Luke chapter 19. Now, look at
verse 10. We're going to look at the first
10 verses here, but Luke chapter 19, verse 10, this is where we'll
find the title of the message for this morning. For the Son
of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. SEEKING TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS
LOST. LOOK BEGINNING WITH VERSE 1.
HERE WE READ THAT JESUS ENTERED IN AND HE PASSED THROUGH JERICHO. Now the Lord Jesus Christ, let
there be no mistake, He seeks His people before they'll ever
seek Him. And He's passing through Jericho. He's on the trail, you read about
that, His sheep. He's on the trail of one of His
sheep here, Zacchaeus. And we read that He passed through
Jericho. You know, not a word of mercy, not a word of grace, not a word
of salvation to any here, but Zacchaeus. He passed through. He passed through Jericho. Now this is, there's one though,
isn't there? Zacchaeus, there's one. God's
distinguishing grace. And just as there was one when
the Lord, back there in the Old Testament, remember when He destroyed
Jericho? There was Rahab. There was Rahab. That scarlet line. Rahab didn't
perish. Rahab and her family were saved. And I was thinking, oh, that
the Lord would not pass us by this morning, that He would not
pass us by, that He would see fit to be among His people, to
be present with us. Verse two. And behold, there
was a man named Zacchaeus, which was chief among the publicans,
and he was rich." Now this is what we know about Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was chief among the
publicans. He was a rich man. Our Lord,
speaking over in Matthew 18, speaking of one who was exceptionally
wicked, He said this, "'Let him be as a heathen, and as a publican. To be called a publican was not
a compliment by any means. And we also read that Zacchaeus
was a rich man. What do the scriptures say? They
say that if we read, it's easier for a camel to pass through the
eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom
of God. And then reading in our text,
we see that the people of this town were upset because our Lord
was guest of this man. They said that they were upset
that he was guest of a man that was a sinner. Zacchaeus, that
was his reputation among those folks in that town. He was a
sinner. And if I count them up right
there, that's three strikes against old Zacchaeus, right? But listen,
is there any case Is there any case too hard for our God?" Huh? This publican, and listen, he
was chief. It says he was chief among the
publicans. He was a rich man. He was a sinner,
a reputation among the people. In verse 3, and he sought to
see Jesus who he was. And he could not for the press
because he was small of stature. And he ran before and he climbed
into a sycamore tree FOR HE WAS TO PASS THAT WAY. OUR LORD IS
GOING TO PASS THAT WAY. AND HERE WE SEE THE SPIRIT OF
GOD DIRECTING ZACCHEUS' PATH THAT DAY. THINK ABOUT THAT. OF ALL THE PLACES HE COULD BE,
HE'S GOT TO BE THERE. HE'S GOT TO BE UP IN THAT SYCAMORE
TREE. HIS STEPS, JUST LIKE ALL OF GOD'S
SHEEP, ORDERED OF GOD. AND THIS SYCAMORE, I WAS THINKING
ABOUT THIS. My guy, my brother-in-law, we
live kind of in the bottom, and my brother-in-law and his son,
they live up above us, and there's this big hillside, and they keep
that mud. There's all kind of oak trees
up here, and I think over the years, I wonder how many oak
trees have been cut down, big oaks that have been cut down.
We can go up and count the stumps. But I also wonder how many of
them little saplings have been mowed over, over the years. Meaningless
little saplings that would grow into an oak tree. Boy, this sycamore
tree, when it was a sapling, it's not gonna be chopped down,
is it? Our Lord, that sycamore tree's
gotta be there, because Zacchaeus is gonna be in that tree when
the Lord passes by. All things, all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose. Our Lord worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will, even something as simple to us
as a tree. But that tree's gonna be there.
And look at verse five. When Jesus came to the place,
He came to the place, He looked up and He saw him and He said
to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today. Today I must abide at thy house. He came, he came to the place. The place, God knowing all things. He knows where men dwell. He
knows the time that he'll call upon them. He came to Peter and
James and John and the woman at the well. He sent Philip to
that eunuch. He came to the place and he looked
up and he saw him and he called him by name, Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. He knows his sheep
by name, doesn't he? He called him by name. And listen,
he's known Zacchaeus from the foundation of the world. He's
known Zacchaeus just as he's known all his sheep from everlasting. His name written in the Book
of Life. Listen, Zacchaeus was given to
Christ by the Father. He was given to him. Zacchaeus,
like all those given to him by the Father, not one of them,
not even one, will be lost. And he tells Zacchaeus, he says,
you make haste. Make haste and come down. Make
haste. Don't delay. This thing of salvation,
it's urgent. It's an urgent matter. You know,
when Philip was sent to that Ethiopian unit, we read that
he ran to it. He ran to him, he ran thither.
