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I know you don't get to pick 
how you die, but it wouldn't be bad to be translated while 
you were singing a hymn like that. Luke 18. Our focus this evening is on 
Luke 19, verses 1 to 10, but I think it's important to set 
it in its larger context. So I'll read beginning in Luke 
18 at verse 18. Now a certain ruler asked him 
saying, good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 
So Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good, 
but one, that is God. You know the commandments, do 
not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false 
witness, honor your father and your mother. And he said, all 
these things I have kept from my youth. So when Jesus heard 
these things, he said to him, you still lack one thing, sell 
all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have 
treasure in heaven and come follow me. But when he heard this, he 
became very sorrowful for he was very rich. And when Jesus 
saw that he became very sorrowful, he said, How hard it is for those 
who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier 
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich 
man to enter the kingdom of God. And those who heard it said, 
Who then can be saved? But he said, The things which 
are impossible with men are possible with God. Then Peter said, See, 
we have left all and followed you. So he said to them, Assuredly, 
I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents 
or brothers or wife or children for the sake of the kingdom of 
God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time 
and in the age to come eternal life. Then he took the twelve 
aside and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, 
and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the 
Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the 
Gentiles, and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They 
will scourge him and kill him, and the third day he will rise 
again. But they understood none of these things. This saying 
was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which 
were spoken. Then it happened, as he was coming near Jericho, 
that a certain blind man sat by the road, begging. And hearing 
a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him 
that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, 
Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And those who went before 
warned him that he should be quiet. But he cried out all the 
more, Son of David, have mercy on me. So Jesus stood still and 
commanded him to be brought to him. And when he had come near, 
he asked him, saying, What do you want me to do for you? He 
said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. Then Jesus said to 
him, Receive your sight. Your faith has made you well. 
And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying 
God. And all the people, when they 
saw it, gave praise to God. Then Jesus entered and passed 
through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named 
Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And 
he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the 
crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up 
into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that 
way. And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and saw him 
and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today 
I must stay at your house. So he made haste and came down 
and received him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all 
complained, saying, he has gone to be a guest with a man who 
is a sinner. Then Zacchaeus stood and said 
to the Lord, look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor. 
And if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, 
I restore fourfold. And Jesus said to him, today's 
salvation has come to this house because he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man has come to 
seek and to save that which was lost. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and Holy Father, 
we thank you for the power of our blessed Savior, not only 
power and ability to save, but that mercy wherein he does save. We thank you that we have found 
that to be the case, that by your grace, we have tasted and 
seen that the Lord is good. And may you encourage our weary 
hearts tonight as we once again witness the power of the Lord 
Jesus in the life of this man, Zacchaeus. And we pray, God in 
heaven, that you would reach down in mercy and draw sinners 
unto yourself. We rejoice to see the mission 
of the Savior declared in such clarity. He's come to seek and 
to save that which was lost. And Lord God, we give praise 
to you because we live in a world filled with lost men and women. 
So may you indeed be pleased to bless the word as it goes 
forth. Even tonight, God, again, forgive us for all of our sin 
and guide us by the Holy Spirit. And we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord, amen. Well, there is a connection between 
these two chapters. If you look back to chapter 18, 
Jesus sets forth the necessity of God's grace in the matter 
of salvation. And we see it in verse 27, the 
things which are impossible with men, are possible with God, and 
that on the heels of declaring how difficult, nigh almost impossible, 
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. He illustrates that by 
giving the analogy of a camel trying to shimmy through the 
eye of a needle. It would be that difficult for 
a rich man to enter into heaven. Of course, that evokes from the 
disciples the response in verse 26, those who heard it said, 
who then can be saved? On the heels of that, he says, 
the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. 
So lo and behold, we see that there is this statement concerning 
the difficulty for those who have riches And yet, in chapter 
19, we see that this man Zacchaeus was rich. So he's an illustration, 
or he's a demonstration of a camel going through the eye of a needle. 
