We’re going to be in Luke chapter 19 today. We’re in a series on conversion and today we’re going to see another story that the Bible records for our help and understanding of conversion. This is the story of a wee little guy by the name of Zacchaeus.

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 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. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Yesterday, I had the joy of visiting my 90 year old mom. Mom asked me, “What are you going to preach on tomorrow?” I said I’m going to preach on Zacchaeus. Her eyes brightened up and she smiled. She asked, “Are you going to sing the song?” (Laughter!) Then we sang it together and we did the hand motions. I realized that her question was not so much a question as it was a request. (Laughter!) So help me out now. I understand that our children sang this song last week. So help me out now. We’re going to sing it together.

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he;
He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.
And as the Savior passed that way, He looked up in the tree.
And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I’m going to your house today!
For I’m going to your house today!”

I learned that song nearly 55 years ago. It was one of my very favorites. It captured my imagination as a 4 year old boy for several reasons. First, like Zacchaeus, I was little. I understood what it’s like to be in a crowd and not be able to see past people to see things that you really wanted to see. Secondly, I was fascinated because I too liked to climb trees. But at that point in my life, I didn’t know any adults who climbed trees. Here was an adult and he is climbing a tree. Then this little song fascinated me because Jesus boldly tells Zacchaeus that He is coming to his house right away. I was taught that you never invited yourself over to another person’s house. Here was Jesus inviting Himself over to Zacchaeus’ home. That is so intriguing. What a story!

Today, I find myself more captivated by the story of Zacchaeus than ever before. Here before us is a story of Jesus’ power to completely change a man in an instant. This story describes the conversion of a soul. This story teaches us so much about the heart of our Savior. What Jesus did for Zacchaeus in Jericho nearly 2000 years ago, this same Jesus is able and willing to do for any person who comes to Him in faith. What a glory! The whole message of the story really is summed up in verse 10 of our text today. Jesus says

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

What a summary statement of Jesus’ mission. The whole purpose of Jesus Christ taking on human flesh, walking upon the earth in His ministry, doing miracles for three years, ultimately dying on a cross and being raised the third day and later ascending into heaven, the whole purpose was to seek and to save that which is lost. To seek means to pursue, to hunt after, to search for. To save simply means to rescue from harm, to deliver from ruin. Praise God that He sent His Son to seek and to save the lost!

Here’s the question I want to ask you this morning. Has Jesus rescued you? Has He delivered you from your sin? Has He delivered you from its condemnation and from its enslaving power? This story teaches us that no one is so sinful that they are beyond the power of Christ to rescue. Here we are told of a wealthy tax-collector who everyone in town knows is a sinner. Yet, here is this man who marvelously is converted by the grace of Jesus Christ. Our sermon series is entitled Conversion: Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere. What a great illustration here in the story of Zacchaeus to put on display this experience of salvation that is available to anyone, anytime and anywhere. So I’m asking you to consider your soul, this morning.

Some of you may be asking, “Pastor, what exactly is conversion?” It’s a word we don’t use very often in our modern public life. What is conversion? Here is a definition that I have considered that I think is accurate and reflects the Scripture. Conversion literally means to turn around. That’s what the word means. Conversion means to turn around. Conversion is God’s work of turning our life from self-rule to Christ-rule. Conversion is an internal spiritual turning of our heart where we repent of our sins and we trust in Jesus as our Savior and as our King. It is conversion that brings God’s salvation into lost lives. It is conversion that brings hope out of despair, life out of death. This word “converted” appears two times in the New Testament, at least in the New King James translation. I want to read those for you because it helps us understand how necessary conversion is.

Matthew 18:2-3 NKJV Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus Himself says that conversion is the essential requirement for entrance into heaven itself. Then Peter, in preaching in Acts 3 calls the people to
Acts 3:19 NKJV Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

It is conversion that brings about the work of God of forgiveness of sins. If you are converted, you have three parts to your conversion story. We also call your conversion story your testimony. There are three parts to every Christian’s testimony. Part 1 is the story about your life before you were converted. That part of our life might have been long or it might have been short. For me, it was about three or four years of time. But no one is born into this world converted. There is a time prior to conversion that every person experiences.

