To turn back to Luke, chapter
19, I have entitled this message, The
Salvation of a Publican. Look in verses 1 and 2 of Luke,
chapter 19, and Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho. Now, we know that he was on his
way to Jerusalem at this time, and he had told his disciples
the day before, I'm going to the cross. I'm going to be crucified. And that was on his mind and
on his heart as he passed through Jericho. Verse two, and behold,
there was a man named Zacchaeus. which was the chief among the
publicans. And he was rich. He was a very
wealthy man. If you have gone into the town
of Jericho and inquired, who is the most unpopular and despised
man in this town? who is the least respected man
in this town. Perhaps several names would be
given, but the one that would come up the most would be Zacchaeus. I have no question about that.
He was a publican. That means he worked for the
Roman government, and he would collect taxes for the Roman government,
which the Jews resented greatly. And he would also pad his own
pockets. He would overcharge and became very wealthy. The people knew this. There wasn't
anything they could do about it. I imagine when they walked
by his big house, it just filled them with rage every time they
saw him, what all he did at their expense. He was the chief among
the publicans, and he was very rich. Now I doubt that he was
a very religious man, because he wouldn't have been employed
by the Roman government if he was. He certainly was not a quote,
good Jew. And the publicans were looked
upon as the moral scum of the earth. They were classified with
harlots, publicans and Our Lord said, enter the kingdom of heaven
before you. When he was speaking to the Pharisees,
they were heathen. And Zacchaeus had a notorious
reputation. Look in verse 7 of Luke chapter
19. And when they saw it, when they saw how the Lord had treated
Zacchaeus, they all murmured, saying that he's gone to be guest
with a man that's a sinner, a sinful man, an immoral man, a wicked
man. Why, he's gone into his home,
and by his own admission, he ripped people off by false accusation.
Look in 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. Now, to say he was morally challenged
would be an understatement. He was a bad man. You wouldn't
have liked him. You would have despised this
man, Zacchaeus. Anyway, verse 3, we read concerning
Zacchaeus, and he sought to see Jesus, who he was. Idle curiosity? Perhaps. But at any rate, he sought to
see Jesus who he was. Now, here is the only issue. Listen to me real carefully.
Here is the only issue. Forget about Zacchaeus. Forget
about yourself. Who is Jesus Christ? That is the only issue. Who is Jesus Christ? And this even precedes what thinking
of Christ. This comes before that because
you can't even think about Him unless you know who He is. Who is Jesus Christ? What you think of Him is predicated
upon knowing who He is. Perhaps Zacchaeus had heard many
things about Jesus of Nazareth, and he wanted to know who he
really was. He sought to see Jesus who he
was. Now, I'm not asking you if you
believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Perhaps
you do not. I'm not asking you if you believe
in miracles. Perhaps you do not. I'm not asking
you if you can prove or believe in the existence of God. Perhaps
you do not. But who is Jesus Christ? I know who he claimed to be. The woman at the well said to
him, not knowing who he was, I know that when Messiah has
come, He'll tell us all things, and the Lord looked at her and
said, I that speak unto thee, am he. He said to the blind man, Dost
thou believe on the Son of God? And he replied, Who is he, Lord,
that I might believe? And the Lord said, Thou hast
both seen him, and it's he that talketh with thee. Philip said
to him, show us the Father, and we'll be satisfied. And he said,
Philip, have I spent a long time with you, and yet hast thou not
known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. He said to the Pharisees when
they made an objection at his teaching, he said, Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. And they said, You're not yet
fifty years old and hast thou seen our father Abraham? And
he said, Before Abraham was, I am. That is the name of God. Not I was, not I will be. But I am. He said in John chapter
8 verse 24, if you believe not that I am. You will die. In your sins. Jesus Christ. Is either who he said he was. Or he was terribly deluded. Or he was an imposter. Which is it? Zacchaeus sought
to see Jesus who he was. But look what it says next. He
sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the press because
he was little of stature. Do you know that when you want
to find out who he is, The first thing you find out is that you
can't know. The first thing you find out
is you can't know. It's beyond you. It's beyond
your grasp. You can't know. I realize that he was little
of stature, but he was more than little of stature. He was a sinful
man. And that disabled him from being
able to know who the Lord Jesus Christ was. He couldn't. He sought
to see who he was, but he could not. Our Lord said in John chapter
6, verse 44, and this is so important. He said, No man can come to me. No man has the ability to come
to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him. Do you know that even if you
want to know the Lord Jesus Christ, you can't know him? unless God
is pleased to make him known to you. We're shut up to Revelation.
