This morning, I invite you to take your Bibles and turn to Luke's gospel chapter 19. We've been going through Mark's gospel verse by verse, and we will return and finish that. But this morning, I want to examine the story of Zacchaeus that we find in Luke 19, verses one through 10. And the reason for this, that you will understand more as we go along, is primarily because chronologically, this is the next thing that happened in Jesus' trip to Jerusalem. Moreover, as we will see, the story of Zacchaeus is a way of merging some of the other great themes that Jesus has been dealing with in some of his other encounters.

Now, let me remind you before I read the text that Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem the final time, to present himself as the Messiah, of Old Testament prophecy. He is traveling with his disciples and there is a large group of pilgrims going with him; he has orchestrated all of this. And they are going to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, where he will present himself ultimately, as the Passover lamb, that will take away the sins of all who believe in Him. Now bear in mind, his focus in this last journey is not only to lay claim to the Messianic mantle, but also to instruct his disciples. They needed a lot of instruction. Remember, they are still bickering over who's going to be first in the kingdom, because they're convinced that he's going to do away with Rome and establish the kingdom. Now, you will remember that Jesus has previously encountered a rich young synagogue ruler, who loved himself more than Christ who would not part with his wealth, because his wealth afforded him the opportunity to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of power and prestige in his life. And for this reason, in Mark's gospel, we read that, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And after Jesus said that, we read the disciples saying, well, then who can be saved. And in verse 27, he looks at them and says, "with people, it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God." And then next, we see him in Jericho giving birth to the sight of a blind man by the name of Bartimaeus. Actually, there was another blind man with him, we studied that last week in Mark 10, verses 46 and following. And once again, there he not only proved his messianic claims, that he was indeed God, very God, but also he illustrated the miracle of regeneration, whereby God gives sight to those who are spiritually blind.

But next, chronologically, while in Jericho, Jesus seeks and saves another spiritually blind man, by the name of Zacchaeus. And like Bartimaeus, he is determined to see Jesus. Moreover, like the rich young ruler, he is a very wealthy man. So what we have in the account of Zacchaeus is really a juxtaposition of the striking themes in this previous story, where they all come together. And what we see now is Jesus, giving sight to another spiritually blind man by the name of Zacchaeus, but also a rich man and therefore, here we have an example of the camel going through the eye of the needle, if you will, because all things are possible to God. So this is profoundly instructive for Jesus disciples. I might also add that Luke is the only gospel writer that records the story. Also, this historical narrative really summarizes the very essence of the gospel message and the purpose of Jesus's ministry on earth. And as we will see in verse 10. His goal is to seek and to save that which was lost. And aren't you thankful that he continues to do that this very day.

So with that in mind, let me read the text Luke 19, beginning in verse one. "He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. Zacchaeus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for he was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today, I must stay at your house.' And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, 'He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.' Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, 'Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much. And Jesus said to him, 'Today, salvation has come to this house, because he too, is the son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.'"

I'd like to examine this text under two very simple headings. Number one, we will see the Savior seeking and number two, we will see the Savior saving. And I might add, dear friends, that there is no greater privilege in the Christian life, than contemplating the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. My how I long to see him face to face, and we would all do well, to learn from the angels who, quote, "long to look upon the mystery of the incarnation," as we read in first Peter 1:12. The glory of Christ, dear friends is, worthy of our bold and unfettered proclamation, and meditation, especially as it is revealed in Christ's inconceivable condescension to our lowly estate. And his infinite mercy, and his unassailable power as he goes to the cross, to render powerless, the effects of sin, Satan and death. And to be able to fix our gaze upon his grace, is a miraculous thing in and of itself. Because in so doing, the Spirit of God uses that to conform us evermore into the likeness of Christ. And he gives us peace and power and joy, even in the midst of our trials. And I know some of you, a number of you are going through very serious trials right now. What a wonderful thing it is to be able to behold the glory of Christ. And I might also add that if your life is a train wreck, and if your marriage and your family is a dumpster fire, there's a high probability that you know very little of Christ. If anything at all, you're probably not walking by the Spirit, you're probably ruled by your flesh. And my goal this morning, as it is every time I stand before you and open up the word, is to point you to Christ, even as Paul did when he came into Corinth, in First Corinthians two and verse two, he said, "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." My prayer is that we'll all be able to echo what the Apostle Paul said recorded in Philippians three beginning in verse seven. "But whatever things were gained to me those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of their surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord."