Part 2 of your conversion story is the occasion of your conversion. Again, you don’t have to know a specific moment in time in order to have a conversion story. Here we know it was in a single day. We don’t even know the exact moment of the day, but it was in the day. Sometime between the time that Zacchaeus awoke and the time that Zacchaeus went to bed, he was converted. Perhaps for some of you, that time might feel like days or weeks, months, perhaps even years. You don’t know it specifically but you know at some point, God turned your life around. You were walking after the course of your own desires, your own will, your own way, and God turned you around. That’s the occasion of your conversion. God turned you around to follow Jesus Christ, to submit to His authority, His rule in your life. The third part of every conversion story is the part of the story of the change that takes place after you’re converted.

This three part story again is called your testimony. I would urge you, if you have been converted, to write down your conversion story and then share it as broadly as you can. Share it with your family. Share it with your friends and people that you work with and your neighborhood. I would encourage you to do this for two reasons. Number one is so that your family and friends who care about you, on the day of your death, would have confidence that you have a conversion story. They’re not left wondering whether or not you’re in heaven or whether or not you’ve died condemned in your sins. Secondly, I would urge you to write your story down and to share it so that others might also hear the gospel through your story. They can hear that they too can be converted and receive the salvation of the Lord. We consider Zacchaeus’ conversion story and we will look at the three parts of his story. First is

The Need for Conversion

We see Zacchaeus as he is in this story, prior to his conversion.

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem and He tells the disciples just before this in chapter 18, that He is going to Jerusalem to die. Then when He dies, He is going to be raised on the third day. So He tells them what the future holds for Him. Now, His disciples don’t understand. As He is passing through Jericho,

2 And behold,

I love the word “behold.” It arrests our attention. It’s God’s way of signaling a miracle is about to happen. Behold! Get ready, because something great is about to take place.

there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was,

He had heard of Him. He heard much about Him. He is curious.

but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.

Luke introduces us to a man who needs to be converted. What do we know about Zacchaeus prior to his conversion? Well first, we know his name is Zacchaeus. The name Zacchaeus means “righteous, pure, innocent.” His parents, when Zacchaeus was born, did what all other Jewish families do at the time. They name their child with a meaning, with a hope, with an aspiration that they have for their son’s life. They named him Zacchaeus. They want him to live a life of righteousness. But Zacchaeus’ life takes a sharp left turn away from his godly parent’s ambitions. Rather than living a righteous life, Zacchaeus lives a life of materialism, godlessness, worldliness, and dishonest gain.

By way of application, I want to talk to parents. Parents, what is your chief goal for your children? If you would say this is the one thing I want to have happen in my children’s lives, what’s the one thing you desire above everything else? I pray that your first desire for your children and for your grandchildren is that they would come to know the Lord. I pray that your desire is that they would experience the grace of God and be converted, then that they would live righteous lives, giving testimony to the goodness of the Lord.

This requires a miracle in our children’s lives. It’s a miracle that we cannot produce. If that is to happen, God’s grace must be at work in them. But God gives Christian parents a sacred responsibility to just simply take every opportunity to seek to infuse your home and infuse within your children the grace of God and the gospel of God in all of its wonderful truth. Parents have a responsibility to bring the grace of God to your children through prayer, through instruction in the Word, through family worship, through an example of faith, through godly commitments in Jesus’ church, through correction and discipline, through nurturing and admonition and instruction and all of this. I know that we cannot convert our own children. We cannot make them believe in Jesus. But we can use every influence that God provides us to bring our children before the Lord for the Lord’s salvation to come upon them.

Our children in our culture are just rolled over by this world’s demonic doctrines. They’re rolled over in every way; in song, on tv, even in Disney movies, in their schools, in their neighborhoods. What chance does a little child have at growing up to follow Jesus? I tell you there is no chance at all. If our children are to come to faith in Christ, it’s because God does a miracle. But parents, use every means God provides for you to feed the grace of God into their lives. Let your children grow up hearing you cry before the Lord, “God, rescue my child from sin! God, bring my child to see Jesus as the glorious, amazing Savior that He is, as the majestic King who is worth following.” Let them hear you pray and pray every day. Then parents, I urge you, daily open up the Bible and talk to them of the Word.

