INCARNATIONS PURPOSE (1): IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU

(Luke 19:1-4)
October 30, 2016
Read Lu 19:1-6 This section ends with the verse that is the theme of Luke
and the whole Bible for that matter. Lu 19:10: For the Son of Man came to
seek and to save the lost. This statement presupposes mankinds problems are
not the imperfections of a random evolutionary process. Rather, it assumes
the perfection we crave was once within our grasp but lost thru Adams fall
and our own daily contributions to the mass of human failure. We veil our
Creators glory and require saving to reach the purpose for which we exist.
Enter the Lord and Jonah 2:9: Salvation belongs to the Lord! Jonahs great
epiphany from an entombment that left him helpless. His fate was in Gods
hands. Salvation belongs to the Lord! It certainly does not belong to us.
So, this passage is about how salvation came to one man whom Jesus came
to seek and to save: V. 9: Today salvation has come to this house. No
sweeter words in the Bible! Dont you want salvation to come to your house -today?! Whats it take for that to happen? One woman joining the church
knew. Asked for her testimony, she said, Its pretty short and sweet. I did my
part and God did his. The elders asked what exactly that meant! She replied,
Well, I sinned and God saved me. How right she was. Its all grace, and
thats what this passage shows. We choose Him only to find that He chose us
first.
Its all here in salvation coming to Zach. Just before Jesus had said, For it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to
enter the kingdom of God. (18:25). The disciples, thinking rich people have
the advantage, ask, Then who can be saved? (18:26). Jesus answers, What
is impossible with man is possible with God (18:27). Luke follows with 2
examples. First, Jesus heals and saves a poor, blind beggar low end of the
spectrum. Then, He saves a rich, self-sufficient tax collector. What man cant
do, God can. He can save a rich man. There is no limit to what Christ can do.
Luke even shows how. Jesus had just said in 18:17: Truly, I say to you,
whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
If ever anyone entered like a child, it was Zach. Hes a prime example of all
Jesus has been teaching and why He came. This text is what incarnation is
all about --The Sinner, The Savior, The Salvation. Its a wonderful text.
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Today, how Zach illustrates childlike faith -- shows 4 things about The
Sinner.
I.

Zacchaeus Was Sinful (same starting point as blind man)

No one has been saved without knowing they needed salvation. This is why
those who preach only the love of God are so devastatingly cruel. Does God
love? Absolutely. Rom 5:8: but God shows his love for us in that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. He loves us personally more than any
one ever could or would. But love alone saves no one. Love alone wont save
my buddy whose parachute failed and love alone wont save me from my sins.
Gal 3:10: Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the
Book of the Law, and do them. Any wrongdoing puts us under a death
sentence. You say, You mean God can love someone and condemn them at
the same time? Aboslutely. Now youre getting the picture. Jesus loved that
rich young ruler, but when he would not repent Jesus let him go condemned
by his loving riches more than Jesus. To insist we have a free pass bc God
loves unconditionally doesnt make it so, & completely distorts Gods Word.
So stage one of childlike faith is the recognition that I am a sinner. Zach knew
that. Everyone knew he was a sinner. He was a tax collector chief actually
godfather of one of three major tax districts in Palestine. Everyone knew tax
collectors cheated. Everyone knew they had sold out to the Romans.
Everyone knew they were at the low end of the moral and social totem pole.
And he was the biggest cheat of all! People would have been horrified to
know that of all the people in town, he would be the one known by name to
millions of people 2,000 years later. With all his money, Zach knew he was a
sinner. Look at v. 7. The people complained that Jesus had gone in to be the
guest of a man who is a sinner. The people knew it. Jesus knew it and Zach
knew it. He was looking for Jesus because -- he knew he was guilty.
So have you made the childlike confession that you are a sinner by nature
and by act? Oh, that is hard. We long to hide. We live lives of denial. We call it
anything but sin. Most preachers have eliminated the word sin from their
vocabulary for fear of offending someone, but in so doing they commit the
ultimate crime. What would you think of a doctor who knows you have
cancer, knows a cure, but withholds the news because he doesnt want you to
feel badly. Is that ultimate love or certifiable malpractice? Its sadistic and
inhumane! If you dont know theres a problem, youll never seek a solution.
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In his 1973 book Whatever Become of Sin? psychiatrist Karl Menninger

