Jesus Explains Why He Came

We are at the last event before he makes that trip to Bethany on Friday and then the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday. We are probably within 10 days, maybe as few as eight days, before our Lord's death. And so keep that in mind as you see him. It's very easy to read these events that we're in in Luke chapter 19 and and think this is a long time before his death, but we're just days before his death. And he knows exactly what is happening. He knows he's already described. Remember to his disciples exactly what would happen when they got to Jerusalem. So he knows all of that. He is in Jericho just prior to going up to Jerusalem and there are tremendous crowds around him. Now let's think for a moment what what would draw tremendous crowds to our Lord at this particular time? There's several factors. What are they? Food. Okay. That throughout his ministry has been one of the things that has attracted great crowds to our Lord. Miracles? Yes, miracles. No doubt. Still wanting to see miracles, still hoping maybe to to to be fed. What are other things maybe that contribute at this particular time to crowds? Curiosity. And why why the curiosity? What are the curious about? Kind of forgot who he is. Okay. Didn't there a controversy going on about that? He's been sparring with the Pharisees about that very issue and and that has grown much more intense. And so some of the crowds no doubt are just interested in seeing what's going to happen between Christ and the Pharisees and maybe some of them still we know many of them are undecisive about who he is. Still trying to make up their mind. Some of the reasons why at this particular time there would be large crowds. The message is so different. Okay. Yes. Jesus as we know the crowds swarmed to him throughout his ministry because as the gospel say he taught unlike the other rabbis the other rabbis quoted each other and that kind of thing. Jesus taught with authority taught directly the word of God. All right. Very good. What major miracle had just happened a week or two before that the blind beggar I'm going back even a little further than that that that is true and that that when happened last week in in our calendar last Wednesday night but it happened on the same day that we're going to see what happened tonight. Jesus healed the blind beggar as he went into Jericho that obviously created more crowds but there was another major miracle. We could too prior to that that caused Jesus to actually leave Jerusalem again. You remember what it was? The raising of Lazarus the raising of Lazarus from the dead and that that created huge interest in fact we're going to see that when Jesus goes back to Jerusalem in another day or so they're going to be tremendous crowds people still trusting him because of that and so that's another reason for huge crowds following Jesus. Anything else? Okay kind of a mass mentality sometimes when you see a crowd everybody wonder what's going on and we know that Jesus as he's coming into Jericho there's some of that going on because people are saying that Jesus is coming and that's what attracts Bartimaeus. So there's that pull of just the atmosphere. What is happening in Jerusalem that people are going to? Passover. Yeah, Passover is taking place and the city of Jerusalem swells with Jewish people from all over the country at Passover. Josephus the Jewish historian in the first century estimated that Jerusalem would swell to two and a half million people. Almost the entire population of the country would be at some point in this week in Jerusalem and so there are throngs of people. Everybody coming from Galilee has to go through Jericho to get there. It's the week before Passover. When he goes to Bethany it'll be six days before Passover. So there are throngs of people heading toward Jerusalem for what's called the preparation. John's Gospel will talk about that when we get there in John 12, John 11 and 12 next time. So for all of these reasons and also as was mentioned the fact that as Jesus is coming into Jericho he's just performed another miracle. A blind man has been healed. There are huge throngs of people around Jesus at this time and Jericho is swelled with people. Now I wanted to stress that and begin there because again as we said last time it is not the crowds that necessarily Jesus is focusing on is it. As he goes into Jericho it's one man, two blind men but one of them has mentioned Bartimaeus. Last week we saw the healing of Bartimaeus and we saw that in this huge throng of people, this huge crowd of people, Jesus hears that one voice. Son of David have mercy on me. Son of David have mercy on me and we're required over and over in Jesus stopped and heard that one voice. We're going to see exactly the same thing happen tonight. Now we're talking about the space of minutes. We've been a week since we saw this but in the space of minutes the event we're going to talk about tonight happens after Bartimaeus is healed because in Luke 19 the end of chapter 18 Bartimaeus has been healed. Now look at Luke 19 verse 1. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. So this is like continuous motion. Jesus has healed Bartimaeus as he's entering into Jericho. Now he continues on into the city and he's walking through the city. We're not talking about a huge metropolis. He's walking through the city of Jericho and the next event happens then. So within a matter of minutes of what we saw last week this next event happens and it's the encounter with a man named Zacchaeus. Now what I want to do is skip down to verse 10 because the story of Zacchaeus leads Jesus to explain why he came. Verse 10 says, for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. And the story of Zacchaeus is what causes Jesus to say that. So the story of Zacchaeus is the incident that Jesus says this is why I came. Okay you see what just happened? This is why I came. The story of Zacchaeus, the encounter with Zacchaeus is the historical object lesson or illustration if you will of why Jesus came. The son of man came to seek and to save the lost. Okay now let's go back to the story and we'll see how the story leads us to that conclusion. What we find first of all in the story is what was lost. Okay Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. What was lost? Well the center-straying is what we see in the first four verses. The center-straying. This is the man that was lost. By the way what does it mean to be lost? What does it mean to be lost? What are we talking about? A strange from God okay that's a good description. What else would you think of or another description of being lost? Somebody who? Apart from okay separated from? Spiritually apart from spiritually separated from yes. Condemned? Yeah. Okay there's a verse in Isaiah 53-6 we've got it on the screen for you that really describes in beautiful terminology an example of what it means to be lost. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way and the Lord has laid on him theiquity of us all. In this prophecy of the Messiah the servant the Messiah who would take our sin and bear our sin on the cross. The reason why that's needed is because we are sinners straining like sheep we have strayed away from God and we have gone our own way. That's a great description of what it means to be lost. Spiritually being lost means that you are separated from God. You've strayed away from him and you have decided to go your own way and that's a description of every person who comes into this world. We come into this world as someone said it estranged from God separated from him and we choose our own way because of that by nature. Simple nature. We choose our own way. So that's what's lost. Now look at the example of a lost person here in Luke 19. Jesus, Inter Jericho, was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus. Let me stop right there. The very man's name indicates something intriguing to me about his lostness. The fact that he was separated from God because he was lost in spite of his parents' hopes for him. You're well aware that in Bible times people named their children in hopes that they would live up to their name. They would name them something. They didn't typically just name someone after a parent or a grandparent. It wasn't necessarily a family name. They would often name them with a name that meant something that they then hoped and prayed their children would live up to. The root word of Zacchaeus is the word for just or righteous. And no doubt in his parents naming him that that's what they hoped and dreamed for him and prayed for him that he would be a just man, a righteous man, a man who would honor and live by the law of Moses. That's what this Jewish family no doubt hoped for their little boy Zacchaeus. But he had not lived up to that had he. He had become a tax collector and by virtue of doing that and by virtue of where he was in his business he no doubt was one of the worst of the worst. Tax collectors were known for cheating people out of money. Basically the way it worked, Rome set a quota for you that you had to turn into Rome. But you could collect whatever you wanted. And so it was a ripe recipe for graft and corruption and greed and most tax collectors did that. And we're going to see in a minute he was in a position to do that very very well. So he was despised by his fellow citizens because he was considered a low down traded Rome. He was considered a cheat. The very definition of an unjust man. And here his parents wanted to be just and he's unjust. So I want to make the point that what your parents hope and want for you has no bearing on whether or not you'll get to heaven, no bearing at all. You know nobody gets into heaven on their parents' coattails. You've often heard it said God has no grandchildren. You know God doesn't have children because they're natural born children of his spiritual children. God doesn't have grandchildren. He only has children. And so no matter what your parents did for you, trained you, hope, pray, dream for you, salvation is a personal decision. And here was a man who had gone the opposite way of what his parents had hoped for. So he's lost. He's lost in spite of his parents' hopes. Notice something else about him here in verse two. He was lost in spite of his position. Verse two says he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. Now what do you think a chief tax collector is? I mean he's not just a tax collector. He's a chief tax collector. What do you think that is? Head of the other tax