The Lord God Most High is powerful. The Lord God Most High is sovereign. The Lord God Most High is able 
to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto him through 
his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So I want to look at two things 
tonight in chapter 19, verses 1 to 10. First, the object of 
mercy, verses 1 to 4, and then secondly, the mission of Christ 
in verses 5 to 10. But let's look first at the object 
of mercy, and there's two things I want to see here. First, a 
description of his person, and then second, a demonstration 
of God's power. But notice his occupation. Verse 
1, then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, 
there was a man named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector. 
Now, tax collector, I think, in probably every age and every 
generation, in every geographical locale, are not the sorts of 
persons that are high on your priority list for friendship. Tax collectors are not typically 
looked upon as those favored ones in society that everybody 
flocks to because they want to have a close friendship with 
them. And in this particular context 
in the first century, tax collectors were especially hated by the 
Jews. That was for a variety of reasons. 
First, they collaborated with Gentiles, never a good thing 
for the Jews. Secondly, they handled currency 
with pagan inscriptions and iconography. So they were those who basically 
trafficked in some sort of an idolatrous venture. Third, they 
took money from fellow Jews to give to an oppressing government. 
I mean, that right there would tell you there's no reason why 
you would want to befriend that particular individual. And they 
were often greedy and corrupt themselves. In fact, Zacchaeus 
admits as much in verse eight. He's willing to demonstrate his 
faith and repentance through the good works of returning money 
to those that he had taken it from. In other portions of the 
Gospels or Gospel records, they are linked with sinners, they 
are linked with heathen Gentiles, they are linked with harlots, 
they are linked with extortioners, unjust and adulterous men. In 
fact, you can go back to Luke 18 and you'll see that. We have 
that story that Jesus told about the Pharisee and about the publican. 
And in verse 9 it says, He spoke this parable to some who trusted 
in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. 
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the 
other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed 
thus with himself, God, I thank you that I am not like other 
men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. So the tax collector in this 
society was the benchmark for wretch. It was the worst of the 
worst. He was a bad guy. He was a notorious 
sinner. He was the sort of person that 
you didn't wanna be around. And so as Jesus passes through 
Jericho, we are introduced to this man who by occupation is 
a tax collector. But notice his economic standing. 
This chief tax collector gig had fetched him great reward. 
Notice in verse two at the very end, and he was rich. Luke expects 
you to remember that statement earlier about how hard it is 
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. But when 
Christ facilitates, he can make that camel go right through the 
eye of a needle. So he is a chief tax collector. 
He's a rich man. And then notice it tells us something 
about his physical stature. He was short. He was a wee little 
fellow. He had to shimmy up into the 
sycamore tree just to get a view of Jesus. Why does Luke include 
that? I don't know, but it's certainly 
a curious detail and one that causes a bit of reflection in 
the sense of even short dudes can come to the Savior. There's 
no impossibility there. And then notice as well his spiritual 
state. And this is key to the narrative. 
Verses 7 to 8, 7 and 8, and verse 10 tell us that he was a lost 
sinner before God. So in verse 7, notice what the 
crowd grumbles. He has gone to be a guest with 
a man who is a sinner. After having saving dealings 
with our Lord, confessing him as Lord in faith, Zacchaeus at 
verse 8 says, Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor, 
and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, 
I restore fourfold. And then in verse 10, Jesus defines 
his mission as to come and to seek and to save that which was 
lost. So Zacchaeus' spiritual stature 
was the case or was the fact that he was a sinner before a 
holy God. And it's intriguing, in certain 
places in the Gospels, you'll see where the Gospel author links 
together narrative that shines light on each other. So we got 
that rich young ruler that comes to the Lord Jesus, and he says, 
what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus 
preaches the law to him. He's not telling him that if 
you do all these things perfectly, you can enter in. Well, he is, 
but he knows that this man is a sinner. He's preaching the 
law to him to show him his sin. This man says and boasts, all 
these I've kept from my youth. What one thing do I lack? So 
what does Christ do? He preaches the 10th commandment 
to him. He tells him, go, sell everything 
you have, take the money, give it to the poor, and follow me. 
