INTRODUCTION:

1. There are many conversions recorded in the Bible, and one of the most wonderful is the conversion of Zacchaeus (19:9, 10).
2. The great evangelist D.L. Moody said, "Some people do not believe in sudden conversion. I should like them to answer me when was Zacchaeus converted? He was certainly in his sins when he went up into the tree; he certainly was converted when he came down."
3. This is the next-to-the-last recorded conversion before our Lord died on the cross. The last conversion is the repentant thief (23:42, 43).
4. We know very little about this man Zacchaeus, but we do know he was a publican (tax collector) and that he was rich (Luke 19:2).
5. Publicans were Jews who collected taxes for the Roman government. Therefore, they were despised by most of the Jews, who considered them working for the enemy.
6. Many of the publicans were dishonest (cf. 19:8), and they were considered the worst of sinners, even worse than adulterers and prostitutes (cf. Matt.21:31; Luke 7:34; 15:1, 2; 18:10, 11).
7. Interestingly, according to Scofield, Zacchaeus name means "Pure."
8. The publicans were notorious for collecting more taxes than was required. The more money they collected, the more they put in their pocket (cf. Luke 3:12, 13).
9. Zacchaeus was a sinner saved by God s grace. Our Lord had just said that "it is easier for a camel to go through a needle s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (cf. Luke 18:24-27). Zacchaeus was a rich man (19:2) and God saved him.

1. SEEKING JESUS (19:1-4)
2. RECEIVING JESUS (19:5-7)
3. CONFESSING JESUS (19:8-10)

 

I. SEEKING JESUS (19:1-4)

1. Zacchaeus was seeking after Jesus (19:3, 4). But actually Jesus was seeking after him (19:10).
2. Note that our Lord called him by name "Zacchaeus, make haste " (19:5). Our Lord was seeking to save Zacchaeus that day.
3. So when Zacchaeus climbed up into that sycomore tree he thought he was seeking after Jesus, but actually Jesus was seeking after him.
4. The sycomore tree that Zacchaeus climbed is not the sycamore tree that we have here in America. The tree Zacchaeus climbed resembles the Egyptian fig-tree.
5. And he sought to see Jesus who he was (Luke 19:3). By nature, the lost sinner does not seek after God. Romans 3:11 says, There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
6. Then how are we to understand the conversion of Zacchaeus? The Bible says, "And he sought to see Jesus" (Luke 19:3). There are several ways to look at this.
7. First of all, God was working in his heart, convicting him of his sin. God was preparing him for this meeting with Jesus.
8. The Bible says that Levi (Matthew) was also a publican (cf. Luke 5:27-29). He probably knew Zacchaeus because Zacchaeus "was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich" (19:2).
9. It is possible that Zacchaeus was part of that "great company of publicans" at Matthew s house (Luke 5:29).
10. Perhaps Matthew was praying for Zacchaeus. The Bible does not say that Matthew was praying for Zacchaeus, but we do know that many people are saved as a result of prayer.
11. Perhaps Zacchaeus was tired of the worldly life style he had been living as a rich publican. And so he decided to seek after Jesus.
12. The Bible teaches that God seeks after sinners (Luke 19:10). The Bible teaches that God convicts sinners and draws them to Himself.
13. Jesus said in John 6:44, No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.
14. When Paul was down at the riverside in Philippi, he met a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God. Acts 16:14 says that the Lord opened her heart and she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
15. The Bible teaches that while God seeks after sinners, sinners must come to Him in order to be saved. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out (John 6:37).
16. Isaiah 55:6, 7 says, Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
17. Jeremiah 29:12, 13 says, Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
18. "Because he was little of stature" (19:3), Zacchaeus "climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him" (19:4). That took some initiative.
19. Oftentimes, when we think of this story, or when we hear children sing about it in Sunday School, we think of this comical little fellow climbing up a tree like some little monkey.
20. But there is much more to the story than that. Zacchaeus was a wealthy government official with a lucrative job. To run down the street and then climb up a tree was an unusual thing to do for someone of his stature (I am not talking now about his height but his prominent position in society as "the chief among the publicans," 19:2-4).
21. J. Vernon McGee said he saw sycomore trees over in Israel and they are smooth and slippery, and it is a long climb to the first limb.
22. So Zacchaeus had to put aside his dignity and his pride to climb up that sycomore tree. I believe it is pride that keeps many lost sinners from seeking after Jesus. They will not humble themselves.
23. "What will my friends and co-workers think?" "What will this do to my career?" And so on. Their pride will drive them straight to hell.
24. Unsaved sinners need to put away their pride, and humble themselves like Zacchaeus. And then they can get saved the way Zacchaeus was saved (19:9).

