Luke chapter 19. Our focus this evening will be on the salvation of Zacchaeus in verses 1-10. Excuse me, I'll read the section, pray, and then we'll look at this passage in some detail. 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 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.
So he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, He is 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 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. Let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for the Word of God. We thank You for this opportunity to gather for the worship of God. And we pray that in all of this, the Spirit of God would be at work in our minds and hearts. We thank You that You've not left us alone in this world, that You have given us another Comforter, one just like our Lord Jesus.
And He takes the Word, and He applies it to our heart, and He encourages us, and strengthens us, and brings conviction when necessary. How we thank You, Lord God, for the ministry of the Spirit, and we pray that we would know His presence and His power even tonight. Jesus said that if we, being evil men, love to give good gifts to our children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? So we ask and we believe that You will supply our needs.
We pray that You would forgive us for our sins and our transgressions. I pray that You would cleanse us in the blood of the Lamb. And as we take the supper tonight, may we be encouraged and may we be reminded of what Christ wrought on our behalf. That suffering servant of Isaiah 53, whom the Lord was pleased to bruise.
How we praise You that He did this on behalf of all those whom the Father had given. How we praise You that You've included us in that blessed number. We would pray that as the Gospel is proclaimed here and elsewhere, many, many more would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And we pray in His most blessed name, Amen.
Introduction
Well, this is obviously a familiar passage as well as it should be because it's a most encouraging passage. When we see our Lord in His kindness and His love and in His mercy exercising that grace in the saving of sinners, hopefully our hearts rejoice and they're encouraged and we will indeed delight as we remember in a particular way our Lord's death on our behalf. Now, the section verses 1 to 10 break down into two particulars.
The Object of Mercy
First, I want to consider the object of mercy, namely Zacchaeus in verses 1 to 4, and then secondly, the mission of Christ in verses 5 to 10. In the first place, we get a description of Zacchaeus. It's a short, or a brief, no pun intended, it's a short description, because he's short, for those of you who didn't get the pun, Just trying to make sure everybody sees that. I'm just kidding.
It's a shorter, brief explanation of who he is, but it's quite packed concerning this particular man. There are four things we ought to observe.
Zacchaeus Described: Occupation and Wealth
First, his occupation. It says, Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector. We have had cause to consider on many occasions how tax collectors were looked down upon.
They were not the favored ones in Israel in the first century. They collaborated with Gentiles. They handled currency with pagan inscriptions and iconography. They took money from fellow Jews to give to an oppressing government.
Zacchaeus was a Jew who took money from other Jews and gave it to the Roman government, certainly not a favored one in Israel. And oftentimes they were greedy and corrupt themselves. In fact, in the gospel narratives, tax collectors or publicans are linked with sinners, Matthew 9, 10, with heathen Gentiles, Matthew 18, 17, with harlots, Matthew 21, 31, and with extortioners, unjust, and adulterous men, Luke 18, 11. So at this very announcement, we see that we're dealing with one that certainly needs God's grace.
And not only is he a tax collector, not only does he do all these things, but he's a chief. He's a really exalted form of these kinds of sinners. Notice, secondly, his economic standing. Tells us that he was rich.
He was rich. And this is an indicator, and we'll see this in just a moment, that this whole account is a demonstration of God's power. But the fact that he was rich indicate, or might indicate, that he was not above reproach in his dealings. Now, when he comes to repent before the Lord, he says, I give half of my goods to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." I don't think it's a stretch to suppose that perhaps he had done that very thing.
He was rich because he was a chief tax collector, but he was probably rich as well because he wasn't the most scrupulous in his dealings with the people that he exacted taxes from. And then notice thirdly,
Stature and Spiritual State
his stature tells us he was a short man. Some say, or some suggest, that this is a reference to Jesus, but I don't think that's the case. The shortness of stature belongs to Zacchaeus, and this explains why he would climb up the sycamore tree in the midst of a great crowd, wanting to gaze upon Christ. He wouldn't be able to see Him, so he shimmies up the tree in order to get a view of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And then the fourth thing to round out our description of this particular sinner is his spiritual state. Notice that he is a sinner. Verse 7, when the people complain, they say that Jesus has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner. Verse 8 is a reference to his repentance.
