Keep sharing good news without ads.
Pastor David Mitchell
Luke 19 and verse 1 and Jesus entered and passed through Jericho and behold there was a man named Zacchaeus which was the chief among the publicans and he was rich and he sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the press because he was little of stature and had a high voice and he ran before and climbed into a sycamore tree to see him for he was to pass that way.
And when Jesus came to the place he looked up and saw him and said to him Zacchaeus make haste to come down. For today I must abide at thy house. And we stopped there and we look at this word must. It's an interesting word.
It means it is necessary. It comes from the Greek word da which means binding and necessary which comes from a root word day oh which means to bind which makes it clear that Jesus was bound to go to this man's house.
In other words it was for ordained predetermined and it was flat gonna happen. He says I must abide at thy house. And so then verse 6 says and he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. I did a little word study on this word received and there are several Greek words for this.
The one that's in John 1 verse 12 where it says as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God is a different Greek word. So we have two words for received this where it said that Zacchaeus came down to received him joyfully is poop owed a come a he.
That's not like about four Greek words put together doesn't it. And it is but it means to admit under one's roof. So see it's about four words put into one to admit under one's roof and entertain hospitably.
And that word pictures fellowship. In the Greek language it pictures fellowship because they they translate it to receive someone. But in their language they're thinking to bring them into your home and for a meal together.
And so that is a beautiful word. For what it means to receive Jesus is to receive him for fellowship for a relationship. And it's so different than the modern gospel is taught in our churches nowadays where it just means we'll just believe he exists come down the aisle just believe on Jesus and you'll be saved.
And they think it means just to believe he's there. But that's not what this man did. He received Jesus which with joy which means he brought him into his home. Is that a beautiful picture of what it is to receive Jesus bring him into the home and entertain entertain him and be hospitable.
So the word in John 1 12 where it says as many years received him is Lambano which means to get hold of. So it's that that word is kind of interesting because there's a third Greek word that is translated into receive and it means to have something offered to you and then you receive it.
But that's not the word that's used for salvation because if it were if it were the word used then you would have this modern picture of God holding it out like this and offering it. But you have to come take it.
And that's not the word that's used in the Greek. It's a word that has more to do with receiving in the sense of understanding with the mind and being in agreement with and then fellow desiring fellowship with.
So that's enough about that. Let's go on to verse 7. And when they saw it they all murmured saying that he was gone to be a guest with a man that was a sinner. Isn't that interesting the way the world is.
Why would someone who's trying to save sinners ever want to go eat with sinners. Isn't that amazing that they think that way. Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord behold Lord the half of my goods I give to the poor.
And if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation I restore him fourfold. Now this is this has taken place after he has received the Lord. So it's picturing what happens after salvation. What happens after salvation.
Well repentance. And it happens in an instance of time where it to us it seems like part of the same event. But there's no way there can be repentance without the salvation occurring first. And we see what happens after this man is saved is his heart changes and he wants to make it right with everybody that he's ever wrong.
Ephesians 2 10 talks about that and says that we are ordained that we would walk in good works after we're saved. Matthew 3 7 talks about it. It says bring forth therefore fruits fit for repentance. What's interesting about it.
If you're in Matthew 3 7 through 9 there where it talks about fruit meat for repentance it says and think not to say within yourselves we have Abraham as our father. Jesus was talking to him and he was saying you're all claiming to have Abraham as your father.
But your life does not show that you are that he said you should have a life that has seen repentance that is that is worthy of the salvation. You claim you have. But he said you don't have that. So he says you should be bringing forth fruits that show that you've repented in your lives.
Don't just say that your children of Abraham. What's interesting about that is this passage that we're in the very next verse. Look at verse 9. It says in Jesus said to him this day is salvation come to his house for so much as he also is a son of Abraham.
Now why. Why would Jesus as a man we know as as the Savior he can know your heart. But as a man as he watches this man why would he say now we know this man is a true son of Abraham. Why does he say that.
Because of the repentance he sees he sees him say well I'm gonna take back and restore everything I've stolen from these people and I'm gonna make it right. And so the true according to Jesus Christ the true sign of being a son of Abraham is that you have fruits fitting of repentance in the life.
And this man certainly had that. So this day is salvation come to this house. This word salvation. I love this word because I know in the Old Testament it means this. But even in the Greek New Testament this particular word for salvation where Jesus says this day salvation has come to this man's house.
It comes from a word whose root word is so-so which means to deliver to deliver. So to be saved is to be delivered. It's not just to avoid hell it's to be delivered in this life as well to have deliverance from all the old sin habits and all the old things we used to be under lordship to were delivered from all that.
And the very word salvation found there in verse 9 comes from the Greek word so-so which means to deliver. Now this day is salvation come to this house for as much as he also is a son of Abraham. Verse 10 says for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.
This word seek it means literally to seek but it is sometimes translated in other parts of the Bible. If it's used in a negative sense it can mean to plot like to plot against somebody. But the reason I think that's an interesting that it carries that little color of meat meaning is because with the Lord Jesus as he seeks there has been a plot to seek.
In other words he is fulfilling a plot. If you want to put it that way even though I know that for us it has a negative connotation to me. It speaks of the great counsel that the father and the son had where they plotted whom would be saved.
You want to put it that way. And so he is seeking he came to seek. In other words there is a plot or a plan about exactly whom he is seeking. And he came to save that which is lost. And the word save once again is this word so-so which means to deliver.
So the Son of Man has come and there's a plan by which he came and he came to seek and to deliver that which was lost. And we would be amiss if we stopped before we looked at this word lost because this word lost is Apollo may he which means literally to destroy fully it had.
It comes from several Greek words you put together. But it starts. This little word oppo that it starts with is a word that adds significance to the word that's going to follow. And it adds this word fully or the idea of fully.
So if you have if you have the word olefros which means to ruin or to destroy and you put the little word oppo in front of it means to ruin and destroy fully and completely. It makes it an extremely strong word.
So he came to seek and to save that which was fully and completely going to be destroyed. So it's fascinating thing to think about that even though we were ordained to eternal life on the human side had Jesus Christ not saved us and delivered us we would have been fully destroyed because we had sin.
We were born into a line of human beings a race that had fallen and sinned against a holy God. God cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore if Jesus had not saved us we would have been destroyed as completely and fully as Satan was.
And so we have an amazing salvation an amazing deliverance from this utter and complete destruction that we were headed for. Let's pray father we thank you for that salvation for that deliverance. The word thank you cannot possibly express in a strong enough way what we ought to be saying to you for what you've done for us how we ought to be living for you for what you've done for us we thank you that you have delivered us we pray that you would cause us to walk in such a way that we would show forth fruits fitting of repentance.
And we ask it in Jesus name Amen.