Sermon for Lord's Day October 2, 2022 Luke 19:1-10

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Sermon for Lord's Day October 2, 2022 Luke 19:1-10

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He entered Jericho and was passing through, and behold there was a man named Zacchaeus.
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He was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was seeking to see who
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Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not because he was small in stature.
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So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
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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.
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So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully, and when they saw it, they all grumbled.
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He is gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the
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Lord, Behold Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have defrauded anyone of anything,
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I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, To Zacchaeus, today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham, for the
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Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
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Thus far is the reading of God's holy word. Jesus is entering into Jericho here in the text.
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Keep in mind, since early on in Luke's accounts, in Luke's gospel,
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Jesus is journeying toward Jerusalem. I do not hesitate to repeat it again, where he will give himself the sacrifice for the sins of the world.
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In the scripture it says here, he entered into Jericho. So in this chapter 19, we are going to see several things.
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Today we are going to look at his entrance into Jericho. A little later, in verse 11, we will see
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Jesus communicates the parable of the ten Ninas. And then in the latter portion of the chapter, we will see and read the account of what is referred to as Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and Jesus' cleansing of the temple.
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We'll see all this. But today, our focus, our aim, our goal, our intent, is to look at, to examine the account of Jesus calling
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Zacchaeus unto himself, and let's not forget why
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Jesus announces why he came into the world. The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
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The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, came into the world to accomplish what nobody else could accomplish, and that is the salvation of the souls of men.
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And by doing so, and in doing that, and how he did that was by actively obeying
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God's word to the jaw and to the tittle. In his active obedience, he was an acceptable sacrifice.
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In his passive obedience, he took upon himself the wrath of God on our behalf.
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And so at the cross, there was a great exchange made for our souls. Life for death, forgiveness for sin, it was accomplished by Jesus Christ himself.
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Now, he entered into Jericho. Let's do just a little bit of groundwork here.
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Let's lay a little bit of foundation. Let's try to get in our minds where Jericho is or what
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Jericho, this place itself, the city itself was like. We can go to history.
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The historian Josephus tells us that even in the winter, the inhabitants could only bear the lightest clothing of linen.
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It was a very warm, tropical land. And as Josephus says in his history, in his account of Jericho, he said we are approaching it from the
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Jordan. It is protected by walls. It is flanked by four forks.
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These walls and the theater, the amphitheater, had been built by King Herod. The new palace and its splendid gardens are the work of Archelaus.
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All around, wave groves of feathery palms grow, rising in stately beauty.
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Stretch gardens of roses, and especially sweet -scented balsam plantations, the largest of which is behind the royal gardens, of which the perfume is carried by the wind almost out to the sea, in which may be given the name to the city
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Jericho, which means the perfumed. Now, we always think about Jericho as being where the thugs and the thieves are.
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The thugs and the thieves were in between Jericho and Jerusalem. Jericho itself was a lush, fertile, beautiful land.
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Josephus goes on to call it the Eden of Palestine. It is the very fairyland of the old world.
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And how strangely, Josephus said, is this gem set. Deep down in that hollow valley,
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I believe 700 feet below sea level, deep down in that hollow valley, through which tortures
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Jordan winds, to lose his waters in the slimy mass of the Sea of Judgment, the river and the
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Dead Sea are nearly equidistant from the town about six miles. Josephus goes on in this description.
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Far across the river rise the mountains of Moab, on which lies the purple and the violet coloring.
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Towards Jerusalem and northwards stretch those bare limestone hills, which is the hiding place of robbers, along the desolate road towards the city.
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There are, or there, and in the neighboring wilderness of Judea, are also the lonely dwellings of hermits.
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While over all this strangely varied scene has been flung the many -colored mantle of a perpetual summer, and in the streets of Jericho a motley throng meets, as Josephus describes, pilgrims from Galilee and from Perea, priests who have their station here, traders from all lands who have come to purchase or to sell, or are on the great caravan road from Arabia and Damascus, robbers and anchorites, wild fanatics, soldiers, courtiers, and busy publicans, for Jericho was the central station for the collection of tax and custom, both on native produce and on that that was brought from across the
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Jordan. And so here we have a picture, a historical account, of Jericho, this city in which
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Jesus enters into, this city which is known for its beautiful smell.
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Now, it's not often that you go to a city and you think, man, this place smells good. But Jericho was known for its fragrance.
