The title that the Lord gives
most often to Himself is the Son of Man. And that's taken
from Daniel chapter 7. The Son of Man. This was a precious name of our
Lord to Himself. The Son of Man. And in this passage of Scripture,
He tells us why He came. Look in verse 10. For the Son of Man, speaking
of Himself, is come, and here's His purpose in coming, to seek
and to save that which was lost. Now, this is the story of Zacchaeus. When we have vacation Bible school,
if you'd ask me what is the song the kids most like to sing, I
would say it's Zacchaeus was a wee little man. All the kids
enjoy singing that song. Zacchaeus, look in verse one
and two of chapter nineteen, and Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho. Now, this was on his way to Jerusalem. It was about another day's walk
until he would get to Jerusalem. He was going there to be crucified. He was going there to seek and
to save that which was lost. So on his way to Jerusalem, he
goes through the town of Jericho. And Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho and behold, this is something remarkable. There
was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans. And he was rich. What's a publican? A publican
was a Jew employed by the Roman government to collect taxes for
the Roman government. And by law, they could overcharge
you and the government protected them. Now, put yourself in the
inhabitants of Jericho's place. They see Zacchaeus. They owed
$1,000, Zacchaeus charged them $2,000, and there wasn't a thing
they could do about it. He was protected by the Roman
government to charge any amount he wanted as long as he got the
taxes Rome was requiring. Now, can you imagine how much
he was hated in Jericho? You'd hate him if he ripped you
off like that. He was public enemy number one
in Jericho and he was the chief among the publicans. He was the
head publican and he was very rich, very wealthy. He had become
a very wealthy man through his activity as the publican. Verse three, and he sought to
see Jesus who he was. Now, this story actually begins
before this day. This story begins before the
foundation of the world. That's when every story begins.
Before the foundation of the world in eternity. Now in eternity,
before there was a creation, before there was a universe,
when all there was was God and the three persons of the blessed
Trinity. Christ was given by his father,
a people to be his bride. They're called the elect. Ephesians 1, 4 says, according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. Do you believe in election? Of
course I do, because I believe the Bible and I believe every
word in the Bible. Somebody says, well, I believe
the Bible, but I don't believe in election. No, you don't believe
the Bible. If you believe the Bible, you
believe in election. So clear from the scripture. And God the
Father chose a people and gave them to his son to be his bride. Husbands, love your wives as
Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. that he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present
it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing. And that's when Zacchaeus' story
begins. Now, Christ knew that these people
would fall and be lost in Adam. You know, He said to the Syrophoenician
woman, I'm not come, but for the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. He didn't come to save everybody.
If He did, everybody would be saved. But He came to save the
lost sheep of the house of Israel. Zacchaeus is one of those lost
sheep that He came to save. The story of every lost sinner's
salvation begins in eternity past. Jeremiah 31.3, God says
this with regard to every one of his lost sheep. Behold, I
have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee." 2nd Timothy 1.9 says, He saved us. Amen. Isn't that how you were saved? He saved us and He called us
with a holy calling. Not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace, which were given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. Now listen to me. Everything
you have in Christ was given to you before the world began. Isn't that glorious? Now, if you were here last week,
we considered The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. And it was a parable. But this
is not a parable. This is a historic event of Christ
coming to seek and to save that which was lost. Now this rich
man, this wicked man, Zacchaeus, this man who was a greedy, covetous
man, this man who was a dishonest man. He sought to see Jesus who
he was. What happened? He sought to see
Jesus who he was. Now let me say this, insofar
as our experience goes, this is when salvation begins, when
we seek to see Jesus who he is. That's when salvation begins
as far as our experience goes. Not when we get religious or
when we start doing something or stop doing something else,
but when we want to find out who the Lord Jesus Christ really
is. You know, I hate those TV shows
in search of the historical Jesus. You know, we're going to find
out who he really is. No, you're not. The only way you'll know
is if he makes himself known. And this is what Zacchaeus was
doing. He was seeking to see Jesus who
he is. Now what predicated this? Something
that made Zacchaeus desire to know who the Lord Jesus Christ
is. He didn't just up one day and
wake up and say, I wanna find out who Jesus is. No, something
happened, and I know we don't know what happened, but something
very striking took place in the chapter before this. The Lord
publicly gave this parable. Look in Luke 18, verse nine. And he spake this parable, Luke
18 verse nine. And he spake this parable unto
certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and
despised. Look down upon others. Two men
went up into the temple to pray. The one a Pharisee, a religious
man. A moral man. The word Pharisee
means a separated one. He thought there was something
that he did that separated him from other men. But look who
the other fella is. A publican. A tax collector. A con artist. A man who made
his living through dishonest means. And he said this publicly. You know, I dare say that somehow
Zacchaeus heard about this. Happened in the previous chapter.