collectors? Interestingly enough this is the only time that term is used in the New Testament. It's not a common office at least as it's referenced in the New Testament. Tax collectors are referenced quite often in the gospels but only one time is a chief tax collector. And he probably was the head of other tax collectors. Now when you understand a little bit about how the system worked, there were several different taxes that the Romans allowed Jewish tax collectors to collect and one of them would be like tariffs coming into or out of the country. Any goods that came into the country or went out of the country could be taxed. Think about where Jericho is. It's right near the Jordan River. It's the first city of when you come out of Peria into Judea. It is on it is the major or on the major trade route between the eastern nations and Israel. Anybody that came to Jerusalem from the east came through Jericho. There's the only way to get there. You know if you know anything about southern Israel in the Dead Sea, Jordan, Rift Valley area, it is a barren, desolate wasteland. There are not many roads and not many towns there and Jericho is the place on the map to get into into the country. And so lots of money flowing through the tax office in Jericho. Plus there was a balsam grove. A grove of balsam trees there that provided a lot of income for people in Jericho and that was taxed as well. So he's in a very lucrative position to be a tax collector of any kind. But to be the chief tax collector, he's at the top of the pyramid and tax collecting was kind of like a pyramid scheme. You know the guy who is chief tax collector is like the the head amway person. He gets a cut out of everybody else's commission. And so whoever is gathering taxes, the chief tax collector not only gets what he's collecting but he gets a cut off everybody else's commission too. No wonder he was wealthy. He was at the top of a scheme of ripping off Jewish people for the Romans. And so he had a high position but he was lost. He was lost. You know it does not matter who you are, what titles you may have or what position you may have in your business in this community or wherever it may be. That makes absolutely no difference to God. You can have the highest position in this town or the state or the country or the world and be lost. And this man was. So position makes no difference as far as being accepted by God. So his loss in spite of his parents hopes lost in spite of his position. Look at verses 3 and 4. He wanted to see who Jesus was but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead, climbed a sickle more fig tree to see him since Jesus was coming that way. You know I can remember hearing this story as a kid and you remember the the the King James, the old English language said he he wanted to see him but could not because of the press. Remember that. And I always had part of the image in my mind. You know you always had the Sunday school court always had had the fig tree and Zacchaeus up in it. But in my mind a part of the story was photographers with their cameras and their notebooks there taken notes because the press was there. You know I mean that's just part of what I thought but I didn't realize that wasn't talking about the press like we think of the press. Just talking about the press of people, the crowd of people. And so the more modern translations render it in terminologies that we use today. It's a crowd. It was the crowd of people that caused him not to be able to see what was happening. But he wanted to see Jesus. He wanted to see who he was. So he he runs ahead. He goes a little further down the street knowing which way Jesus is coming. He goes a little further down the street finds a tree and climb and climbs up in the tree so he can see Jesus. Nobody is going to let this this obnoxious unjust tax collector come through the crowd. Nobody's going to step aside for him. They're probably elbowing him to keep him away. And so he finds his own way. But notice what verse 3 says he wanted to see who Jesus was. Here's a man that I would describe this way. He was lost in spite of his interest. He wanted to see who Jesus was. He was curious. No doubt. That's part of it at least. Curious to see Jesus. There's a huge crowd. He's just healed someone. There's probably a lot being said about what's just happened. And word is spreading quickly through town. Jesus is here. He just healed Bartimaeus. You know our town beggar out front. You know, he's just healed him. So he's curious. But I think there may be. I can't prove this, but I think there may be more than just idle curiosity here. I think that Zacchaeus may fit what is sometimes called a seeker today. A seeker. Now before you throw it brought into me to sat me, I do know Romans 3. I know that the Bible says there's no one that understands no one seeks after God. I know that verse Romans 3.11. I also know the story of Adam in the Garden of Eden. And in his sin he hid from God. He did not seek God. I understand the theology there. But I also understand enough about the willing of the spirit and the drawing of the spirit and God's sovereign work and salvation that I know that one of the things God uses to draw people to himself is the search for meaning in life. And unanswered questions