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Jericho was known for its pleasing aroma. And so he entered into Jericho, 700 feet below sea level, going and passing through Jericho.
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He's on his way up the hill to Jerusalem. And the Bible tells us here in verse 2, and there was a man named
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Zacchaeus. This was not a parable. This was not a made -up account.
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This is a historical account in the Scriptures about a real man who lived a real sinful life, who was really saved by the goodness and the mercy and the grace of God, when the gospel of Jesus Christ himself came to Jericho.
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And I'm thankful that the gospel is real. I am thankful today that the gospel is not a fairy tale.
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I am thankful that the power of God unto salvation is available for all who will call upon the name of the
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Lord. For he is the same Savior today as he has ever, ever been.
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There was a man named Zacchaeus. And very quickly, as we go into this, a man named
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Zacchaeus, notice very specific details that are given. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
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And he was seeking to see Jesus, or he was seeking to see who Jesus was.
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But on account of the crowd, he could not, because he was small in stature. Now, Jesus came.
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In his book, Concise Theology, J. I. Packer writes this concerning Jesus' witness.
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He said, out of Jesus' witness to his Father, to the people's needs, and to his own role, three theological themes take form.
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And these are the three theological themes that take form in Jesus' coming.
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Number one, we see the kingdom of God come. What did Jesus do when he came?
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The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, therefore, and believe the gospel.
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J. I. Packer said this concerning the kingdom. This is a relational reality that came with Jesus as the fulfillment of God's plan for history, of which
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Old Testament prophets had constantly spoken. The kingdom is present with Jesus, for the
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King of the kingdom is there. His miracles are signs of it. The kingdom will be preached and will grow until the
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Son of Man, who now reigns in heaven, reappears for judgment, for he will come again.
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And when he comes again, for some, it will be for judgment, and for those who are saved, it will be for great joy, for we will be with our
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Lord. Number two, the second theological theme that's taken from Jesus' witness to the
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Father, it's the saving work of Jesus. What did Christ say in verse 10? The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.
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Having come down from heaven, J. I. Packer writes this, having come down from heaven at the
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Father's will to bring chosen sinners to glory, Jesus died for them, he calls them, and he draws them to himself, he forgives their sins, and he keeps them safe until the day of their resurrection, glorification, and introduction into heaven's happiness.
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We are kept by the grace of God. If you have been saved by the grace of God, then rest in the
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Lord's work, for in the very same work in which you have been saved, you are being kept.
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You are being preserved. Number three, lastly, the third of the theological themes that take form out of Jesus' witness to his
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Father's work, is number three, as J. I. Packer states it, it is the ethics of God's family.
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Listen, if you are saved, you are a new creature in Christ Jesus. You are not perfect in the flesh.
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Do not ever think that you are above sin, because we are not above sin. We are taught in the scriptures, as a matter of fact, to always carefully consider our brothers and sisters when they are in sin.
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We are taught to consider ourselves, lest we also be tempted, and fall into that same degree of sin.
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But there is a new life in Christ Jesus, a life which comes to sinners as a gift, a free gift of God's amazing grace, and it will be expressed in a new lifestyle.
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You may ask yourself, how can I know if I have been saved? Is your heart different?
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Is your mind different? Do you love sin more than you love the Savior? That is a good indicator there.
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A good indicator that you have been saved is that you daily fight against sin. If there is no battle with sin in your life, then you, my friend, are still in the bond of iniquity.
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You are still in and under the condemnation of God. But friends, if you will trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, today you can be saved.
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You can know that your sins have been forgiven you, and that your sins having been forgiven you, the
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Holy Spirit of God sets up a boat inside of you, and causes you to be sanctified, causes you to be clean, causes you to desire the things that God loves, that God promotes, that God has provided.
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But it is the work of the Holy Spirit. What must I do to be saved?
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Creature, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.
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Jab Packer goes on to say concerning the ethics of God's family. Those who know
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God as their loving Heavenly Father must accept His providences without bitterness, honoring
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Him at all times by trusting in His protecting care.
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There's an old song, there's a guiding hand that is daily leading along life's weary way, rough and weary way, right?
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There's a guiding hand that leads us. It is that same strong arm of God that led the children of Israel out of Egypt's bondage, out into what they thought was a wilderness, out to the face of the
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Red Sea. And it is the strong hand, the mighty hand of God who was able to make a way in the wilderness where there was no way before by dividing the waters hither and thither, as the
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King James says. Dividing them apart so that God's people could go through the sea.