And somehow he heard about this. Maybe all the publicans. Did
you hear what the Lord gave that parable? Let's go and read it.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. He didn't realize that God wasn't
here in his prayer. He prayed thus with himself.
A lot of prayers, no more than that. He prayed thus with himself. God, I thank thee. I'm giving you the credit that
I'm not as other men are. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican, I fast twice in the week. I give tithes
of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but
smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Then the Lord says, I tell you,
this man went down to his house justified. Not merely forgiven, but justified. Someone who has no guilt, someone
who has no sin, justified. Could this man Zacchaeus have
heard this and just become enamored with the thought? Somebody like me can be justified?
Somebody like me can stand before God without guilt? Oh, he was
interested. He heard of the Lord saying this. And he sought to see Jesus who
he was. Now, perhaps he never really
thought much of the state of his soul. He was too busy making
money. And he knew what he was doing
was dishonest, but he was able to hold it down because he was
getting rich. Perhaps he heard this story and
it gripped him. Jesus of Nazareth justifies people
like me? I want to get a glimpse of him. I want to see him. Now the Lord was on his way to
Jerusalem going through Jericho And Zacchaeus sought to see Jesus
who he was. Now here's what happens when
someone truly seeks to see who the Lord is. And he sought to
see Jesus who he was, and he could not. You ever seek to see Jesus who
he is? You know what you're going to find out? It's beyond you. You are unable to see him, who
he is. Why couldn't he see him? Because
he was little of stature. True story. Charles Spurgeon
had a student of his come up to preach, and the man was unprepared. And he had a three-point message. Zacchaeus was small of stature. So am I. Zacchaeus was up a tree. So am I. Zacchaeus was coming
down. So am I. And he walked down.
And Spurgeon commended him for that sermon. The point being, he could not
see because he was short of stature. Now, when I think of Zac East,
you know who I think of? Danny DeVito. I mean, I think of him
as probably looking like Danny DeVito, and probably sounding
like Danny DeVito, and kind of the same character. You know
the character he's always played. I've always liked him. But think
of this man with his robe and sandals seeking the crowd, trying
to get a glimpse. He runs ahead and he climbs up
in a tree and sits there waiting to get a glimpse of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Verse four, and he ran before
and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him for he was to
pass that way. Verse five, and when Jesus came
to the place. Now this was an exact point,
the intersection of a longitude and a latitude that Christ had
ordained before the world began for this meeting. when Jesus came to the place. He looked up. He knew he was there. He had ordained for him to be
there. He's going to cross Zacchaeus' path. And you know, if you belong
to the Lord, he's going to cross your path. He came to the place
and he looked up and saw him. He saw one that he had loved
with an everlasting love. He saw one of those lost ones
that he came to seek and to save. He looked up. And when Jesus
came to the place, he looked up and saw him and said unto
him, Zacchaeus. Can you imagine how shocked Zacchaeus
was? He knows my name. I've never
met him. He knows my name. He calleth his own sheep by name. He looked up and he saw him and
he said, Zacchaeus, make haste, come down. Today, I must abide at thy house. Now this is what is known as
the effectual call. Today, I must abide at thy house. You see Romans chapter 8 verse
29 says, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. That's what's going on right
now. Do you believe in predestination? Of course I do, because I believe
every word of the Bible. Let me repeat what I said about
election. If you don't believe in predestination, you don't
believe the Bible. The Bible is the inspired word of God,
and I believe everything in this book. I love everything in this
book. I love the God of predestination.
He's glorious. And this God of predestination
in the person of his son is calling upon Zacchaeus. This is not an
invitation. This is not an offer. This is
not advice. Zacchaeus, make haste. Come back. Today, I must abide
at thy house. Now, this was an effectual call. What do I mean by that? Zacchaeus
made haste, and he came down, and he received him joyfully. This was a most gracious call. He called the chief of the publicans.
He called the worst man alive. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners of whom I am the chief. Zacchaeus found that to be true.
And this was a personal call, Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. And it was a hastening
call. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down. Do it right now. Don't wait.
Don't wait until you get better. Don't wait until you improve.
