Luke 19:1-10
Buying Back A Lost Soul
This account is about two people.
One writer called one of them a wicked, little man. I would add a wicked, little,
desperate, man. Here is a man who needed something very badly. Interestingly, he
knew WHAT he needed, and he also knew WHERE TO GO to get it.
This man was a Jew who was despised by his fellow countrymen. He is the proverbial
"man without a country." For this man, like Esau, had sold his birthright for a
pot of potage. But even worse than being without a country, he had sold his
soul. He was a tax collector—to the Jews, a traitor. And he was very rich, so
I take it that he was very good at collecting taxes which means he had, no doubt,
been very hard on his fellow Jews.
The Other had no needs—not one. Instead, He had a bountiful supply of all that
anyone and everyone could ever need. Let’s consider how the two of them came
together.
I am interested in Jesus’ actions in this story. I see three actions.
I. Jesus came.
This is an easily overlooked thought but quite probably one of the most
important and profound in the whole story.
A. Jesus came to Jericho.
1. That was not by accident.
2. Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem to be crucified and He comes to
this city by the long route.
3. Coming from Tyre and Sidon (which was west and north), one would
have to go the long way to get to Jericho (which was northward
but almost due east).
4. One must purpose that kind of detour.
5. So coming to Jericho must have been by Jesus’ design.
B. Jesus came to Zacchaeus.
1. We know that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus for the Bible tells us
so.
a. \\#3\\ "he sought to see Jesus"
b. \\#4\\ He could not so he "ran before, and climbed up into a
sycamore tree to see him."
(1) Not a very dignified thing for a grown man to do, was it?
(2) I don’t believe this man was too concerned about his
dignity that day but about his need.
(3) It wouldn’t hurt if some here would forget their pride,
their status, their dignity and come take care of their
need.
c. Thanks to the generosity of the church, I had the privilege
of going to Jericho in 2008 and while there, I saw what is
called Zacchaeus’ tree.
(1) It is an ancient tree, thought to have been alive since
the days of Jesus.
(2) Now, no one knows for certain that this is the tree
Zacchaeus climbed or not, but it is like that tree and
as old as that tree, so who knows?
d. So Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus very badly.
2. But as it turned out, as badly as Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus,
Jesus wanted to see Zacchaeus even more!
a. As already mentioned, you can tell that by the fact that Jesus
came to Jericho.
b. I don’t know how many streets and passage ways Jericho had in
that day, but I see that Jesus came down the one that
Zacchaeus was on.
c. Then Jesus stopped at the very tree Zacchaeus was in and looked
up to see him.
d. And if all of this did not show Jesus’ intent on coming to
this man, when He looked, Jesus called Him by name.
(1) There is no record that these two have met before.
(2) How could Jesus know this man, where he would be, and
what he needed?
(3) Jesus had been touched by the Holy Ghost of God and came
to this man to finish a work that the Holy Ghost had
already begun.
e. By the way, God is in the finishing business.
(1) He does leave a work undone, unless He is forced to do so.
(2) Some of you are forcing God to leave a work undone.
(a) I don’t know about you but I hate to leave a job
unfinished.
i. For me, getting back to an unfinished job is
just grief.
ii. Let me do and finish it while I am there and
into the project.
(b) God has revealed Himself to you.
(c) God has convicted and convinced you that Jesus is
Savior and Lord.
(d) But you have not received Him.
(e) I suspect that God likes leaving a job unfinished
even less than I do.
(f) The Holy Ghost sent Jesus to finish the work of
saving Zacchaeus.
C. So why did Jesus come to this wicked, little man?
1. Because the man needed God.
2. Because the God wanted the man.
II. Jesus cared.
A. The fact that Jesus came to Jericho shows that He cared. That is a
long way out of the way for Jesus to go.
B. The fact that Jesus stopped and looked up shows that He cared.
1. Jesus was looking for Zacchaeus.
2. Jesus being the God who knows everything, knew where He would find
Zacchaeus on this day, and He came because He cared.
C. Jesus called Zacchaeus by name.
1. If there is any proof to be had that Jesus came for this man, this
would be it.
2. Jesus knew this man before they even met.
3. Jesus not only knew where the Zacchaeus would be, but He knew him
by name!