Now, do you hear that? We're shut up to Revelation. We're absolutely dependent upon
him to disclose himself, to make himself known to us. We can't
figure it out. He sought to see Jesus, who he
was, but he could not, for he was little of stature. So, verse 4. and he ran before and climbed
up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that
way. Is this anything more than curiosity?
I don't know. Nobody ever has a good motive
at first, do they? Nobody ever has a good motive.
But he climbs up in a tree and there he sits, waiting for the
Lord to pass. He wanted to see him. So there
he is. Now verse 5, now our Lord is
coming with a great multitude round about him. Verse 5, and
when Jesus came to the place, he stopped. And he looked up in that tree
and he said, Zacchaeus, can you imagine how shocked Zacchaeus
was? Zacchaeus, make haste, come down, for today I must abide
at thy house. Now the word saw here, when Jesus
came to the place he looked up and saw him, it's not the word
that has to do with physical sight. It's the word that has
to do with a mental perception. He knew him altogether is what
the word means. He knew him all together. He knew him perfectly. You see,
this is one that was given to him before time began. This is
one that he came to represent and keep the law for. This is
one he came to die for. Our Lord came for a specific
people. And this is one of the people he came for. Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus! Oh, how shocked he
must have been when he heard his name called. But this is
what is called the effectual call. Zacchaeus, come down right
now, for today I must abide at thy house. Now, the effectual
call. Not everybody is called. Let
me show you that in the scripture. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Paul said in verse 22, For the
Jews, the religious fellows, require a sign, and the Greeks,
the intellectuals, seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ
crucified unto the Jews, a stumbling block unto the Greeks, foolishness,
but unto them which are what? called, called, effectually called,
irresistibly called. For whom he did foreknow, then
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, then he also called. This is the effectual call. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down, for today I must abide at thy house. Now, let me say
some things about this call. First of all, it's a most gracious
call. Because there's not one thing
about Zacchaeus that would merit this call. I mean, this guy was
the scum of the earth. He was. He was. I mean, he was
a bad man. I'm not just talking about his
heart. I'm talking about his outward life, too. was a thief. He was a robber. He was dishonest
to his country. He did everything he could to
bring money to himself at the expense of his fellow Jews. He
was a wicked man, an evil man. There wasn't anything about this
man that would recommend him to be saved. But Christ called
him. Christ called him. Does that
give you some hope that he'll call you? Listen, if he calls
Zacchaeus, he can call me. I'm no different than Zacchaeus.
It's a most gracious call. He doesn't have to find any goodness
in you to call you. He doesn't have to find anything
attractive in you to call you. He does it simply because he
will. And it was a personal call. Zacchaeus, it's a personal call. He called
him by name, very much like Lazarus. Lazarus, come forth. Eden was
dead, came forth. You know, Lazarus couldn't have
said no. He couldn't say, I don't think I'm going to. No, when the Lord
calls, you come. Now, somebody might be thinking,
well, how can I know if he's called my name? Because I've
never heard him call my name audibly. I've never heard Todd. I've never heard that. How do
I know if he's actually called me powerfully and affectionately
and called my name? I want to know. How can I know
if he's called me? I can tell you. The called call. You call on his name, it's because
he called you. If you call for mercy, it's because
He calls you to. If you say, Lord, have mercy
on me. I'm calling on Your name. Save
me. Do something for me. Don't leave me to myself. Lord,
reveal Yourself to me. I can't see You. You do that,
He's calling you. That's the call, the called call
on His name. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. And it was a hastening call.