And this indicates that he was a sinner. When we see Jesus' statement in verse 10, we again are reminded that Zacchaeus was a sinner. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. So, Zacchaeus was lost because of his sinful state.
He was estranged from God. He was at enmity with the living God. He was one under the wrath of God as he shimmies up that sycamore tree. Now, as we look at this object of mercy, we've looked at a description of His person, but as I suggested just a moment ago, all of the description applied to Him evidences to the careful reader that this man is indeed a demonstration of God's saving power.
We know that because, of course, Jesus saves him and he's a sinner, but in the larger context we ought to observe something.
The Rich Man and Divine Impossibility
If you go back for just a moment to Luke chapter 18, Luke chapter 18, a familiar passage in our study in Matthew. It's a parallel. Notice in Luke 18, 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. Now note the implication drawn by our Lord from this particular incident. Verse 24, 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. It's a pretty strong statement concerning the impossibility involved with a rich man entering into the kingdom of God. We all know what a camel looks like. We all know what a needle looks like.
If you look at that particular hole in the needle that the thread goes through, Jesus suggests that it would be easier for a big camel to shimmy through that particular hole in the needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Now note the response of the disciples in verse 26. Remember, they associated riches with God's blessing. They associated economic prosperity with the favor of God.
So they hear this statement from our Lord, that it's easier for a camel to go through this eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom. They're scratching their heads, they're musing on this thought, and they say, who then can be saved? Now note Christ's response in verse 27. But He said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
So, not even a full chapter later, we come to see Zacchaeus, this man who was rich, this man who now, by the grace of God, is entering the kingdom of God. In many respects, what we have in the case of Zacchaeus is a camel entering in through the eye of a needle. Now, he's a short camel, but even a short camel, it's still difficult for him to get through the eye of that needle. This is a demonstration of the power of God in connection with what Luke has reported concerning the difficulty of a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven.
We ought to appreciate, not only his person in terms of the description, but the demonstration of God's almighty power in doing that which is impossible with men. He is able, with the exercise of His sovereign grace, to bring this man out of darkness into marvelous light. So that's the object of mercy, verses 1-4.
The Mission of Christ
Notice secondly, the mission of Christ, verses 5-10. We ought to consider in the first place the salvation wrought. Our Lord's saving dealings with this particular man.
Christ's Condescension and Effectual Call
Note Christ's invitation, verse 5. It says, 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. We notice in the first place his condescension. The Lord Christ condescends.
He enters into Jericho. The streets are thronged with persons. This one short man goes up into this sycamore tree. Jesus stops at the base of the tree, and He looks up to him, and He addresses him.
The God of heaven and earth, the one who created the world, the one who governs all things by his powerful word, stops at the base of this tree and addresses this man Zacchaeus. It indicates as well his omniscience. Christ knew him by name. Certainly some commentators suggest that as a chief tax collector, He would have been well known in those parts.
But you know, Luke doesn't really get into all of that. He simply tells us that as Jesus is at the base of that tree, he looks up and he says, Zacchaeus. He addresses him by name. Bishop Hall makes this observation.
He says, What care we that our names are obscure and contemned amongst men, whilst they are regarded by God? that they are raked up in the dust of earth while they are recorded in heaven. I would agree with the good bishop in that instance. What do we care if men know our name? If Christ the Lord stops at the base of the sycamore tree and addresses us by name, there is no greater privilege, there is no greater joy, there is nothing more excellent than that.
This bespeaks of God's redemptive purposes. The Father gives to the Son a certain number of elect, and the Son comes into this world, as specified later in the section, to seek and to save that which was lost, those whom the Father had given unto Him. We notice as well Christ's grace. He says to Him, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at Your house.