That's the law. That humbled the man, but it 
didn't humble him to the place where he would confess faith 
in Christ. He was sorrowful because he was rich. And on the heels 
of that, Christ makes the declaration on how hard it is for a rich 
man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. But it's not an impossibility, 
because with God, all things are possible. You see the same 
sort of thing in Matthew chapter 9, in that lowering of the paralytic 
into the midst of the crowd. And Jesus said, son, your sins 
are forgiven you. And the religious leaders are 
scratching their heads saying, who does this man think he is? 
Only God alone can forgive sins. So Jesus says, which is easier, 
to say to the man, your sins are forgiven, or to say to the 
man, rise up, take your mat and walk? Well, it's easier to say 
your sins are forgiven because we don't know. It's more difficult, 
at least in terms of the physical eye, to say, take up your mat 
and walk. Well, Jesus then says, take up 
your mat and walk. That demonstrates what he says, 
that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. Now 
on the heels of that, we have the calling of Matthew, another 
tax collector, another wretch. So if we ask the question, what 
kind of sinners does the Lord save? We can answer big sinners, 
gross sinners, bad sinners, wretched sinners, because with God, all 
things are possible. So Zacchaeus is an illustration 
or rather a parallel to a camel going through the eye of a needle. 
So with all this in mind, let's turn now to the mission of Christ 
and the invitation given in verses 5 to 8, and then the mission 
stated in verses 9 to 10. Notice the invitation proper. So verse 4 tells us about his 
short stature. He ran ahead, climbed up into 
a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way. 
Now notice in verse 5, And when Jesus came to the place, he looked 
up and saw him and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come 
down for today I must stay at your house. That's not ordinarily 
how we understand an invitation. Christ invites himself over to 
Zacchaeus' house. Christ says, I must come to your 
house today. It demonstrates a few things 
about the Savior. First, his condescension. He 
comes to the place where Zacchaeus is, and he stops and he looks 
up. We have a previous instance in 
Jericho with a man, Bartimaeus. Christ is walking through a very 
crowded city, and blind Bartimaeus says, Jesus, thou son of David, 
have mercy on me. We know the response of the crowd. 
It's kind of like the response of the crowd that we find with 
reference to Zacchaeus. They try to silence Bartimaeus. 
Oh, he's too busy. He doesn't have time for somebody 
like you. So what does Bartimaeus do? All 
the louder he cries, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. 
So Jesus stops in the midst of the crowd, wanders over to Bartimaeus 
and says, what would you have me to do? And Bartimaeus says, 
Lord, I want to see. Well, the same sort of instance 
is here. He's around a lot of people. He's passing through 
a city. Zacchaeus has to go up into the sycamore tree just to 
get a view of the situation because he's such a short man. And yet 
Jesus stops at that tree. It demonstrates his condescension. It demonstrates his mercy and 
grace. It demonstrates the reality that 
he is what the Bible promises him to be. As well, notice that 
he knows Zacchaeus' name. He calls him specifically by 
name. Now, perhaps somebody whispered 
it into his ear, or perhaps as the divine son of God, he invokes 
that and says, Zacchaeus. He addresses him purposefully 
relative to the situation. And then he mentions, or then 
he says, make haste and come down for today. I must stay at 
your house. Again, this underscores his Grace, 
make haste and come down for today I must stay at your house. 
Gil makes the observation, the dangerous estate and condition 
of a sinner requires haste. Let's not bypass that too quickly. Make haste and come down. You 
don't have tomorrow for sure. You don't have another year for 
sure. You don't have another 10 years 
for sure. I mean, you might, but that's 
known only to God. The time to deal with God is 
now. It is time to make haste and 
to deal with our blessed Savior. Christ doesn't say, I want you 
to sit up there and ponder things. I want you to reflect upon things. 
I want you to wonder about things. I want you to survey things. 
I want you to prepare yourself for a descent down. No, he says, 
make haste and come down. There is an urgency and a necessity 
in terms of gospel preaching. There is a todayness about salvation. Today, or now, is the acceptable 
time. Today is the day of salvation. Do not resist this. Do not reject 
this. Do not oppose this. And then 
notice when he says, I must stay at your house. I think the backdrop, 
you might be able to guess this, is covenant. The fact that he 
refers to him as a son of Abraham in verse eight also reflects 
covenant. God purposed to save a great 
multitude that no man can number from every tribe, tongue, people, 
and nation. And even very sinful men, even very wretched men, 
even chief tax collectors who were very rich. Notice he must 
stay at your house. The Son of God does not have 
options in terms of, well, I could possibly go to Bill's house for 
lunch. No, I must stay at your house. 