So let's look at the text; number one we are going to see the Savior seeking. Notice verse one, "He entered Jericho and was passing through." I want you to see Jericho as it was in the first century. It was a magnificent oasis city, at the edge of the Judean wilderness about six miles from the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. It's a heap of ruins today in the Palestinian territory, but it was beautiful back then. It's about 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem down in the Jordan Valley. In that day, it was a magnificent place with gardens that landscaped the entire area planted by Herod. In fact, Jericho means "the perfumed" and it was a perfumed city. There were streams and aqueducts and palm trees and Balsam plantations, sycamores, cypress flowers on and on, it went. All growing in a plain of about 14 miles. In fact, many called it the Eden of Palestine in its day. Josephus described it as the richest part of the country, a little paradise. Magnificent commercial, and military center. It was positioned on the major caravan route from Damascus, and Arabia.

So what we have now is Jesus leading this large group, his disciples with him and this massive crowd, as he makes his way through Jericho. Verse two, "And there was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus." Ironically, that name means "the just;" he wasn't very just until God justified him. But that was his name. And then we read that, "he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich." Now, you must understand that in those days, tax collecting was tantamount to a cross between the IRS and the mafia. That's basically how they functioned. In many ways, it was legalized extortion. Some things never change, right? I know that's what you're thinking. And these people associated with the criminal element that they hung around with, that protected them. Other corrupt businesspeople, other tax collectors, prostitutes, as we read. Even in the gospels, they're always kind of together in a group because they weren't allowed to associate with the Jewish people, because they were unclean. And they collected taxes for Rome, they had to meet a certain quota. But they also had the authority to levy taxes as they saw fit. So they had the power to enforce their own wishes. And in fact, we know that Herod even sold tax collecting franchises to the highest bidder, and then they would split the profits. It's a very lucrative business venture if you're a crook. And that's what Zacchaeus was, a crook. And as I said, they were considered unclean by the Jewish people. They were barred from the synagogue so they couldn't associate with others. Only thing they could associate with were other lowlifes. And they were even considered traitors, because they worked for Rome, and took money from their own kinsmen to be used against them. Not to mention they line their own pockets with money they stole from the Jewish people. And I have to laugh, we see that the Pharisees were especially resentful of the tax collectors, but not for the reason you might think not because they were so ungodly and so unclean, but because they cut into their profits. But we also know that some were saved right? Remember when Jesus called Matthew in Mark two? And Matthew was a tax collector and followed Jesus and other tax collectors and prostitutes and so forth that hung with them, repented and came to Christ. We see some of that in Luke three, for example. But what we see here with Zacchaeus, is he wasn't just your run of the mill tax collector, he was a chief tax collector. So he was kind of like a mafia boss. Kind of like, I don't know, a drug lord. So he got a cut on all of the others that worked underneath him. So this guy was a notorious crook. However, as we read the story, we see that the Holy Spirit is already at work in his heart, we see that he's bringing conviction, a sense of shame and guilt, disrupting his life, with difficult circumstances, arousing his curiosity about Jesus. And perhaps he was even aware of Jesus reputation that he was a friend of tax collectors. I mean, that information would have spread like wildfire, right?