in your life. And not just idle curiosity, but deep-seated questions about the meaning of life and about who you are and the way that you know your life is not adding up and you know you're a sinner. And those nagging doubts and questions God uses to convict and draw people to himself. Even a strong Calvinist like John Calvin would say this and I quote curiosity and simplicity are a sort of preparation for faith. And what he was saying in his own theological scheme was God works through, he draws people to himself through curiosity and we would call it through a seeking heart that is seeking not seeking God directly but seeking answers to questions in their life. And when people start seeking answers to questions and they hear about Jesus somehow God has a way of bringing those two together. And that's what's happening to this man. Okay. I believe. Is there anything that would cause you to think that maybe he had heard about Jesus or knew something about Jesus that may have been more than idle curiosity, that it may have been used by the Spirit of God to be at work in his life? Who is he? He is a tax collector, right? Who was Jesus known very well and promoted by the Pharisees as being a friend of friends of tax collectors and sinners, wasn't he? You think maybe Zacchaeus had heard that? Who? Matthew. All right, let's follow that a bit. I'd like to follow that a bit. Matthew. Who's Matthew? Disciple. He was a tax collector before he became a follower of Jesus, wasn't he? Do you remember what Matthew did immediately after he started following Jesus? Do you remember what the gospel's? Matthew chapter 8, Luke chapter 9 I believe it is. What did they say he did? What quickly a tax collector? Yes, but what did he do? Follow Jesus, but there's something else the Bible said he did immediately after he started following Jesus. He threw a party and who did he invite? The Bible calls it a banquet or a dinner, but yeah, who did he invite? There were many tax collectors, read it and Matthew, there were many tax collectors there. Now obviously if these people are the outcasts of society, who do they network with? Other tax collectors. That's where they go to the conferences with and find out how to build more people out of more money and that kind of thing. Who would you have dinner with? If nobody wants to have dinner with you, who would you have fellow tax collectors? Again, I'm supposing I'm surmising, I'm assuming a lot I know, but I don't think I'm assuming too much to say that it's quite possible he was at that dinner. Matthew, if Matthew throws a dinner for his tax collector buddies and the head of the whole tax collecting situation in the southern part of the country, at the entrance to the country in Jericho is Zacchaeus. I'd say Zacchaeus was on the guest list. I would think there's a good possibility of that anyway. So maybe he has heard Jesus before. Right. I mean, if you're going to have a big dinner to introduce people to Christ, you'd probably want to ask your boss to come and I don't know that he was directly over Matthew, but still he's he's one of the big ones. And so I think it's very possible that not only has Zacchaeus heard about Jesus, he may have been introduced to Jesus. And all of this, the Holy Spirit has been using. What I'm saying is I don't think this is just idle curiosity. Oftentimes when we've heard this story in Sunday school, it's just like he just wanted to see who he was. He just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I think there's more than that going on. I think Zacchaeus is drawn to the Savior and this is a work that God does in people's hearts. It's not just idle curiosity. This is the work of the calling, the drawing, the wooing of the Spirit in his life. And I think there's been some things that have happened that probably contributed to that. So this is not just idle curiosity. But here's a man who even though he's seeking in that way and is drawn, he's interested to know who Jesus is. I mean, that's what the text says, isn't it? So he ran ahead and climbed sick and he said, he wanted to see who Jesus was. Again, I'm not sure that he just wanted to see Jesus. Does he have black hair? How tall is he? What kind of sandals does he wear? I don't think that's it. He wanted to see who he was. He wanted to find out more about him, but he can't get to him because of the crowd. So he gets the best spot he can to see him. You would think so. Again, in our culture, it probably would be for a wealthy businessman like that to be seen clamoring up a tree to see someone going down the street. Whether that would have been common in his day, I'm not sure. But you would think, yeah, that's putting yourself out there a little bit. Again, this is not just idle curiosity. I don't think. Okay. Okay, that's a great segue into the next point. So let's just jump right into it. We've seen the center of strength. Let's look at the Son of Man seeking. Remember verse 10 says, the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Zacchaeus is the lost. He represents the lost person who has strayed away from God in spite of what his parents taught him and wanted for him in spite of his position and in spite of his interest even. But now we see the Son of Man seeking him. It begins in verse 5 quickly. You