I want to speak to you this morning
out of Luke chapter 19 A Curious Sinner and a Seeking Savior. That's the title of the message
and it has to do with Zacchaeus. Now Zacchaeus was a publican.
The publican was one of the most hated people among the Jews.
They were considered traitors. outcasts, the lowest of the low.
They worked for the Roman government to collect taxes and most of
them were extortioners. They would charge the people
more taxes than they should and they would even charge people
with tax evasion in hopes to receive hush money. So when we
read that one was a publican you know he was usually a crook
and hated by all. Then it says he was a rich man.
This caught my attention because of chapter 18. The Lord had just
told his disciples that it was hard for a rich man to enter
the kingdom of God. And he also told them that all
things were possible with God because they said who then can
be saved. And here he proves his power to save by saving this
rich man. He demonstrates his power to
save the vilest and richest of men at the same time. None are
so bad that the Lord cannot save. He's able to save unto the uttermost,
as one man said, unto the guttermost. Now Zacchaeus was very curious
to see Jesus, to see who He was. He had heard about Him, no doubt,
and now he wanted to see Him. He wanted to see what manner
of man He was. Like the disciples said after our Lord calmed the
wind and the sea, they said, what manner of man is this? The
Spirit of God will create an interest in the heart of his
elect to seek out Christ and find out who he is, even if it's
just out of curiosity at first. Despise not the day of small
things. I am sure that Zacchaeus did not realize at that time
that it was the Spirit of God who had aroused his spirit to
see Jesus. It also says in verse 3 that
he was little of stature. He was not a tall man, he was
short. And the crowd was around Christ, therefore he had to climb
up a tree to see the Lord, for he was to pass by that way. Now
Zacchaeus shortened his stature, and that tree was not by accident. The Lord was purposely going
to cross the path of Zacchaeus. And God being a God of means,
used that tree to hold him in until it was time for him to
pass by. The Lord will use whatever means that he has purpose to
use to keep his people until it's time for them to meet him.
I assure you that our meeting of Christ will not be by chance
or by accident, but by purpose. He will see to it, the Lord will
see to it by his providential dealings that their paths cross
at the appointed time. Little did Zacchaeus know that
he was up that tree on purpose. And little do we realize that
the things that befall us, us whom the Lord saves, are for
the purpose of bringing us to Christ. Just like that Ethiopian
eunuch, when he went up to Jerusalem, and he had gotten hold of Isaiah,
and on his way back, God sent Philip down to preach the gospel
to him. And many of the Lord's people
can give account of how the Lord brought them to hear the gospel.
God does not save men by accidental meanings. It's always on purpose.
No one hears the gospel by accident. They hear it by purpose. Now when Jesus came to the place,
it says in verse 4, you see if we are to be saved, he will first
have to come to us. He must come to where we are,
where we live. This is why he had to come into
this world of sin and iniquity. He had to come to the place.
the place where the offense occurred, the place where the law was broken,
the place where you and I were condemned. He had to come into
this world as a representative and keep the law that was broken. He had to magnify the law and
make it honorable in the place of his people. He had to come
and provide us with a righteousness to cover our nakedness. He had
to come and shed his blood for the remission of our sins. all the sins of his elect and
he had to die so that the law could have no more claims on
us he took our place of judgment and wrath therefore we are free
from the curse and free from condemnation because Christ took
our place if you miss judgment it's because Jesus Christ took
your place and now he's going back he says to prepare a place
a place of acceptance That's what he's gone back to do. And
he said, if I go away and prepare a place for you, I'll come again
and get you, receive you to myself. And besides all this, had he
not come to the place to get us, we would never have gone
to him, nor could have gone to him. Dead people don't go anywhere.
And by nature we are all spiritually dead. We don't desire him and
don't want him. We didn't even have the will
to go to him until he made us willing in the day of his power.
Now after coming to the place, the ordained place, it says he
looked up. The Lord looked up on him. By
what grace that the Lord of glory should look up. But the sense
of it is this. He looked upon Zacchaeus in mercy
and grace. Here is a sinner who has found
grace in the eyes of the Lord. And this grace was unasked and
unsought after. Christ looked upon him in love
and tenderness just as he has many of us. There were a lot
of people whom he could have looked upon, but he chose Zacchaeus. He could have looked upon many
others, but if you believe the gospel, if you truly believe
the gospel, he chose you. He looks upon the objects of
his love. And I tell you this, Christ looked
upon him long before this. He looked upon him back in eternity.
even before the earth was, before the world was. He looked upon
him in that covenant of grace. If Christ looks upon any of us
now, if he looks upon any of us in mercy and grace, it's because
he looked upon us in eternity past in that covenant of grace.