He said, Zacchaeus, make haste. Ain't something you wait on.
Listen, if you can wait till tomorrow, he ain't ever called
you. When he calls you, you come right now. There is immediate
obedience. If you can hold off, he hasn't
called you. He's left you to yourself. If
he calls you, you're going to come right quick. And notice
also, he said, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. It's a humbling call. It's a
call to come down. Come down off your high horse. Come down off your high thought
to yourself and your self-sufficiency. Come down into the dust. Zacchaeus,
make haste and come down. That's the place you belong.
Make haste and come down. And it was a necessary call.
He said, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today. I must. I love that word. It is necessary
for me to abide at thy house. Now there's only one reason why
the Son of God must do anything. He said, I must be about my father's
business. This is one of his elect. Zacchaeus,
You make haste right now. Come down. You don't have an
option here. Do it right now. Make haste. Come down. Today
I must abide in thy house. Zacchaeus was an elect sinner
Christ would soon die for. Therefore, he must abide at his
house. It was a necessary call and it
was an effectual call. Look in verse 6. And he made
haste. And he came down. And he received
him joyfully. If he calls, you'll make haste,
you'll come down, and you will receive him. You see, if he gives himself,
you receive him. If you don't receive him, he
never gave. Now those he calls receive him and they do so, how? Joyfully. Joyfully. This man didn't have
any interest in God before this, but the Lord does something for
him and he makes haste. He comes down and he receives
him joyfully with full, I'm so happy. You see the kingdom of
God. It's not meat and drink, Romans
14, 17. The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink and rules and regulations and do's and don'ts and all that
kind of stuff. It's righteousness. The righteousness
of Jesus Christ is my righteousness before God. Peace, the peace
that comes from knowing that His righteousness is my righteousness
before God. Now listen to me, my righteousness
is not like His righteousness. My righteousness is not equal
to his righteousness. My righteousness is his righteousness. And that gives me peace. And
what else it gives me? Joy. Joy. I'm so glad. Joy. He came down and he received
him joyfully. And we receive the gospel joyfully
because it's what saves us. He's who saves us. Now look,
in verse 7, And when they saw, that's the religious fellows,
the hell of a murmur, saying that he was gone to be guest
with a man that is a sinner. You know, religious people never
like the gospel. They really don't. Why is that? Well, they murmur
why this will encourage bad behavior. If the Lord just comes up to
this man that is such a notorious, wicked man and just comes into
his house and embraces him and accepts him, this will encourage
bad behavior. This man needs to show some reformation
of character first. He needs to get his life straightened
out. Why accepting him like this?
This is wrong. And the reason being, a religious fellow thinks
somehow he has some kind of righteousness that counts before God. And whenever
he hears the gospel, he doesn't like it because he thinks it
encourages sin. He's criticizing the Lord. He's murmuring. He's
gone to be guest with a man that's a sinner. They murmured. I'll
tell you someone who didn't murmur, though, Zacchaeus. He rejoiced
in this. He was glad in this. But they
murmured, saying he's gone to be guest with a man that is a
sinner, literally a sinful man. A man who was full of sin. If you open him up, that's all
that was there. Sin. There wasn't any good. There
wasn't any righteousness. You cut into him. All that's
there is sin. Sinful. Nothing but that. Now, how can he go in to be against
with a man like that? That's what the word literally
is. A sinful man. If you're not a sinful man, I
suppose you would be offended. But who is happy that he's gone
to be guest with a sinful man? Sinful men. They rejoice in this. Who did he come to save? Sinful
men. Verse 8. And Zacchaeus stood. The Lord's in his house, he's
overcome with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Zacchaeus stood and said
unto the Lord, he wasn't talking to anybody else. And I want us
to know before I read this, the Lord never told him to do this.