Commenting on Jesus' choice of words with reference to haste, Gil says, the dangerous estate and condition of a sinner requires haste. He doesn't say, Zacchaeus, go ahead and chill up there. Go ahead and hang around up there. Go ahead and survey the data.
No, he says, make haste and calm down, for today I must stay at your house. And as well, with reference to Christ, this must, again, I think speaks to that covenant, that covenant of redemption. Christ comes to do the will of His Father. He doesn't do anything haphazardly.
He doesn't just sort of float around the countryside having tea or doing those things that would take Him away from His task. But in the same way that He sets His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem, so He must come and stay at the house of this man Zacchaeus. Now note the response of Zacchaeus to this invitation. I would suspect that initially Zacchaeus was curious.
He had heard about the Lord Jesus. He had heard about, you know, this man, this itinerant preacher that went around and doing, you know, marvelous things and speaking glorious truth. So it was probably curiosity that sent him up into that tree. Praise God for that curiosity.
Praise God for whatever brings us near the Lord Christ. Praise God for that which puts us in the path of the saving mercies of God Almighty. J.C. Ryle makes this observation concerning his curiosity.
Not Ryle's curiosity, but Zacchaeus's. He says, curiosity and nothing but curiosity appears to have been the motive of his mind. That curiosity once roused, Zacchaeus was determined to gratify it. Rather than not see Jesus, he ran on before along the road and climbed up into a tree.
If getting close to Jesus means climbing up into a tree, then by all means, climb up into a tree. He says, upon that little action, so far as man's eyes can see, there hinged the salvation of his soul. Our Lord stopped under the tree and said, when Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.
From that very moment, Zacchaeus was an altered man. That very night, he laid down a Christian. We must never despise the day of small things. We must never reckon anything little that concerns the soul.
The ways by which the Holy Spirit leads men and women to Christ are wonderful and mysterious. He is often beginning in a heart, a work which shall stand to eternity, when a looker on observes nothing remarkable. Could you imagine Grandpa Zacchaeus telling his grandchildren how he came to know the Lord? It began because I wanted to see him.
It began when I shimmied up the sycamore tree. I didn't know he was going to stop. I didn't know he was going to address me by name. I didn't know he was going to tell me, make haste and come down, for I must stay at your house today.
I'm certain that these tales would have enchanted the young ones at the table of Zacchaeus. It was initially an act of curiosity, but
The Effectual Call Illustrated
notice, something else is going on. The effectual call of God has gone forth. The one who issues the command, the one who says, make haste and come down, has the power to enable the sinner to comply. Psalm 110.3 tells us that God makes men willing in the day of His power.
The effectual call of God is able to raise the dead sinner, to bring him out of darkness into that marvelous light of Christ, to show him his own sin and to show him the sufficiency of the Savior. And we see that Zacchaeus responds. He comes down the tree in response to Christ. Now, as Reformed believers, we can see the effectual call of God and divine power issued by Christ to enable this man to respond.
He was a rich man. It was impossible for him to do this, according to our Lord's words in Luke 18. But when Christ stands at the grave of Lazarus and tells him to come forth, Christ has the power to make that man rise. When Christ tells Zacchaeus to make haste and come down from the tree, Christ has the power to enable him to comply.
This is what gives us confidence. This is what gives us hope. This is what encourages us to evangelize and to support the missionary enterprise and to preach the gospel each and every Lord's Day. We don't appeal to the ingenuity of man.
We don't appeal to the goodness of man. We don't ask you to make decisions that are best for your overall future. We believe in the sovereign power of God Almighty, who not only issues the command, but enables the sinner to comply. Can we not celebrate that effectual call?