see five things about this search. Verse 5, when Jesus reached the spot, I love the way that is described. To me, that shows this was a punctual search. When Jesus reached the spot, it's almost like there's an X on the street where Jesus is supposed to stop. Now we know that's not the case, but Jesus knows exactly where he's supposed to stop. It's not Jesus is just walking down the street, not paying any attention to anybody. And here's a little noise up there. No, it's when Jesus reached the spot. When he came to the exact location of a divine appointment, and Jesus obviously knew exactly where that was and what was going to happen. At just the right time, Jesus stops. When he reached the spot, he looked up and started talking to Zacchaeus. No, in fact, the text is pretty clear. Zacchaeus did not say the first words. Jesus knew exactly where to stop and look up. There's no indication that Zacchaeus is calling out to him. I mean, if he's in a sicklemore fig tree, he may be kind of disguised by the leaves and so forth. I don't know. But this is a search that is on God's timetable. And Jesus looks up when he reaches the spot he looks up. And I wish I could have seen that eye contact. Here's a man that's been scorned by everybody in Jericho. I would like to have seen the look in Jesus' eyes when he looked up. I bet it was a look unlike anything Zacchaeus had ever seen. I can just imagine eyes of tenderness. I can imagine a knowing gaze into his eyes, a connection there with the very son of God, a welcome recognition in Jesus' eyes that must have grabbed Zacchaeus' heart. Now, Jesus looked up. But it was not only a punctual search, it was a providential search. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Jesus takes the initiative to move into the life of Zacchaeus. What is the other way around? It's not like Zacchaeus is waving the branches and waiting to say, I want to get your attention. Jesus is the one who stopped and initiated the contact. And I think there's something about the way God does His search for people. Jesus came not only to say, but to seek sinners. And part of God's search for sinners is that he takes the initiative to move into people's lives. And in whatever way we move toward God, it's because God has been working in us to make us aware of who we are, to make us ask questions, to convict us of our sin, whatever it may be. God is at work and that's the reason why we move. We think oftentimes we have taken the first step when all along behind the scenes, unknown to us. God is at work. That's clearly the way the Bible presents salvation. Jesus takes the initiative to move into his life. This meeting was planned on God's timetable. Jesus invites Himself to Zacchaeus's home. So He's taking the initiative. So it's a providential search. It's of God. And I think all of us can look back in our lives from this side of salvation. We didn't realize it when it was happening, but on this side of salvation we can all look back and see how God arranged the events of our lives and the contacts he brought into our lives for seeking us out. I mean I think every one of us in this room has a story about how God did that. We're not going to take the time to get each of your stories, but we probably all have one. John? This is Jesus first contact for conversation with the first one recorded in scriptures that we know of. He calls him by his name. He already knows him. Now again he may have been introduced to him earlier at Matthew's banquet, but there's no indication of that. There's no clear indication in the scriptures. I was just supposing that might have happened, but that leads me to the next thing about this search, which is it is not only a punctual and providential search, it's a personal search. He calls him by name. Zacchaeus. As far as we know, I mean he may have met him before that may have happened at Matthew's banquet, but that's all supposition in our part. The scriptures never say that, but he knew who he was. He knew his name. And whenever God is dealing with people in regard to salvation, it is very personal. It is as though you are the only person in the universe and God is speaking directly to you. He knows your name. He speaks to you personally. And that's what we mean when we say, have you received Christ as your personal savior? It's not like it's not like you're the only one who came to die for, but God, God personally knows who you are and seeks you out by name. He spoke to Zacchaeus. Great, great point John. He knew everything about him, didn't he? Still, still reached out to him. Yeah. So it was very personal search, but notice something else about this search. And this is the way God searches for people. When God is at work, it is a pressing search. Again, verse 5, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. Now, obviously, there's some very real practical stuff there. Jesus is like everybody coming through Jericho preparing for that last days journey up to Jerusalem. I'm going to spend the night there. So Jesus needs to find a place to stay as everybody else does. So there's something very practical going on there, but notice the urgency of this. Notice how pressing this is. Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay. Not like I'm asking for an invitation. Would you please consider, you know, call me back at 4. Let me know if it's okay with you. No, I must stay at your house today. This is urgent. This is pressing. And it's such a beautiful picture of the way God works when he's working with people in the area of salvation. God doesn't come and say, okay, I kind of like to come into your life whenever you think you're ready, just let me know. And obviously, from our perspective, it may seem that way on the unsaved side of salvation. But when God is at work, it's not like, well, just sometime whenever you think you'd like this, when God is working, that is the point at which we must respond. We all know that the scriptures teach that God doesn't, forever, God's spirit doesn't forever work with people. He's very patient. He's much more gracious and patient than we are. And he will continue to work with people probably longer than we would. But God's spirit will not always strive with people, as he said to Noah in Genesis 6. There is a limit. And when God is speaking, that's the time to respond. Not that's why sometimes we will stress to people when the gospel is being preached. If God is speaking to your heart, don't put this off. Don't walk out of this room today without making that decision, because God may not speak to your heart again in the same way. It's, it's organs pressing when God's speaking, that's the time to respond. You know, that's the time. The Bible is very clear, both not yourself and the more. You don't know what a day may bring forth. Don't think you're going to have more chances. Proverbs 29, 1, he that often being often approved, harden his neck, she'll suddenly be cut off and that without remedy. I mean, there comes a point at which the wooing, the drawing, the speaking, the convicting, the calling, whatever you want to call it, you can use any of those theological terms. There's a point at which that stops. So it's on God's terms, you know, when God's speaking, when God's working, that's when we need to respond. It's a pressing search. And then one other thing about the search is obviously in verse 7, it's a protested search. Verse 6 says so he came down at once and welcomed him gladly, but this search is protested by everybody else. All the people saw this and began to mutter. To be the guest of the center. You just hear the kind of murmur through the crowd. You know, people muttering. You just hear the muttering in this big of a crowd. No doubt, you know, people were interested in nowhere Jesus would spend the night. There are huge crowds wanting to be near him, follow him, hear him, see him for many different reasons as we've talked earlier. And no doubt a topic of conversation with many of them has been, wonder where I spend the night tonight. Wonder where I'll stay in Jericho before he makes his journey up to Jerusalem. It's too late in the day to go to Jerusalem today. He's going to stay overnight. No doubt, wonder where. Can you imagine some of the suggestions, prominent rabbi maybe in town or a Pharisee that lives over here in a big house? You know, probably a lot of suggestions as to where Jesus might stay. No one thought of Zacchaeus. I'm sure. No one, not even Zacchaeus. I guess thought of Zacchaeus. Everybody is shocked that he is going to Zacchaeus' home, but doesn't that fit the ministry of Jesus? And it ought to fit our ministry too. Jesus does not write off Zacchaeus because of who he is and because of the way everybody else sees him, because he's the scum, the lowest you can get in Jericho. Jesus doesn't write him off. Those are the very people Jesus came to save. And we'd better never forget that. That Jesus came to save sinners, outcasts. The people that everybody else has written off. Jesus did not care what the self-righteous Pharisees thought. He didn't care what rabbi so and so would say. He came to save the lost so he came for people like Zacchaeus. And we should never, ever forget that. Sometimes we can get cold and rigid and self-righteous just like the Pharisees. And no doubt they'd done their job on Zacchaeus and turned him against anything religious. You know, they've made it very clear to him that he was not welcome. There should never be anybody that we send a message to. You're not welcome. If we do, we're more like the Pharisees and we are Jesus. It is the lost. It is the sinners that Jesus came. And all these years Jesus came to save people like that. And in all these years, the self-righteous Pharisees had driven him away. From anything religious, no doubt, causing resentment, bitterness because of the way he's been treated. And he probably, in these moments of honesty, says, I deserve it. I earned it, you know, by what I do. But it only took one gentle, gracious act of reaching out to him to soften his heart and cause him to come to the Savior. And that's what we need to be doing. It opened the floodgates of his soul and he responded to Jesus when someone reached out in love and compassion to him. It broke all the rules. It broke all the rules of who Jesus should stay with. They're by shot. The murmuring starts. Let's never get so caught up in our rules that we can't reach out in compassion to people. And no matter what the rules are, no matter what the rules are, you know, sometimes we have our rules as to how things