Why wouldn't he? If someone's hurt, if someone's
injured and they need help, we run to them, don't we? It's urgent. This is a matter of life and
death. Can you imagine, remember those
old cities, remember those cities of refuge back there in the Old
Testament? And if two fellows were out working
in the woods and the head of that axe fell off and hit him
and killed him, that manslayer's coming. But those cities of refuge,
they were set up, they were set up in places that were, the path
was to be cleared, they were to be easy to get to, they were
to be well marked. Can you imagine somebody doing
that and then just kind of dawdling along, walking to the city of
refuge? No, no, they're gonna run just as fast as their feet
will carry them, huh? Must be in that city of refuge,
gotta get there. Listen, make haste, make haste,
come down. And he says, come down. We need
to be humble, don't we? Humbly, humble yourself. And
listen, that word come down, that's a command, isn't it? Our
Lord is not a beggar. He doesn't say, Zacchaeus, would
you mind coming down here? Zacchaeus, if you'll take that
first step, I'll help you out of the tree. Zacchaeus, No, he said, Zacchaeus, come
down, come down. It's a command, it's a command. And make haste, make haste to
Christ our refuge, Christ our righteousness, Christ our peace. We come to him for pardon, for
life, for salvation. Oh, make haste to him. And the people, look at verse
seven, when they saw it, When they saw this, they murmured,
huh? They all murmured saying that
he was going to be guest with a man that's a sinner. The Pharisees
murmured that Christ would be guest to a sinner. But my friends,
isn't that who Christ came to save? Isn't that what the scriptures
declare? He came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. Over in 1 Timothy, this is a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom Paul says,
I'm the chief. I am the chief. And listen, here
in our text, the Lord's going to save a chief, isn't he? He's
going to save the chief of the publicans. They may have murmured,
Oh, but listen, we read earlier in verse six that Zacchaeus,
Zacchaeus wasn't murmuring, was he? Oh no, he received him joyfully. Oh, what relief, what relief. Probably the initial reaction
was, oh, he's speaking to me. Oh, but he speaks in mercy and
pardon. What relief must have filled
old Zacchaeus' heart when the Lord spoke to him and said, come
down, I must abide with you. Over in Luke 15, 10, and listen,
this joy, we read in Luke 15, 10, I say unto you, there's joy
in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repented. Oh, there's joy in the sinner's
heart There's joy, there's joy in heaven over one sinner that
repents. We're received joyfully. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. Now back to our text. Look at
Luke 19, look at verse eight. And Zacchaeus stood and he said
unto the Lord, behold Lord, Boy, there's a new name there, isn't
there? Zacchaeus, if you look back there, he was looking for
a man named Jesus. That's what we hear around this
world, isn't it? People talk about Jesus, but
the Lord was revealed to him. He found the Lord. He said this,
he said, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I've
taken anything from any man by false accusation, he said, I'll
restore him fourfold. Now here we see some evidence
that Christ now dwells in this man Zacchaeus. Evidence of salvation. In chapter 18, remember that
rich young ruler? There was a rich young ruler,
and he asked, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And
our Lord told him, he said, obey the commandments. And that fellow
had the nerve to say, well, I've done that. I've done that, I've
obeyed the commandments. I've done that from my youth
up. And the Lord said, he met him where he was, he said, you
go and sell everything you have, and you give it to the poor,
and then you come and follow me. And how did he go away? Oh, he went away sad, didn't
he? Because he had great possessions. But here, old Zacchaeus, we see
him, he's rejoicing. We see him repenting. We see
him restoring that which he had taken. Not to do some great work. Not to do some great work of
salvation. But listen, as a result of God's grace in the heart,
this is a new man, this is a new man. This wasn't a condition
of salvation, this was evidence that the Lord had been merciful
to this man. Huh? A new heart. You can't hide
Christ dwelling in a man. Huh? A new heart. The old Zacchaeus
has passed from death to life. Well, look at verse nine. And
Jesus said unto him, Zacchaeus, this day has salvation come to
your house for as much as he also is a son of Abraham. Salvation has come to your house.