wrote, The very word, sin, which has disappeared, was once a proud
word -- a strong word, an ominous and serious word. . . . But the word went
away the word, along with the notion. Why? Doesnt anyone sin anymore?
Doesnt anyone believe in sin? He notes the last time sin appeared in a
presidential message was in Ikes National Day of Prayer Proclamation in
1953 and he was only quoting from Lincoln in 1863. C. S. Lewis noted
The barrier I have met is the almost total absence from the minds of my
audience of any sense of sin. D. A. Carson who often speaks on college
campuses says the greatest hurdle is students have no idea of sin. He says,
They know how to sin well enough, but they have no idea of what
constitutes sin. Our churches are culpable, Beloved. Not telling someone
about sin isnt the most loving thing you can do, its the most unloving act in
the world. No one will seek salvation until they realize they have a need.
Thats why Jesus said, 32 I have not come to call the righteous (those who
think they are) but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). You must be hit
between the eyes with the diagnosis before you seek a cure. Those in denial
will never find salvation. Zach was not in denial, and we must not be either.
Were all sinners just a question of saved or not saved?!
II.

Zacchaeus Was Seeking

Casually at first. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was. Literally
And he was seeking to see Jesus who he was. Who in that huge crowd was
Jesus? They didnt have CNN. He didnt know what Jesus looked like. So he
was trying to figure out who Jesus was. But no doubt his curiosity went deeper
than that. Zach wanted to know who Jesus really was, what He was about.
He surely knew about the preaching and the miracles. His curiosity had been
piqued. He knew Jesus loved people. He probably knew that He had a tax
collector, Matt, in His inner circle. He knew Jesus enemies were Pharisees
same enemies that Zach had. But he wanted to know more. Saving faith often
starts with a prickly curiosity. If thats you -- keep seeking. Be like a child
and let your curiosity lead you to investigate further. Zach was seeking.
There is an old short story by Frenchman Jean Lorean which tells of dinner
guests at a house one night. They learn if they put their hands through a set of
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dining room drapes into a darkened room, they can grab hold of the spirit. And
if they could grasp it, the spirit would speak to them. Fishing for ghosts!
But, Beloved, God has given us something far more wonderful. His Word
His self-revelation reverses that process. We dont have to grope in the dark
to find God. Rather, Hes reached thru the veil of heaven and by His Word
revealed Himself. So, as curiosity strikes, dont put it aside. Follow it. Read
the gospels. Read Mark, then read it again. Read John. Get a study Bible or
commentary. Ask questions. Seek Jesus and find someone you never expected.
Isa 55:6: Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is
near. Like Zach. When the Lord was near, he went looking. So can you. You
dont have forever, but you have now. Salvation is for seekers!
III.

Zacchaeus Was Single-Minded

The Problem -- To understand this point, you have to see there is a problem
and there is a solution. So hang with me; the problems deeper than appears.
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And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he
could not, because he was small in stature. All my life, I thought Zachs
problem was his stature. He was short. Think Danny Devito in Other Peoples
Money, right? Thus, a casual reading! But look again. The problem is twofold.
There are two causative clauses here, not one. The first is obvious. He was too
short. But the second is the crowd. He couldnt see Jesus bc of the crowd.
Why? V. 7 answers the crowd considered him a great sinner. They werent
just indifferent. They were not about to let him through. His stature was one
issue. The primary issue was the crowd hated him and reveled in a chance
to block him out. Usually someone taller doesnt mind letting someone shorter
get in front of them for a parade, right? They can see over them. But this
crowd closed ranks on Zach.
The crowd is often what keeps people from Christ. The crowd is a salvation
killer. There are two kinds of crowd. First, theres the unbelieving crowd that
says, Youre thinking of becoming a Christian? Are you insane? Dont you
know the Bible is full of errors? And Jesus may have been a nice guy, but
God in the flesh virgin birth resurrection? Come on youre drinking
the cool-aid. You have to check your brain at the door to believe that! How
many people have been intimidated right out of salvation by that crowd!
Perhaps you are one. If so, I urge you to keep investigating. Believe me, there
are answers to every single objection that your Philosophy 101 or Biology 101
professor threw at you. You dont have to put your brain of a shelf to become
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a Xn. In the last 50 years, Xn philosophers and scientists have made