should work in the church. And you know, you have to have standards and you have to have policies and guidelines as to how things are done, but sometimes you know what trumps every one of those rules is somebody needs something and we got to show the love of Jesus to them. And don't care who they are. Don't care who they are. Remember, non-member high position in society, scum of society, that matter, that matter who they are. If they need compassion and love, then we ought to be able to step outside the rules sometimes and the policies and procedures and say, I'm going to reach out to that person, show them Jesus love. And that's exactly what Jesus did. It was protested by everybody else, but Jesus didn't care. He's going to reach out to Zacchaeus. Our time is up, but there's no kids here tonight. So we're okay. I mean, we don't have any, no, we'll stop. But let me just help you finish the outline. You'll go home frustrated and mad at me. Son of man, not only came to seek, but he also came to save. And so you see him saving in verses eight and nine. The means of salvation, verse nine, Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a son of Abraham. Okay, Jesus says he saved because he's the son of Abraham. What does that mean? How did he get saved? Because he was a descendant of Abraham. Is that what saved him? What do you think? No, of course not. Didn't the Pharisees say to Jesus, we're children of Abraham. John chapter eight, we don't know who child you are, but we're children of Abraham. That's where Jesus came back at him and said, John, 844, you are of your father, the devil. That's who your father is. Whoa. Okay, it's not national racial biological descendancy from Abraham. He's talking about what he's talking about. You're a true son of Abraham in the same sense later that Paul would develop in his theology. Look at these verses quickly, Galatians 36 and 7. So also Abraham believed God. It was credit to him as righteousness. Understand then that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Paul would develop that theological. Jesus is already anticipating that the truth children of Abraham are people of faith, not people who have the genes, but people of faith. And so what he's saying is Zacchaeus has faith. He has trusted Jesus. And because of that, he's saved. That's the means of salvation. Then quickly the evidence of salvation, the evidence is very clear and compelling. First of all, he obeyed Jesus and followed him back in verse six. When Jesus said come down immediately, the mistake or has came down at once and welcomed him gladly. I mean, that shows the change in heart. That's evidence of salvation. But the evidence of salvation really in this man's life is a changed life in verse eight. Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, look, Lord, here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, yeah, right? I mean, basically he's saying, I've lived my whole life as a cheat. And whoever I've cheated, I will pay back four times the amount. Now, for a man who has made his way in his profession by cheating people, does that sound like a changed life? Sure does. There's a changed heart here. No longer do I want to get all I can get to pad my pockets, I want to make sure I do what's right to people. And I know I've cheated people. I'm going to pay them back. And by the way, if you go investigate the law, there are like three different laws of Moses that are involved here. And he chooses the toughest one, the one that would require you to pay back the most. There are different laws as to whether or not you were found or whether or not you turned yourself in, whether or not you were able to reimburse what you or to give back a person something you'd stolen. If you couldn't, you had to pay like double or in certain cases four times, he took the most extreme route, which shows where his heart is. I'm going to pay back fourfold, anybody I've cheated. That's the evidence of Salva changed life, changed heart, which results in change life is the evidence of salvation. There's one other thing that Jesus does before he goes up to Bethany and Jerusalem. And it's that he quickly follows up what he says in verse 10, the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost. He quickly follows that up with a story that illustrates his kingdom because people are thinking when he goes to Jerusalem, he's going to set up his kingdom. All this fervor is about Jesus is going to Jerusalem for the Passover. That's no doubt when the kingdom will start. He's going to set it up. And so Jesus tells a story to describe that's not what's going to happen. And that'll be the last thing he does before we find him in Bethany right outside of Jerusalem on Friday, a week before he dies. So we'll get to that story about the kingdom next week. Thank you, Father, for the way our Lord demonstrated love and compassion to a man who needed it. To a man who was a sinner, no doubt, and lived a wicked life, but a man who needed the touch, the love, compassion of the Savior. Lord help us to be more like Jesus to reach out to the outcasts, downtrodden. People that everybody else would be shocked. We were spent time with help us to be open to your spirits guiding us to reach out to those people, the lost. In Jesus' name, amen.