The Meeting of Jesus and Zacchaeus

Introduction and Call to Berean-like Faith

0:01 If you have brought your Bibles with you, I would encourage you to turn with me as I read from Luke's Gospel, the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 19, verses 1 through 10.

0:16 And if you plan to come on subsequent evenings and are not in the habit of bringing a Bible with you, may I encourage you to establish that habit this week. It is always good to have a Bible upon your lap when the preacher is standing in the pulpit. And be like the Bereans, of whom it is said they searched the Scriptures to see whether these things were so. Many well-meaning people have been terribly misled because they blindly followed men in pulpits who preached apparently what the Scripture said, but they were merely using the words of the Bible while not conveying the message of the Bible.

0:57 And I often tell our own people back in New Jersey, they are no friend of mine nor their own. They are only souls if they believe anything simply because a preacher says it or because he says it with earnestness or because he says it apparently quoting from the Bible. We are to prove all things and to hold fast to that which is good. May God help us so to do in our time together.

The Larger Truth of Christ's Mission

1:20 Luke, chapter 19, verses 1 through 10.

1:26 Our Lord has just performed a marvelous miracle as he draws near to Jericho. He has healed a blind man. And now the Scripture says, And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus, and he was a chief publican and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the crowd because he was little of stature.

1:52 And he ran on before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste. Make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste and came down and received him joyfully.

2:17 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He has gone into lodge with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I will not give to the poor. And if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I will not restore fourfold.

2:39 And Jesus said unto him, Today is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

2:59 Now it is obvious, if you have listened at all to the reading of this portion of Holy Scripture, that this is the record given to us by Luke through the guidance of the Lord. This is the story of the Holy Spirit concerning our Lord's dealings with a man named Zacchaeus. Dealings which resulted, according to verse 9, in the coming of salvation to Zacchaeus' house.

3:27 Yet Luke also indicates that the details of this story are simply given as an illustration of a much larger truth. And that larger truth is stated in verse 10, concerning the mission of the Son of Man as a seeking and a saving Redeemer. The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. So that what happened to Zacchaeus is but an illustration of what the Lord Jesus is as the Seeker and Savior of sinners.

4:11 What? What greater issues, then, can occupy our minds than to behold the Lord in this passage as a mighty Seeker and a mighty Savior of sinners? What more important thing than to look into the passage to see how Christ seeks and saves sinners? And to look into the passage to consider together what it means to be sought and to be saved by the Lord Jesus.

4:41 In other words, this passage is simply one of many that will be a real live illustration of the sovereign salvation of God in laying hold of sinners and making them His own people. We can approach the subject of God's gracious work of salvation, His sovereign mercy, and see it in passages where the great truths of sovereign grace lie written. They're right on the surface, like glistening diamonds, just waiting to be picked up. Ephesians chapter 1, Romans chapter 8, John chapter 6 are such illustrations.

5:21 But here in this passage, they lie a little bit beneath the surface, and for everyone who'll take the time to dig a little bit, the precious jewels of God's sovereign grace are there for all of His people to gather. Now, I want us to approach the passage, and in this light, I would even encourage you in subsequent nights, to bring your children. Whenever they're there, I take consciousness of them and try to remember them in the illustrations and in the applications. We're going to approach this whole passage as the unfolding of a real life drama.

Scene One: The Introduction of Zacchaeus

5:56 There are two scenes in our drama. Scene number one takes place on a well-beaten footpath leading out of the city of Jericho. A great multitude of people are pressing around the key figure who stands in the midst, and then all of the attention becomes focused upon that man as he stands at the foot of a sycamore tree. Scene two takes place on the outside or just inside the house of a wealthy man within the city of Jericho itself.

6:29 It's a little man, perhaps, with a few onlookers who followed this important central figure and this little man to the house that belonged to the little man. Now then, we come tonight to begin a consideration of scene number one, and scene number one has three parts to it. First of all, we have an introduction of Zacchaeus. Secondly, we have the entrance of Jesus.

Zacchaeus's Name and Jewish Heritage

6:56 And thirdly, we have the response of Zacchaeus. So that whenever you study the passage, I hope you can think your way through it in terms of this very natural unfolding of what God has given to us. Scene one, the introduction, the introduction of Zacchaeus. We read in verse one of chapter 19, and he entered and was passing through Jericho, and behold, and whenever you find the word behold in scripture, it's God saying, shake all the sleepy dust out of your eyes and pay close attention.

7:31 And behold, lift up your eyes, something wonderful is going to be unfolded. Something unusual is going to be disclosed. Something unusual is going to be disclosed. Something unusual is going to be disclosed.

7:40 Something important is to pass before our vision. And so God then with this word behold introduces to us this man named Zacchaeus. So that when we come now to this narrative, we're asked to forget the crowd, we're asked to turn away even from considering the Lord Jesus for a moment. It's never safe to do that for long.