Why is it so hard for parents to open up the Bible and simply read and say, let’s talk about who God is and what He has done for us? Why is that? It’s because it’s a spiritual war. Why does fifteen minutes of family instruction seem so weighty and so stressful and so hard, when three hours of watching television seems so easy? Why is that? It’s because everything in this world and everything behind the devil’s schemes is to move our children away from the grace of God and toward the darkness of this world. Parents, fight with the influences that God provides you. Fight with the weapons that God provides. Fight for your children. Their eternity rests upon the grace of God working through us.

Then we see not only that this man’s name is Zacchaeus, which means righteous, but he is a chief tax collector. Now, Jericho would have been home to many, many tax collectors because Jericho was one of three central region taxation centers in Israel. There was Capernaum in the north. There was Caesarea in the central region. Then in the southern region is Jericho. The text tells us that Zacchaeus is not just a run of the mill tax collector. He is the chief tax collector. He is the man on top of the pyramid who benefits from every tax in the region. Then the text tells us, we know that Zacchaeus is rich. Zacchaeus has become rich because of his work.

In order to become a tax collector, you first paid money to Rome in order to purchase the job of tax collecting. So right away, there is a problem among the people who you live near because the Jews resented the occupation of Rome. Rome was oppressive in so many ways against the Jews. Then in order to become wealthy as a tax collector, you had to be ruthless. You had to be unjust and dishonest. So Rome would set a yearly tax fee which a tax collector was required to present to Rome every year. Then they said in addition to the tax fee that you have to give to us, you’re free to make up any tax you want and keep the money for yourself. So tax collectors were known to be ingenious about the various kinds of taxes that they could levy. They taxed, for instance, every cart that a farmer would have and then they taxed every axle on every cart. Then they taxed every wheel on every axle. Then they taxed all the produce or any of the animals that are drawing the cart, and on and on and on it goes. The taxation system was oppressive. There was no representation by the people. The Roman soldiers backed the tax collectors and made tax collecting a demanding and demeaning matter.

Again, Zacchaeus wasn’t just sort of one of the tax collectors. He was the chief. That meant that he then drew a cut from every other tax collector in the region. So he was particularly hated for the extortion that he participated in. You can imagine then why tax collectors in general were so hated and why Zacchaeus was hated specifically. Tax collectors were the cause of so much suffering and so much grief. Everyone in Jericho would have had some story that they could tell about tax collectors. “Here’s what a tax collector did to my mom and dad when I was little. Here’s what a tax collector did to my grandma and grandpa. Here’s how we lost the family farm. Here’s how we went without food.” Everyone would have had a story about tax collectors. So tax collectors were rejected in society.

For instance, if you were a tax collector in Jericho, you were not allowed to enter into the synagogue to pray prayers with God’s people or to listen to the Scripture with God’s people. In fact, anyone who had social contact with you was also not allowed to go into the synagogue to worship God and to learn of God. Any association made you unclean, as unclean as the sinful tax collectors were. So the only people that you could socialize with if you were a tax collector were those who were already unclean; other tax collectors, outcasts, people who were committed to living a profligate, disobedient life. Tax collectors were not allowed to be part of any respected activity or function in Jewish society. They couldn’t go to respectable homes for dinner. They wouldn’t be invited to any wedding, etc.

So think about Zacchaeus’ life for a moment. At some point, Zacchaeus decided that it would be better to be rich and powerful than to have any religious life, any life with God involved. He decided it would be better to be rich than to have access to the mercy of God. He chose to be a tax collector because he loved money so much. He loved the power and the security that money brought him. At this point in his life he is discovering though that after reaching the apex, the top of the pyramid and accumulating immense wealth, that there was no satisfaction. His inner world was crumbling. It was hollow. It was dissatisfying. Nothing seemed right in Zacchaeus’ life, even though on the outside, it seemed like he had it made. Nothing really delighted his soul.

Let me ask you, how is your inner world? Is your inner world filled with satisfaction and joy? Or when you lay your head upon your bed at night, does an emptiness gnaw at you? Is there any internal distress, any unrest that keeps you awake? Many experience the emptiness of worldly life, yet many worldly people in describing honestly their own lives would not say their lives are satisfying or full. They would say something is missing. Something is absent that I need. Despite the satisfaction of a worldly life, there is still an allure that maybe if I press in deeper into this world, maybe if I press for more, maybe that’s the answer. Very, very few awaken to the truth that God and God alone is the answer. God and God alone is satisfying.