Verse three, "Zacchaeus, was trying to see who Jesus was." This is in the imperfect tense in the original language. And so what it helps us understand is that, that he was busy seeking Jesus, he was a man on a mission. An old adage comes to mind, the Hound of Heaven was after him, right? And the text goes on to say, "and he was unable because of the crowd where he was small in stature." And of course, this makes sense. You've got a massive crowd of people, they're lining the roads, they're also traveling with Jesus. And if you're short, you're not going to be able to see him. But the indication here, and the implication is, that he wanted to do more than just lay his eyes on him. He perhaps wanted to engage him. Verse four, "So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way." Here, we get the sense that Zacchaeus was both disturbed and determined. Now, when we think of a sycamore tree, we see something very different in Tennessee than what it would look like in the Middle East. It was really what was called a fig mulberry or a sycamore fig. It had fruits on it that kind of resembled figs and evergreen leaves that resemble the Mulberry. Its fruit was an insipid, kind of tasteless fruit that only the most poor would ever eat. But it had very low limbs, big limbs, easy to climb. And no doubt, Zacchaeus wanted to remain hidden from sight. After all, he was the most hated man in the whole country, right? That whole area at least. Moreover, it's not very dignified for a wealthy man to be climbing up in a tree like that. And as I meditate on, as I meditated on this scenario, I'm reminded of Jesus' words to the Syrophoenician woman. Remember before he saved her, recorded in Matthew 15, verse 24, Jesus said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." And of course, that was, as you recall, a reference to his original ministry focus regarding the kingdom. But here now regarding Zacchaeus, we see the Great Shepherd of the sheep pursuing one of his last lambs up in a tree of all places. What happens next is truly remarkable. And here's where the plot thickens.

Verse five, "When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down for today. I must stay at your house.'" Oh, I wish I could have seen the look on Zacchaeus his face. The deer in the headlight look right? The mule staring at a new gate look. He is suddenly exposed. Now, Luke just records the most basics of the whole story, but you know Jesus had to have stopped and when Jesus stops, everybody stops. Things get quiet and they see Jesus looking up. All of a sudden they see Zaccheus. It was probably quiet enough that they heard what Jesus said. And there's Zaccheus, utterly exposed. I imagine he was saying to himself, "I can't believe this is happening. I'm the most hated man in Jericho. Everybody's looking at me, including Jesus." The sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, creator of heaven and earth, the long-awaited Messiah of Old Testament prophecy is now calling his name. How did he know his name? Zacchaeus must have been scratching his head, how does he know who I am? Dear friends, of course, he knew his name. Because Zacchaeus was chosen in eternity past, to be part of our Lord's bridal church.

Dave Harrell

This is such a magnificent truth; I need to camp on it for a moment. We know according to Ephesians, one four that the father chose believers in Him, referring to Jesus Christ, "before the foundation of the world," in eternity past, we know according to Romans 8:29, that they were "predestined" for justification also for "adoption," Ephesians, one, five, and even for "a heavenly inheritance, “Ephesians five and verse 11. And Paul said, in his epistle to Timothy in Second Timothy one nine, that he, "has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works." In other words, it's not because he somehow looked down the annals of time and saw who would and who wouldn't believe in him; Oh, there's one. Yeah, Zacchaeus is going to believe so I'm going to elect him. Now that is blatantly unbiblical, and frankly, quite silly, but rather, "not according to our works, but according to His own purpose, and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus, from all eternity." Which literally, in the original language, means "before time began." Second, Thessalonians two and verse 13, we read that we are "beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." Of course, he knew Zacchaeus' name. Jesus said in John six and verse 37, that "all that the Father gives Me, will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." And in verse 44, of John six, he says, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." This reminds me as well of what Jesus said in his high priestly prayer, when he was in the garden, before he went to the cross, it's recorded in John 17. Jesus prays in verse one of that passage, "'Father, the hour has come, glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.'" See, Jesus is about to go to the cross and redeem those whom the Father had chosen for him. And we read the phrase "all whom the Father has given Him," we read that repeatedly, verse two, verse six, verse nine, verse 24, says, "'Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.'" And of course, Zacchaeus was one of those whom the Father had given the Son. Dear friends, let this sink in. You must understand this magnificent truth. In eternity past, the Father ordained a plan to demonstrate his infinite love for his Son. And he chose for him a bride made up of undeserving sinners, that would one day be transformed by the power of his grace. And he chose them by name. And he recorded their names in a book of life. And these names make up the Son's bride, an elect group of redeemed humanity. And he pledged to his Son a gift; a gift of the Father's love. And this gift was a pledge that was sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. The Father would then intentionally draw unto himself, this great company of sinners through the convicting and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit of God. This is utterly astounding. And to be sure, God has to seek us, because we would never seek Him. Romans three, verse 11, says, "There is none who seeks for God." You see, sinful man will always hide from God, even as Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden after they had sinned. Yet we see the scarlet thread of redemption being woven through every page of holy writ, as God in his infinite mercy pursues those that he has elected by his grace.