8:06 But right now the Holy Spirit is directing our attention to the Lord Jesus Christ. To this man called Zacchaeus. So we have the introduction of Zacchaeus and the first thing we're told about him is his name. Behold a man called by name Zacchaeus.

8:24 Now what difference does it make if we know his name? Well, there's significance in his name. By understanding his name, we understand something more of who he was and something more of how the Lord Jesus seeks and saves sinners. The word Zacchaeus is called Zacchaeus.

8:40 The word Zacchaeus is a transliteration of the Hebrew word Zacchae, meaning pure, thus indicating that this man was in all probability a Jew by birth. Verse 9 seems to be a hint of this as well where our Lord uses the concept of him being a son of Abraham. Now if he was a Jew in all probability, which he was, he was one who had all the benefits of the revealed religion of the Old Testament. While all of the nations lived in relative darkness with no scriptures, with no revealed religion, here was that one nation bounded by the environs of Palestine

9:23 that had been favored in God's sovereign choice. They had been given the oracles of God. They had been given the ministry of the prophets. They had been given all of this great privilege.

9:35 And yet, here is a man who is, under the canopy of all of that privilege, who is obviously still a sinner who needs to be sought and saved by the Son of Man. Here is a man, though he was a Jew and had all of these privileges, was nonetheless a dishonest man. He was a man who had abandoned himself to his lust for the accumulation of material goods, reminding us that all of his privileges, as a Jew, had no power to check or restrain the passions of his heart. All right?

Zacchaeus's Occupation and Character

10:16 In the introduction, we are given his name, Zacchaeus. Secondly, we are told something about his occupation. And he was a chief publican. That tells us what his occupation was.

10:29 He was one of these who collected taxes for the Roman government. But he was not just an ordinary tax collector. He was so efficient that he had been elevated, to something that would be parallel to what we would call the district supervisor of a sales force. He had done so well collecting in the little area that had been assigned to him by the Roman government that he had risen up in the ladder of promotion to the place where he is now called a chief publican.

11:01 This tells us something about his character. He was an industrious man. He was a man who was enterprising. He was a man who was, ambitious.

11:10 Now, if the Holy Spirit put that there, it must be for a purpose. It's going to tell us something about how the Son of Man seeks and saves that which is lost. So we have in the introduction of this man his name, Zacchaeus, indicating he was a Jew. We have his occupation.

Zacchaeus's Station and Wealth

11:29 He was a chief publican. In the third place, we are told something about his station. Look at the text. And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus, he was a chief publican and he was rich.

11:44 He had an accumulation of wealth which put him above most of the people in his community. Like most publicans, this wealth was in all probability ill-gotten riches. He was one who was willing to use his position to personal advantage even if he had to be guilty of dishonest, of avarice, and of greed. And, and being rich, he had all of those peculiar things that riches can bring.

12:16 The admiration of some, the jealousy of others, the accumulation of material things that could bring comforts to his body, that could bring a sense of security to him, that could bring advantages to his family, to his children. He had as a rich man all that riches can bring. Now it's interesting that in the very previous chapter, the Lord had just stated to the disciples how rare it is to find a rich man converted. In chapter 18, we read in verse 24, in Jesus seeing him said, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God.

12:56 It's easier for a camel to enter in through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. He was a very unlikely candidate for salvation. Jesus had just said, not many rich men are going to make it. And now he says, behold, a rich man.

Zacchaeus's Stature and Determination

13:12 The Son of God is about to track down a rich man. And when the Son of God gets on the trail of a rich man, he's going to bring him in, as well as bringing in the poor and all in between. Now the Bible tells us something else in this introduction of Zacchaeus. Not only his name, indicating he was a Jew, his occupation, a chief publican, a tax collector, his station, he was rich, but it tells us something about his stature.

13:39 Now that's interesting. Why in the world is the Bible concerned with his stature? Yet it is. Look at the text.

13:45 And he thought to see Jesus, who he was, and he could not for the crowd because he was little of stature. When the crowd began to press in around the Lord Jesus, poor little Zacchaeus got right up on his tippity-toes and all he could see was the backs of people and their heads. Probably he had been called shorty from the time he was yea high. He was little of stature.

14:12 He found that what he lacked in an imposing physical appearance could be made up by determined aggressiveness. He had become a chief publican. He didn't get by on his impressive external appearance. He was shorty.

14:25 He'd get lost in the crowd as far as his stature was concerned, but he would not be overlooked in terms of his aggressiveness, in terms of his determination.

14:37 Now there's something indicative about his character here when it says, and he was little of stature. As a rich man, he probably dressed as a rich man. He had something of the dignity of a rich man. But do you see something of his determination?

14:50 It says there in verse 3, when he could not see Jesus, because he was little of stature, he climbed into a tree. That's not a very dignified thing for a rich man to do.

