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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/frank-sona/three-seeking-men/
I want to look at the subject of three men who are seeking, three seeking men. Mark chapter 10 and verse 17,. And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him and asked him, Good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God. Thou knowest the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and mother.
And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then said Jesus beholding him, then Jesus beholding him loved him and said unto him, One thing thou lackest, go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come take up the cross and follow me.
And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved for he had great possessions. Luke's gospel chapter 19. Luke 19 verse 1, Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 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, the crowd, because he was little of stature and he ran before and climbed up 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 unto him, Zacchaeus make haste and come down for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste and came down and received him joyfully.
And when they saw it they all murmured saying that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, behold Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation I restore him fourfold.
And Jesus said unto him, this day is salvation come to this house for so much as he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. One of the things I love about the Bible, one of the many things I love about the Bible, is its reality.
This is nothing mythical, it's not something about fairy tale-ish, it's real. It's relevant. The people on its pages, the people that we meet, they're not stick figures, they're not paper figures, they're real individuals, real people.
They really lived, they really said these things, they really experienced these things. And there's a tremendous amount of similarity between these people and us. And that's exactly what God wants you to see.
He wants you to be able to identify with the people on the pages of the Bible. Because if you don't make that relevant, if you don't associate yourself, you will detach yourself from the Bible. And you'll never get the benefit of it, you'll never get the blessing of it, it will become an impersonal book that's just on the shelf.
So when I look at these two men, and the third man as well, I think of three individuals who are seeking. I think of Zacchaeus, and he was seeking a person, he was seeking a person, he was seeking someone.
Zacchaeus, it says, he sought to see Jesus, who he was. This rich young ruler, he sought to see, he sought something. What must I do? What must I do to inherit eternal life? And so you have one man, he's seeking someone, you have another man who's seeking something, and then you have the third man, the Lord Jesus, who came to seek and to save that which was lost, he's seeking all.
Everybody. Nobody's exempted, nobody's omitted, it includes everyone. What a wonderful thing to think that the Son of God, even tonight in this meeting, is seeking sinners, seeking lost ones. You might not be seeking Him, but He is seeking you.
He is longing to save, wants to save. The work that He did on the cross is extreme evidence of the willingness, the extent of what He was willing to go to and through so that you could be saved. But I want you to think of these two men in particular and the contrast between them.
They both seemed in earnest, they were both rich. When it comes to this rich young ruler, it even says that Jesus beholding him loved him. As far as I know, there's only four individuals in our New Testament that are personally said to be loved by the Lord Jesus.
He's one of them. But I want to tell you, you are too. You are personally loved by the Son of God. There's an interest in you. Even though this man is coming with what he can do, facing a Savior who is going to do the greatest selfless sacrifice ever.
One who never lived for himself, but always lived for others. And yet he comes and he asks the Savior, what must I do? He's not interested in what are you going to do. It's about Him. And when I think of this man, I want you to think of one that I think of that is a lot like maybe you tonight.
He's a good kid growing up. Sounds like he really, from what he says here, wasn't really bad. All these have I kept from my youth up. Try to do the best he could. Clean living, clean looking, like a lot of kids.
Here in this meeting maybe. Decent. So you know what this tells me? Good kids, quote unquote, need to be saved. Because in your eyes, while you might think you're good, God's Word makes it clear that inside there's just sinfulness.
There's rebellion. There's ungodliness. There is that which comes from the heart, from the core. And listen, if there's older ones here tonight too and you're not saved, this is not just about kids. Every one of us by nature.
And in the heart of every human being is this propensity, this desire to do something. And salvation is not in what you do. Your lostness is in what you are and what you've done. Your sinnership, your sinfulness, your rebellion, your distance from God, it's all on you.
And if you are ever going to be saved, if you're ever going to get to heaven, if you're ever going to get eternal life and the forgiveness of sins, it can't be by what you do. It has to be by what Christ has done.
And so he comes to the Savior and he's asking this question. And the Lord Jesus even takes him up on ground. It's interesting. He says, good master. And the Lord Jesus flips it on him and he says, why are you calling me good?
He's putting him to the test. He says, there's only one good, that's God. I think what the text is saying is this, that this man actually recognized that Jesus was God, but he's still not saved. There are people in this meeting and even children and adults, they believe that he is the Son of God.
They believe in the Trinity. They'll talk about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They'll believe certain things like that, but they're not saved. That this man has not come to the recognition, though, of what he is.