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And it is God who has done this great work. He cares for us.
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In a word, God's children must be like their father and like their Savior, which means being utterly unlike this world.
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Warren Wearsby. Kenny will hate this. Kenny loves Warren Wearsby.
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But Warren Wearsby, in his outline concerning Zacchaeus, said this. What Zacchaeus experienced the day
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Jesus passed by was that one, a man became a child and ran down the street.
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A man became a child and ran down the street. A seeking man became found.
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A small man became big. A poor man became rich. We have the riches, church.
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We have the riches of God's mercy given to us in Jesus Christ. We have the riches of His glory.
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We have the riches of His wisdom. And these, brothers and sisters today, are unsearchable riches.
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You cannot go deeper than the riches of God. You cannot, ain't good
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English right here, but you cannot get any gooder than the goodness of God. You cannot get any greater than the greatness of God.
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It is unfathomable. Praise the Lord. Wearsby went on to say, When a day begins, you never know how it will end.
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For Zacchaeus, that day ended in joyful fellowship with the
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Son of God. For He has now changed man with a new life.
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Zacchaeus, if we are reasonable, if we are rational in approaching this text completely objectively, we have no reason to think or to expect that Zacchaeus had anything in of himself that would have caused
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Jesus to draw him and to call him to Himself. The Bible says here, notice in verse 2, there was a man named
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Zacchaeus and he was not just a tax collector, but he was the chief of tax collectors.
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Now how are we to understand this? How did tax collecting work? Well, tax collecting was basically the
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Roman government let the tax collectors subcontract. They were to take
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Rome's cuts and to take whatever else they wanted on top of that. That's why they were hated, because they were extortioners.
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But this chief tax collector, let's bring this down in terms where certainly in 2020 we all understand this.
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Pyramid schemes. You get at the top, you make the big bucks.
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You get a big down line. What happened was Zacchaeus had a huge down line. He had money coming in on every hand.
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I mean he was making money hand over fist. He was the chief of the tax collectors and the scripture says he was rich.
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So that word chief, that word chief, the definition of rich here is quite simply this, wealthy.
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Abounding in material resources. He was wealthy. He was abounding in material resources.
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Now, Spurgeon said this, Jesus Christ had just blessed previously, you remember in our text,
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Jesus Christ had just blessed the blind man who was so poor he was a beggar that sat on the side of the road begging for anything that he could get.
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Spurgeon asked this question, will he bless the rich man too? Oh yes,
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Spurgeon said. Oh yes, for he knows no distinction of persons. He is ready to bless all classes of people.
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You may think to yourself, I'm not part of this group or I'm not part of that group. It doesn't matter what group you're in, if you're alive, if you're living, if you're breathing, then my friend, you can mark this down, one of two things is true.
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You're a sinner on your way to hell or you're a sinner saved by the grace of almighty
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God. He has no distinction, Spurgeon said.
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He's ready to bless all classes, whether they be rich or poor. I'm adding this to Spurgeon's, but I'm saying this, it ain't nothing to Jesus.
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It ain't nothing to Jesus. Your condition, your shape, your place, your pedigree, it don't matter.
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Jesus Christ is above all. Do you remember back in chapter 18?
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Well, yeah, it was just previously in this chapter, right? Chapter 18, when the rich young ruler came to Jesus.
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The rich young ruler came to Jesus and the Bible says that he went away sorrowful. He left
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Jesus sorrowful, not rejoicing. And why? Because he had great riches. Because he loved the things of this world more than he loved
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Christ. Now, what did Jesus say about this? Jesus told the disciples, It is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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And do you remember the question the disciples asked right there? Well, who can be saved then?
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If a rich man who supposedly keeps the law can't be saved, who in the world can be saved?
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As though it was hopeless. And what did Jesus say? With men, this is impossible.
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But with God, all things are possible. Thanks be unto
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God. With God, it is possible for the rich man to be saved. With God, it is possible for the poor man to be saved.
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With God, it is possible for the good man to be saved. With God, it is possible that the bad man be saved.
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With God, it is possible. So the
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Scripture says, The scripture says here, Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, he was rich, and that he was seeking to see
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Jesus. Now we can speculate, and that's truly all we can do right here because there's not really a lot of great detail.
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He was seeking to see Jesus. He could have just been wanting to see what Jesus looked like. He wanted to see how
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Jesus traveled. He wanted to see how Jesus roamed. He wanted to see Jesus, maybe how the disciples acted around Jesus, how the crowds interacted with Jesus.