D. Jesus took time with Zacchaeus.
1. \\#5\\ "TODAY I must abide at thy house."
a. To appreciate this, we must remember who Zacchaeus was.
b. \\#2\\ He was a publican or tax collector.
c. He was THE chief among the tax collectors.
d. He was rich, which meant that he did his job very efficiently.
e. I assure you, nobody else would take time to be with Zacchaeus.
2. Not only was Jesus taking time for Zacchaeus, He was making every-
one else wait!
a. There was a big crowd there that wanted to see Jesus.
b. They wanted to talk to Him.
c. They wanted to be healed by Him.
d. Jesus put this man above all the others!
e. Why? Because this man was important too!
(1) As Jesus will later say of Zacchaeus, "he also is a son
of Abraham."
(2) Zacchaeus needed someone to care for him.
(3) No doubt there were others in Jericho that needed a
healing or help, but no one that needed to be cared for
as badly as this man.
E. All of these reasons meant one thing - that Jesus cared.
1. To a thinking individual, perhaps the hardest thing to comprehend
about salvation is the fact that God cares about you.
2. To consider the fact that God cared enough for us to send His
only begotten Son to die for us is beyond comprehension.
3. Now, most of us didn’t think about salvation much when we got
saved. We just got it.
a. Perhaps ours was more of an emotional experience than a
cerebral experience.
b. Mine was.
c. I was under conviction of the Holy Ghost, and He had stirred
my emotions.
d. That emotional stirring brought me to Christ.
4. But if you are a thinker, let me just tell you something.
a. You can not figure this one out.
b. There is not one good reason why God should care for you, or
me, or anyone on this planet.
c. If you are going to wait to understand it, you will wait
yourself right into hell.
d. This is one thing that you are just going to have to
experience.
5. Quit thinking and just get in on it!
a. I say often that I am not a very emotional person.
(1) Enjoying a sport is emotional, not logical.
(2) Enjoying a romantic movie is emotional, not logical.
(3) Killing a deer, catching a fish—these are emotional
joys, not logical.
b. But if you want to go to heaven, you are going to have to cast
away the need to understand why God did what He did, and just
enjoy it.
c. Hey, it was emotionally thrilling enough even to me that I
have not gotten over it yet, and I don’t ever expect to do so.
III. Jesus converted.
A. This man got saved. Jesus converted him.
1. Some want to question Zacchaeus’ salvation.
2. I’m not really sure why. I guess it is hard for them to believe
that a rich Jew can be saved.
B. Why am I so certain Zacchaeus got saved?
1. Jesus said as much.
9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch
as he also is a son of Abraham.
2. Because Zacchaeus’ wallet got saved!
8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my
goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false
accusation, I restore him fourfold.
a. I’ve accepted the testimony of salvation for a lot of people
whose walled never did get saved!
b. The true mark of conversion is change, change within that leads
to change without.
(1) That man did not give his money to be saved.
(2) He was saved so he gave his money.
(3) His outside was acting in cooperation with his inside.
c. This man had sold his countrymen, his standing in his country,
and his self esteem for money. Now, he was willing to give
away the money.
(1) Half of his wealth was gone in an instant to the poor.
(2) I imagine that the Jews of Jericho started forming a line
behind Zacchaeus to reclaim their four-fold monies.
d. But all of that is all right because Zacchaeus found something
that he loved more than sin!
3. Because Zacchaeus experience the joy of the Lord.
6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
a. I believe it had been a long time since Zacchaeus had felt joy.
b. Isn’t it strange how the pleasure that you think sin will give
you is short-lived.
c. This man didn’t get joy for a season. This little man is in
heaven today, still enjoying the joy of his salvation.
(1) You can know that joy.
(a) the joy of your sins being forgiven
(b) the joy of being a part of God’s family
(c) the joy of being redeemed
(2) How? By letting Jesus buy your soul back.
God gave you your soul and the devil stole it. Whether you think of yourself as
a bad person or not, you are a sinner. You need what Jesus is offering, and
He’s got what you are needing.
He died on the cross to pay for your sins. His death is the payment required for
your redemption.
All you need to do is…
1. Believe that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, died for your sins.
2. Yield your will and life to Him.
Would you do that right now?
<Outline
Index> <Close Window>