He seems to recognize who Christ is, but he's never realized what he is. He has position. He has possessions. He has authority. He's a ruler. He's rich. He's got, as far as life is concerned, he's coasting through.
He's got it all, as far as what he thinks. But the one thing he lacks, and the Lord Jesus points that out to him, one thing thou lackest. I want to tell you, especially younger ones here, listen, you got a big world out there.
There's a lot that Satan will use. There's a lot that the world will use to call you, to bring you to itself, to attract you, to allure you, like a fish with a lure. And you might be going after this and that, but I'll tell you this, if you don't have Christ, you're lost in your sins.
Your life won't amount to anything. It'll be a wasted life. One of the men today spoke on to have a life that is wasted versus a saved life that now has purpose, meaning eternal value, as far as God is concerned.
That's why he came to seek and to save that which was lost. So you don't remain lost. So you can be found. You can be saved, delivered from what you are and what you've done. And this man, he's just not awakened to that.
He just doesn't seem to be aware of that. He's still thinking there's something he can do. One thing he lacked. Let me look at the other man. Now here's Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus is rich, but whereas this other man is, he's a ruler, he's got position, he's got possessions.
Zacchaeus is despised. He's hated. He's a tax collector, right? He's with the IRS. Nobody likes him. Sorry if there's an IRS worker here, but I am just telling you, not a favorite job, especially when you're crooked at it, especially when you're skimming off the top.
And this man comes and he's not asking, what can I do? He's not looking for something. He's looking for someone. He sought to see Jesus. And he knows, pardon the pun, he knows his shortcomings. He's little of stature.
He's going to make use of whatever's there, right? There's a sycamore tree. He's going to run. He doesn't have long legs, but he's got legs. And he's running ahead. Anybody here in a hurry to get God's salvation?
Can I ask you, how long, there's some of you, how long have you been in your sins? How long have you been under the wrath of God? Is there someone here tonight, and it's been years, and the wrath of God hovers over you like a Damocles sword, and it's just waiting for that, when that movement, that moment of separation now is now lost, and it collides, and you're lost forever now.
Zacchaeus said, time is not my friend. He is passing through. And the interesting thing is, Jesus is passing through Jericho, and the Lord Jesus is passing through for this young ruler. Here are two men, and they are going to make a beeline, but different interests, different outcomes.
One leaves that day saved. Salvation has literally come to his house. The Savior come from heaven, came right to where he was. Thank God, in a gospel meeting, listen, dear friend, realize this, Christ is coming right to where you are.
This word is being opened right for you. This meeting is for you. Zacchaeus saw for what it was. This is my moment. Tries to go up the tree. You know what's interesting? Zacchaeus, I was appreciating this last week.
Zacchaeus sees his movements. He's watching him, and he makes a beeline, and he heads him off. He heads off the Savior. He gets ahead of him. He anticipates where Christ is going to be, and he gets to that spot at a tree.
And he finds him, and the Lord Jesus finds him, and the two connect. I tell you, some of the oldies but goodie lines are this, a seeking sinner and a seeking Savior will always meet, and they do. And that day is exactly what happened.
But I will tell you this, you want to anticipate where Christ is? I'll give you two spots. One is the same spot where Zacchaeus found him, on a tree, on the cross. You know where the other spot is? Right here.
Right here in this Bible. You want to find the Lord Jesus? Do you want to be safe? Be honest, please. If there's someone in this section, and you're not safe, you're lost in your sins. Do you want salvation?
Or are you just happy where you are? Obviously, Zacchaeus wasn't. You know what the interesting thing is? The good thing, if I can put it this way, the good thing about this rich young ruler is, he knew what he had wasn't enough.
That's the good thing. He knew what he had wasn't enough. You know what the bad thing was? He still thought he had something. And if you still think you have something, something to reach into your pocket with, something to pull out of a shirt, something to give to God, something to bring to the table, somehow something to tell God, well, I have not done this.
They do that. I don't. You have nothing. Nothing. And Zacchaeus comes, and humbled, comes down. Whole crowd there. The Lord Jesus says, this day is salvation come to this house. Now, before I get to the third man, I'll just tell you this.
Isn't it interesting? Two men. And can I put it this way? Allow me a little bit of liberty. The good kid, from his youth up, he misses it. And the bad fellow, he gets it. The good fellow, whose all these things have I kept from my youth up, goes off the scene, eventually into hell, bragging, boasting, and being what never was changed.