He wasn't manipulated. He wasn't coerced. He wasn't
jolted. No, this came from his heart. You see, the Lord had changed
his want to. He'd been given a new heart. He now wanted to
do what he didn't want to do before. Look here, 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've taken anything from
any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Now the first thing I would notice
in Zacchaeus' response is, Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord,
Behold, Lord. Now remember, he sought to see
Jesus who he was, didn't he? He now knows who he is. He's
the Lord. No man can say that Jesus is
Lord. But by the Holy Ghost, He knew
this One standing in front of Him is the Lord of glory, the
Lord of creation, who spake the world into existence, the Lord
of providence, who controls everything, the Lord of salvation, who saves. He's the Savior. He's the Lord.
Lord. Same thing the thief said, Lord,
remember me when you come into your kingdom. Oh, there's the
Lord. I'm not talking about you saying
it audibly. I'm saying you believe in your heart. He's the Lord.
He knew he was the Lord. Lord, behold, the half of my
goods I give to the poor, and if I've taken anything by any
man by false accusation, I restore it. Fourfold. Verse 9, And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to
this house. Now, do you remember when the
Lord said, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must
abide in thy house? And then the Lord says, this
day I'm coming to this house. Salvation is coming to this house. You see, he himself is salvation. You know, I got a tract in the
mail just yesterday. Somebody sent me. And I guess
they were impressed with it, but it was entitled God's Plan
of Salvation. Salvation is not a plan. Salvation
is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. This day is salvation
come into this house. For so much, verse 9, as he proved
it by the fact that he gave his goods to the poor and that he
restored everything from his misdeeds. No, that's not what
he says. This day, salvation has come to this house. for as
much as he also is a son of Abraham." Now, there were a lot of physical
sons of Abraham sitting around at that time. They were all over
the place. Physical sons of Abraham. But
turn with me, hold your finger there for a moment, and turn
with me to Romans chapter 9. He's a spiritual son of Abraham. Verse 6. Not as though the word of God
hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel,
which are of Israel, neither because they are 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, just physical descendants of Abraham, these are not the
children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for
the seed. What's that all about? Well,
let's go on reading. 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 our 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, not of works, but of him that calleth that was
said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it's written.
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. He's a child of
the promise. He's a true child of Abraham.
Now, what's the evidence of being a true child of Abraham? Look
in Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. Verse 26. For you are all the children
of God. Jew or Gentile, it doesn't make any difference. You are
all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many
of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There's neither Jew nor Greek. There's neither bond nor free.
There's neither male nor female. For you're all one in Christ
Jesus. And if you be Christ, then are you Abraham's seed.
And heirs according to the promise, the promise of salvation in Christ. Now, here's why. The salvation
is coming to this house and Christ himself is salvation. He says,
for as much as he also is a son of Abraham, he's a child of the
promise. And then our Lord clearly defines
his mission in verse 10. Now, this this 10th verse is
the mission statement of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want
to know what he came to do here, he tells us for. The son of man
is come. to seek and to save that which
was lost." The Son of Man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost. All men were lost in Adam. All men. By the offense of one judgment
came upon all men to condemnation. All men were lost in Adam. But
he didn't come to save all those lost men. All men are lost by practice,
by sin, by the things we have done, the things we've thought,
the things we've desired. Somebody says, well, how could
it be fair for God to charge me with Adam's sin? Well, forget
about Adam's sin for just a moment. How have you done on your own?
Let's say he didn't charge you with Adam's sin. How do you stand?
All men are lost by practice, by the things they've done, by
the sins they've committed. But he didn't come to save all
those men. So who's he talking about when he says the Son of
Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost? Now, you're lost when you can't find your way
back. You're lost when you're hopeless. As long as you have some hope
that maybe somehow you can be saved if the circumstances are
right and if you're not, if you're put in a certain environment
where you're not faced with certain things or you can have your own
free will when you get whatever you get ready to, you can decide
to let Jesus, as long as you've never been lost like that, that's
not lost. A lost person is someone who is lost, hopeless. Hopeless. I'm lost. I can't. I can't know God. I
can't save myself. I can't do it. I'm lost. If God
leads me to myself, I'll go to hell. I'm lost. I'm lost. I'm lost. Have you ever been
lost? You know, a lot of folks have
never been lost. How long have you been saved?