Why? Because Zacchaeus is coming to 
salvation. Zacchaeus is going to believe. 
Zacchaeus is going to confess faith in Jesus Christ, and there 
is a must-ness about this situation. Matthew Poole says Zacchaeus 
is the first man we read of to whose house Christ, not asked, 
but invited himself, and in it did more for Zacchaeus. He didn't ask Zacchaeus, but 
rather invited himself, and in it did more for Zacchaeus than 
he expected. Oh, the freeness and riches of 
divine grace, which seeketh not a worthy object, but makes the 
object worthy, and therefore loveth it. So Christ comes to 
deal mercifully with this man. Now notice the response of Zacchaeus. This is in verses 6 and 8. Verse 
7, we'll deal with the crowd in just a moment, but notice 
in verses 6 and 8 how Zacchaeus responds to this. Now, why do 
you think he shimmied up that tree in the first place? Preparationism, 
he's getting ready for the big salvation. He's setting himself 
in the right spot at the right time. It was curiosity. Brethren, you can't drive down 
the freeway without some haphazard or accident on the side of the 
road. Everybody has to slow down, don't they? It's the nature of 
man. I complain about others doing it, and yet I find myself 
slowing down because I have to see what's over there. You've 
got a small town that's filled with people and a very famous 
figure is walking through. Zacchaeus got up that morning, 
probably heard that Jesus was coming, saw the press of the 
crowd and figured he'd go up to that sycamore tree and just 
spy the situation for his own curiosity sake. This isn't sort 
of a preparing for grace. This wasn't some sort of a prelude 
to his salvation. He was a curious man. But then 
notice he comes down the tree in response to Christ. Verse 
6, he made haste and came down. Now that's so infrequent in real 
life that we should camp on it for just a moment. How often 
do preachers preach and say, come to the Savior? And yet, 
not everybody comes to the Savior. In fact, preachers might say, 
make haste and come to the Savior right away. And yet, persons 
don't make haste and come to the Savior right away. Zacchaeus 
actually did. Zacchaeus actually responded 
to Christ. Zacchaeus actually made haste 
and came to the Savior. Matthew Poole makes this observation. He says, curiosity carried Zacchaeus 
up, but love to Christ bringeth him down. Amen. That is a perceptive 
and beautiful statement. And then notice he receives Christ 
joyfully. So verse 6, he made haste and 
came down and received him joyfully. Now brethren, there's more going 
on than just a house guest. There's more going on than just 
Zacchaeus, you know, phoning ahead to his wife and, you know, 
set another placemat or place setting because I've got a guest 
coming over for supper. He received him joyfully as now 
a saved man. Christ, in calling him, has the 
power to enable compliance. It's the effectual call of God 
upon Zacchaeus, and I think Gil gets this right. He says, he 
received him joyfully, not only into his house, but into his 
arms and heart. Christ was a welcome guest to 
him as he is to every sensible sinner who by faith receives 
him as the Father's free gift, as the alone Savior and Redeemer. 
as the great mediator in all of his offices, a prophet, priest, 
and king, and in every relation and character he bears, and embraces 
his doctrines, and submits to his ordinances, and that with 
the greatest joy, as there is reason for it, since with him 
he receives the free and full forgiveness of his sins, a justifying 
righteousness, an abundance of grace, and a right unto and meekness 
for heaven. No, I don't want to leave this 
point that quick either in the sense of he received him joyfully. Brethren, it is easy to get discouraged 
in life and to forget the joy of our salvation. We have to 
consciously reflect upon these things. We have to think on that 
pearl of great price. We have to think on that bridegroom 
who's altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. When we received 
him initially, it was with great joy. Perhaps you remember your 
baptism and the time you went into the water. And there was 
that joy, there was that thanksgiving, there was that public confession 
that He is mine and I am His. And then you get in the pilgrim 
way and there's a lot of trouble, there's a lot of difficulty, 
stuff you didn't always bargain for. You thought now as a Christian 
everything should be great. You're a child of the King. The 
King's child never has any difficulties. The King's child never has any 
hardships. Well, God the King has his children 
go through such things so that they, like the Savior, will learn 
obedience through suffering. It's God's way with his children. 