Salvation is of the Lord. Listen, he is my salvation from
beginning to end. Jesus Christ, that's what Jesus
Christ who is my salvation. A sinner is delivered by Christ
and Christ alone. Today is salvation come to thy
house. The Lord Jesus Christ took our
sin upon himself. as our surety, as our substitute,
and he bore our sin. He bore the penalty of our sin. He bore the condemnation of our
sin, the judgment of our sin. He bore the wrath of God, the
wrath of God, allowing Almighty God, to be both just and justifier
of those that were lost, even a great sinner like old Zacchaeus. Let me ask you, do you know any
great sinners, huh? Do you know any that are lost?
Boy, we don't have to look too far to find one, do we, huh?
Well, There's good news though, isn't there? There's grace for
the guilty. There's mercy for the miserable. There's salvation for sinners. God commanded his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Oh, verse 10, look at verse 10. For the Son of Man, the Son of
Man is come to seek AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST. I WANT US
TO SEE JUST QUICKLY THREE THINGS HERE, HUH? FIRST, WE READ OF
THE SON OF MAN. OUR LORD DECLARES HIMSELF. HE SAYS, I'M THE SON OF MAN.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MANY NAMES HE COULD HAVE USED TO HAVE DESCRIBED
HIMSELF. HE'S THE TRUE GOD. THE SCRIPTURES
DECLARE HIM AS THE TRUE GOD, THE ONLY TRUE GOD. HE'S IMMANUEL,
GOD WITH US. HE'S THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD.
HE'S THE MESSIAH. HE'S THE SAVIOR. AND THEN WHAT
THAT ANGEL SAID, CALL HIS NAME JESUS FOR HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE
FROM THEIR SIN. HE'S THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
HE'S OUR PROPHET. HE'S OUR PRIEST. HE'S OUR KING.
HE'S OUR WISDOM, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, OUR SANCTIFICATION AND REDEMPTION.
You know, men get hung up on titles, don't they? Men love titles. Our Lord over
in Matthew 23, He spoke to some people. Turn there with me. Turn
with me to Matthew 23. Matthew 23, look beginning with
verse 1. Matthew 23, Jesus spoke to the
multitude and to his disciples saying, the scribes and the Pharisees,
they sit in Moses' seat. all therefore whatsoever they
bid you to observe, that observe and do. But do not ye after their
works, for they say, and they do not, for they bind heavy burdens
and grievous to be done, and they lay them on men's shoulders,
but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
All their works they do to be seen of men. They make broad
their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments.
They love the uppermost room at feast and the chief seats
in the synagogues and greeting in the market and to be called
of men rabbi. That's what men want to be called,
rabbi. Be not called rabbi. For one is your master, even
Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon
the earth, for one is your father which is in heaven. Neither be
called masters, for one is your master, even Christ. But he,
the Lord Jesus Christ, that's what our Lord, he made himself
a servant. He said, he that is greatest among you, he'll be
your servant. LUKE 19, VERSE 10, OUR LORD DECLARES
HIMSELF TO BE THE SON OF MAN. TURN WITH ME TO A FEW MORE SCRIPTURES.
TURN TO PHILIPPIANS, CHAPTER 2. PHILIPPIANS, CHAPTER 2, BEGINNING
WITH VERSE 5. CLIPPINGS 2 VERSE 5, LET THIS
MIND BE IN YOU, WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS, WHO BEING IN
THE FORM OF GOD, THOUGHT IT NOT ROBBERY TO BE EQUAL WITH GOD,
BUT MADE HIMSELF OF NO REPUTATION, TOOK UPON HIM THE FORM OF A SERVANT,
WAS MADE IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN, AND BEING FOUND IN FASHION AS
A MAN, He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him and given him, given him a name, which is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, things in earth, things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Over in 2 Corinthians, I'll just
read it to you. For you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for his sake,
HE BECAME POOR, THAT THROUGH HIS POVERTY WE MIGHT BE MADE
RICH. IN JOHN 1-14, THE WORD WAS MADE
FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US, AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY AS THE ONLY
BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH. HE IS, HE'S
THE SON OF MAN. The Lord Jesus Christ, He declared
Himself the Son of Man when He spoke of His death on the cross. He said, as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up. Back to our text. He's the Son
of Man. He was made a man. Almighty God
was made flesh and dwelt among us. He's the Son of Man. Second,
He came to seek and to save. He came with a purpose. He came
to do something. He came to seek and to save. When that angel of the Lord appeared
unto Joseph, that angel spoken to Mary and said, he's gonna
have a son. CALL HIS NAME JESUS. WE READ
THAT EARLIER. CALL HIS NAME JESUS, FOR HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE
FROM THEIR SINS. YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T SAY HE CAME