Don't wait until there's a change in your life. Don't wait until
you get some kind of victory over some certain sin. Don't
wait until you have better experience. Don't wait for anything. That's
works. That's all it is. Don't wait
for anything. Don't wait until you feel more.
Make haste right now. That's the call of Christ. Haste, right now, as you are. Not as you should be, not as
you would be, but as you are. Make haste, and it's a humbling
call, make haste and come down. The biggest problem you and I
have is that we have too high an opinion of ourselves. Biggest problem I have, biggest
problem you have, is the high opinion you have of yourself. Now you may struggle with insecurity
and have no self-confidence, but don't mistake that for humility.
You can have all that and be as proud as a devil. Come down. Come down from your high, arrogant
thoughts of yourself and your own righteousness. Come down. Come down from your high thoughts
of your understanding and your discernment and your ability
and even your thoughts and take your place as the chief of sinners. You, me, right now. Come down. And when you've hit the bottom,
go down a little further. Come down. Oh, listen to this. It's not your sin that's gonna
keep you from Christ. It's your high thoughts of yourself.
It's your righteousness. Come down. I love what Paul said in Romans
chapter three, verse 19, when he said that every mouth may
be stopped. Stop your self-vindication, stop
your self-justification, quit your excuses. Every mouth may
be stopped and all the world stand guilty before God. Have you ever done that? Come
down. And it is a necessary call. He said to Zacchaeus, I must
abide at the house. I've heard people say, he's waiting
for an invitation, invite him into your life. No, he doesn't
say anything like that. He says, make haste, come down
today, I must abide at thy house. The only reason he must do anything
is he must do his father's will. He must do his father's will.
He must needs go through Samaria, why? Because it was his father's
will, one of his lost sheep is there. Today, I must abide at
thy house, utterly necessary. And it's a receiving call. Verse
six, he made haste. He came down and he received
him. He received him and he received
him joyfully. You see, when you find out who
he is, you know what you're going to do? You're going to receive him. What's
that mean? What's it mean to receive Christ?
As many, 1 John 1, 12 and 13, but as many as received Him,
to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even
to them which believe on His name. You know what you're gonna
do when you receive Him? You're gonna trust His name. You're going to believe that
salvation is in His name and for His name's sake. And you know that His name is
all that's needed to bring you into glory. You believe on His
name. He received him, how? Joyfully. Joyfully. I tell you what, if you ever
receive Him, If I've received Him, we'll receive Him joyfully
because of who He is, because of what He's done. He received
Him joyfully. Verse seven. And when they saw, they all murmured,
saying that He was gone to be a guest with a man that is a
sinner. Look back in chapter 15. Then drew near unto him all the
publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and
scribes murmured saying, this man receiveth sinners and eateth
with them. And these people see the Lord
say, I'm going to come into your house and I'm going to abide
there. You know, when he said, he said,
I'm not going to stay there for a little while, abide means forever. He's
always going to be in Zacchaeus' house after this. He's always
going to be in your house when He comes to you. Christ in you,
the hope of glory, and He never leaves. But they murmured at
Him. Why? He's justifying the actions
of this man. He's saying there's He's saying
he's accepting this man who's been so guilty and so wicked.
He's saying what he's done is okay. He's wrong in doing this. They were judging the Lord for
coming to be a guest into the home of this man who was nothing
but a sinner. What's a sinner? Are you a sinner? I love what Peter said. When
he found out who the Lord was, he found out that he's God, He
found out that he's in control of everything. He said, depart
from me. You don't want to have anything
to do with me. I am a sin full man. What is a sinner? Someone who is full of sin. That's all that's there. Would that be you? a sinful man. Well, they objected. This man
has gone to be a guest with one who is a sinner. Verse eight. And Zacchaeus stood and said
unto the Lord, Behold, Lord. Oh, he knew who he was now, didn't
he? He's the Lord. Zacchaeus knew it. Do you know
he's the Lord? Jesus Christ is Lord. I love saying that. He's the
Lord. That means he is your Lord. Somebody
says, he's not my Lord. Yeah, he is. You may not know
it. You may not embrace it, but he's
the Lord of the dead and the living. He's the Lord of those
who are dead in sins. He's the Lord of the living.
He's Lord of all. He's the Lord. Zacchaeus understood
this now. Lord. Do you understand that
he's the Lord? Can you go that far? Do you understand
that he is the Lord? Zacchaeus did. And what does
he say? Lord. That's where he begins.