It may not have been a sycamore tree that we hurried down from, but there was something in our life, or a time and a season in our life, when God, through a servant, God through His Word, God by the power of the Holy Spirit, called us to live. And by His grace and for His glory, He has enabled us to comply with that most blessed invitation. That is precisely what is going on here. He's initially curious.
He comes down the tree in response to Christ, which is illustrative of the effectual calling.
Joy, Confession, and Repentance
Notice that he receives Christ joyfully. Verse 6, so he made haste and came down and received Him joyfully. I think Zacchaeus can teach us a thing or two in this instance. We are saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus when we sing these hymns and psalms of praise to God.
Are we doing so joyfully? We're going to eat this bread and drink this cup tonight. Are we doing it joyfully? When we tell people that we're believers, do we do so joyfully?
I know there's trials, and there's sorrows, and there's hardship, and there's difficulties that punctuate the Christian life, but the overarching theme of our lives ought to be joy. We have, by the grace of God, received Christ. We have, by the grace of God, been effectually called. We have, by the grace of God, been saved, delivered from the wrath and fury of God.
Certainly, there's a time in our day where this ought to encourage us and cause us to smile and to rejoice in our beloved Savior. Zacchaeus receives Him joyfully. John Gill comments, not only into his house, but into his arms and heart." We're not to look at this passage and say, wow, Zacchaeus, he's such a hospitable fellow. He's such a good man in this culture.
He is happily receiving Jesus into his home to provide for him a foot washing perhaps and some comfort and some food. That's not the point. He received him joyfully as Lord and Savior. He addresses him as Lord in the coming verses.
Gil says, not only into his house, but into his arms and heart. Christ was a welcome guest to Him, as He is to every sinner, or 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 His offices, a prophet, priest, and king, and in every relation and character He bears, and embraces His doctrine, 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." Now, Gil just basically surveyed every good thing we get in salvation. And isn't that what we do tonight?
Aren't we surveying those good things that we get in salvation? Yes, there is the God word element in the ordinance. We do this in remembrance of Christ. We do this to worship God.
We do this corporately as the people of God to express our oneness, our unity as the people of God. But in our remembrance of Him, We're remembering the Isaiah 53 realities. We're remembering the blessed gifts that Christ has secured. Hopefully our minds alight on Ephesians 1, 3, where Paul says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
Brethren, if the supper, if the preaching of the Word, if the Word itself and our own experience in having come out of this darkness into marvelous light, if that doesn't promote joy, If that doesn't bring encouragement, if that doesn't put a smile on the face at least of our hearts occasionally, then we need to repent. The Lord God has saved us, He has called us, He has justified us, and He has covenanted to glorify us. That Romans 8 blessed chain of redemption. and we ought to be a thankful and a happy and a grateful people to our living God. Zacchaeus can teach us a thing about joy here.
Notice, as well, in his response, he confesses Jesus as Lord in faith. 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 fourfold. He calls Him Lord. Brethren, that is the Spirit's work in the hearts of sinners, so that we may rightly perceive who Jesus is, that we might rightly see Him as the second person of the blessed triune God, that we see Him, according to His humanity, as Zacchaeus did, as that one uniquely sent by God on a particular task.
George Whitefield made this observation concerning his confession of faith in Christ the Lord. He says, having believed on Jesus in his heart, he now makes confession of Him with his mouth to salvation. Zacchaeus stood forth, he was not ashamed, but stood forth before his brother publicans. For truth cast out all servile, sinful fear of man, and said, Behold, Lord!
It is remarkable how readily people in Scripture have owned the divinity of Christ upon their conversion. Thus the woman at Jacob's well. Is this not the Christ? Thus the man born blind.
Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him. Thus Zacchaeus. Behold, Lord.
He says, an incontestable proof this to me, that those who deny our Lord's divinity never effectually felt His power. Those who deny our Lord's divinity never effectually felt His power. When you've been conquered by the sovereign grace of God, when you've been conquered by the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, you can't help but address Him as Lord, to appreciate His divinity, to appreciate the blessedness of who He is. He goes on to say, if they had, they would not speak so lightly of Him, they would scorn to deny His eternal power and Godhead.