Well, ever since I can remember. That's too long. That's too long. Have you
ever been lost? Lost to all hopes of self-salvation. I was just lost. And listen to
me. If you're lost, Jesus Christ
is seeking you. And do you know that everybody
he seeks, he finds. There's never been a lost sinner
that he didn't save. He came to seek. Just like that
shepherd going after that one lost sheep, he left the 99 in
the wilderness to go after the one lost sheep. He came to seek
and to save that which was lost. Now, what does the Bible mean
by saved? You know, I hear people talk. They say, well, have you been
saved? And somebody says, well, I got saved. That's not the right
kind of language to use. You don't get saved if you're
saved. The Lord saved you. Now, what
does the Bible mean by being saved? The Lord said he came
to seek them out. And he sought out Zacchaeus,
didn't he? He was on his trail. He knew
Zacchaeus was in that tree before Zacchaeus knew he was going to
go into that tree. It was all part of his purpose. He ordained
that Zacchaeus be in that tree. He ordained that I preach this
message tonight. He ordained that you hear this
message tonight. Everything is according to his foreordination. He came to seek out Zacchaeus,
and he came to save Zacchaeus. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
1, verse 21. And she, Mary the virgin, shall
bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus, Savior, for he shall save his people." And what are those
next three words? from their sins. Salvation is salvation from sin. Here is what the Lord has done. He saved his people from their
sins. How's that? First of all, he saves his people
from the penalty, the punishment of sin. If Christ died for me
and paid for my sins, I'll never, ever, ever have to pay for them. They've been paid for. I stand
before God without fault. Jesus paid it all! Not Jesus paid 90%, the other
10% I owe. Not Jesus paid for everything
but unbelief. Jesus paid for half and the other
half out. Jesus paid it all. All the dead
I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. You know how bad you are? You
don't know the half of it. It's worse than you think. It's a
lot worse than you think. But if you're in Christ, He bore
your sins in his own body on the tree. They became his, and
you'll never have to pay the condemnation for them. He saved his people from the
penalty of sin. Secondly, he saved his people from the power
of sin. Now, what does that mean? He
saved his people from the power of sin. Somebody says, I don't
know about that, because sin seems awful powerful to me. What
do you mean? He saved his people from the power of sin. Beloved,
there was a time when you could not believe. You sought to see
Jesus who he was, and you couldn't. Just like Zacchaeus. There was
a time when you tried to repent, but you didn't know what it was.
You couldn't figure it out. There was a time when you tried
to love God and you couldn't squeeze it out of your heart.
Now you can. You've been saved from the power
of sin. That's what happens in the new
birth. Being saved from the penalty of sin is what Christ did for
you on the cross. Being saved from the power of sin is what
he does in the new birth when he gives you new nature. And
you're made to believe. You've been saved from the power
of sin. And bless God. Bless God. You've been saved. Not merely one of these days
to be saved from the presence of sin. In Christ Jesus, right
now, you're saved from the presence of sin. Is he saved from the
presence of sin? Is it all put away? You are too. Whom he justified, then he also
glorified. Past tense. If Christ is glorified,
Because I am united to him, I am too. Near, so near to God, nearer
I cannot be. For in the person of his dear
Son, I am as near to God as he. Dear, so dear to God, dearer
I cannot be. For in the person of his dear
Son, I am as dear to God as he. What a wonderful Savior. Jesus Christ. Is. Salvation. He came to seek and
to save that which was lost and beloved. Whatever he intended
to do. What did he intend to do? Well,
he intended to seek and to save that which was lost. Whatever
he intended to do, he did. He did.