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He had heard all these things. He didn't know Jesus. He was curious about Jesus.
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And so the scripture says this, so he ran on, but he was small, he could not see Him because the crowds were gathered around Jesus.
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And keep this in mind, the crowds were thronging Jesus. I mean, there probably wasn't room for Jesus to raise
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His arms out. The crowds were there around Him. Zacchaeus just wanted to see
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Jesus for who He was, but because he was small, by the way, the Greek word in the
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New Testament is mikros, from which we get our word micro.
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He was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. Therefore he climbed up in the sycamore tree for the
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Lord he wanted to see. That's good theology in that one song right there.
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So the scripture says, because he was mikros, because he was small in stature, he could not see Him. So he ran on ahead and he climbed up into the sycamore trees.
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The balsam trees, the sycamore trees were abundant in Jericho. Remember, it's a fruit of pearl land.
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I looked up some pictures of sycamore trees, tried to find out all I could about them. Some of them were gnarly trees, big trees, but they had huge branches that overhung the way sides so that it would easily, especially support the weight of a little man, much less big men.
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Anybody who wanted to climb out on these limbs, it was going to hold them up. Now think about this. We think this is unique, but was it really so unique that Zacchaeus did what he did?
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I would say no, because there was no doubt other short people there. There was no doubt other people who were smart enough to say, if I can get an elevated vantage point, that I'll be able to see
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Jesus. But there is something unique about this account as we continue to look into the text here.
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So it's not unreasonable, as I said, for us to assume that there wasn't other people who did this, who tried to do the same thing that Zacchaeus did, but it obviously makes sense to do what he did.
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What is unique about this situation is what the
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Gospel writer has put into the account for us, and that is this, that Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name.
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So what? Big deal. Have you thought about that? Have you ever been in a crowd of 500 people that you don't know, and maybe one or two people are in that crowd somewhere mixed up that you do know?
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You're probably not going to notice them. You're probably not going to see them. But out of this great throng that was surrounding
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Jesus, out of all the people in Jericho that came out to see him, Jesus looks up, and he makes mention of one little man up on a tree branch.
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He looked up, and he saw him, and he saw him, he being one of those the
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Father had given to him. When Jesus saw Zacchaeus, he knew him.
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This is the principle. This is the great doctrine of election, and he loved him, and he undertook for him, and he was coming to the world, why, he said, in 10, to seek and to save that which was lost.
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And now at this time, Jesus came to call Zacchaeus by his grace unto himself.
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He came to call Zacchaeus to himself, he being chosen to him in Christ to grace and to glory.
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Zacchaeus being a vessel of mercy, which was aforeprepared for glory, he had seen him when he was brought into the bond of the covenant, and he passed under the rod of him that tells all the covenant ones as they were put into it, and given to him the mediator of it.
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He had seen him among them that were lost in Adam, and whom he came, whom
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Jesus came to recover out of the ruins of their fall in him.
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Who did Jesus come to save? The lost. Who did Jesus come to seek? The lost.
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Those who were unable in and of ourselves to get to him. All my friends, today, our sin is great, but there is grace greater than our sin, and it is found in and through the person and the work of Jesus Christ alone.
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Now what we have in this text, as I mentioned, is a beautiful picture of the doctrine of election. John Gill said this,
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John Gill said, when Jesus said unto him, Zacchaeus, when Jesus called him by name, he knew him, and he could call him by his name just as he did
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Saul on the road to Damascus when he called him, and he revealed himself to him.
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His name was written in the Lamb's book of life, and so it is evident that it was known by Christ who was present at the making of that book, and was concerned in setting down the names in it, and he has it in his keeping.
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Gill goes on to say, he was one of the sheep of the Father that the Father had given him. He came down to lay his life for Zacchaeus, and of whom he had such perfect knowledge, so as to call him by name, as he does all the chosen and the redeemed ones.
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It must be very surprising, Gill said, it must have been very surprising to Zacchaeus to hear
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Christ call him by name, who was an utter stranger to him, and whom he had never seen before, and it is a very considerable instance of the omniscience of Christ, imagine.