Here’s the application. Let us beware of desiring more of this world. Everything in this world is passing away. Our future is not with the stuff of this world. It’s not with its pleasures that are passing. To desire more of this world always will lead us away from that which is truly life. So beware when your soul starts rising up and saying, “If I just got a little more, if I got that promotion, if I had a little bigger house or a better car, if I had a little more influence, if I had a few more friends.” Whatever it is in this world, let us beware of desiring more that this world offers. Coveting more stuff, more pleasures, more comforts, more privileges in this world will blind us to what is truly richness.

In Luke 12, Luke records Jesus talking to a man. It’s very interesting because this man comes to Jesus and he has a complaint. It’s time to divide the inheritance of his parents and his brother is in charge. He’s the executor of the estate. The brother comes to this man and he says, “I’m not going to give you a cut of our parent’s estate. I have the power to do it. You’re out!” How would you feel if that happened to you? It’s time for you to receive some of your inheritance. You’re counting on it. There is security behind it. There are some opportunities that you have behind it. Your brother comes and unjustly says, “Nope! I’m cutting you out. You don’t get anything.” Well, this man responds the way we might. We would say, “This is wrong. Who can I go to? I’m going to go to Jesus. Jesus might make him do it.” So he comes to Jesus in Luke 12.

Luke 12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Do you know what Jesus says? It’s remarkable! We might expect and this man would have expected Jesus to say, “This is a terrible injustice. I’m going to go in there and correct this injustice.” Instead, Jesus looks and sees the needs of this cheated brother and He says

Luke 12:14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”

This is not why I have come. I have not come to settle how temporary transient things are divided up. That’s not my work. It’s not my interest. Then he points to this brother’s need, the brother who had been cheated.

Luke 12:15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness,

He says the reason why you’re so stirred up is because you believe that something of joy, some piece of life, some bit of meaning is going to come by your having this money from your inheritance. Be careful. Be careful of every kind of covetousness.

Luke 12:15 …for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

What Jesus was saying is, what would happen if I did that and you got all your parent’s stuff that was rightful to you? What would happen to your life? You’d take satisfaction in the riches, but then you would die without God. He says I have come to do something more for you than divide up your parent’s estate. Then Jesus says, let me tell you a story about this.

There was a rich landowner who had farming operations. His farming operations were so successful that all of his barns were absolutely full. He looked back and said, “All my barns are full and the harvest is coming. What am I going to do now? I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to build bigger barns. When this harvest comes in, I’m going to fill even the bigger barns up and then I’ll be set. Then I’ll be able to say, ‘Soul, take your ease. Eat, drink, and be merry. Life is now good for you.’” At that very moment, God interjects in the story.

Luke 12:20-21 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

You see, this man was not wrong in wanting justice. He was wrong in thinking that justice is going to bring him life. Jesus says my interest is not in bringing justice in this world. My interest is in bringing you the life of God. If you’re incredibly wealthy in this world but you’re not rich toward God, what happens the day that you die? That’s when eternity begins.

J. C. Ryle says, “Thousands in every age of the world have lived continually doing the very things which are here condemned. Thousands are doing them at this very day. They are laying up treasure upon earth, and thinking of nothing but how to increase it. They are continually adding to their hoards, as if they were to enjoy them for ever, and as if there was no death, no judgment, and no world to come. And yet these are the men who are called clever, and prudent, and wise! These are the men who are commended, and flattered, and held up to admiration! Truly the Lord sees not as man sees! The Lord declares that rich men who live only for this world are fools.”

So pressing this practically home to our hearts, I ask you, are you rich toward God? It’s the only thing that ultimately matters. Do you possess God’s inheritance that will never fade away? Is your name written in His book of life? Is your soul filled with the joy of the Lord? Do you know God Himself as your Shepherd, as your Savior, as your Friend? Do you have a room that Jesus has prepared for you in the Father’s house? When you die, are you going to be with Jesus and have that room and be part of the family of God forever and ever and ever? When a person can answer “yes” to all these questions, that person is rich toward God. Zacchaeus was a rich man, but he was rich in the wrong way.