He's a good God. It's like with us and parenting. You let your kid eat some dirt 
to build up his immune system. You let your kid, you know, fall 
down once in a while so that he's not, you know, an antsy 
boy. You do those sorts of things so that he has got a strength 
and a resolve about him. But with reference to God, we 
go through these hardships, and we go through these trials, and 
we go through these difficulties, and we forget to be happy. And 
that's a crime, brethren. We received Him joyfully initially. We ought to look to Him joyfully 
each and every day. We ought to reflect upon the 
reality that the blessed Christ said to us in one form or another, 
make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house. 
Zacchaeus makes haste, he comes down, and he receives him joyfully. It is a most blessed thing. Now 
notice as well, he confesses Jesus as Lord. Look down at verse 
eight. Then Zacchaeus stood and said 
to the Lord, look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor. 
He addresses him as Lord. He confesses him as Lord. Brethren, 
1 Corinthians chapter 12 tells us nobody can confess Jesus as 
Lord except by the Spirit. This man is saved. This man confesses 
Jesus as Lord. And now notice, he manifests 
faith and repentance through the work of giving back. Verse 
8, Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Look, Lord, I give 
half of my goods to the poor, and if I have taken anything 
from anyone by false accusation, I restore for full. He owns his 
sin, and he deals with his sins. He owns his sins, and he deals 
with his sins, and he repents of those things. Our confession 
says, good works done in obedience to God's commandments are the 
fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith. They demonstrate 
that there has been this change. They demonstrate that there is 
this confession of faith. The Geneva Bible says the example 
of true repentance is known by the effect. How do we know that 
somebody has believed and repented? Because the effect is there. 
The same sins are not indulged in anymore. He's not gonna go 
extort people. He's not gonna go take from people. 
He's not gonna keep that ill-gotten gain. Rather, he is going to 
give half of his goods to the poor. And if he has taken anything 
from anyone by false accusation, he's gonna restore it fourfold. 
And then ultimately, what happens in terms of his salvation? He 
enjoys communion with God. The Lord Jesus Christ goes to 
be a guest at his house and he eats with him. But it wasn't 
just that meal. He is now a believer. He's now 
a Christian. He's now a man of God. He's now 
one that has been bought with a price and he wants to follow 
and serve the master who gave his life for him. And then notice, 
we skipped over, let's look at the response of the crowd in 
verse 7. When they, that's the crowd, 
saw it, they all complained, saying, He has gone to be a guest 
with a man who is a sinner. This isn't new in Luke's gospel. 
Turn back to Luke chapter 5. Luke chapter 5, the call of Matthew 
or Levi. Matthew 5, verse 27, after these 
things, he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting 
at the tax office. This is Matthew, two names like 
James, Peter. And he said to him, follow me. 
So he left all, rose up and followed him. Then Levi gave him a great 
feast in his own house. And there were a great number 
of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. And their 
scribes and the Pharisees complained against his disciples saying, 
why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Same 
sort of response there at the tree of Zacchaeus. Turn over 
to Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15, a similar response 
to the ministry of our Lord. Luke 15, beginning in verse 1, 
Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him 
to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes 
complained, saying, This man received sinners, and eats with 
them, so he spoke this parable to them, saying," So going back 
to Luke chapter 19, this ought not to surprise us. This ought 
not to make us say, wow, I cannot believe that somebody wasn't 
happy that a sinner was saved. Brethren, this is kind of the 
default setting of man. When good things happen to others, 
we don't always rejoice. Paul has to command that in Romans 
chapter 12. Rejoice with those who rejoice, 
weep with those who weep. Why would he have to command 
that? Because it's not the default setting. It's not natural to 
the sons of Adam. It's not the case that we're 
so happy for others because they have benefited or been blessed 
by God Almighty. Calvin says, it is thus the world 
disregards the offer of the grace of God, but complains bitterly 
when it is conveyed to others. On the one hand, they complain 
about it. On the one hand, they reject it and resist it. And 
on the other hand, they complain about it when others receive 
it. So there's this idea out there that, you know, that guy 
doesn't deserve it. None of us deserve it. Nobody 
deserves the grace of God. That's why it's grace. If you 
look at the newsletter underneath the crossword puzzle, our brother 
says something to the effect that if you complete all these 
puzzles, you will earn a free gift. Praise God, grace isn't 
that way. You don't earn grace. You don't 
earn the gift of salvation. It's not a payment for services 
rendered. It is rather grace. We are dead 
in our trespasses and sins, and God conveys eternal life upon 
us. We didn't deserve it. He didn't 
owe us. We aren't worthy recipients. Rather, he just gives it to us. 