TO SEEK AND MAKE MEN SAVABLE. IT DOESN'T SAY HE CAME TO SEEK
AND LET MEN ACCEPT HIM. IT DOESN'T SAY HE CAME TO HELP
MEN SAVE THEMSELVES. THAT HE CAME TO SEEK THOSE THAT
WOULD WALK DOWN THE AISLE AND SHAKE THE PREACHER'S HAND, DOES
IT? NO. IT SAYS HE CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE. THAT WORK IS ALL
OF HIS, HUH? THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE SON
OF MAN, CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THROUGH HIS DEATH AND HIS SUBSTITUTIONARY
WORK. MAN CONTRIBUTES NOTHING, DOESN'T
HE? I TAKE THAT BACK. MAN DOES CONTRIBUTE
ONE THING, SIN. HUH? THAT'S ALL WE BRING TO THE
TABLE. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only Savior of sinners. Turn with me to Acts chapter
4. Turn over just a couple books to Acts
chapter 4. Let's begin with verse 1. Acts 4 verse 1, And as they spake
unto the people, the priest, and the captain of the temple,
and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught
the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the
dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them at hold until
the next day, for it was now eventide, howbeit many of them
which heard the word believed. And the number of men was about
5,000, and it came to pass on the morrow that the rulers and
the elders and the scribes, these religious folks, and Annas the
high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, as many
as were the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together
at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked
them, by what power or by what name have you done this? And
then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, he said unto them, you
rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day be
examined of the good deed done to this impotent man, by what
means he's made whole, be it known to you all and to all the
people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by
him, that this man stand here before you whole. This is the
stone which was said it not of you builders, which has become
the head of the corner. And let's hear verse 12. Neither
is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Neither is there salvation in
any other. NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN, GIVEN AMONG MEN, WHEREBY
WE MUST BE SAVED. HE IS THE SOVEREIGN SAVIOR. LISTEN, HE CAN SAVE US OR HE
CAN PASS US BY. HE CAN GIVE ME LIFE OR HE CAN
WITHHOLD IT AS GOD. IN LUKE WE READ IT, REMEMBER
THAT LEPER? Remember that leper, that man that was, the scriptures
say he was full of leprosy. A picture of sin and he fell
at the Lord's feet and he said this, Lord, if you will, if you
will, you can make me clean. I have no merit, I have no worth,
there's nothing in me, nothing in me but leprosy. I contribute
nothing. What'd the Lord do? He put forth
his hand and he touched him and he said this, I will. I will
be thou clean." And immediately, immediately the leprosy departed
from him. He came to seek and to save. And of those he came to seek
and save, he'll get every one of them. He's not going to lose
one. He'll not fail nor be discouraged. You know, I can remember as a
kid playing, we'd be at my grandparents' house and we'd play hide and
go seek. And sometimes you just kind of gave up. And you walk
around, tell him, come on out, come on out, I can't find you.
We're not our Lord. He's not gonna miss one. Not
gonna miss one. He knows every one of them. He
knows them by name, and he'll find them. Over in John chapter
six, turn to John chapter six. Turn back there for a minute. John chapter 6, look beginning with verse 37. John 6 verse 37, All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, But the will of him that sent me, and
this is the Father's will, which hath sent me, that of all which
he hath given me, I'll lose nothing. I'll lose nothing. And I'll raise
it up again at the last day. Back to Luke. Back here in Luke. Luke 19. Look at verse 10. the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save." Who did He come to seek and save? Huh? The Son
of Man. He came to seek and to save.
Who did He come to seek and save? That which was lost. That's my third point. He came
to seek and to save that which was lost. You know there are,
in our day, There are very few people that are lost. Isn't that
true? Part of the problem is men will
not declare that boldly, unapologetically. Men are lost. Men will not declare
man's sinful condition in the sight of Almighty God. So-called
preachers have refused to declare man's sinful state. What we truly
look like before Almighty God, nothing but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. When Adam fell, every son of
Adam fell with him. God's words declare this, that
we are dead IN TRESPASSES AND SIN. WE'RE NOT JUST BRUISED UP. WE DIDN'T JUST TRIP. WE'RE DEAD.
DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SIN. RUINED. UTTERLY RUINED BY THE
FALL. PREACHERS WANT TO TALK ABOUT
GOD'S LOVE. YOU DRIVE DOWN THROUGH HERE.
I'M SURE HALF THE BILLBOARDS OUT THERE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT.