Then we find out that Zacchaeus is short. He is a wee little man. Everyone knows that Zacchaeus is short. It’s obvious. Like today, people who are resented often are ridiculed for all kinds of external features. Undoubtedly, Zacchaeus had heard it all his life. He probably saw the political cartoons in every Jericho Gazette with his face on it. He was this little guy. Everyone was making fun of his short stature. Undoubtedly, Zacchaeus didn’t like being short. So why did Luke set in the record that Zacchaeus is short? Why did he say that he is a wee little guy, that he is short in stature? Why did he do that? 2,000 years later, one of the things we’re talking about with Zacchaeus is that he is a short guy. Why would Luke do that?

I believe that Luke wants us to see a spiritual truth. The very thing that Zacchaeus considered a disadvantage became to him an incredible spiritual advantage. God is sovereign in everything. Jesus could have made His way to Zacchaeus regardless of Zacchaeus being in the tree or out of it. But the God who is sovereign over the ends is also sovereign over the means. The way that God intended to meet with Zacchaeus was to have Zacchaeus be fashioned in his mother’s womb by God to be a person short of stature. This was so that when Jesus walks by his village and Zacchaeus is not able to see Jesus, that Zacchaeus would climb up a sycamore tree so as to be evident to everybody that he is up there. This was so that when Jesus passed that way, He could say, “Zacchaeus, you come down, for I’m going to your house today.” You see, the very thing that Zacchaeus probably resented, a thing that he considered to be a disadvantage became used of God as the means by which God’s grace was brought into his life.

I say that because all of us have some disadvantages; every one of us. What is your greatest disadvantage? If you had one thing you could change about your person, whether it’s your body or your brain or your talents? What would you change? All of us could name something. Immediately off the top of my head, I would change a knee that just kind of feels sore when I walk on it. I think about that disadvantage and I think I can’t play pickleball like other people can. I can’t play tennis anymore. I can’t play basketball anymore. I can think of all of these things that I really enjoy doing and I can’t do much of any of those things. But you know, whatever disadvantage God has ordained for you is actually sovereignly intended to be used by God to bring some spiritual advantage. I believe that of every one of them. A spiritual advantage, on the day that we see it, we’re going to say thank you God for that. I think Zacchaeus, when he arrived in heaven, said, “Thank you God that you made me short. It was because I was short that I got to have Jesus come to my house.”

The last thing we learn about Zacchaeus is that Zacchaeus is interested in Jesus. He is very interested. It’s the time of the Passover and multitudes of people are moving through Jericho up the mountain, up to Jerusalem. Jesus is going up to Jerusalem to be there at the Passover time so He could die as the Passover lamb on the cross. Everyone in the nation has asked the question, “Who is this Jesus? Who do you think He is? Is He the Messiah?” Recently, He raised Lazarus from the dead after Lazarus had been in a tomb for four days. He raised him from the dead and it was only a few miles away from Jericho that this took place. So Zacchaeus would have heard all these things along with all the people who have heard about Jesus and are interested in discovering more of Him.

Here is Zacchaeus. He knows, “I’m dissatisfied with life. I’m hearing whispers of my conscience that I set aside for all my life. I have set aside the conscience that talked to me about the guilt of my sin. I’m nearing the end of my life. I’m a chief tax collector and I took some years to get there. I’m thinking about life now and I’m thinking about eternity. I’m hearing about this Jesus who does miracles. Hmmm…I need to see Him.” So Zacchaeus did one of the most undignified things a person has done in the Bible. He, this important rich man, a tax gatherer who is kind of a powerful person though hated, he just takes off into the street and he is running. He gets to a tree and he climbs up the tree in the most undignified manner. You could imagine how much ridicule he was receiving for his actions on this day. Now we come to the second part of Zacchaeus’ story.

The Miracle of Conversion

5 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.”

Jesus takes the initiative. Jesus is the one, we discover, who is actually seeking Zacchaeus. Before Zacchaeus speaks to Jesus, Jesus speaks to Zacchaeus and Jesus speaks Zacchaeus’ name. Jesus had never met Zacchaeus. There is no instance that we would have any kind of meeting prior to this moment. Yet, Jesus knows his name. What that tells us is that Jesus personally knows everyone whom He seeks. What a Savior we have! Jesus offers friendship to us before we meet Him so that when we meet Him, He calls us by name. Zacchaeus is utterly stunned! No respectable religious leader has ever called him by his name or has ever come to his house. They wouldn’t even consider it. They wouldn’t talk with him. They wouldn’t have a conversation. Now Jesus, this one that everybody wants to see and everybody wants to get near, this Jesus says, “Zacchaeus, I’m going to your house. We’re going to spend some time together.” So what did he do?

