By Pastor John Pruitt
Luke 19:1-10
We have been talking about a man in the New Testament named Zacchaeus; a man who was a wealthy, thieving sinner. The Lord had just finished teaching the disciples how difficult or “hardily” it was for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God: not because of wealth, but because money is the god of many a wealthy man. We stated in our last lesson that; “You must know, that the Lord Jesus did not just stumble upon this man, He was seeking him and found him up a tree.” Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Christ came to our world to save sinners by suffering the penalty of God’s wrath in their stead. If Christ is God and is the second person in the Godhead, then we know that He did not come simply looking for sinners, hoping to find some who would let Him save them. Though Zacchaeus did not know the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ knew him and loved him. Notice the wording of the verse, “that which was lost.” In Matthew 10, Christ gave His church the limited commission to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, if you will, stop right now and read carefully John 10; read the whole chapter and pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is teaching you. The simple truth is, Zacchaeus was one of those lost sheep and Jesus found him up a tree. He went up the tree a lost sinner sheep and came down a saint. He went up the tree to see that man, but saw the Christ of God. He went up the tree to satisfy his curiosity, but came down with his soul satisfied. He went up the tree soiled with his own wickedness and came down cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. ALLELUIA WHAT A SAVIOR!
The last thing a sinner expects when he or she goes to the Lord’s house is to meet the Lord fact to face. Sadly, this may be true of some saints as well. Zacchaeus did not climb the tree to get saved, that was the farthest thing from his mind. So many people go to church and perch themselves in a tree. They only come to be in church not to be in worship with the Savior. But when the Savior makes eye contact with the lost sinner, he or she will come down out of their tree and receive Him with joy and no one will have to beg and plead and try to persuade the sinner to make a decision. No one will have to Play sad songs and tell sad stories to get people to respond to the gospel. When the Lord makes eye contact with the soul and the Holy Spirit enters in, they will come down out of their proud tree and fall on their face before God, repenting of their sins and trusting the finished work of Christ to save them and keep them saved. Amen. Email, johnpruitt@frontiernet.net