Notice, fifthly, with reference to the response of Zacchaeus, he manifests his faith through repentance. Again, he doesn't get rid of his possessions, he doesn't restore fourfold in order to secure salvation. That's happened. The effectual call, in this particular instance, coming down this sycamore tree.
The confession of Jesus Christ as Lord. The repentance follows as a necessary consequence. The repentance follows the confession of faith in Christ Jesus. Now, for a rich man, this is probably the most the most brazen testimony of His repentance.
I mean, a man that is engulfed in sexual sin, for him to get delivered from that, cast away his computer, throw away his phone book, or stop calling the persons that he consorted with, that's manifest evidence that the man has had a change of heart. With a rich man, what is it that would be the first token, the first sign, the first evidence, the first manifestation that the good change had been wrought in his heart? He parts with his dough. Repentance is real in the condition or in the life of Zacchaeus.
He 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. Again, Gil, not to make satisfaction for the sins he had committed, but to testify his sense of them, and his repentance for them. And as willing to do good with what he had gotten, which shows that the disposition of his mind was altered, and of a covetous oppressor, he was become tender, kind, and liberal. You see, repentance is tangible.
Repentance is quantifiable. When a man is effectually called by God and tastes the grace of God, comes to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, confesses Him, thus repentance will be evident. And in this particular instance, and in this particular condition, Zacchaeus parts with that which was probably his God before, the very riches that he had lined his pockets with. And then in the sixth place, he enjoyed communion with the Lord.
Guess where Jesus went? I mean, he said, Maccabees, I must stay at your house. What happens then? Zacchaeus has him to himself, at least for a time.
Zacchaeus gets to bask in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the apex, as we've seen in our study in Hebrews, of salvation. Yes, the forgiveness of sins. Yes, the effectual call, justification, glorification, but the final end of all of that is to dwell in the presence of Christ Most High.
And he had a foretaste of this. It wasn't heaven, but heaven was in his living room that particular day. When the darling of heaven comes to his table to eat, heaven has come down and glory has filled his soul. I love that black spiritual, that hymn.
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul. Filled my soul. I'm sure Zacchaeus reported that to the little Zacchaei when he would report this particular story. And then he stayed with me and we ate together and I was in the presence of the Lamb who was slain for sinners.
So that's the response. Notice, as we consider still this salvation rot,
The Crowd's Complaint
we ought not to neglect the response of the crowd. The response of the crowd, verse 7, They all complained, saying, He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner. You hear the contempt fly out of their mouths. As far as they're concerned, this Zacchaeus, this rich tax collector, this short man, he had no business with the Messiah.
And the disdain that comes forth concerning our Lord, He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner. This isn't the first time in Luke's Gospel that such a thing occurs. Notice in Luke 5, Luke chapter 5 specifically, the conversion of Matthew. Remember, after Matthew was saved, he has Jesus for a meal, and Matthew invites his fellow publicans so that they too can hear the gospel.
Well, in Luke 5, 27, after these things, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office. 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 Pharisees complained against his disciples, saying, Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Again, the disdain in their mouths for the Lord Jesus Christ and for those in His presence. Turn over to Luke 15.
Luke chapter 15. Specifically, 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 receives sinners and eats with them." This is disdain.
This is disgust. This is to be absolutely put out by the conduct of our Lord. This man receives sinners and eats with them. I've always wondered, or I've always thought, that according to Luke 15.1, all these sinners draw near to Him to hear Him.
They hear the scribes and they hear the Pharisees. They hear them whine and grumble and complain and murmur and say, this man receives sinners and eats with them. I suspect that the tax collectors and the sinners there were wondering, what's Jesus going to say? Will Jesus disown us?