Zacchaeus's Desire: Natural Curiosity

14:59 But he did it anyway. So his stature greatly affects the whole context of our Lord's dealings with him. Then we read in this introduction of him something about his desire. What was his desire?

15:16 His desire, according to verse 4, was to see the Lord Jesus. And he ran on before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. Zacchaeus heard all this commotion, this crowd milling around this central figure, and he probably nudged one of his buddies in the midst of his making his rounds to collect the taxes. What's going on?

15:41 Well, haven't you heard, Zac? That healer, from Nazareth, the great prophet is coming. You mean the one who raises the dead? Yeah, that one.

15:48 You mean the one who opens the eyes? Yeah, that's the one. Man, I don't want to miss this. Where's the action?

15:54 Over there. Zacchaeus runs, gets on his tiptoes, can't make it. Up in the tree. Where are you going, Zacchaeus?

15:59 I want to see him. I want to see him. Why do you want to see him? Well, he's the one everyone's talking about.

16:06 I want to see him. In other words, the Bible does not indicate that he had any other desire than one of natural, human curiosity. A crowd attracts a crowd. And there's nothing more frustrating to us as human beings than to see a crowd and not to know who's in the center of it.

16:23 Isn't that frustrating? You're driving somewhere and there's a big crowd of people gathered around something and you say, what's going on? I don't know. What's going on?

16:30 I don't know. There's something about us we want to know and we'll go fighting through crowds, we'll divert ourselves, all to do what? Idle curiosity. We just got to see.

16:40 And I don't think anything else is hinted in the scripture other than this man, Zacchaeus, was a normal human being who wanted to see, who wanted to look upon this personage who was now upon the lips of everyone as the great miracle worker, the prophet of Nazareth. Now we come in the sixth place to consider under this introduction of Zacchaeus the most important thing the passage tells us about him.

Zacchaeus's Character: Sinner and Lost

17:08 It's told us his name,

17:11 told us something about his occupation, his station in life, his desire, but now we're told something about his character. And the most important thing about any man is not his physical earthly name, not his position in life, not his stature, not his natural desires. The most important thing about every person, including every one of us here tonight, is what our character is in the sight of Almighty God. And this passage tells us something about the condition, the moral condition, the character, of this man, Zacchaeus.

17:49 What does it tell us about him? Two things. Verse 7, that he was a sinner. Verse 10, that he was lost.

17:58 Verse 7, And when the crowd saw it, that is, they saw the Lord Jesus go to the house of this man, they all murmured, saying, He has gone into lodge with a man that is a sinner. Now when they said this, they were using the word sinner not in its normal sense, but, he is a notorious sinner. Sinner in the sense that the publicans were noted for their open disobedience to the eighth and the tenth commandments. The eighth commandment says, Thou shalt not steal.

18:32 The tenth commandment says, Thou shalt not covet. And the publicans were notorious for trampling underfoot those commandments day after day, week after week, as they fleeced the people in the name of the authority of the Roman government to make their own pocketbooks swell. Two for Caesar, one for me. That means instead of you giving two for Caesar, you give three to me as Caesar's representative.

19:01 Two goes to Caesar, one stays in my pocket. This was a form of stealing. It was getting unjust wealth. And then of course, stealing is rooted in this open violation of the tenth commandment, Thou shalt not covet.

19:16 Thou shalt not set thine affections upon that which must be possessed at the price of obedience to God and of harming others. Now the publicans were notorious for this. So much so, that if you wanted to take the two classes of people that were the most notorious sinners, you took harlots and publicans. Jesus did this.

19:40 He says, harlots and publicans enter the kingdom before you Pharisees do. We read in the words of Christ, harlots, publicans, used as it were synonymous terms for notorious sinners. Now that's an accusation concerning Zacchaeus that our Lord does not in any way deny. When they saw the Lord go into the household and said, behold, he's gone in with a sinner, rather than say, oh no, you've misunderstood him.

20:06 He's not a sinner. He's just someone that's just had a few things in his life that aren't quite what they ought to be. No, no. The Lord did not deny it.

20:13 He says, you're right, he is a sinner, but I came to save you. I came to save sinners. He was a sinner. And the second thing about his character according to verse 10 is he was lost.

20:26 The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Where the word sinner reminds us of the legal aspects of our problem. We have broken the law of God. All unrighteousness is sin.

20:45 The word lost speaks of the personal elements of sin. When someone's lost, he's gone astray from the place of security, the place of safety. So when the Bible says that man is lost, it's a tragic statement that he has strayed from his God. He is away from the Father's rule, the Father's fellowship, out in the wastelands of a self-centered life.

21:12 You remember the father said of the prodigal son, this my son was lost. This my son was lost. This my son was lost. And is found.

21:18 What did he mean he's lost? Well, he had left the fellowship of the Father. He had left communion with the Father. He had left the gracious rule and authority of the Father.