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Zacchaeus, seeking to see Jesus for who he was. Jesus is making his way, that's okay, she's just learning, man she's doing good, oh, yeah
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I see you there, imagine
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Zacchaeus, out on this limb, looking at Jesus, Jesus stops, and Jesus looks up,
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Zacchaeus probably has, like I said, it's likely there could have been other folks out on that limb with Jesus, but Jesus looks up and he calls
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Zacchaeus by name, and he says these words, Zacchaeus, come down,
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I'm not saying in a few minutes, I'm saying right now, make haste, hurry up and come down, and Jesus gave him the reason, for I must go to your house today, that's why the scripture says, today is the day of salvation, now, concerning Jesus' statement as we move to close here, today salvation has come to your house, concerning that statement, the meaning of that statement in the
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Greek as it is written, really has three full definitions, number one, concerning salvation and Jesus Christ being come to his house in a very ethical sense, that which concludes to the soul's safety or salvation, it literally is talking about the safety and the salvation, the redemption of the soul of man,
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Jesus said, what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet loses his own soul,
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God made you with an everlasting soul, this term salvation is in relation to messianic salvation, to the promise of the redeemer that was currently there, the one who had been prophesied for thousands of years before him, that would come and that would redeem
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Israel, and lastly, that term salvation is also in reference to,
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I'm sorry, two more things, salvation as the present position of all true believers, what
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Jesus gave to Zacchaeus, no one could take away, what Jesus has given to you, if you've been saved by the grace of God, no one can take away from you, what shall the apostle
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Paul put it this way to the suffering saints in his letter to Rome, what shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, shall tribulation, shall persecution, shall famine, shall peril, shall sword, shall anything separate us from the love of Christ which is in Christ Jesus, there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, and lastly, this salvation is in reference to future salvation,
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I don't want you to bump your head, you want to come here, make a break for it the other way then, that's ok, that is ok, this salvation is a reference to future salvation as well, it's the sum of benefits and blessings, oh, that's what
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I was hoping not to happen, this is a reference to future salvation, which is the sum of benefits and the blessings which the
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Christians redeemed from all earthly ills will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and the eternal kingdom of God, when
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Christ saves you, when Christ saved me, he did not just save us from this present evil world, but he saved us for his eternal heavens, the heavens and the earth which will be made new in Christ Jesus, and lastly,
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Jesus says this, salvation has come to this house for he is the son of Abraham, so that Zacchaeus by his name, it appears, by his name he was a
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Jew, though some have thought him to be a Gentile, perhaps because of his employment, but one of the old theologians said it doesn't necessarily follow, for there were
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Jews that were publicans, like Matthew, that we have in the Gospel of Matthew, afterwards they were one of Christ's disciples, but he says this, for he is a son of Abraham, and what is it that we learn from the
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New Testament text? That it is not the circumcision of the flesh that makes a person right in the sight of God, but it is the circumcision of the heart, the work that the
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Holy Spirit alone can do in the heart, mind of men, women, boys and girls, and this, my brothers and sisters, is by faith, so let's close with Galatians chapter 3, verses 5 through 14, the apostle
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Paul in writing to the Galatian church says this, does he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?
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Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
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In this the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preached the
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Gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed.
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So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
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For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them.
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Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith.
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But the law is not of faith, rather the one who does them shall live by them,
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Paul states, but Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree, so that in Christ Jesus, through Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the
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Gentiles so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith.
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Zacchaeus, I'm going to go out on a limb and say he got saved that day.
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The Lord came to him, the Lord called him, he came to Christ, and as a matter of fact, we did get into that, but you'll notice his testimony of redemption was that his life was changed.
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His life was different. He made the wrongs, or he reconciled the wrongs that he had committed against his people in that place.
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And my friend, when we come to Christ, when Christ calls us, we come to him, he becomes our
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Savior and our Lord, not either or, but both and, you either have Christ as Savior and Lord, or you do not have him at all.
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But he causes us to repent of our sin, to make the wrongs right in our life.
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Sometimes that means me going to serve and saying, I'm sorry, I did something stupid and I sinned against you.
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Sometimes that means me saying, I'm going to let bygones be bygones, though this took place, though this happened,
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I ain't going to sweat it, because guess what? Christ Jesus died for my sins, and I have been called according to the word of the living
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God to be kind, to be tenderhearted, to be forgiving to my brothers and my sisters in Christ, and to love one another because Christ has loved me.
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I am called as a child of God to regularly and faithfully gather with the church of the living
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God. Brothers and sisters, there is no right that you have to separate yourself from the church of the living
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God. If you are saved, you ought to gather together faithfully and regularly with the church of the living