Will Jesus disassociate Himself from us? Will He reprove them and say, no, I do not receive tax collectors and sinners? Jesus does just the opposite. He answers their question in the affirmative three times.
He tells the parable of the shepherd who lost the one sheep. What does he do? Does he just write him off? No, he leaves the 99, he goes and he seeks the one that is lost, he picks it up, he puts it on his shoulders and he goes home rejoicing.
Tax collectors and sinners hear Christ say, the Pharisees and scribes are right, I do receive sinners and I do eat with them. Christ doesn't like a woman who loses a coin. She doesn't just write it off. She doesn't just claim it on her taxes.
Rather, she busies herself in search of this particular coin. And when she finds the coin, she calls for rejoicing. Christ is answering the question of these complainers. And in the third instance, He likens it, or He likens the situation, to a man who had two sons.
And the one son takes his share of the inheritance. Don't miss that. An inheritance is something that occurs when a man dies. So the son who wants the inheritance says to his father, you're no good to me alive, or you're best to me dead, but in light of the fact that you're not dead, give me my inheritance so that I can go do what I want to do.
So he goes, and he does what he wants to do, and he sins against the father. He sins against great mercy. He sins against great grace. He comes to himself, not in repentance and not in faith, I don't believe.
At that particular time, he just doesn't want to eat or crave or covet what the pigs are eating. He knows, and he thinks, that if I cast myself upon the mercy of my Father, He'll make me like a hired servant. He has in his mind, first, his own eating, his own design. But when he is a long way off, the Father runs to him and falls on him and kisses him and pours out love upon this man.
See, that's the context. This man receives sinners and eats with them. And the recurring thread in each of these three instances is that there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. So Christ not only says, yes, I do receive sinners, yes, I do eat with them, but heaven is pleased when such occurs.
So, the same thing is going on in this instance of Zacchaeus. The people whine, the people grumble, the people complain. He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner. Calvin says, it is thus that the world disregards the offer of the grace of God but complains bitterly when it is conveyed to others.
The world disdains and rejects and refuses the grace of God, and then has the gall to complain when it's conveyed to others. These persons weren't all shimmying up sycamore trees. These persons weren't all confessing Jesus as Lord. These persons weren't all manifesting fruits of repentance.
These persons would rather whine and grumble and complain about the saving power of God. And I think that hits us as well. There is something in the heart of man that thinks that somehow we deserved it. We don't deserve salvation.
We don't deserve the grace of God. That's why it's called grace. It's not according to works. Do you get upset when you hear of a notorious sinner that got converted?
Are you suspicious? Do you wonder, how in the world could that guy ever get saved? Brethren, how in the world is because God is the God of sovereign grace. the God of omnipotent power, the God who is able to take short, rich, chief tax collectors and bring them under the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, grace truly blows the minds of people.
Let us not be those who grumble and complain at God's dispensing of His grace. And so
The Mission Stated
notice, then finally, under the mission of Christ, we see the salvation wrought, and then we see the mission stated, verses 9 and 10. Jesus said to him, Today 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. The Lord's dealings with Zacchaeus were not about moral reform.
Jesus isn't there to scold the tax collectors on not extorting people. Jesus is not about behavior modification. Jesus is about a heart change, and then outwardly flows those effects from what Christ has done inwardly. He doesn't just scold Zacchaeus.
He doesn't report him to the tax office. He doesn't report him to the magistrate. He doesn't bring him out before this multitude and say, go ahead and stone him because he's stolen from you, which that actually isn't a capital offense. But the Lord's dealings with Zacchaeus was about the salvation.
Notice, today salvation has come to this house. When Zacchaeus woke up that morning, he was a dead man. He was a lost man. He was an unsaved man.
He was in his sins. And what Christ here specifies is that salvation has come to this house. Salvation from his sins. Matthew 1.21, You shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.
Salvation from the penalty of the law. the reality that this man, Zacchaeus, had been a thief to some degree or other. He had violated the 8th commandment, the law of God demanded punishment, and so Zacchaeus was liable to that. He is saved now from the penalty of sin. As well, he is saved from the wrath of God.