6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they

I believe this is the religious rulers.

7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Here is this religious leader who is supposed to be righteous and He is going to a house that is unclean. Beloved, God delights to seek after sinners of every stripe. This is what God does. This is His nature. Even a person like Zacchaeus, who had extorted money, who had some families in Jericho put out of their homes and perhaps even put in debtor’s prison, here is Jesus choosing to honor and publicly affirm this man. What grace! We see that Jesus’ grace not only seeks after sinners, but that He saves also. In verse 9, we’re not sure how many hours have taken place, if this is at the base of the tree or this is after Jesus has a meal with Zacchaeus and has had some time to talk with him.

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house,

I think Jesus is now in the house of Zacchaeus. Then He says these stunning words.

since he also is a son of Abraham.

We’re not told the exact moment in which Zacchaeus was converted, but we know that on that day, Zacchaeus was turned around. He was turned around from living a life that was selfish, living a life that was consumed with this world and all the interests of this world. He was turned around to following Jesus and receiving all the benefits that Jesus offers everyone who follows Him. What a miracle! We know it’s a miracle because of the story Jesus tells in Luke 18.

When the Bible was written, when Luke wrote this, he didn’t write it with chapters and verses. He intended us to get the flow of the story. I would encourage you to read your Bible that way as well. In the flow of the story, in Luke 18, Jesus meets a religious ruler.

Luke 18:18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

It’s a great question! Jesus said, “Well, you need to obey all the Law.” The answer Jesus gives is because He wants to bring this religious ruler who is a very moral person, to at least see that he has broken God’s Law and that he needs a Savior. It’s not good works that is going to save him. He says, “You need to obey all the laws.” This guy though, has a high estimation of himself.

Luke 18:21-22 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Sell everything I have and give everything to the poor and follow you? It says the religious leader, having such a clear answer from Jesus on what he has to do to inherit eternal life,

Luke 18:23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

He wanted Jesus. He wanted the salvation Jesus offered, but he didn’t want it enough. You see, what the religious leader thought is “I can follow Jesus while still following the stuff in this world. That’s what I can do. That’s what I want.” But Jesus says no. You have to turn around. You have to be converted. You’re following after the things of this world and you have to turn away from it. This doesn’t offer you life. You have to turn away from it to follow Jesus. It says that the religious ruler went away sad.

Luke 18:24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!

How difficult once you have wealth, to turn away from it. How difficult once wealth has your heart, to yield it over. Then Jesus even doubles down. How difficult is it, Jesus?

Luke 18:25 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.”

I believe Jesus is talking about a literal needle, a sewing needle. How easy is it for a camel, a big animal, to go through the eye of a needle? How easy is that? It’s impossible! It can’t happen. So Peter, shocked by this, says

Luke 18:26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”

If rich people who are rich because they’re blessed by God can’t be saved, who can be saved then? It’s impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. So who can be saved? Jesus says this.

Luke 18:27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

God is the one who spoke the worlds into existence and He is the one who can speak life into a dead man’s soul. He can speak light into a blind man’s heart. Only God can make this happen. Here’s the point. Salvation always requires a miracle from God. Thank God that He sent Jesus, who is the miracle worker whose power cannot be measured. When Jesus is present, there is always hope. No one is too evil to be saved. No one is beyond the power of Jesus’ saving grace. Not even this sinner, this tax collector, this cheat, this extorter, this ruthless, greedy guy. If there is hope for Zacchaeus, I want you to know there is hope for you. Are you converted? Jesus offers you a miracle.

