Luke 19:5
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Good evening, church. As promised this morning, I have shown up to teach this evening. Like a bad penny. And I was a bit concerned when I announced that this morning, that no one would show up this evening. And so I am assuming that everyone here is a first-time visitor. And if you have not received your welcome bag just after the service, please go get one. I need to turn that off. Well, let's get serious. This evening, our study is focused on Luke chapter 19, verse 5.
Please turn your Bibles to chapter 19, verse 5, as I read. 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. Luke, the physician and companion of Paul, wrote this gospel with a purpose that he lays out in chapter 1, verses 3 and 4. It says, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
Luke presents Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, and throughout his gospel, he emphasizes Christ's compassion towards sinners. The poor, the outcast, and the lost. That is Zacchaeus, and that is us. What did Zacchaeus do when Christ called him? Let's continue reading. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled.
He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner and Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord behold Lord the half of my goods I give to the poor and I and if I have defrauded anyone of anything I restore it fourfold and Jesus said to him today salvation has come to this house since he also is a son of Abraham for the son of man came to seek and save the lost now we know the rest of the story so jesus came specifically to seek zacchaeus a chief tax collector at his divinely appointed time zacchaeus had climbed into a tree merely wanting to see jesus pass by he was curious but jesus had something far greater in mind and that was to save his elect on that day Jesus said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.
The word must is an interesting word. It makes a point, and that point is that Jesus was following God's will because he must stay at his house. This day had been appointed by God for a gracious encounter that would result in salvation. What happened? Jesus called his elect from the tree. Jesus regenerated Zacchaeus. Jesus gave faith to Zacchaeus. And Jesus justified Zacchaeus.
And it was all done on this day. The will of the Father was accomplished. We don't know enough from the text to say Zacchaeus was saved while still in the tree, while walking home with Jesus, or sitting at his house. But we know salvation came to Zacchaeus that day. For Jesus himself declared, salvation has come to this house. Let me read verse 5 again. 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.
My two points to my lesson are, number one, Jesus seeks the lost. And number two, Jesus follows his father's will. When I was in college during the summer between my junior and senior year, I spent six weeks in Canada conducting a geology study along the Bay of Fundy near St. John. My Canadian friends know this place well. My assignment was to map rock formations and produce geological maps, and after returning home, I had several months to write and submit a research paper in order to graduate.
I completed the paper, typed the original, and melded in February of my final semester, and I thought I was finished. I expected to graduate in May of 1983. However, when grades were posted, I had received an incomplete. I was not going to graduate. I called my professor who informed me that my paper had never arrived. The only typed copy I had was lost. I had foolishly failed to make a second copy, and I was devastated.
But I was now on a mission. I was determined to find that lost paper. The Postal Service suggested that if the envelope had been damaged, it might have been sent to a warehouse in Cincinnati where damaged mail was stored. The next day I drove there, and when I arrived, the warehouse was enormous, about the size of a basketball arena, to be exact. It seemed hopeless. There appeared to be millions of damaged envelopes. But the clerk asked for the zip code from which I mailed the paper and the zip code which I had sent it to.
That narrowed the search considerably. She then asked for the approximate mailing date, reducing the search to only a few boxes. By God's grace, the very first box I opened in that arena contained the most precious possession I had at that moment, My missing geology paper. Taking no chances, I immediately drove to Lexington and personally placed that paper in my professor's hands. I eventually graduated one semester late, but I did graduate.
You know, we lose all types of things in our lives, and we misplace things all the time. And as we age, it seems to happen a little more often. Spiritually speaking, we are born lost. But we have a Savior who seeks the lost. The Lord Jesus seeks sinners. And when he calls the lost, and when he regenerates the lost that he called, those he regenerates, he produces in them faith.
Those he gives faith to, he justifies. And those he justifies, he preserves them forever. We've recently lost a beloved member of our congregation, Melody, after a long and courageous health struggle. But in reality, we have not lost Melody. She has not been displaced. Christ has not lost one of his sheep.
She is absent from the body and present with the Lord, resting safely in Christ, free from pain, awaiting the resurrection and the glorious return of our Savior. Ephesians 1, verses 11 through 14 state, In him we have attained the inheritance, having been predestined according to his purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were in the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory in him you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and believed in him were sealed with the promised holy spirit who is the guarantor of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it possession of it to the praise of his glory so we have a person a sinner who climbed up a tree with curiosity. Jesus did not say, who is that? No, he called him by his name. He knew exactly who
Zacchaeus was. He knew all about him, and yet he received an invitation of grace. The same is true for every believer. Before we sought Christ, he knew us. Before we loved him, he loved us. Before For we called upon him, he had predestined us to receive his saving grace. Jesus knows his people by name. He seeks the lost. He calls the sinners to himself.
And he brings dead souls to life. And he never loses those whom the Father has given to him. And this brings me to my second point. Jesus follows his Father's will. When Jesus said, I must, he was obeying his Father's will. Jesus lived in perfect submission to the Father. On that day, he came to save all those whom the Father had given him. He came to glorify his Father.
Jesus stated in John 6, 38 through 40, For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day, for this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. To completely fulfill God's will in seeking and saving the lost out of his perfect love for his people, he freely gave up his life for us.
He offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin. On the cross, He bore the weight of sin, such as hatred, murder, lies, and greed, and every kind of unrighteousness. He was beaten, scourged, and mocked, despised. The full burden of humanity's sin was laid upon Him. He did not come to save the righteous. He came to save the sinners. Christ died for sinners, people just like us, and people just like Zacchaeus.
When Christ died for us, his sacrifice was fully sufficient, covering sins past, present, and future. Yet this atonement is applied only to those who repent and believe, who trust in him as their Lord and Savior. on the third day he rose again confirming his identity as the son of god demonstrated his victory over sin and death and declaring his divine righteousness salvation is found in him alone the righteousness of god comes through faith in christ jesus to all who believe for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god yet we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Our salvation is secure in Christ because Christ fulfilled his father's will perfectly. The story of Zacchaeus is an interesting story that we have just read,
but this same story applies to all the saved. Christ knows his sheep by name. He calls his people, he still seeks the lost. He still saves sinners, and those whom he saves will never be lost again. For anyone who has not trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior, I urge you today to come to him. Do not remain in that tree. Come down.
Receive Christ joyfully. Repent and believe in the gospel. If you have questions about Christ, or the gospel, please reach out to our church or to any member here this evening. We would love to speak to you. The song that we sang today, He Will Hold Me Fast, the second stanza sums up our teaching tonight. Those He saves are His delight. Christ will hold me fast. Precious in His holy sight, He will hold me fast.
He'll not let my soul be lost. His promises shall last. Brought by him, bought by him at such a cost. He will hold me fast. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection allow your people to stand righteous before you. We praise you because before we ever sought Christ, he knew us. Before we loved him, he loved us.
Before we called upon him, you had purpose to show us a saving grace. Thank you for seeking and saving the lost and for never losing those whom you have given to your son. Help us to rest in Christ with joy, peace, and assurance, knowing that we are safely held in his hands. We can rest in your son, Jesus Christ. We love you, Father. It's in his name that we pray. Amen. Thank you.