WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.800 Good morning, Church. 00:00:04.299 --> 00:00:10.779 The reading is taken from Luke chapter 19, verses 1 to 10. 00:00:11.540 --> 00:00:16.199 ! You'll find it in your church Bibles on page 1053. 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:19.859 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.020 And he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:41.600 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:48.740 So he ran ahead and climbed the sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 00:00:49.659 --> 00:00:55.240 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 00:00:55.240 --> 00:01:00.460 He said, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your home today. 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:05.060 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:09.420 All the people saw this and began to mutter, 00:01:10.099 --> 00:01:12.099 He is going to be the guest of a sinner. 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:15.920 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:21.920 Look, Lord, here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:27.700 and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:30.140 Jesus said to him, 00:01:30.620 --> 00:01:33.680 Today salvation has come to this house, 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:38.299 because this man too is the son of Abraham. 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:42.659 For the son of man came to seek and save the lost. 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:44.420 Amen. 00:01:48.260 --> 00:01:50.400 Great. Thank you for reading for us, Yvonne. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:53.580 Do keep your Bible open there. 00:01:53.660 --> 00:01:55.260 Let me pray as we come to God's word. 00:01:55.320 --> 00:01:56.280 Let me pray for us. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:06.000 Heavenly Father, we are so, so very eager to hear your word. 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:13.980 But we know that you are even more eager to speak than we are to listen. 00:02:14.200 --> 00:02:17.400 And so we pray that you might be gracious to us this morning. 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:21.939 That as your word is open, as there are many things to distract us, 00:02:21.980 --> 00:02:22.780 it's warm in here, 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:25.260 we've maybe got other things on our minds, 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.740 we pray, please, that you might give us hearts and ears to listen. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:33.439 And that you might lead us to repentance and faith in Jesus, 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:35.000 in whose name we pray. 00:02:35.860 --> 00:02:36.200 Amen. 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:42.319 Now, the story that Yvonne just read for us 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:46.079 is probably quite familiar to many of us in the room. 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:47.979 Even if you've never been to church before, 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:52.339 you might somewhere in a memory of school, perhaps, 00:02:52.799 --> 00:02:57.939 remember a story about a short man climbing a tree somewhere in the Bible. 00:02:58.239 --> 00:03:01.019 If you're my age or a bit older, 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:02.259 you might have learned a song. 00:03:02.259 --> 00:03:04.439 I'm not going to sing it. 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:06.679 Now, Zacchaeus was a very little man. 00:03:07.239 --> 00:03:08.500 A very little man was he. 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:12.560 He climbed up into a sycamore tree to see if his saviour he could see. 00:03:13.299 --> 00:03:14.439 And when the Lord Jesus was... 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:15.560 Anyway, right? I'm not going to carry on. 00:03:16.519 --> 00:03:18.039 The problem with that song, 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:20.500 and even with our familiarity with the story, 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:23.280 is that I think we can actually miss what's really going on. 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:26.659 Because when you look at the story in its detail, 00:03:26.739 --> 00:03:27.959 and how Luke's told it, 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:32.260 you realise the story has very little to do with the size of Zacchaeus, 00:03:32.340 --> 00:03:35.460 or really very little to do with the sycamore tree. 00:03:36.600 --> 00:03:38.219 Those things aren't that important. 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:41.680 What the story is really about is about repentance. 00:03:42.659 --> 00:03:44.680 It's a story about a man 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:47.960 who was heading in one direction at the beginning of the story, 00:03:48.140 --> 00:03:50.860 who is now heading in a totally different direction, 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:52.260 who has been transformed. 00:03:52.259 --> 00:03:55.659 It's about a man who was at one point an outcast, 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:58.159 who has now become an insider. 00:03:58.799 --> 00:04:02.560 A renowned sinner has become a saint. 00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:07.280 A lost person has been found and brought near. 00:04:08.259 --> 00:04:12.079 So what I want to try and do is show you five surprises from the story 00:04:12.079 --> 00:04:13.599 that point to this meaning. 00:04:13.799 --> 00:04:17.860 And I have a very limited and very dull PowerPoint, 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:21.139 which is because my PowerPoint assistant is on camp. 00:04:21.139 --> 00:04:22.699 That shouldn't be allowed, should it? 00:04:22.719 --> 00:04:23.339 But anyway, there you go. 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:25.279 So I'm going to try and go through it. 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:27.099 The first surprise is this. 00:04:27.699 --> 00:04:29.339 Jesus is searching for Zacchaeus. 00:04:29.659 --> 00:04:30.979 Because I think when you read it, 00:04:31.039 --> 00:04:34.699 you think that actually Jesus is being searched for by Zacchaeus. 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:36.300 But really the story is the other way around. 00:04:37.139 --> 00:04:39.479 Now, Zacchaeus is eager to see Jesus. 