21:29 And so our Lord tells us concerning the character of this man Zacchaeus, he was a sinner. He had broken the laws of the God of heaven. He was lost. He was estranged from fellowship with the God of heaven.

The Universal Application of Zacchaeus's Condition

21:45 And now you see what's happened to the story. Suddenly, we're no longer looking at a man named Zacchaeus on the stage. You and I have entered front and center. Suddenly the story of Zacchaeus becomes the story of your life and of my life.

22:04 And we may well stamp over this passage, this is your life, not just the life of Zacchaeus. Because the word of God says that what was true of the character of Zacchaeus, he was lost. Zacchaeus is true of every single one of us sitting in this building tonight. That by nature we too are sinners and by nature we too are lost.

22:29 Up until now, everything about the narrative has been peculiar to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was his name. It's not yours or mine. Zacchaeus was a tax collector.

22:40 You probably are not. I know I am not. Zacchaeus was little of stature. Some may be.

22:47 Some may not be. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus and he climbed a tree. I see no one hanging from the beams here tonight. There's not much about the description up until this aspect that fits us all.

23:02 But when the scripture says of his character, he was a sinner and he was lost. You and I then become Zacchaeus. For the scripture says in such passages as Romans 3, 10 through 19, that there is none righteous. No, not one.

23:18 There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable.

23:27 There is none that doeth good. No, not one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All we like sheep have gone astray.

23:41 And though the word is not a popular word. And though the psychologist talks about the disorientation. Disorientated life. And though there is talk about inner tensions and frustrations and guilt complexes and all the rest.

23:56 The Bible comes with these words that are so blunt and clear. All have sinned. We're guilty of foul moral revolt against the God of heaven. We trample underfoot the authority of his law as did Zacchaeus.

24:14 And though our particular area of problem. May not be open disobedience to the 8th commandment or the 10th commandment. The problem we all have by nature is open disobedience to the first commandment. Thou shall have no other gods before me.

24:29 And by nature we've made everything and every person a god. But the one true and living God. We make a god of our own ambitions. A god of our own family name.

24:41 We make a god of our tradition. We make a god of our ambition. We make a god of our home. A god of our children.

24:48 A god of our pleasures. A god of everything. But the true and the living God. And that's what it means to be a sinner.

24:56 It means to have anything or anyone else other than the living God as the supreme object of our affection. That's what it means to be a sinner. You may never openly violate the 8th commandment or the 7th commandment or the 9th commandment. That's not the issue for the scripture says.

25:14 He that offends in one point is guilty. He that offends in one point is guilty. The duty of all. James 2 and verse 10 And all of us like Zacchaeus are lost with reference to the God for whom we were made We are lost We were made to know him.

The Tragedy of Lostness and Separation from God

25:31 We were made to have communion with him. And one of the saddest portions in all of the Word of God is found in Genesis Chapter 3. When it says that Adam heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the the cool of the day, and he ran to hide from the presence of God. What a tragedy. Here

25:58 was man made to hold loving, delightful communion with God. Here was man made in the image of God, made with a capacity not given to any of the other creatures, lovingly to hold communion with God, to know the will of God, to have fellowship with God, to delight in God. And now when sin enters, God draws near to man, and man runs from his God. And if God had not taken the initiative to seek Adam out, Adam would have run until his legs became bloody stems. That's what it means to be lost, to live in separation from God, to live out

26:41 in the wastelands of ignorance of his will or indifference to his will. You and I are in the story as sinners. As lost. And listen, we'll go on in that lostness for all eternity unless the truth of verse 10 becomes a reality to us. The Son of Man alone can seek and save lost sinners. That's

27:08 why this passage is so vital. What does it mean to be sought and saved by the Son of Man? That's not a concern of Zacchaeus alone. My friend, it should be the concern of everyone in this building tonight.

Scene One, Part Two: The Entrance of Jesus

27:23 The Son of Man seeks and saves sinners now exactly as he sought and saved this sinner then. You mean I've got to run up a tree before I get saved? No, no. No, I don't mean that at all. But what happened to that man who ran up a tree must happen to you. And so having

27:41 seen the introduction of Zacchaeus, let us consider now the second main division of our study tonight, the entrance of Jesus. Now we turn our attention from the sinner to the seeking Savior. And when Jesus came to the place. You see what Luke is telling us? The only hope for

28:04 men who are in that state of sinnerhood and lostness is that Jesus will come. If he doesn't come, we've had it. But thank God he came then and he continues to come. And he shall come to needy sinners, seeking and saving them until he has brought to himself the last sheep for which he laid down his life. And then he'll say, Father I've gathered them

Jesus's Action and Command

28:30 all home. Bring down the shade of time and usher in eternity. The entrance of Jesus. Now what do we have in this entrance of Jesus? Well we have, first of all, his action is

28:45 described. Look at it. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said unto him, Zacchaeus. and come down for today I must abide at thy house you have the action of Jesus and the command of Jesus his action he came to the place what makes it the place that important spot on the entrance into Jericho because that was the place appointed by God to lay hold of a lost sinner and save him and so the

29:28 Son of God came deliberately to that place probably boys up in the tree as boys will always do when there's a crowd but he doesn't stand beneath the tree in which the boys are perched he comes to the place where that lost sinner Zacchaeus is perched and and And there he stands and looks up into the face of this strange little man. And then his command is very, very simple, but very, very explicit. Calling him by name, and you can imagine what this must have done to Zacchaeus. He'd never met him before.