Jesus sought after Zacchaeus and He saved him. This is the only way salvation comes to any person. Zacchaeus had wasted his whole life in pursuing the things of this world. He didn’t let anyone get in his way. He marched forward and he had huge success. After a whole life of investing in the stuff of this world, how can we explain Zacchaeus’ turning around? How can we explain that? The answer can only be explained by the miracle-working grace of God. Here’s the application. Jesus freely offers to make His home in any heart that receives Him. He freely offers forgiveness of sin, entrance into God’s kingdom, adoption into God’s family, and the guarantee of the Holy Spirit to any person who humbles themselves and receives Jesus as Savior.

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.

What a miracle! Last, I want to think about the last part of Zacchaeus’ story.

The Transformation from Conversion

8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

First notice that Zacchaeus is first converted and then he experiences a change. It’s not that Zacchaeus changes his life, cleans up his own heart, and then is accepted by God. He is first converted. He is turned around by God to follow Jesus and then he immediately experiences a change of life. Here’s the truth. Conversion always produces a practical change in our life. It always does. Where there is no change, there is no true conversion. No one is converted without radical transformation. Transformation is not the cause of conversion. Transformation is the product of our conversion. It’s the fruit of our conversion.

Notice here that Zacchaeus doesn’t say, “Do you know what I’m going to do, Jesus? In my will I’m going to say that I’m going to leave half of all I own to the poor.” That’s not what he says. He says, “Immediately, I am giving half of all I own to the poor. Then with the other half, anyone who I have cheated, I am going to bring restitution fourfold.” The Law didn’t require fourfold, except for the very worst of robbing offenses. Zacchaeus says, “I’m going to treat myself as the worst of the law breakers and I’m going to give fourfold restitution to anyone I have cheated.” Can you imagine the length of the line outside of Zacchaeus’ house once it got around? Zacchaeus has been a tax collector for a long, long time. He is the chief tax collector. I imagine it took some time to get there to that top spot. You start on the bottom rung, you work your way up, and now he’s at the top spot.

How old do you suppose Zacchaeus is? In my view, he is old enough to start thinking about retirement. Some of you are in that age range as well. You’re starting to think about retirement. What do you think about when you start nearing retirement? You start thinking, do I have enough? Do I have enough saved? Almost always, the answer is no, I need a little bit more. Now imagine that you got just enough to think I may start to have enough so I can finally be released from the stress of being the chief tax collector. You take that nest egg that you’ve been counting on, that you’ve been building and growing for such a day as this and what do you do? I’m going to take that nest egg and I’m going to cut it in half. 50% is gone. I’m just going to give it all to the poor. And with the other 50% I’m going to give fourfold restitution. How much do you suppose Zacchaeus had left? He did not have enough to trust in. That’s how much. What was Zacchaeus experiencing? He experienced the life that says I don’t have to trust in this nest egg to take care of me and my future because now I have God. If I have God, I have everything. If I don’t have God, I have nothing. I’m going to die a wealthy man. This day my soul will be required of me, and what then?

It is that realization of the value of Jesus Christ that brought about a conversion, a transformation. Where the gospel takes root a person stops rejecting the morality of God and a person begins to follow God with a full and eager heart, seeing that His law is not burdensome to us, but it’s a blessing. Notice that Zacchaeus didn’t wait to go to a Crown Financial Seminar before his habits changed. Crown Financial is a great organization, but you go to a Crown Financial Seminar without a converted heart and nothing is going to happen. You have to first be converted with a heart change that only God can do. What a dramatic demonstration of the life of God’s Spirit in the soul of this man! Let me ask you, is this your experience with God? Have you experienced this great transformation?

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Why does Luke make such a point, here that the whole issue is not Zacchaeus seeking God, but it’s Jesus seeking after him? Why does Luke make this point? First, if your soul begins to seek after God, know that it is God at work on you. Treasure that work. Do not presume upon it. Do not presume that tomorrow God is going to continue doing that work and I’ll have the same heart to desire to seek after God tomorrow as I have today. No, the Scripture says today, don’t harden your heart. If you’re sensing God pulling on your heart, respond now. Don’t wait until tomorrow or next week or next month. Your heart may harden. That grace of God might not be present tomorrow. Don’t presume that God will do that. Respond now, like Zacchaeus did.

Secondly, I think Luke wants those who are converted to give Jesus full glory. It is the glory that is due Him. We only seek after God after God seeks us. Let me ask you, does your life demonstrate the grace of Jesus the way that Zacchaeus’ life did? Have you been converted? Isaiah says

Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.