Antioch Odessa
Luke 19
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    The Apostle Paul often said as he began his letters to the churches, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” Turn with me today in your Bibles to Luke chapter 19. Today the whole point of our text is to see how a merciful Savior comes to seek and to save those who are lost. Are you lost today? Do you know someone who is? If this is you or you know someone who is this message will be a great help.
    Why is it so important today to know and trust that Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost? Because there are many who are lost and blind in our world today. Paul tells us in Romans 3 that there is none righteous no not one. No one understands and no one seeks for God. We have all turned aside to our sinful selves. Unless God himself graciously seeks for us and calls us to himself, men and women will not come to Him.
    The good news today is that Jesus does come to seek and save the lost, the blind, the sick. There could be no salvation, no sight, no healing and forgiveness without Jesus.
    Our text today on Christ and Zaccheus is one of the most exciting examples of how a sinner comes to salvation. It is a picture of what genuine salvation really looks like. We have heard of someone who has called themselves a Christian or professed Christ, but they are not truly walking with Christ. They are not a true believer.
    How many of you remember when Facebook first came out? When you first signed up many of us got friend requests from people we knew, but we also got requests from random people and complete strangers. Back in the day Facebook labeled them all “friends.” Eventually because of so much confusion Facebook came up with the term “Facebook friend.” They did this so we could all know the difference between real friends and digital or superficial ones. In Acts chapter 11 and verse 26 we learn that believers were first called Christians in Antioch. Before this they were just known as followers of the Way. Ever since then the name “Christian” has stuck. In fact, it remains today one of the most common terms for a follower of Christ. Sometimes we add onto this however. We say I wonder if that person is a “True Christian?” I wonder if they are a “authentic Christian” or a “Committed Christian?”
    As we look at the conversion of Zacchaeus there are 3 major lessons to be learned.
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    Luke 19:1–10 ESV
    1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
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    1. Those who are lost cannot save themselves.

    Luke 19:1–4 ESV
    1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
    Zacchaeus was lost. He was dead in his sin and he was in desperate need of a Savior. Chapter 18 ends with Christ coming toward Jericho where a blind beggar comes to salvation. As we begin chapter 19 we now learn about a rich man who comes to salvation. As Jesus enters into Jericho this will be the last major city He visits before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The city of Jericho was at the heart and center of a major trade route that connected with many major cities. So, this was an important city where many people lived and now this great crowd came to hear and see Jesus.
    Throughout the Lord’s ministry many people had seen His miracles and heard His teaching and now the crowds gathered together once more to see Jesus. It was to this large crowd that Jesus declared in verse 10 that He had come to seek and to save the lost, and we see this in the very miracle of how Jesus saved one of the most notorious sinners in this city. As Jesus makes His way into town we learn about this wee little man named Zacchaeus. We learn that this man was not just a plain old tax collector but that he was the chief tax collector. As I said last week, tax collectors were some of the most hated and evil people in all of the land. However, we come to learn that the name Zacchaeus actually meant “clean” “pure” and “innocent.” Zacchaeus had been placed at the head of the entire tax district of Jericho. He would have been over the other tax collectors which meant that this guy was loaded or rich.
    The point here is that Zacchaeus like many other folks in the crowd wanted to see Jesus because there was a curiosity about Him. This tax man wanted to see Jesus, he realized his sinful state. Zacchaeus knew he was far from God and was dissatisfied with his life. He felt guilty about the way he treated others. As desperate as he was to see Jesus we learn in verse 3 that there were several obstacles to seeing Christ.

    A. The crowd was very large.

    Jesus had become a popular person as of late and now there were so many people who came to see him that often times because of the large crowds that people were unable to get close or even meet Christ. Zacchaeus was well aware of the large crowds that would come to see Jesus. This was the first obstacle.

    B. Zacchaeus was small in stature.

    There was also another smaller problem no pun intended. Being small in height he was not able to catch a good view of Jesus. This created a big problem for Zacchaeus because he wanted to see Jesus. Because his interest in Jesus was so deep, he was willing to do whatever he could to see the Lord. Knowing where Jesus was going, he quickly ran ahead of the large crowd and climbed into a sycamore tree that was alongside the road. This type of tree would have had many branches that grew close to the ground making it easy for little Zacchaeus to get up into the tree.

    C. Zacchaeus was a sinner.

    Here in Luke chapter 19 we see the root obstacle or problem. We also learn another lesson about tax collectors. Verse 2 tells us that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and he was rich. These descriptions about his life give us even more insight into his spiritual life. Regular tax collectors were hated in Israel because they worked for the Roman government, but they were ultimately hated because they cheated people out of their earnings. Zacchaeus was the chief of the tax collectors but more importantly he was a sinner who desperately needed Jesus. This is the type of guy who was not expected to make it into the kingdom of God. What we see here is that there were many obstacles lying in the road for Zacchaeus.
    Church, my point here is that what is true of Zacchaeus is true of us all. We are all sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God. We are all in need of God and for God to be merciful to us as sinners.
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    2. Those who are lost need a Savior.

