Luke 19:1-10 (Part Two)
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-Let me invite you to...
Turn in your Bibles
Follow along this morning
We’re going to be back in the beginning of Luke 19.
We started this section last week...
...but we only made it down to Verse 7...
And I told you then, that...
...Verses 8-10 had so much...
...theological content in them...
...that we simply couldn’t...
...cover it all in one setting.
So, we’re going to try to finish up...
...what we couldn’t get to last week, this morning.
But, as always...
We’ll read over the whole thing first...
Pray and ask for the Lord’s help...
Review our way down to where we left off.
-Alright, Luke 19, beginning in Verse 1...
This is the Word of the Lord:
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.
4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
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Pray
-So remember that we began this section...
...with yet another travel update...
...concerning Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem...
...where he would “Accomplish everything written about...”
Luke told us (Verse 1):
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.
So, only 10-15 miles to go now! . . .
But, once again...
...he encounters someone in need of his help.
Last time it had been:
35 ...a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
And Jesus had stopped, and...
Healed that man
Made him His disciple!
This time, as he’s making his way through the city...
...his journey is “interrupted” by someone quite different:
2 ...a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
And remember that...
...this man wasn’t as his name suggested:
(Righteous, Just, and Pure)
Rather, he was a proud, greedy little tyrant!
But, much like we saw...
...later on with King Herod himself...
Zacchaeus, too, because he had...
...heard so much about him...
...had an insatiable curiosity about our Lord.
Luke told us in Verse 3:
3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.
So, at first he appeared to be...
...motivated simply by idle curiosity.
But, Verses 4-6 seemed to hint at the idea...
...that Jesus’ arrival...
...had brought an unexpected change...
...in Zacchaeus’ heart.
Remember?
4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him...
Shameful and undignified actions for a man of his status.
Very much “child-like” (think chapter 18)
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
It wasn’t a happenstance at all.
It was a divine appointment!
Jesus had intended this all along!
6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
And I suggested to you last week, that...
...in that, ALREADY we see a fundamental change of heart!
A.) He’s not concerned about...
...being exposed for his childlike actions...
(i.e., he’s gained some humility)
B.) He’s not concerned about...
...how much it’s going to cost him...
...to feed Jesus and his disciples!
(All of a sudden he’s generous!)
And not just is he not...
...concerned about those things...
he...
6 ...received him joyfully.
This is a different man...
...than the one that was introduced...
...back up in Verse 2!
(We’ll see that more...
...when we get down to Verse 8).
But first, remember how people...
...responded to Jesus’ breaking bread with him:
7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
Now, they were right about that (in one sense).
Zacchaeus was “a sinner”. . .
And a great one at that!
AND… Jesus had indeed...
...gone into break bread and fellowship with him!
But what were they SO wrong about?
Do you remember?
They were wrong in assuming...
...that Zacchaeus was going to make Jesus unclean!
They had too low an estimation...
...of who Jesus was...
...if they thought that was a possibility.
The fact was, that...
...the moral transmission was...
...going to go the other way.
(It always did)
Dr. Jesus was going to...
...transmit his holiness to Zacchaeus!
It was Zacchaeus who was...
...going to be changed...
NOT the thrice-holy incarnate Son of God!
He can’t be corrupted or rendered unclean.
It’s impossible!
The Divine Physician NEVER...
...contracted diseases from his patients...
He ALWAYS brought healing to them!
And that’s why (back in Luke 5)...
When...
30 ...the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 ...Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
That was his own mission statement.
That’s what he came to the earth...
...and took on flesh, to do!
And do you remember why?
7 ...there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Because bringing sinners to repentance...
...glorifies and delights His Father!
And He said elsewhere:
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
39 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.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life...
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Do you see why I said...
...that this wasn’t a coincidence?
From all eternity past...
...this had been decreed as a “must.”
Nothing in all the earth, the heavens...
...or even hell itself...
...could have stopped this from happening.
Zacchaeus was a lost sheep...
And the Father had sent the Son...
...to find him and bring him home...
...And Jesus had done so gloriously!
-Look at Verse 8:
8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, . . .
He’s not speaking to be seen of men.
He’s not trying to justify himself...
...in the eyes of the grumbling critics.
This is an address to his new Lord...
To the One who now holds his allegiance and affections!
(And boy, is there a lot for us to learn from it)
“Behold, Lord,
(There’s his confession of faith!)
This is what follows it:
This is what he understands...
...the claim of Jesus’ Lordship over his life...
...to mean for him:
(What always accompanies saving faith?)
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
So, first of all, notice...
...that he is recognizing and confessing his sin.
He’s not making excuses for it...
He’s not blaming his daddy...
He’s not blaming his friends...
He’s not blaming society.
He’s simply agreeing with...
...the indictment that the Word of God...
...makes on his life and actions.
(We’ll see that in a minute)
-But, he doesn’t stop there, does he?
He resolves to obey its commands as well!
And that’s what happens...
...with gospel repentance:
The sinner confesses and...
...turns away from his sin...
...and then turns to God!
Watch this:
It’s so telling.
It shows us so much...
...about the change that had been wrought...
...in Zacchaeus’s heart.
We’ll deal with the latter, first:
8 ...if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
(BTW that’s a first class conditional statement in the Greek)
(It’s essentially an admission of guilt)
Now, that statement doesn’t...
...come out of nowhere:
2 “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery...
4 if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression...
5 ...he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.
Notice that same immediacy...
...in Zacchaeus’s pledge to Jesus in Verse 8:
8 . . .“Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.