And so these people complain. They all complain saying, He 
has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner. And that brings 
us to the statement of his mission in verses nine and 10. And there's 
a few things here. Notice first the salvation of 
Zacchaeus. Verse nine, Jesus said to him, 
today salvation has come to this house. Now the Lord did not come 
to Zacchaeus to exhort him to be a better Zacchaeus. He didn't 
come to rein in his, you know, degeneracy by saying, you know, 
don't extort people anymore. He came to save him. It wasn't 
just a bit of moral persuasion, it wasn't just a bit of education, 
it wasn't a bit of further instruction on how Zacchaeus wants to live 
his life, but he wants to save, he comes to save Zacchaeus. And 
when we ask the question, what does he save Zacchaeus from? 
He saves him from his sins, Matthew 1.21. You shall call his name 
Jesus, for it is he who will save his people from their sins. 
He saves him from the penalty of the law, Galatians 3.13. God 
made Christ to be a curse for us, to receive in himself all 
that we deserve in terms of our violation of God's law. And he 
saves him from the wrath of God, Romans 3.25-26. God set forth 
his son as a propitiation through his blood. So Zacchaeus is the 
man that God saves, or Christ saves, on that day. Today, salvation 
has come to this house. And then notice, again, that 
covenant, because he also is a son of Abraham. Interesting 
language. In our studies in John's gospel, 
specifically there in chapter 8, the religious leaders boast 
that they are sons of Abraham. We have Abraham as our father, 
and Jesus disavows them of that notion. They go one step further. 
They say, we were not born of fornication, but God is our father. Again, Jesus disavows them of 
that notion and says that you are of your father, the devil. 
And so with reference to this particular statement, Zacchaeus, 
This rich chief tax collector, this despised man, this low life 
in society, this person that nobody liked is a son of Abraham. While the religious leaders, 
while the ones that were polished, while the ones that were teachers, 
while the ones that were the respectable in society, were 
nevertheless not sons of Abraham, but rather sons of the devil. 
So the Lord Christ is indicating here that God has his purpose 
and plan, and this man is connected to Abraham. And then notice, 
the mission is set forth very clearly in verse 10. If anybody 
ever asks you, why did Jesus come into this world? Luke 19.10 
is a great place to go. It is a clear explanation of 
the mission of the Son of Man. For the Son of Man has come to 
seek and to save that which was lost. There is divine initiative. For the Son of Man has come to 
seek and to save that which was lost. He wasn't invited. We didn't 
beg for this. We didn't ask for this. But there 
is divine initiative. When you trace the scripture 
and you see man in sin, you will see that it's God who comes after 
him. When Adam and Eve sin, they run from God. God comes after 
them. When the tower builders at Babel 
build that tower to rise up into the heavens, God confounds their 
lips. And on the heels of that, He comes to Abraham and says 
that, out of you, I will make a great name. Out of you, I will 
make a great nation. We see the promise of God all 
throughout the Old Testament concerning the coming of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. We see it in Galatians 4.4, in 
the fullness of time. God sent forth His Son. Brethren, 
it is divine initiative. It's not our initiative. It doesn't 
depend upon Him who wills or upon Him who runs, but on God 
who shows mercy. So we find that very clearly 
in this instance. And Jesus says that the son of 
man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. He didn't 
come to start a revolution. He didn't come just to start 
a new religion. He didn't come to just pass on a bit more information 
or give a new commandment. He came to save his people from 
their sins. And Zacchaeus was a blessed recipient 
on that day of the mercy of God most high and a very clear explanation 
or illustration rather of a camel passing through the eye of the 
needle into the very kingdom of heaven itself. Well, in conclusion, 
we have the object of mercy. The emphasis in scripture is 
clear. Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. There was nothing 
in Zacchaeus. It wasn't that Zacchaeus was 
a better version of the other Jerichoites. It wasn't that Zacchaeus 
was somehow on his, you know, on the way, on the path, on the 
right track. He was curious. That's what led him up into the 
tree. It was grace that brought him down from the tree. We see 
that Zacchaeus is a picture of a sinner. It's not just, you 
know, garden variety sinners that God saves, though he does 
save garden variety sinners. He saves the really bad sinners. 