The reality is that if Zacchaeus wouldn't have shimmied up that tree, again, speaking humanly, God is sovereign, if he had dropped dead or perhaps on the way up the tree falls down, breaks his, you know, hits his head and he dies, he would have suffered under the wrath and fury and the torment of a God of holiness and righteousness and justice. Notice, as well, I think in this mission statement, the Lord Christ at least alludes to covenant, because He says, because He also is a son of Abraham. Yes, physically He was a Jew, but spiritually, Galatians 3, 26-29, those who believe in the seed of Abraham, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, are Abraham's seed. I think at least an allusion to that promise by God to Abraham that in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
This is a reference to the covenant. The tax collector was a son of Abraham. The promise to Abraham includes men from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. And as we see here, the promise to Abraham includes men who are notorious sinners, which is hopefully good news for all of us.
And then notice thirdly, with reference to the mission statement, the divine initiative involved in Christ's work. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. We didn't seek Him. We didn't try to get saved.
Zacchaeus didn't say, Lord, here I am, do your good things on me. No, it's the Son of Man who comes to seek and to save that which was lost. When you were converted by the grace of God, was it because of you? Was it because of your wisdom?
Was it because you raised your hand when every eye was closed and every head was bowed? Was it because you came forward at a camp meeting? Was it because you prayed at a flagpole? Was it because you accepted Jesus into your heart?
Was it because you read that tract and you followed the sinner's prayer? No, it's the Son of Man who came to seek and to save that which was lost. This reflects a constant theme in all of Scripture. When Adam and Eve sin against God, what do they do?
They run from God. Who initiates the saving promise? It's God comes to Adam and Eve. When men, in Genesis 11, try to erect a tower to reach up into the heavens, when they do so to make a name for themselves, and God confounds them by scattering them into the various nations, the next scene is God's remedy or God's answer to the situation.
Genesis 12, in the call of Abraham, we see God's initiative to right the wrongs that man had plunged himself into. It is the Lord's initiative that we are indebted to. It is the Lord's seeking and saving that is most important. It is the Lord's purposes and plan that we ought to rejoice in.
In Galatians 4, verse 4, in the fullness of the time, God sent forth His Son. We didn't call Him, we didn't ask Him, we didn't pray to be delivered. God sent Him forth, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. In Romans 3, when Paul discusses Christ's propitiation, it says that God set Him forth as a propitiation.
In the passage that Pastor Porter read this very evening, Yahweh was pleased to bruise Him. You see, the praise, the glory, the honor, the adoration due to anyone for the salvation of a sinner goes to God. It is of Him, and through Him, and to Him. And all glory belongs to our Lord.
Jesus reflects a common and a recurring theme in this statement in 1910. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Notice as well His salvific intent. He didn't come just to engage in moral reform, as I've already suggested.
He didn't come to initiate or institute a revolution. Christ didn't come with guns blazing to bring the Roman government down and to bring the Jewish government up. That wasn't the specific purpose. That wasn't the intention.
The Lord Christ did not come with a political kingdom in the first century. The Lord Christ came with healing in His wings. The Lord Christ came with salvation. The Lord Christ would die on the cross.
The Lord Christ would shed His blood for this very purpose, to save us from our sins. It is a salvific mission that is in view. And notice the particular target audience that Christ came for, to save that which was lost. We find ourselves described in this particular passage.
Now, by God's grace, we have been found. By God's grace, we now live. By God's grace, we've come down that sycamore tree, affectionately called by the Lord. And we, by God's grace, have confessed Him, Lord, have manifested repentance, and have known something of communion with our great God.
But we were lost. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were undone. Remember the prophet Isaiah?
When he gets that vision of the glory of Christ in Isaiah 6, he says, Woe is me, for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips. Why? My eyes have seen the glory of the Lord.