Nothing but a lost, ungodly sinner. With all his boasting, with all his feeling good about himself, he went away sad. And I will tell you this. The text puts it that way. He went away sad. But it was nothing compared to the sadness he experienced the day he died, and where he went to.
Zacchaeus, he's rejoicing. He's saved. He has God's salvation. He has Christ. He sought to see him. He received him. Now, let me tell you about the third man. Because in between these two men who are seeking, there's a third man seeking.
And he comes to seek and to save that which was lost. He's seeking for all. You know, as the Lord Jesus moved that day in Jericho, there were likely hundreds of people that he would have saved and could have saved.
But we read of this man, and he's coming. And there's crowds, and they're all around. There's a big crowd of people here tonight. Could be bigger. But in the midst of all these people here tonight, there's someone, and you're not saved.
And you're not making a move, are you? You need to. You need to. Because Jesus is passing this way. He's passing. He's here, but he's passing. And so are you. You're passing through. You're just here for a little while.
The Lord Jesus came and went. And he saved one, and another one turned. He's passing through. He's come. You know, one of the things that I've thought about, as I have listened to the news and what's going on over in Israel right now, the war on the Gaza Strip, my mind went back, especially with these hostages.
My mind went back about 47 years. 1976. There's a plane that's leaving. It's an Airbus. And it's leaving. It's Air France flight. And it's leaving from Paris. It's going to go to Tel Aviv, but it makes a stop in Athens.
And when it makes that stop in Athens, hijackers get on that plane. And they are going to take hostage these people in this plane. Elements of a terrorist group, PLO, Black September. And they make the demands, go to Uganda.
They're going to take that plane and those hostages, Jews, are on that plane. And as they go and land in Uganda, under the dictatorship of a man that was just a terror at the time named Idi Amin, Israel starts to move.
They start to formulate a plan. They're going to come in. They want to save these people, hostages. I think one thing the world has learned is you don't mess with Israel. And as they gathered intelligence, formulated a plan, they got a scaled model of the airport.
They created even down to what Idi Amin's vehicle was, a Mercedes-Benz, a black Mercedes-Benz 600. They trained Israeli commandos. And in the darkness of night, they fly. I thought it was so interesting.
They took a route over the Red Sea. And as they hovered over those waters, just 100 feet above the water to stay below the radar, five Hercules C -130 transports, two Boeing 707s, and they land, under-inflate the tires.
They unload that car. They come into the compound. And as they land there, a mission that took all of 53 minutes, 53 minutes, 106 hostages, very few casualties, one Israeli soldier, the brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, Yanni, the only Israeli soldier killed.
As those men went in, they shouted in the Hebrew language, get down, get down. The people got down, one after another, with precision. They took out those soldiers. And in 53 minutes, they whisked away, rescuing those hostages.
They came in and they went out, gone, coming, going, to seek those people out and save them. Wonderful thing. But let me tell you one thing. There was one woman. Her name was Dora Block. She had complained of stomach pains, dysentery, health issues.
They took her out of that room. She was in the infirmary. And amidst all the fanfare and the gala celebration of the rescue and saving of those hostages, there was one woman that was left behind. Now, she was left behind through no fault of her own.
But the world has never found out, really, other than her death, what that man, that dictator would have done when he vented his anger against that woman as he was embarrassed before the world because of those hostages that were saved.
What a thing to think of. All that operation, all that timing, all that perfection to come in and to take away in salvation those hostages. And that woman missed it. Here is the Lord Jesus. He has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
The prophecies of our Old Testament, the truths of the Word of God given to you right in your hands, God is telling you He came to seek and to save that which is lost. Are you lost or are you removing yourself from the rescue operation?
Are you omitting yourself from this great work that was done when He came from heaven, came into the world in the darkness of night, in the darkness morally, spiritually of this world, and went to that cross to rescue, to save you from your sins.
And you just sit here, like many others, when you can enter the good, the great work of Christ, the great rescue operation, the great price that He paid. Salvation, full, free by God Himself, not by some man, not by some woman, not by some group or council or organization, by God to give you, save you from perishing in the flames of hell, in your sins with the wrath of God now connecting forever.
You could be saved from all of that because Christ has died and He has paid that price in full. He has given Himself and He has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Are you the lost one? Are you seeking what He's provided?
It can be found right here, right here. God has given you His Word and He will save you if you seek Him while He may be found.