And that should be good news to all sinners because God in 
his mercy and grace is about saving sinners. In God's purpose 
and plan, this man Zacchaeus was in fact a son of Abraham, 
one chosen by God from before the foundation of the world that 
would meet Jesus in Jericho while he's in a sycamore tree and come 
to a saving knowledge of our blessed Redeemer. As well, we 
see the glory of Christ. Jesus says back in chapter 18, 
specifically at verse 27, the things which are impossible with 
men are possible with God. The things which are impossible 
with men are possible with God. You might know somebody and think, 
oh no, there's no way that person could be saved. Perhaps a person 
said that about Zacchaeus. Perhaps they thought there's 
no way that man will ever come to God. That man will never get 
religion. That man will never be set aright. 
That man will never know salvation. And yet, with God, all things 
are possible, and we see it fleshed out in the very passage that 
we're considering. As well, the Lord Jesus describes 
His mission, to seek and to save, not, again, form a new religion 
or set a new example. And what we find illustrated 
here is what we see in 1 Corinthians 6. You can turn there. 1 Corinthians 
6, specifically verses 9 to 11. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9, Do 
you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom 
of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, 
nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor 
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will 
inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But 
you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified 
in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Timothy 1.15, the Apostle Paul 
says, this is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptance that 
Christ Jesus came into the world, sinners, to save. So Zacchaeus 
is a wonderful illustration of that. And then finally, in terms 
of the gospel of Christ, there is a similarity here between 
Zacchaeus and between Matthew. We looked at Matthew in Luke 
chapter 5. There is a similarity. Christ there answers the grumbling 
Pharisees and scribes when they complain that he eats with sinners. 
He says, of course, the physician goes to the sick. The physician 
doesn't go to the healthy. You don't, you know, start a 
business as a doctor and, you know, spend all your effort and 
time on the healthy. You go to the sick. As well, he says, this 
was what was prophesied concerning me in the prophet Hosea. I require mercy over sacrifice. And then that specific illustration 
of why he came to call the sinner to repentance, and he does that 
here specifically with Zacchaeus as well. Gil says, such who come 
to Christ must quit all their exalted thoughts of themselves, 
of their riches, fullness, and self-sufficiency, and come to 
him as poor and needy. For such only he fills with his 
good things, and of their health and soundness, and come to him, 
the great physician, as sick and diseased, and of their purity 
and goodness, holiness and righteousness, and come to him as sinners. But 
it must be mighty grace to cast down imaginations and high things, 
that exalt themselves against Christ, and the knowledge of 
him, and to humble a proud sinner, and bring him to the feet of 
Jesus. Well, as we gather tonight for the supper, we rejoice in 
the one who said, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save 
that which was lost. We once were lost, we're now 
found. We were dead, and now we live. We were blind, and now 
we see. So let us eat this bread and 
drink this cup, and in this proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. 
Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
You for Your Word. We thank You for Your grace. 
We thank You for Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, 
our Redeemer, our Lord, our friend and conqueror. And we thank you 
for this ordinance that reminds us, rehearses for us, that death 
at Calvary on behalf of sinners, that broken body, that shed blood. 
We give praise to you that we have been blessed and included 
in this wonderful covenant, and that we now, by faith in Jesus, 
are sons of Abraham. We rejoice in your lovingkindness 
and in your goodness, and we pray now through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.