AND I'M THANKFUL FOR GOD'S LOVE. BUT THAT'S NOT THE LOVE THEY'RE
TALKING ABOUT. THEY'RE SAYING GOD LOVES EVERYBODY.
THEY PUT IT ON BUMPER STICKERS. SMILE, GOD LOVES YOU. My friends,
our Lord's speaking to the Pharisees. He said, you've neglected the
weightier parts of the law. That's what we've done. We've
neglected the weightier matters of the law. Things like judgment,
mercy, faith, judgment. Why did God nail his son to the
cross? Huh? Because of sin. How awful,
how awful must sin be that God would nail his son to the cross? Sin must be punished. It has
to be punished. Why will men not come to him
for mercy? Huh? Why would men not fall down to
his feet as mercy beggars? They don't need it. THEY DON'T
NEED IT. THAT NEED HAS NOT BEEN REVEALED
TO THEM. HE SAID, YOU WILL NOT COME TO
ME THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE. OR IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE LIFE,
WE MUST COME TO HIM. OVER IN JOHN 16 AD IT SAYS, WHEN
HE HAS COME, He will reprove. He will convince the world of
sin. That word reprove, it means to
convict them of sin. It means to tell them of sin. It means to punish that sin,
to call it to account, to bring it, to reckon it, huh? And we've
been, my friends, we've been weighed in the balance and found
wanting, huh? We can't, listen, We can't even
admit, or at least I can't, when I take a wrong turn on vacation.
Isn't that true? I remember having the boys be
like, I don't remember going this way before. We're just gonna
try a little more scenic route this time. Can't even admit when
we've taken a wrong turn. And what we've done before God
is far worse than taking the wrong exit. We're lost, lost. That parable in Luke, he said,
bring in, who did he say to go after? He said, bring in the
poor, bring in the halt, bring in the maimed and the blind.
I've not come to call the righteous, but sinners, sinners to repentance. Huh? We need to see our sick
and sinful condition, our spiritual blindness. David said this, the
Lord revealed that to him, but he said, against thee and thee
only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. Remember the
prodigal son? You know, he lived in plenty.
Didn't he? I mean, if we read that, he lived
in plenty, but at some point, and he took what he had and he
went out, but at some point, the Lord revealed to him his
need. He said this, he said that the
servants in my father's house have bread to spare. And I'm
out here, I'm eating the husk of corn. I'm gonna perish with
hunger. I'll arise and I'll go to my
father's house I'll say to him, I've sinned against heaven, and
I've sinned against you. I'm not worthy to be called a
son. I'm a sinner. Oh, and without
thee, I'll die in my sin. I will perish in my sin. Turn
with me to one more passage of Scripture. Luke chapter 18. You're familiar with this. Look
beginning with verse 10 of Luke 18. Two men went up to the temple
to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee
stood and he prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that
I'm not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterous, even as this
publican. I fast twice in the week. I give
tithes of all that I possess." And the publican, we know what
a publican is, don't we? The publican, standing afar off,
would not lift up so much his eyes unto heaven, but he smote
upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Our Lord said, I tell you this,
this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. Everyone that exalted himself
shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
The Pharisee, he had no need, did he? Huh? What did he? He
said, I'm not a sinner. He said, I fast. Huh? I give
tithes of everything I have. And I'm certainly not like this
man. I'm not like even as this publican."
What's he saying? I'm not a sinner. I'm not a sinner. But boy, that publican, oh, he
was in need, wasn't he? Huh? He wouldn't even lift up
his eyes toward heaven and he smote on his breast right here. That's where the problem is,
isn't it? This old wicked heart. He beat on his chest and he said,
God be merciful, Oh, be merciful to me, a sinner. A sinner by
birth, a sinner by choice, a sinner by practice. It's what, listen,
and if left in my sin, that's where I'll die. I'll die in my
sin. But listen, if He, if Almighty
God is pleased to reveal to us our condition, our condition
before Him, I know this. We'll know this. If He's pleased
to reveal it to us, we'll know this. I have no righteousness. I have no hope apart from the
Lord Jesus Christ. I'm dead in trespasses and sin. If He doesn't seek me out and
save me, I'll forever be lost in my sin. I'll die, and that's
where I'll die, in my sin. Are you lost? Oh, I pray the
Lord would reveal to us our lost condition. Huh? And cause us
to know this, that the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, He,
He came to seek and to save, who? That which was lost. Huh? That which was lost. All
right, I pray God would bless His Word to us that are here
this morning. Brother Lyme.