Moreover, Jesus knew who Zacchaeus was, because Jesus was about to bear his sin, in his body, on the cross. His atonement was a specific act of substitution for specific individuals. Remember, Jesus came to do the will of the Father, and what was the will of the Father? To purchase the redemption of all whom the Father had given him. His plan was predetermined. And it was personal. Acts 2:23, we read Peter saying, "This man," referring to Jesus, "was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God." And what an amazing thing it is to know that we have been chosen by the Father, as a gift to the Son, who will one day give us back to the Father as a reciprocal expression of his love. This is the great plan of redemption, dear friends. And please hear this, we are merely incidental in that whole plan. He orchestrated our conception at our mother's womb, he superintended our development and our birth. We know from Scripture that he has even ordained the length of our life. Before we were born, he knew everything about us, because he created our DNA. Let that sink in for a moment. He even knew that we would rebel against him, that we would violate his law, that we would reject him. And despite all of this, because of his predetermined and personal plan of redemption, the apostle Paul says in Romans five eight, "that God demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Oh, dear friend, if you have trusted Christ, as your Savior, please know that you are not some insignificant number that is part of some vast, impersonal, divine plan. But know this, the Lord Jesus Christ is intimately and personally and powerfully and compassionately involved in your life. The Father who chose us, drew us unto Himself, the Spirit convicted us and transformed us, the Son purchased our redemption. And as we can see, in the story of Zacchaeus, God takes the initiative in all of this. Oh, yes, he's working in the heart of Zacchaeus, but Jesus is the one who was seeking and saving. He has to do that because we're spiritually blind, right? We read in Ephesians four, verse 17, and following that, we are alienated from God that we "walk in the futility of our mind." And this is what we see in the unredeemed. We're darkened in our understanding, were excluded from the very life of God because of the ignorance that is in us; because of the hardness of our heart. But then God comes along, he pursues us and he saves us. Even when we are in bondage to our sin; morally, socially, mentally, spiritually. When everything about us was in rebellion to God, worthy of his eternal judgment, because prior to salvation, we were just like Zacchaeus, we were in a dungeon of wickedness, and we loved it so.

Some men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. We were "dead in our sins" according to Ephesians two and verse one. Of course, we know that sin produces death, therefore we are in desperate need of a resurrection, a spiritual resurrection, that only occurs when we are born again. Paul went on to say, in Ephesians, two beginning in verse five, and six, But God... even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him." And Paul adds in Romans six and verse four, that we have been, buried with Christ "through baptism and to death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead... we too might walk in newness of life." We must remember that the natural man, the unsaved, man, indeed is dead in his sin. And thus he is unable to even understand or accept the things of the Spirit of God, as we read in First Corinthians 2:14. Therefore, repentant faith cannot occur apart from the new birth. And that is a work that is entirely passive for the sinners. Because in John one, verse 13, Jesus said that we "were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God." So of course, Jesus knew Zacchaeus' name; he knew everything about him. He created him, the father chose him to be part of his bridal church. And soon Jesus is about to bear his sin in his body. And what we see here, as Jesus seeks after Zacchaeus, perched up in that sycamore tree, is a beautiful example of how the spirit convicts and draws and calls and, and regenerates an unbeliever. Jesus spoke of this in John three and verse eight, "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from, and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." I remember when I was a little boy, when the wind of the Spirit blew my way. Do you remember when it blew your way? And now it's blowing Zacchaeus' way, as he's perched up in a sycamore tree. "'Zacchaeus hurry, come down, for today, I must stay at your house.'"