30:09 There's no indication they were on a name-to-name basis.

30:14 He had heard of Jesus, but certainly Jesus had never heard of him, the little crooked tax collector. But Jesus addresses him by name and says, Zacchaeus, make haste, come down, I'm going to abide at your house. Addressing him by name, he says, get with it.

30:35 Make haste! Don't come down one branch at a time, come down three at a time.

30:41 Make haste, come down, I must abide at thy house. Now isn't that the strangest way to save a sinner?

30:49 Find him in a tree, tell him, hurry up, get down, we're going home.

30:55 What in the world in those words can seek and save a sinner? Ah, don't you go over them lightly, because those words reveal a world of truth about the Lord Jesus.

Revelation of Jesus's Person

31:09 What did these words accomplish as the Holy Spirit took them to the heart of Zacchaeus? Well, they accomplished at least three things. Number one, they became a revelation to Zacchaeus of who Jesus was. You say, preacher, you've got the same Bible I've got.

31:28 I assure you. These words, Zacchaeus, make haste, come down, I must abide at thy house, they became a revelation to Zacchaeus of who Jesus was. Zacchaeus went up into a tree to catch a glimpse of this passerby, so that when he went home that night, he could say to the family, hey folks, you know who I saw today? I saw Jesus.

31:51 That is, I beheld the physical form of this man with miraculous powers. And the Lord Jesus...

31:59 When he comes and stands by the tree in which Zacchaeus was perched, is telling him, Zacchaeus, I'm going to show you who I really am. You could never know me simply by perching in a tree and watching the form of a common Jew pass by, for there was nothing in the physical form of Jesus to set him apart from other men. And that's why I hate all the pictures of Jesus that show him with halos and with an effeminate type face, that he would have stood out like a sore thumb in any crowd. There was nothing in the physical form of Jesus to set him apart from other men.

32:28 There was nothing about the Lord Jesus in His physical appearance that set Him apart from any other common, ordinary Jew of His day. The Scripture says there is no beauty that we should desire, and there was nothing in His physical appearance. But He says, Zacchaeus, you went up a tree to see Me. I'm going to do something more.

32:47 I'm coming to a tree to reveal Myself to you, not in terms of My external physical appearance, but in terms of who I really am. And how did He do it? He says, Zacchaeus, I know your name, and I don't need to be introduced. Not only do I know your name, I know you own a house.

33:07 And I know all the rooms in that house. I know you've got a guest room, and I want that guest room for Myself. And furthermore, Zacchaeus, I'm not saying, please will you give Me an invitation, for I am the Lord of the universe who owns you, therefore I have a right to command you. I own the world, including your house, therefore I have every right to say I'm going to give you a name.

33:28 I'm going to use it tonight. I must abide at thy house. In the command of Jesus was a revelation to the heart of Zacchaeus of who Jesus was. He was the omniscient God incarnate.

33:43 He knew Zacchaeus by name, knew that he had a house, and he knew everything else about Him. And there was a common consciousness amongst the Jews that this would be one of the marks of Messiah, that He would have a knowledge that only God can do. That only God can do. I refer you to two passages of Scripture that indicate this in John chapter 1 and verse 47, so that you'll know this is not just preacher's imagination or speculation.

Revelation of Zacchaeus's Standing Before God

34:13 John 1 and verse 47,

34:18 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him in Seth of Him. Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. Nathanael said unto Him, Whence knowest Thou me? I don't remember being introduced.

34:34 Jesus said unto him, Before Philip called Thee, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel. You see, the moment Nathanael realized why he knew me, when the physical eye could not see me and he understood not only who I was externally, but he knows something about my heart, and my spirit.

35:03 This is no mere man. This is the Son of God. This is the King of Israel. This is Messiah.

35:11 And then in John chapter 4, in the dialogue with the woman at the well,

35:17 here this woman who was not a pure Jew and yet had enough consciousness of the Messiah to come from the portions of the Old Testament that the Samaritans believed, she said this, John chapter 4, verses 25 and 29, The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, he that is called Christ, and when he is come, he will declare unto us all things. Now verse 29, she goes back into her town and says, Come see a man who told me all things that ever I did. Can this be the Christ? When the Lord Jesus began to tell her, I know you're not married, you're living in a common law relationship,

36:01 and I know you've had many before, suddenly she realized, I'm not talking with a mere man, I'm in contact with the omniscient God who knows me. This must be the Messiah. And so when Jesus came and said in essence to Zacchaeus, I know your name, I know your personal affairs, I know all about you, Jesus was revealing the glory of his person to Zacchaeus. Secondly, this command of Jesus was also a revelation of Zacchaeus' status, standing before God.