 

II. RECEIVING JESUS (19:5-7).

1. Jesus looked up and saw Zacchaeus and told him to come down from the tree (19:5). Make haste, and come down (19:5).
2. Make haste he made haste (19:5, 6). Just as the blind man could not afford to let Jesus pass by, neither could Zacchaeus (cf. 18:35-38).
3. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully (19:6). The word joyful is often associated with salvation (cf. 15:7, 10).
4. Acts 8:39 says that after he was saved and baptized, the eunuch went on his way rejoicing.
5. Acts 13:52 says, And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.
6. Do you have the joy of the Lord?
7. Nehemiah 8:10 says, the joy of the LORD is your strength.
8. Luke 19:5 is the only time we see the Lord inviting Himself over to someone s house. Our Lord knew He would be welcome.
9. Would the Lord be welcome in your house?
10. If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two -
    If He came unexpectedly, I wonder what you'd do.
    Oh, I know you'd give your nicest room to such an honored Guest,
    And all the food you'd serve to Him would be the very best,
    And you would keep assuring Him you're glad to have him there -
    That serving Him in your own home is joy beyond compare.
    
    But when you saw Him coming, would you meet Him at the door
    With arms outstretched in welcome to your heavenly Visitor?
    Or would you have to change your clothes before you let Him in?
    Or hide some magazines and put the Bible where they'd been?
    Would you turn off the radio and hope He hadn't heard?
    And wish you hadn't uttered that last, loud, hasty word?
    
    Would you hide your worldly music and put some hymn books out?
    Could you let Jesus walk right in, or would you rush about?
    And I wonder - if the Savior spent a day or two with you,
    Would you go right on doing the things you always do?
    Would you go right on saying the things you always say?
    Would life for you continue as it does from day to day?
    
    Would your family conversation keep up it's usual pace?
    And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace?
    Would you sing the songs you always sing, and read the books you read,
    And let Him know the things on which your mind and spirit feed?
    Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you'd planned to go?
    Or would you, maybe, change your plans for just a day or so?
    
    Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closest friends?
    Or would you hope they'd stay away until His visit ends?
    Would you be glad to have Him stay forever on and on?
    Or would you sigh with great relief when He at last was gone?
    It might be interesting to know the things that you would do
    If Jesus Christ in person came to spend some time with you. — (Lois Blanchard Eades)


11. The Lord invited Himself over to Zacchaeus house, but the Lord never forces Himself on the unwilling. Zacchaeus was willing.
12. And so he made haste, and came down (19:6).
13. Zacchaeus responded to our Lord promptly ( he made haste ), heartily (he received him ), and joyfully (19:6).
14. But some people were not pleased. They all murmured (19:7).
15. There are always "murmurers" that try and hinder God s work (19:7). Some of us have relatives that are murmurers.
16. These murmurers were probably the same Pharisees who were always criticizing and complaining (cf. Luke 5:27-32; 15:2).
17. The apostle Paul said, For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries (I Cor. 16:9).