unbelievable strides in tearing down the empires of pagan rationalists, and
you owe it to yourself to investigate before saying NO to Jesus.
But there is another crowd -- the so-called Xn crowd, the church crowd
those who claim His name but are not living consistently with His gospel. We
are not loving our own brothers and sisters, let alone those outside. Defending
our rights and opinions means far more to us than following His command:
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others
more significant than yourselves (Phil 2:3). We would literally die before we
would do that. Many of us are one thing on Sunday and something else
entirely the rest of the week. We are a deadly crowd. Potential believers look
and say: If Xnty were true, it couldnt produce people like this. But it seems
like it is producing people like this; therefore, Xnty cant be true. Jesus said,
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another (Jn 13:35). When we fail that, were just one more crowd
pushing people away from Jesus instead of drawing them toward Him.
Crowds -- perhaps the single most critical thing keeping people from Jesus.
And it was compounded for Zach because he was short to boot.
The Solution So whatd he do? He climbed a tree! You cant get past the
crowd; you have to get above the crowd. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up
into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. You have
to climb a tree. Jesus said, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like
a child shall not enter it (Lu 18:17). Thats the verbal message. Now for
those of us who learn visually, Luke gives us the best visual of childlike faith
you will find anywhere in the Bible. With the crowd doing everything it can to
exclude him, this rich, powerful, highly positioned man does the unthinkable
in that culture. He runs. Grown men never did that. They would never expose
their legs in public. Then he throws all dignity to the wind and climbs a tree.
If theyd had internet in those days, the video would have gone viral!
Childlike faith ignores the crowd. It doesnt mind being thought stupid! You
must overlook the hypocrites that offend every sensibility you have. You must
climb the tree and look only to Him. You must humbly repent your sin and
accept the fantastic truth that Jesus died, was buried and rose again to pay for
your sin. You must seek Gods mercy. There will be no dignified, selfimportant, self-made people in heaven. Salvation is for those who have
thrown dignity and pride to the wind to win Him. Salvation is for those who
care more what He thinks than what the crowd thinks.
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One small town had a great volunteer fire dept. But every time the fire whistle
blew many people jumped in cars and followed often interfering with the
firemen. A notice in the local paper asking people to stop following the crowd
was to no avail. So one day a bunch of people followed as usual. But the fire
truck turned into a dead-end street. The firemen all jumped off the truck and
ran back soliciting salves for their fundraiser. The moral keep following the
crowd and eventually youll have to pay. Crowds are almost never right.
Crowds kill. Forget what anyone might think; climb the tree; look to Jesus.
Deut 4:29 But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will
find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Zach kept seeking until he was found. It can happen to you.
IV.

Zacchaeus Was Submissive

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. 6 So
he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. The final element of
childlike faith submission to God. Jesus said, Im moving in today, Zach,
and Zacchaeus couldnt wait to abdicate. If theres no abdication, theres not
salvation. If theres no movement, theres not faith. If theres no obedience,
theres no reality. But when your heart responds joyfully and enthusiastically
to Jesus, then you know. You are His. What a picture. Zach started the day as
a guy who had sold his soul for money. Hed sold out his nation, his
reputation, his character and his faith. He started the day as far out from
the kingdom as you can get. And he ended the day hosting the King of
Kings. Thats a pretty good day, wouldnt you say? It could be you, too! Rev
3:20: 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
When Jesus knocked on Zachs door, he couldnt open fast enough. How
about you? Have you let Him in? Like a child, have you answered His knock?
Conc In 1989 a huge earthquake almost flattened Armenia. It killed more
than 30,000 people in less than 4 minutes. One father rushed to his sons
school only to find it demolished. He remembered his sons room was in the
back right corner, so he rushed there and started digging. Other grieving
parents told him it was too late. Police and fire units told him to go home; that
it was useless. But he kept digging. For 8 long hours he dug and then 12, and
then 24 and then 36. Everyone thought he was crazy, but in the 38th hour as he
pulled back a boulder, he heard a voice. Armand! he screamed, and a voice
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answered, Dad? Its me, Dad. You said youd come. I knew youd come.
Helpless to help himself, that young boy had childlike faith his father would
come. And, Beloved, as we sit this morning, just as helpless to escape our
spiritual guilt as that boy was to escape the rubble there is one thing you
need to know. Jesus has come for you! Put your faith in a loving heavenly
father and you will find that you have searched for Him until He found you.
It could happen to you! Lets pray.