And then he gives him an effectual call. He spoke to him as he does
to all his sheep when he calls them. My sheep hear my voice
and they follow me. When he speaks, something happens.
His sheep hear. And he spoke to him. Now listen.
He spoke to him personally. He called him by name like he
did Lazarus and Samuel. He called him Zacchaeus. I tell you what he says to him.
Make haste and come down. Oh, this is the first thing that
must happen when God calls a sinner in salvation. We must come down. We must be brought down. We must
be laid in the dust. And the sooner we fall at his
feet, the sooner we will enjoy his salvation. It's a shame,
it is a shame that we take so long in coming down. If only
sinners knew what awaited them, full salvation, full pardon,
full justification. But here's the sense of it. Today
is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. He's
not going to hang around for us to make up our minds or make
a decision or decide whether or not we're going to accept
him. The command is make haste and come down now. It's not up
for debate. Salvation is not up for debate.
It's come down now. And I know this. I would rather
be brought down by the grace of God than brought down by my
sins. Now here's the purpose of coming
down now. The Lord said to him, today I
must abide at thy house. When the Lord saves a man, he
does not play around. When it is the decreed time for
him to manifest himself to a sinner, he will do it now, today. And
listen, here is salvation. Now listen, here it is. I must
abide at thy house. Salvation is Christ in you. It is not Christ in the crowd. It is not Christ in our presence.
It is Christ in you. Christ is in our presence now
in the Gospel. He's in our presence in His Word.
But unless He's in you, you are lost. Now it says that Zacchaeus
made haste. When the Lord gives an effectual
call, His people are made willing to come down. It says that he
received him joyfully. He was glad to receive him. Sinners
are glad to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes them glad. This is different than the way
the Pharisees received him. Old Simon the Pharisee, he didn't
even give him the common courtesy of the day when he came to his
house. Notice the reaction of the people in verse 7. They murmured. They murmured. They thought of
all the people he could go home with, and eaten with, he chose
a man as a sinner. They said he's going to be guest
with a man that is a sinner. Well let me tell you this, that's
the only place he's welcome. Sinners are the only people who
welcome Jesus Christ. Those self-righteous Pharisees
didn't welcome him at all. Religious people, religious people
without Christ are the meanest people this side of hell. Look
back through history. And you'll find out that the
meanest people on earth are religious people. Only a sinner can appreciate
and love Jesus Christ. All others despise him. It was
for sinners he came. It was for sinners they died.
And it is sinners whom he receives and eats with. He doesn't eat
with good people. He eats with sinners. There are
no good people. God said that. There's none good,
no not one. And Zacchaeus was so overwhelmed,
this sinner was so overwhelmed that he became a giver instead
of a taker. He said that he'd give half his goods to feed the
poor. He gave to those who could not give back to him. I tell
you this, grace will make you liberal. It will make you a giver
because God has given to you life and forgiveness and mercy. Our Lord confirms the blessing
in verse 9. This day is salvation coming to this house. Here is
the sense of this. Where Christ is, salvation is. For he is that salvation. And
he confirms that Zacchaeus is a promised seed of Abraham. He
said, for as much as he also is a promised seed of Abraham,
every believer, now listen, every believer is a promised seed of
Abraham. from among the Jews and the Gentiles.
The true Israel of God are the believers. That's the true Israel
of God. Paul said we are the circumcision
which worship God in the spirit and have no confidence in the
flesh. We are the true Jew who worship God in spirit. Now we may not know who they
are by looking at his people. We don't know who they are. I
don't know. I preach to all men. to believe God, to come and repent
and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. I preached that, but the Lord
knows them that are His. He knows them that are His. And
He gives a reason, the purpose for His mission, in going to
Zacchaeus' house. He said He came to seek and to
save that which was lost. He came to seek and to save the
lost. Jesus Christ is not trying to
save lost people. He's saving lost people. the
Lord will seek out the lost sheep and bring them home and he will
not stop until he has saved the last one well may the Lord bless
his word