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. Now, here's what I
want to point out about this. What was Zacchaeus? He was a
greedy man. And he was a dishonest man. That is evident from his life.
He was a covetous, greedy, grasping man who would step on people
to take what was theirs, And he was an unjust, dishonest man. All of a sudden, without anybody telling him to
do this, the Lord didn't say, Zacchaeus, here's what you need
to do. You need to give half your goods to feed the poor.
And anything you've taken dishonestly, you need to make restitution
for that. You need to restore it fourfold. He just did it. Uncoerced. Unmanipulated, uninstructed. He says, Lord, behold, half my
goods I give to the poor. And all those people I've ripped
off, I restore them fourfold. What happened? God saved him. That's what happened. He didn't
need to be instructed. He didn't need to be He just did it. He just did it. And he did so with joy. I love
to think of, and he wasn't trying to show everybody what he's doing.
He's talking to the Lord. He wasn't talking to anybody else. He talked
to the Lord. Lord, half my goods I give to the poor. If I've taken
anything by false accusation, I restore fourfold. Oh, he was a joy, joyous man
at this time. And Jesus, verse 9, said unto
him, This day is salvation come to this house because of the
way his life has changed. This day salvation has come to
this house because of his transformed life. Right or wrong, I hate hearing
that kind of stuff. It takes all the emphasis off the Lord
and puts it on My transformed life, my changed life. He doesn't
say anything like that, does he? The Lord says this day salvation
has come into this house because I've come into this house. That's
why I'm salvation. This day salvation has come to
this house because I've come into this house. I love what
the old man Simeon in the temple said when he held up the child
Jesus, eight days old, and said, Lord, now let us sell thy servant,
depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Look what he says next, verse
nine. And Jesus said unto him, this
day of salvation come to this house for as much as he also
is a son of Abraham. That's why. Not because of all
the things he said or did, but because he's a son of Abraham.
Now remember, there are a whole lot of physical sons of Abraham.
in that group. Matter of fact, it could be that
everybody there was a son of Abraham, a true Jew. But he's
not talking about a physical son of Abraham. Turn with me
to Romans chapter nine. Verse six, Romans chapter nine,
verse six. It's not as though the Word of
God has taken none effect. You know, when we were reading
Isaiah 55, did you catch that? My words are not returning to
me void. The Word of God never takes.
Everything the Lord purposes is going to be done in this message
and every other message. This is His Word. For they are not all Israel,
which are of Israel. Just because someone's born a
Jew, that doesn't mean he's a real Jew. Neither because are they
the seed of Abraham, are they all children. But in Isaac shall
thy seed be called, that is, they which are the children of
the flesh. These are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise. are counted for the seed. For
this is the word of promise, at this time will I come, and
Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even by her father Isaac, for the
children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might
stand. God of works, but of him that
calleth. Zacchaeus was one of the elect. Remember Christ said, I came,
the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save that which was lost. Question, is it possible for
him to fail in his intentions? If he came to seek that which
was lost, he finds. Zacchaeus is an example. He came
to save that which was lost. He saves. He cannot possibly
fail in his intention. For somebody to believe that
Jesus Christ could intend to save a man and die for him and
that man wind up in hell, well, he's calling Christ a failure.
Somebody says, I'm not calling Christ a failure. Yeah, you are.
Yeah, you are. You can try to worm your way
out of it if you want, but that's what you're calling him, a failure.
Jesus Christ is an incapable failure. Everybody he came to
seek and to save, he finds and he saves. And Zacchaeus is an
example of that. The son of man has come to seek
and to save that which was lost. Now, lost. Lost in Adam. When Adam sinned, I sinned. When
he fell, I fell. When he became lost, I became
lost. Lost. Lost to all hopes of self-salvation? Have you ever seen, even one
time, that if your salvation's up to you, you're toast? There's
no hope for you. The only way you will be saved
is if he is pleased to save you. Lost to all hopes of self-salvation. Only then will you cry with the
publican of old, God be merciful to me, thee, sinner. Son of man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost. If you are a lost sinner, he came to seek and to save you. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you that you came to seek and to
save that which was lost. And Lord, we confess we're in
and of ourselves, nothing but lost, unable to find our way
back, unable to do anything to save ourselves. And Lord, we
ask in Christ's name that you would save us. As you said in your word, you
came to seek and to save that which was lost. Save us for Christ's
sake. Bless your word for Christ's
sake. In his name we pray. Amen.