 

III. CONFESSING JESUS (19:8-10)

1. Some men would be afraid to profess faith in Christ in front of a crowd of murmurers (19:7), but Zacchaeus bravely and joyfully stood and said, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold (19:8).
2. Zacchaeus was not saved because he promised to do give half of his goods to the poor. Many unsaved people give money to the poor.
3. Zacchaeus was not saved because he promised to do give half of his goods to the poor, he promised to do give half of his goods to the poor because he was saved.
4. Zacchaeus was not saved by good works. He was saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. But after receiving Christ as his Saviour, he gave evidence that he was genuinely saved.
5. Zacchaeus was convicted of his sin "And if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold" (19:8).
6. Zacchaeus immediately wanted to make restitution.
7. The statement, he shall make restitution is found four times in Exodus 22 (Ex. 22:3, 5, 6, 12).
8. D.L. Moody preached often on repentance and restitution. He said this, If there is true repentance it will bring forth fruit. If we have done wrong to any one we should never ask God to forgive us, until we are willing to make restitution. If I have done any man a great injustice and can make it good, I need not ask God to forgive me until I am willing to make it good. Suppose I have taken something that does not belong to me. I have no right to expect forgiveness until I make restitution.
   
   I remember preaching in one of our large cities, when a fine-looking man came up to me at the close. He was in great distress of mind. The fact is, he said, I am a defaulter. I have taken money that belonged to my employers. How can I become a Christian without restoring it? Have you got the money? He told me he did not have it all. He had taken about $1,500 and he still had about $900. He said Could I not take that money and go into business, and make enough to pay them back? I told him that was a delusion of Satan; that he could not expect to prosper on stolen money; that he should restore all he had, and go and ask his employers to have mercy upon him and forgive him. But they will put me in prison. Can t you give me any help? No, you must restore the money before you can expect to get any help from God. It is pretty hard, he said. Yes. it is hard; but the great mistake was in doing the wrong at first.
   
   His burden became so heavy that it got to be insupportable. He handed me the money -- 950 dollars and some cents -- and asked me to take it back to his employers. The next evening the two employers and myself met in a side room of the church. I laid the money down, and informed them it was from one of their employees. I told them the story, and said he wanted mercy from them, not justice. The tears trickled down the cheeks of these two men, and they said, Forgive him! Yes, we will be glad to forgive him. I went down stairs and brought him up. After he had confessed his guilt and been forgiven, we all got down on our knees and had a blessed prayer-meeting. God met us and blessed us there
   — (The Way to God and How to Find It).
9. Zacchaeus said, "And if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold" (19:8).
10. Fourfold was the amount a thief was required to restore if he were convicted of fraud (cf. Exodus 22).
11. Zacchaeus faced up to the light which our Lord cast upon his crooked life, and he determined to put it right.
12. Zacchaeus saw himself the way God saw him a thief, a crook, an extortioner. Sinners need to see themselves the way God sees them thieves, liars, boasters, lazy loafers, adulterers, fornicators, hypocrites, drunkards, gamblers, no-good hellbound reprobates.
13. The great evangelist George Whitefield said a sinner is by nature half a beast, and half a devil.
14. Zacchaeus was a lost sinner but he repented of his sin and was gloriously saved.
15. You will note that Zacchaeus statement in 19:8 did not come in answer to some exhortation from Jesus, but from an instinctive sense that it was the right thing to do.
16. I am greatly moved when people inform me that they are going to do right, not because I have been after them, and not because some other Christian has been after them, but because the Holy Spirit has convinced them it is the right thing to do.
17. Genuine faith always results in positive changes, such as we see in the conversion of Zacchaeus. There is something wrong with a so-called Christian convert who still lives like a worldly sinner.
18. Zacchaeus changed right away. That is evidence that he really got saved. Our Lord said that Zacchaeus was "a son of Abraham" (19:9). This may puzzle some people. Zacchaeus was a Jew, so wasn t he already a son of Abraham? Wasn t he a son of Abraham before he was saved?
19. Strictly speaking he was. Spiritually speaking he was not. Romans 4:16 refers to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
20. Galatians 3:6, 7 says, Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
21. Galatians 3:9 says, So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

 

CONCLUSION:

1. W.H. Griffith Thomas said our Lord left behind in Jericho

• a rejoicing soul
• a happy home
• a bright prospect
• a clear witness to Himself.

2. Jesus is still passing through our city, our village, our district. It is for us to receive Him, to rejoice in Him, and to reproduce Him in our lives and in our homes (Outline Studies in Luke).