was heard by Zacchaeus. He heard him speak to him. And our Lord tells us, my sheep hear my voice and they know me and they follow. I know them and they follow me. Zacchaeus. He called him by name. He knows the name of each of his children.

He says, make haste. Don't put it off. Don't put off Christ. Don't delay. Come to him. Come down. Cast off your pride. Cast off your garment of self-righteousness. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and he shall lift you up. He shall raise you up in due time. No man can climb his way to heaven. No man can get himself there.

The Lord brings us down to the feet of Christ, where we see and behold in him is all my salvation, all my righteousness, all my acceptance with God the Father. For today, he says, today is the day of grace. I must abide at thy house. And that's how he speaks to each of us. Peter, if I wash not your feet, you have no part in me. I must wash your feet. The scriptures tell us if any man have not the spirit of God, he's none of his. He fills us with the spirit. He washes us in his blood. He dwells in our hearts by faith. He reveals himself to us through the preaching of the gospel. And we shall abide in him forever.

And that call of Christ, which he makes to each one of his children, is made effectual to his child, is made effectual in his child. Verse six, and Zacchaeus made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. An effectual call. He was called effectually. All that Christ said, he obeyed. He heard the voice, and he followed his shepherd. He followed his shepherd, because that's what the sheep do. And Christ inclined the heart of his chosen children to receive him gladly.

When he visits, we hear him. We receive him. He gives strength and power. He gives the heart to cry out to him, because we won't see the power and strength in us. And we need his grace, and he gives it. He gives it. You that seek him, it's because he gives it, and he causes you to seek him, and he fills your heart. He helps you. He enables you, blesses you to hear him and to follow him. And so this display of grace here, then we see the reaction and judgment of what?

Of dead letter men, right, who look on this work that the Lord does, the self-righteous who have the form and not the heart. What do they say? Verse 7, when they saw it, they all murmured, saying that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. A sinner. And well, you know, they're not realizing that when Christ saves a man, he makes us new creatures. And he does teach us.

You look at the disciples, how slow they are to understand how ignorant we are. how little light we have, how often we're so foolish. And the wicked can't imagine how that God changes a man, because they themselves have not been changed. They've never experienced it. All they know is word only and the form of religion. And that's all they have. And if you don't align with their form, well, then you can't be saved.

And they can't imagine that the Lord could teach someone, or humble someone, and instruct someone, or chasten someone, and teach them over time. And so that we bear patiently with one another. And so they murmured, they complained, and they didn't believe it.

And what the Lord is showing us is no man can judge the outward appearance. You can't see the heart. Trust the Lord. Trust the Lord is able to do it. Believe the Lord. trust his word, believe his promises, and stop walking by sight. Now, man doesn't consider the purpose for Christ to come into this world is to save us. That's how destitute we are, that's how foolish we are, that's how wicked we are by nature, that's how evil and corrupt we are, that this heart is, and that we need this deliverance, we need this salvation. And don't forget that, especially when you're dealing with your brethren. Don't forget that the Lord, he gives us our infirmities, he gives us our weaknesses in order to teach us and to give us various trials and infirmities and to bear with one another and to love one another in spite of our faults and weaknesses because he's teaching us these things about ourselves. through it all.

And so, so trust him, trust him in it. And because Zacchaeus here, and it is a blessing, if you could see yourself here in Zacchaeus, well, that's the kind of man that Christ came to save. That's the kind of person, the chief publican, people that are rich in their works, rich in their thoughts of themselves, confident and easy on themselves, but hard on others. Well, Christ came to save such and to deliver us from from that death.

And now our Lord, He displays His grace that's wrought in this man's heart. 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.

And so these proofs of God's grace here in Zacchaeus, these do not justify him, but they testify that he is justified of God. They testify that he is born again, that he is a new creature. Now, I don't think he was trusting him in those works. That isn't why he said them. He said them because the Lord had ministered grace in his heart. It's an evidence that he was justified that he is a new creature, that he has been born again by the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 2.10 tells us we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. He brings these things out, and he teaches us, and he grows us in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Now, he stood up, right? He stood up, and all that murmured could see it. But he wasn't standing up for them. He spoke these things to the Lord, right? He stood at the bar of Christ. He stood at Christ's bar, not man's judgment, but Christ. He testified that the Lord had done these things. And our Lord confirms any lingering doubt that we might have, right? Our Lord said to him in verse nine, this day is salvation come to this house for so much as he also is a son of Abraham. And what he's testifying there is he believed. He believed for Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. He believed.

And that's what the Lord reveals in his people. If you're his, he reveals faith in your heart. And he will cause you to walk in that faith, not by sight, but trusting the Lord, trusting his word, waiting upon him to fulfill these things. So there will be valleys of darkness. There will be times when you just don't see what you think you should see, because he's teaching us to walk by faith rather than by sight.

And this, our Lord proclaims once and again, His very purpose for coming into the world is to save such as Zacchaeus, sinners. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. And that speaks to every one of you who this day trust and believe the Lord Jesus Christ alone for all your righteousness and acceptance with God.

We're the lost ones. We're those who have the incurable disease of sin by anything that we could do. There's no works, there's no penance, there's no repentance, there's nothing we could do. There's not enough tears that we could shed to wash us of our sins.

That's why the Father sent Christ, because only the blood of Christ is able to cleanse us from our sins and to give us life and light and understanding and faith in the true and living God, to worship Him in spirit and in truth. It's only by that grace of Him. And so each one of us needs the great physician. Each one of us needs Christ to draw near to us, to come by our way and to look upon us and to call us by name and to come out of that death and to live and to come and follow him, to be humbled and follow him in grace and mercy. Amen. Our gracious Lord, we do thank you for your salvation, which is pictured and revealed to us throughout scripture over and over again. We thank you, Lord, even for this object lesson of what you had taught your disciples in the previous chapter concerning the rich and concerning little children, how that you work these things in our heart, that, Lord, you make us to see that we ourselves are the chief of sinners. and that, Lord, you humble us and make us as little children to see our need of your full, free provision in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's in his name we pray and give thanks, amen.