Brethren, that is our state and our condition before we know the Lord Jesus Christ. We are lost. You see, that's why if tonight you are not in Christ, your problem is far more expansive and far more comprehensive than just not, you know, doing the right thing. You need the right Savior, you need the Lord Christ, you need the One who came to seek and to save that which was lost, lost due to sin and misery, lost due to an inability to save ourselves, lost in Adam ultimately and saved by the last Adam, even the Lord Jesus Christ.
That was our condition. You see, I think this is one of the other things why Zacchaeus was a joyful man. He knew what he woke up as. I was lost.
He knows what he now has become. He is saved. Brethren, let us be joyful because God, in his grace, has called us to himself, effectually shown us the glory of the Savior, caused us to believe on Him, and caused us to repent from our sins. In this passage, we see manifest the evidence of the glory of Jesus.
He is a real Savior for real sinners. Isn't He? We don't preach a hypothetical Christ. We don't preach a Christ that may, you know, look upon sinners.
We have the proof. The proof is in the pudding. If we ever preach the Gospel and we say, God is in the business of reconciling sinners to Himself, He said, well, how do you know that? Well, first of all, I'm a sinner that God has reconciled unto himself.
But the pages of the Bible are filled with persons, like Zacchaeus, this rich man, this man who was disdained by his society, this man who was looked down upon, not only because he was a chief tax collector, but because he was short. He was looked down upon for a twofold reason, and yet the Lord Christ saved him. He's a real Savior for real sinners. We saw Levi, Matthew, in Luke chapter 5.
He was a real sinner, another tax collector, another publican, another man that was disdained by his community and by his society. When Christ issues his effectual call to Matthew, follow me, Luke tells us that Matthew left all. He left all and immediately followed Him. You see, when you preach Christ to sinners, when you evangelize, when you testify, when you witness, you are preaching a real Savior for real sinners as well.
We see in this passage the power of God displayed. He says in Luke 18, relative to the rich young ruler, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. In response to the disciples' question, who then can be saved? If it's impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, who then can be saved?
I love this answer, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. We pray for loved ones, we pray for families, we pray for friends, we pray for the missionary enterprise, we pray for persons that, apart from the grace of God, are dead forever. We have a powerful God, an omnipotent God, a God who demonstrates His mighty right arm in the salvation of sinners. As well, tonight, as we consider Christ in the supper, we need to remember that He is a seeking Savior.
Isn't that beautiful? He came after us. He found us. He sought us.
He called us. He saved us. This Lord Jesus Christ, reflective of, displaying of, that hold John for ethic in terms of who God is, he is seeking these kinds of worshippers. Our God comes to Adam, our God comes to Abraham, our God comes to the nation of the Jews, our God comes in humanity, in the fullness of the time.
Never, ever think that the Lord Most High isn't about the saving of sinners. Everything in Scripture indicates just the opposite, that He comes to seek and to save that which was lost. And then finally, for any who have not come, any who are perhaps curious, sitting up in the sycamore tree and have heard through the preaching of the gospel, at least externally, make haste and come down. You need to make haste and come down.
Listen to John Gill. Such who come to Christ must quit all their exalted thoughts of themselves, of their riches, their 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. Praise God that such grace does exist. Praise God that He is in the business of doing that very thing, in humbling souls, showing them their need, and pointing them to the Lord Christ Most High, who came to seek and to save that which was lost.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for the Word of God, we thank You for the mission of our Savior, and thank You, and we praise You, and want to be very joyful in the consideration of such truths that You have included us in this blessed lot. There was nothing in us, God, to commend us to You. There was nothing good that we could present before You.
Everything dark, everything sinful, everything wretched. And Christ, in His great mercy, lived for us, He died for us, and He rose for us. And as we eat this bread and as we drink this cup, may we do so in remembrance of Him, giving glory and praise to Almighty God for such a great salvation. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.