36:36 Zacchaeus, if I know your name, and I know you have a house, and I know you have a guest room, I also know where you got the money to put the down payment on that house.

36:49 And I know how you get the money to furnish that house. And that little addition that you put on last week with the latest accumulation of your dishonest gain, I know exactly every person from whom you stole it by exacting more than what you stole. Zacchaeus, not only am I revealing to you who I am, Zacchaeus, I'm revealing to you what your standing is before God. Zacchaeus, you are naked and open before the living God, and you stand naked and open as a guilty condemned sinner who must repent.

37:30 And the subsequent narrative proves that that's what happened to Zacchaeus. For the first words he uttered to Jesus, when he got into the home, were these, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to feed the poor, and if I have taken wrongfully, I restore it for a poor. What happened to this man, Zacchaeus? He had a revelation of his standing before God.

37:51 He saw himself open, known, fully manifested. Conscience was awakened. And Zacchaeus had a little preview of the day of judgment. There's a sense in which no longer did Zacchaeus feel he was up there, or in the tree, and Jesus was down there.

Revelation of Jesus's Purpose

38:09 Suddenly the position was reversed in Zacchaeus' experience, and he felt that the Son of God was on the throne of his judgment, and Zacchaeus was there before him as a trembling guilty sinner with his life laid bare and his heart stripped naked in the presence of the Lord Jesus. But thirdly, the command of Jesus was not only a revelation of who Jesus was, a revelation of what Zacchaeus was, but it was a wonderful revelation of what Jesus had come to do. Zacchaeus, you've gone up a tree to see me heal a few more people, to think, um, you probably think I'm just coming to create a little excitement and get a little following. No, no, Zacchaeus.

38:52 Look, I must abide at your house. I know all about you, Zacchaeus. I am God in human flesh. Zacchaeus, I know, as your conscience now reminds you that you're a sinner, that you've broken the law of my Father, but, Zacchaeus, I must abide at your house.

39:15 Though I'm God and I know you, though you're a sinner and I know your sin, I have come to dwell with sinners, Zacchaeus. I'm not inviting myself to your house under any illusions that you're a little goody-goody. I'm not inviting myself to your house under any kind of false impressions that you are a child of God at this present moment, Zacchaeus. You are a sinner and I know all about your sins, the ones that no one else knows, but, Zacchaeus, I'm revealing to you what I've come for.

39:51 I've come to seek and to save that which is lost, and I can't do it from a distance. I've come from the presence of my Father. I've been willing to submit myself to the limitations of a true humanity. I've been willing to live in the midst of a sinful world as the sinless Son of God, all to the end that I might rescue sinners.

40:13 As wicked and vile as you, Zacchaeus, I've come to seek you. As painful as that exposure may be, Zacchaeus, I'm exposing you, not to leave you crushed and condemned there in the tree, but, Zacchaeus, I've come to heal and to restore you to communion and fellowship with God. I've come to dwell in grace. I've come to begin my wonderful and gracious rule over you.

40:46 Zacchaeus, from now on, I give the orders. I've come to seek and to save the lost, but, Zacchaeus, let's get it straight at the outset. I come and seek you not as an impotent, weak, pathetic Jesus. Zacchaeus, come down!

41:04 Make haste! I'm going to dwell at your house. Here's a man who was used to giving orders. Suddenly he realized somebody else is giving the orders from here on.

Application of Jesus's Revelation

41:16 Oh, what a wonderful revelation of what Jesus came to do. Now do you see by application how this speaks to us? Whenever the Son of Man comes to seek and to save lost sinners, He does not come with these exact words, Make haste, come down, I will dwell. But whatever words of Scripture he uses, whatever circumstances are employed to awaken us to spiritual realities, He saves every sinner by making that same threefold revelation to the heart of that sinner.

41:51 He reveals to us who He is. When the Lord Jesus sets out to seek and to save a sinner, He reveals to that sinner that He is not just a religious figure. He is not just the man of Galilee. He is not just the humble carpenter out of Nazareth.

42:11 He is God in human form. He is the eternal Word made flesh. And then He always reveals to the sinner something of His true condition. He brings us to that place to which He brought Zacchaeus.

42:30 He knows me. My heart, my life, my sins, my secret thoughts, my secret longings, all that I am is a naked book before God. Do you know what conviction of sin is? In a very real sense, do you know what conviction of sin is?

42:48 It's an experience of a little preview of the day of judgment. Now what will happen in the day of judgment? The Scripture says Jesus will sit upon the throne of judgment. The nations will be gathered before Him.