Now bear in mind in these great narratives, there's probably much more that was said. So we're getting the bare minimum. But can't you imagine? Not only what Zacchaeus is thinking, but what everybody else is thinking, including the disciples. It's like, "You're surely not going to save that guy. I mean, after all, we're aligned to be first in the kingdom, what's going on here?" Notice the response and Zacchaeus, verse six, "hurried and came down and received Him gladly." Dear friends, here's a marvelous example of the supernatural, efficacious call of God at work in the heart of a sinner. A work that would fill volumes were we able to read all of it in Zacchaeus' his life. I wonder, when we see him someday, if he will be able to tell us his story of all of the things that transpired in his life that caused him to come to that place where he's feeling more and more of the guilt and the shame of his sin. And how he's crying out for God to do something that he cannot do on his own. Perhaps you remember when the Lord drew you unto himself, and you began to see the holiness of God when your conscience was set a flame with guilt when he just upset your world; when he caused circumstances to converge in such a way, as to make you even more miserable in your life. So you begin to examine your heart. The gospel of God began to keep you up at night, you began to realize that you were lost. You must understand that for the elect of God, this call is irresistible. God is not a contingent God, he is a sovereign God and he will accomplish his good pleasure, come what may. Nothing can thwart his eternal purposes. We will see this summarized well in Romans eight beginning in verse 29. Where the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit says, "For those whom He foreknew," literally for ordained or for loved, "He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son," he went on to say, "and these whom He predestined, He also called and those whom He called, He also justified and these whom He justified, He also glorified."

But I want you to notice the mysterious convergence of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility in this scenario. And here we witness the compatibility between God's uninfluenced, sovereign grace to save, and man's responsibility to believe. God takes the initiative in calling sinners to repentance, but man must choose to believe. Indeed, human will and divine determination are complementary, therefore compatible in the purposes of God. And we see that here. The end of verse five, we read, "'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down for today I must stay at your house.'" And verse six, "and he hurried, and came down and received Him gladly." Here we see that God did not violate Zacchaeus, his will. He did not coerce him, but rather, he transformed his will, so that he would freely and voluntarily believe and be saved. What a magnificent truth. This is, it's inscrutable in our mind; perfectly clear in God's mind. A magnificent demonstration of how God works in the life of a sinner.

So first, we see the Savior seeking. The Savior taking the initiative. And secondly, we see the Savior saving. Zacchaeus, we can see from the story, received Jesus into his home. And we're not told anything about that home, or what happened inside that home. But certainly, he would have heard the gospel from the lips of the Savior Himself. Can you imagine that? And we know that he comes to genuine saving faith, as the text goes on to tell us. I was meditating upon what might have been said in that scenario. And again, this is conjecture, but I think it's has some merit because of other things that we know, biblically. Jesus would have told him who he really was, he would have exposed his sin. I know all about you. I know when you did this, I know when you did that. I know what you think here and what you do there. But I want you to know that I love you. And that I want to pay the penalty for your sin. But you must trust in me is the only hope of your salvation. Aren't you thankful that the good news of the gospel is proclaimed to outcasts, even the worst of sinners and how they will respond in repentant faith. When I was saved, when I was nine, I wasn't some great sinner, even though I was a sinner, and I knew it. But I had a depraved heart like everybody else, and left unto myself, no telling where I would have ended up. But God sees our sin, no matter how dark it might be. And of course, the Jews were convinced that only the righteous were recipients of divine blessing. So we see that the crowd is horrified at all of this.

Verse seven, "When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." It's interesting, when it says, "when they saw it." It carries the idea that they're watching here. It's not like they just kind of dispersed and went their way. They're watching this whole thing. They're probably following at a distance. And certainly Zacchaeus would have had some magnificent estate, and they're watching all of this. And they're grumbling; I don't need to explain that word. We all know what it is. Because we're all guilty of it. "He has gone to be the guest;” “kataylo" in the original language. It means "to lodge, to unpack one's pack animal or backpack or suitcase." Even carries the idea of losing one's garments to prepare to stay overnight. So they're watching all of this. He's going in to the house of a sinner. Well, obviously they saw themselves as far more righteous than Zaccheus. Aren't we all hopelessly biased in our own favor when we compare ourselves to other people?