    Luke 19:5–7 ESV
    5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
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    Verses 5-7 point out to us a mighty and compassionate Savior. What amazes me the most here is that when Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was, he actually stopped and called out to him by name. Had Jesus met him before? Was He familiar with this notorious sinner? Or was this truly a divine appointment? Yes it was a divine meeting. Paul explains it this way to us in Ephesians.
    Ephesians 1:4 ESV
    4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
    Church, it was predetermined before the foundation of the world that Jesus would come into Jericho and that He would stay that night with Zacchaeus and grant him eternal life.
    I think what is most shocking here is the phrase that Jesus uses. “Hurry come down, I must stay at your house today.” Jesus locates Zacchaeus in the tree and calls to him. If only we had a cell phone video of how fast Zacchaeus got down out of the tree that day. What we see here is that this tax man named Zacchaeus had a desire to see Jesus perhaps because he had heard some great things about Him, however it was ultimately Jesus that sought him out.
    God is the one who seeks sinners out. As I said earlier there is no one who seeks for God, unless God graciously calls people they will not come. When Adam and Eve sinned they went and hid from God. God called out to Adam, “where are you?” And down through Scripture we see that it is God who pursues sinners. We see in Scripture that the Holy Spirit if often at work in someone’s life and heart before they come to a saving knowledge. We use this theological word called regeneration. As the Holy Spirit begins to help us make sense of what we are hearing and learning about Jesus he begins to work in our lives so that the work of salvation will last for eternity. In every work there must be a beginning or start and in our spiritual journey it begins with the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Holy Spirit and His work in the life of Zacchaeus shows us that nothing is impossible with God. God can set free the most hardened hearts and the most vile sinner.
    Hebrews 7:25 ESV
    25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
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    As the Father received the prodigal son who went off into the far country, Jesus came to embrace a despised tax collector and save his soul from hell.
    Notice finally, that when the crowd saw this they began to grumble and complain that Jesus went to be a guest of a sinner. This group of people were upset that Jesus was staying at the house of a tax collector, someone whom they despised. All of this shows us that Jesus had a divine appointment to seek and to save and show grace to those whom He will.
    The lesson here is that we should never grumble or complain about what God is doing. What is He doing? He is saving sinners. He is our gracious Savior who desires for men and women to turn from their sin and follow Him.

    3. Those who are lost can be transformed.

    Luke 19:8–10 ESV
    8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
    As Jesus enters the home of this well known tax collector we come to see the transformation that happened in his heart and life. Luke does not get into the exact details of his salvation, however we do see a real change in this man’s life. In response to the Lord’s mercy and compassion Zacchaeus stands up and acknowledges Jesus as his Lord. In fact, he denies himself and follows Jesus by expressing that he is giving half of his possessions to the poor and he is returning fourfold of whatever he has unlawfully taken away. Zacchaeus was no longer the same person.
    2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
    17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
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    I think that it is important here to understand that Zacchaeus is not trying to buy his salvation through restitution or repaying what he has taken. No amount of money or good deeds can truly save us. What we see here is that Zacchaeus had a change of heart. When a person is truly repentant, there is a change of mind, a change of heart, and a change of will. What we see here in the life of Zacchaeus is that money was no longer his god, Jesus was now his Lord and Savior. Zacchaeus now became a giver rather than a taker. This covetous tax man was now transformed into a generous Christian. He was set free from greed and idolatry and was truly transformed. How do we know that he was truly converted or saved? Notice verse 9 with me.
    “Today salvation has come to this house.” This reminds us of what Jesus said to the thief on the cross. In Luke chapter 23 and verse 43 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” This confirms to us the reality of Zacchaeus’s salvation. Zacchaeus had been a son of Abraham’s ethnically, but now he was one inwardly because his heart had been circumcised. Paul explains it this way.
    Romans 2:28–29 ESV
    28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
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    *Story of the skateboarding kids who got lost and were trying to find their way home.
    Why did Jesus come to earth? Well verse 10 explains everything to us. Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost. So, what does it mean to be lost? Last week I went for a jog and shortly into my run several teenagers came rolling up to me on their skateboards and asked me if i knew where a certain street was. They explained to me that they were lost and could not find their way back home. At some point they both recognized that they didn’t know where they were. They were uncertain of how to get back to where they started. They were headed in the wrong direction. They actually went way past the street they were looking for. They were lost and without direction. Without help they could not find what they were looking for. That is what it is to be lost. Spiritually speaking, we are all lost apart from Christ. Lost people are lost because of their sin which separates them from a holy and righteous God. This is why God the Father sent His Son Jesus to not only seek them, but also to rescue sinners from their sin and to someday bring them safely home.
    If you are lost call out to Christ today. Turn from your sin and place your faith in Him. If you have a lost friend or family member earnest pray for them and look for opportunities to share the gospel with them. May i remind you that we to have a Savior who cares about the lost.
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    (Close in Prayer)
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      • Luke 19:1–10ESV

      • Luke 19:1–4ESV

      • Luke 19:5–7ESV

      • Ephesians 1:4ESV

      • Hebrews 7:25ESV

      • Luke 19:8–10ESV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:17ESV

      • Romans 2:28–29ESV

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Antioch Odessa
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