43:02 The books will be opened. The dead will be judged out of the books according to their works. In other words, God will cause sinners to reflect upon their sins that He Himself has recorded and their consciences which may have slumbered and long since forgotten that ugly word, that lustful thought, that dishonest business deal, that cheating in the third grade, that stealing of a quarter out of Mama's pocketbook when you were three years old, that fighting with brother or sister, that lie about the neighbor, things that had long since been forgotten. In the day of judgment the Scripture says men will be judged according to their works.

43:46 Almighty God in the words of the old spiritual is writing all the time, time, time. And in the day of judgment men's consciences long since having slumbered will be awakened and all their sins will stack before their minds. Conviction of sin is a little personal preview of the day of judgment. God brings our sins to remembrance and suddenly we can find no peace, no rest in earthly comforts and delights.

44:18 Our sins take hold of us and we say where shall I flee from the face of this holy God who knows me altogether. The thoughts, the intents of the heart, the words of my mouth. That's what happened to Zacchaeus. And if the Son of Man has ever sought and saved you, that's happened to you.

44:39 He's brought you to see that you're a sinner, that you are lost. He brings you to see like he did Zacchaeus that he doesn't need your admiring glances. You need his saving mercy. What a switch happened that day.

44:56 Zacchaeus said well I'll give this man a few of my admiring glances from a tree. Jesus comes and says Zacchaeus I don't need your admiring glances. You need my saving mercy. Whatever we thought we could give the Son of Man, a little bit of God, a little bit of homage, a little bit of worship, a little bit of religious devotion.

45:18 When the Lord begins to show us our sin we say oh Lord you need nothing from me but I need to take the place of the poor blind beggar who said Son of David have mercy on me Lord Jesus. I need thee. If thou does not pardon me I must perish. If thou does not cleanse me I must die.

45:41 Is this your experience? I'm not just here filling the air. God knows I'm so tired of hearing my own voice after hearing it for some six hours today. The last thing in the world I want to do is just fill this air with the sound of my own voice.

45:57 My friend these are real eternal issues. Thank God whenever the Lord seeks and saves a sinner he not only reveals who he is, he not only reveals what we are, but he reveals what he's come to do. And he says I must abide at thy house. Though I know your sin and though I could call down the wrath of my Father upon that sin I've come to abide with you.

46:27 I've come to enter into communion with you. Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me. Oh my friend has the Holy Spirit made that real to your heart?

Scene One, Part Three: The Response of Zacchaeus

46:48 That though the Son of God is infinitely holy he is God in the flesh and though he knows you all together he exposes you not to leave you groveling in the awful sense of condemnation and justly deserved punishment. But he does so that you might know something of his wondrous and saving mercy. Well we must hurry on to a conclusion by considering briefly the response of Zacchaeus to the command of Christ. We had the introduction of Zacchaeus we learned about his name we learned about his job in life his position, his stature, his character

Zacchaeus's Unreserved Obedience

47:31 then we saw the entrance of Jesus what he did, what he said, what it reveals now thirdly the response of Zacchaeus look at it in your Bibles very simply stated the response of Zacchaeus artless simplicity and he made haste that's conformity to the first part make haste and came down that's conformity to the second part and come down and received him joyfully that's conformity to the third part of the command the response of Zacchaeus what was the essence of it? It was unreserved obedience to the word of Christ

48:13 and secondly joyful reception of the person of Christ. Jesus said hurry up! If Zacchaeus had taken his time it would have been open defiance of the authority of God in Jesus Christ. I often say to my children delayed obedience is the essence of disobedience delayed obedience is the essence of disobedience when daddy says come you come when he says come or what you're saying is my particular interest at this moment is more important than your command the scripture carefully records that there was no delayed obedience

48:56 the son of God gives no explanation he doesn't cajole he doesn't tease he doesn't entice he says make haste and the scripture says and he made haste come down and he came down I must abide and he received him joyfully this man who was accustomed to giving orders to his subordinates he sees the regal nature of the command of Christ this is God's prophecy showing me the mind of God this is God's priest offering mercy God's king giving directions Jesus said other sheep I have which are not of this fold them also I must bring

49:41 and they shall hear my voice and then John 10 27 my sheep hear my voice and they follow me what happened? oh here's the wonderful mystery of it without an invitation hymn with 23 verses without the evangelist asking him to walk down an aisle or raise a hand and pleading for 20 minutes the word of Jesus reached the heart of Zacchaeus and somewhere between the time he went up and the time he came down he was born again hallelujah he was born again he had new life and the first expression of that new life was

Zacchaeus's Joyful Reception of Christ

50:23 obedient response to the word of Jesus my sheep hear my voice said Jesus and secondly not only was there unquestioned obedience to the word of Christ there was joyful reception of the person of Christ look at the text he received him joyfully he didn't say what are you going to give me he didn't receive his gifts joyfully he said I take you into my home I've seen something in you Jesus but it's a privilege just to have you he received him joyfully though he knows me I no longer have anything to hide