Verse eight, we read, "Zacchaeus stopped," the term means that he stood respectfully and stated a position. Now mind you this, what he's about to state would have happened after much conversation, and after he had truly come to faith in Christ. And he says to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." My what a beautiful picture of what Paul describes in Second Corinthians seven, as a godly sorrow versus a worldly sorrow. In that text, we read how a godly sorrow is one that longs for reconciliation. It mourns over sin. It has an earnest desire for righteousness for a vindication of one's reputation, and indignation towards evil and avenging of wrong, a seeking of justice. And all of that was wrought within his heart by the power of the Spirit of God when he was suddenly made a new creature in Christ. And won't you notice that he obeys the law of the theocratic kingdom of Israel, as recorded for example, in Exodus 22, and verse one, and he restores fourfold all that he had stolen. Friends, this is such powerful evidence of what happens when someone is genuinely born again. This is evidence of the fruit of repentance, the miracle of regeneration, there's a radical change in a person's heart, in their nature and their disposition. Second Corinthians 5:17, that I alluded to a moment ago, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old things passed away, behold, new things have come." The adjective "new," "kainos," means unseen of a kind, not seen before, new in quality, not in sequence. This is the miracle of the new birth, and regeneration, which is that instantaneous, supernatural impartation of spiritual life to a spiritual cadaver, where they are raised to walk in newness of life. This is the stuff of genuine Christianity, a radical departure a dramatic change takes place. A restructuring of one's life. Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits," and boy, you see it right here, don't you? At the moment of our new birth we are made new creatures and God sets into motion this process of sanctification that will ultimately culminate in Christ's likeness.

Again, as Jesus said, in John three, six, "'For that which is born of the flesh is flesh, but which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'" The life of the newborn saint is characterized by overcoming the wicked influences of Satan's world. There's a radical hatred that begins to occur towards those things that we once loved. The Spirit plants within us new desires, new loves, new passions, a new direction in life, new values, new beliefs, so that we begin to manifest the fruit of the Spirit, as described in Galatians five. And with the disposition of the soul, so radically changed, God's desires become our desires, as we read in Psalm 37 in verse four. Then he causes us according to Romans 6:17, "to become obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which we were committed." For indeed, as we read in First John 2:29, "If you know that He," Jesus, "is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him." This is what we see with Zacchaeus. Is this what people see in your life, my friends? Do people see Christ in you? When they spend time around you are they drawn to Christ? I grieve over the self-deception that characterizes so many Christians today, at least ostensibly, Christian people. You look at so many; they claim to be followers of Christ, but there's nothing about their life that shows that they love Christ, that they have a desire to obey him. They are basically Christian in name only; part of cultural Christianity. There's no personal pursuit of holiness, no separation from the world. There's no mourning over sin. There's no hungering and thirsting after righteousness. There is no appetite for the Word of God. There is no desire to submit to the authority of God, so they just make stuff up. They have no spiritual discernment. No humility, no sacrifice, no burden for the lost, no real love for other believers. No desire to understand what biblical worship truly is. Both privately as well as corporately, and frankly, there's nothing to distinguish them from the world. And my friend, if that is you, you have no basis to claim genuine saving faith. And I would plead with you to examine your heart. Illustrations of this kind of hypocrisy are myriad. We see it in our friends, we see it in families, see it in apostate churches. As I said earlier, they claim to know Christ, but their life is a train wreck. And their marriage and their family is a dumpster fire.