Not: “I will give…” (Someday — In the Future)
But: “I give…” (Now — Today!)
Immediately!
Similarly:
And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
Not: “I will make restitution…” (Someday — In the Future)
But: “I restore…” (Now — Today!)
Immediately!
-Now, did you notice...
… where he differed from the commandment?
8 ...if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
But for such crimes/sins...
...the Lord only required:
5 ...he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it...
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He’s going above and beyond...
...the minimal requirements of justice.
And implied within that, is:
1.) He sees his sin as grievous to the highest degree...
Remember David’s accidental self-indictment?
Nathan had told him of...
A Rich man with many sheep...
Taking and eating the only lamb of a poor man...
5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,
6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
That was the maximum penalty possible under the Law.
2.) That he’s not being FORCED to make restitution.
He’s doing it willingly!
He’s not doing it begrudgingly.
His heart has changed.
He has begun to:
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
(Keep in mind that Luke told us...
...that he’s doing all of this joyfully)
-Furthermore, he had said at the beginning:
8 ...the half of my goods I give to the poor...
Again, this is far above and beyond...
...any minimal requirements of the Law!
This one isn’t as precise...
...but you had commands like:
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.
10 … you shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
Or even:
28 “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce...
29 And the Levite . . . and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled...
So charity was commanded...
But maybe 10-20% at the very most!
But Zacchaeus pledges (of his own accord):
8 ...Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor...
Half of what he possesses!
Half of his net worth...
Not just his income for that year!
Do you see how powerful of a statement...
...that Verse 8 is making?
-This man has clearly been reborn.
He’s not the same person.
His heart had been made new.
He has a completely different value system...
...and as a consequence of that...
...he has begun to:
8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
This is one of the greatest examples...
...of what that looks like...
...in a real-life scenario...
And it’s a great illustration for us...
...of why James said:
17 ...faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 ...I will show you my faith by my works.
22 ...faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
Faith — and the fruit it produces...
...are inseparable from one another.
John Murray said:
“The faith that is unto salvation is a penitent faith, and the repentance that is unto life is a believing repentance.” — John Murray
They are two sides of the same coin.
They are inseparable!
-Now, one more thing (before we move on)...
Let’s not overlook this (From Philip Ryken):
What makes his repentance so remarkable is that he was so rich.
In the previous chapter Luke had recounted the story of a rich man who refused to repent, a man who was not willing to use his fortune to feed the poor. As that man walked sadly away, Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:24–25).
Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But as Jesus went on to say, “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27).
The truth of those words was confirmed by the repentance of Zacchaeus, who never could have found salvation on his own.
Only God could do such an impossible thing as bring a rich little thief to repentance. He needed Jesus to come seeking to save him. — Ryken
And that’s exactly what Jesus did.
He says so plainly in Verse 9:
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house...
Who had come to Zacchaeus’s house?
(Remember Verse 7?)
7 ...they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
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They assumed that Jesus...
...would be lost by going into Zacchaeus’s house!
Jesus said that, instead...
He brought salvation into that house!
How?
By saving the master of the house.
By making him clean and holy.
By making him to be accounted righteousness!
His house was no longer unclean.
It was no longer off limits.
Zacchaeus was no longer...
...outside of the people of God!
-Watch what Jesus goes on to say:
9 . . .“Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
What made him a “son of Abraham” ?
Was he that before “Today” ?
(His fellow Jews didn’t...
...seem to see him as one of their own!)
So, what did Jesus mean by this statement?
-We need to be clear about this:
6 ...not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring...
8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
He said back in Chapter 4, that Abraham...
11 ...received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
He said it even more plainly in Galatians 3:
7 ...it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Guys, Zacchaeus was now more...
...a TRUE “son of Abraham” . . .
More of an inheritor of the Divine Blessings...
Than those physically circumcised folks...
Who stood outside murmuring...
...about what a great sinner he had been!
That’s the power of the Gospel!
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-Now, Verse 10 is critical.
Why?
1.) It answers the criticism...
...as to why Jesus was willing...
...to fellowship with such a notorious sinner.
2.) It makes sure that we know...
...beyond a shadow of a doubt...
...why it is (ultimately speaking)...
...that Zacchaeus has now received...
...the guarantee of the blessings of heaven.
And it wasn’t because he...
Earned it
Deserved it
It didn’t start with him.
Not ultimately speaking.
He didn’t seek out Christ
Not ultimately speaking.
He didn’t find Jesus
Not ultimately speaking.
Ultimately speaking, this is what happened:
10 ...the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
This was Jesus’ own mission statement.
This was his own commentary...
...on what had happened with/to Zacchaeus.
He had accomplished his Father’s will.
He had sought out, found, and saved...
...one of His Father’s lost sheep.
-And watch how clear the causation is...
...when we read it in conjunction with Verse 9:
9 . . . “Today salvation has come to this house...
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
-Also, we can’t overlook this:
(And it helps us to...
...better understand that “son of Abraham” comment)
Think about this:
11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.
16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy...
Guys, the “fat and the strong” . . .
...are those who:
Presume on their ancestry or ethnicity...
...to make them “sons of Abraham.”
Think they’re good enough on their own
Don’t think they need to repent
Don’t think they need an alien righteousness
Don’t think they need grace
Don’t think they need to be saved
Those, he will destroy.
-But… those who come to him...
17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
Those who...
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
Those will go...
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other....
-But again, we need to be perfectly clear...
...about why and how:
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
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