51:07 I know that he receives sinners I know that he loves me not for what I am by nature but for what he'll make me in his grace oh I cannot help but receive such a savior though he's God I no longer have claims on myself I'm willing to yield to his government I don't fear having him in the house if he gave orders like this up a tree he's probably got a lot more if I have him in my house but that's alright he's boss now come in Jesus the house is yours I'm yours everything I am is yours take over he received him joyfully he understood what would happen when he received such a person in his house he'd already had dealings with him up a tree make haste

51:52 he gives orders but wonder of wonders I find there's such a graciousness and an irresistible power in his orders that I already find delight in obeying them oh my dear friends do you see that in the response of Zacchaeus is a beautiful pattern of what happens when a person becomes a Christian the response of Zacchaeus is the response of every sinner that Jesus seeks and saves he will bring you to a place of unquestioned obedience to his word when he says repent ye and believe the gospel if he has sought and saved you you have repented and you have believed the gospel

52:34 if you're a Christian he has said to you take up your cross and follow me and you have said Jesus I my cross have taken all to leave and follow thee and you have joyfully received the person of Christ not a little weak Jesus that you can stick in the corner and once in a while bring him out to get something from him no no the Jesus Zacchaeus received the one who's boss your house you everything is his you bring him out you have received him joyfully isn't that what a Christian is John 1 12 as many as received him not a part of him all this talk about well I'll take Jesus as my savior

53:17 but I won't yield to him as my Lord you can't receive half of Jesus he is the Lord Jesus Christ and you either receive him or you don't receive him have you unquestionably submitted to the word of Christ or have you joyfully received the person of Christ and that has nothing to do necessarily with coming down an aisle raising a hand or any of these other things that we immediately associate with receiving Christ there was no aisle for Zacchaeus to walk there were no invitation hymns the word of Christ came to the heart of the sinner

54:02 and I'm not saying that God cannot and does not save people when they respond publicly no no I'm not saying that I'm not going into the whole matter of the rightness or wrongness I'm simply trying to make this point my friend don't associate being saved with some external physical activity it is a spiritual work of the Son of God by means of the word of God and if the Son of God has sought and saved you this will be the evidence his word has reached you and you've joyfully received him joyfully received his person not an unknown Christ not a Christ fashioned after your own image

Conclusion and Exhortation

54:45 but the Christ of Holy Scripture well we'll leave our study here tonight that's scene one the introduction of this strange little man the entrance of the glorious Son of God and then this command of Jesus followed by the response of Zacchaeus oh what a wonderful picture of the grace of God is the story of Zacchaeus your story has the Son of God found you lost and a sinner and brought you back to the Father cleansed you and washed you in his own precious blood

55:29 has he if not my friend he is here tonight as much as he was there on that road going into Jericho and he comes to you not in a tree but there in that pew in the word of the gospel and says I know you I know you by name and I know all about you because I'm God I know your sins your open sins your secret sins your public sins your private sins sins of your youth sins of your old age sins of your manhood but even though I know all about you the worst of it

56:13 I've come not for good people I came to seek and to save lost sinners I didn't come for the whole for they that are whole need not a physician I'm come to call sinners to repentance have you heard something more than this preacher's voice tonight has there been a strange and awesome prodding of the conscience in your heart that you're conscious tonight you've had dealings with something more than the preacher the words of scripture you've been conscious you've had dealings with God receive him joyfully receive him joyfully say Lord Jesus

56:56 I give myself to you I trust you to cleanse me to forgive me to pardon to receive me may God grant that this will be true and if you've been able to sit here tonight and from the light and the countenances of some of you if you weren't so stodgily Presbyterian you'd have said an amen some of you almost said an amen I could see your amen right there those old Presbyterian genes just wouldn't let you get it out seriously in the way some of you have glowed with joy

57:40 as we've seen the Savior in his word tonight you know what it is to be a Zacchaeus up a tree oh praise him for such grace that comes to Zacchaeuses praise him for sovereign mercy that arrests us in our sin and subdues our rebel hearts and brings us to embrace him joyfully before you pillow your head tonight get on your knees before God and say Lord I praise you for sovereign mercy say in the words though you may not know them let me give them to you

58:23 the great hymn that Newton wrote how sweet and dreadful is the place with Christ within the doors while everlasting love displays the choicest of her wares he goes on to speak about the feast of sovereign grace and he says why was I made to hear thy voice and enter while there's room when thousands make a wretched choice and rather starve than come it was the same love that spread the feast that sweetly drew me in else I had still refused to come and perished in my sin oh praise the God of sovereign mercy who found you up a tree

59:07 and reached you with his grace and has sent you on your way rejoicing may God bless his word both to the edification of his own and the salvation of those who are outside of this vital relationship with the Son of God let us pray