In Luke six and verse 46, Jesus asked those who claimed to be His disciples, but had no desire to obey Him, saying, "'Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?'" And he went on to answer the question by saying that they are basically unregenerate. You're operating according to your fallen nature. You do not have the indwelling Spirit to help restrain your flesh. You've never been born again. He went on to say in verse 49, "'The one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built his house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it. And immediately it collapsed and the ruin of that house was great.'" Friends, you must understand that saving faith is obedient faith. That will always be the fruit of a spiritual resurrection, of a spiritual transformation. Indeed, we've been raised to walk in newness of life. This is why Jesus said in Matthew seven in verse 21, "'Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven will enter.'" John three and verse 36, he says, "'He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.'" And in James one and verse 22, we read "But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves." And my what an amazing miracle it is, to see someone radically changed when they come to faith in Christ. Sometimes, it takes a while for you to see it. With other people, it's like the next day, almost the next minute, and that's practically what you have here with Zaccheus. I remember one woman who came to the church a number of years ago and, and she was a godless woman, dressed very immodestly, and she became convicted of her sin and over the course of several months, she was saved, radically in her living room, on her face in front of her couch. And I remember when the day, I remember the day when I first met her husband, who was a godless man. And I remember he contacted me, and he came up to me and he said, I'll never forget this, "I want to know what has happened to my wife." And at first I thought it was going to be a confrontation. But then I realized, and he went on to say, "Look, I'm not mad, I just don't understand. I don't know who this is." And he went on to describe that, and by the way, about six months later, he came to faith in Christ. I heard him cry out in the midst of a communion service here in this church. That's the stuff of genuine saving faith dear friends.

"Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much. And Jesus said to him, 'Today, salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.'" Can you imagine the look on the disciple’s face when they heard all of this? "Oh, my goodness, he's one of us now. Wonder if he's gonna get a spot in the kingdom, you know, boy, the race is on here." And of course, the crowd hated him. At least for a while, until they realized that he was going to give back the money had taken from them. Then don't you know, they all lined up saying "hey, Zacko, buddy, I believed in you all along, never doubted, yeah, you know, put it right here."

By the way, according to a third century AD collection of ecclesiastical law, thought to have been written by the apostles, possibly. It's called the Apostolic Constitutions. We read that later on Zacchaeus became the first bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. And if that is true, God not only called him to saving faith, but called him to be a pastor. Let me read that to you. I just copied and pasted it. The Apostolic Constitutions, volume seven, chapter 46. Quote, "Now concerning those bishops who have been ordained in our lifetime, we make known to you that they are these of Jerusalem, James, the brother of Our Lord upon whose death the second was Simeon, the son of Cleopas, after whom Judas, the son of James," then he says this, "of Caesarea in Palestine, the first was Zacchaeus, who was once a publican."

It's interesting, isn't it, Jesus called him a son of Abraham. Now, he's not merely saying that you are a physical descendant of the patriarch Abraham, but rather a spiritual descendant in the inward sense of believing Jew. For example, in Romans two verse 28, "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew, who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, and his praise is not for men, but from God." We see something similar in Galatians, three, beginning in verse six, "Even so Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who were sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'all the nations will be blessed in you'. So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer." I remember in Israel one time, going to meet a congregation that was worshiping in secret to avoid persecution from the Jews. And the pastor said something that I wrote down, he said, "By God's grace, I am a true son of Abraham, part of the Israel of God." And then he said, "we're all part of the Israel of God." There were probably 60 or 70 people there in the forest, meeting on those little white chairs like you get at Walmart. By the way, the Israel of God is, is taken out of Galatians six and verse 16, is a reference to ethnic Jewish Christians because they had been circumcised in their hearts and not just physically, they were the true Israelites. It's not a reference to the church. And the church is never called Israel in Scripture. The Israel of God is the same group Paul described in Romans 9:6, "For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but 'through Isaac your descendants will be named.' That is it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants." And of course, Isaac is the perfect illustration of sovereign election. Remember, that long before he was conceived, he was chosen from among the descendants of Abraham to be the heir of promise. He was preordained, not only to become a physical child of Abraham, but a spiritual Child of God, made effective through faith, as with everyone who believes; so too was Zacchaeus.

Well got a picture dear friends, of what Peter said in First Peter two nine, that "He called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." As we close, my friend, if you reject Christ, if you reject his claims, if you have never trusted in Him as Savior, I plead that you will do so before it's too late. And I will tell you very boldly, but in love, that I will pray that you will be absolutely miserable until you come to repentant faith in our precious Savior. And for those of us who know and love him, let's use this historical account of Zacchaeus to cause us to celebrate. The Savior sought us and saved us.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for the magnificent truths of your word. May they bear much fruit in every heart. I ask in the precious name of Jesus, and for his sake. Amen.