00:04:39.599 --> 00:04:40.479 You notice that, don't you? 00:04:40.539 --> 00:04:43.459 Verse 3, he wanted to see Jesus. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:46.979 Verse 4, you see that he ran ahead 00:04:46.980 --> 00:04:49.540 and climbed a sycamore tree to see him. 00:04:50.180 --> 00:04:53.600 Both of which probably took a little bit of effort for a short man. 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:58.640 But it seems that the contrast in the story that Luke wants you to notice 00:04:58.640 --> 00:05:03.100 is this contrast between Zacchaeus, the running tree climber, 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:06.500 and Jesus, the lost person seeker. 00:05:06.960 --> 00:05:08.900 That's the comparison we're meant to make. 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:14.020 So notice Zacchaeus wants to observe Jesus from the safety of a tree. 00:05:14.019 --> 00:05:18.199 He wants to stand at a distance, get a good look at what's going on, 00:05:18.219 --> 00:05:19.319 and make his own assessment. 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:23.699 It's, I think, probably almost certain that climbing the tree 00:05:23.699 --> 00:05:26.879 is a way for Zacchaeus to actually observe Jesus 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:29.719 without being observed himself, right? 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:33.979 People don't tend to, as they walk down the street, look up, yeah? 00:05:34.599 --> 00:05:36.339 They tend to just kind of walk along. 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:38.579 And so Zacchaeus presumably thinks, 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:40.799 well, I can see Jesus from here, 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:43.839 but it's probable that people won't notice that I'm up here. 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:46.879 Zacchaeus had his safe spot. 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:50.719 But your contrast is that Jesus does actually stop. 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:52.740 And more than that, you're told in verse 5 00:05:52.740 --> 00:05:57.180 that when Jesus reaches what is called the spot, right, 00:05:57.519 --> 00:05:59.259 the particular location, 00:05:59.959 --> 00:06:03.620 Jesus has been aiming deliberately for this destination 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:06.099 and has now arrived at that destination 00:06:06.100 --> 00:06:11.080 and he looks up intentionally and calls out to Zacchaeus 00:06:11.080 --> 00:06:13.379 and asks Zacchaeus his immediate action. 00:06:14.260 --> 00:06:15.820 I'm coming to your house. 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:17.980 Come down from the tree right now. 00:06:18.520 --> 00:06:19.060 Do it. 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:23.360 The contrast is so strong that as we were looking at with the children, 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:25.459 when Jesus summarizes the story in verse 10, 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:25.780 he says, 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:30.879 this story is about the Son of Man coming to seek and save the lost. 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:34.100 In other words, when you actually stop to think about it, 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:36.420 this story is not about Zacchaeus looking for Jesus, 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:38.000 but Jesus looking for Zacchaeus. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:40.839 Zacchaeus goes to observe from the safety of a tree. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:45.259 Jesus hunts Zacchaeus down and visits him. 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:47.779 Now, I want to suggest to you this morning 00:06:47.779 --> 00:06:49.939 that that dynamic is all the way through the Bible. 00:06:50.899 --> 00:06:52.100 All the way through the Bible, 00:06:52.100 --> 00:06:55.560 we find that Jesus is looking for his people. 00:06:55.560 --> 00:07:01.660 That mission that he is on to come and seek and save the lost 00:07:01.660 --> 00:07:03.540 is the mission that now carries on 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:07.100 through the preaching of the gospel like this this morning. 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:10.079 So perhaps I can say to you this morning, 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:12.519 maybe you're like Zacchaeus this morning. 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:14.740 You've not climbed a tree. 00:07:15.579 --> 00:07:18.680 Maybe you've sat in the balcony or whatever the equivalent is. 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:23.279 You're hoping to observe Jesus from a safe distance. 00:07:23.899 --> 00:07:25.060 Look and not touch. 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:26.759 See but not be seen. 00:07:26.939 --> 00:07:28.040 I want to find out about Jesus. 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:29.220 I want to evaluate Jesus. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:31.100 See what he has to offer. 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:32.800 See how that might fit with me. 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:35.360 And the surprise for you this morning 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:37.579 is that you might be looking to observe Jesus 00:07:37.579 --> 00:07:38.780 from a safe distance. 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:41.079 But he's calling out to you 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:42.639 because he wants to encounter you. 00:07:43.459 --> 00:07:44.560 He wants you to know him. 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:48.000 He wants to come and stay with you. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:50.920 And even for us, if we're Christians this morning, 00:07:51.100 --> 00:07:52.319 this is for us as well, isn't it? 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:56.240 We don't come to church to find Jesus, right? 00:07:56.579 --> 00:07:59.279 It's not like Jesus has been hiding from us all week. 00:07:59.620 --> 00:08:02.180 And unless we gather here like this, we won't discover him. 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:05.379 No, actually, Jesus has been with us all week. 00:08:05.740 --> 00:08:07.899 And really, the dynamic of church, 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:09.839 and Pesh led this really well, didn't he, at the beginning, 00:08:10.159 --> 00:08:11.620 to call us to worship. 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:15.300 It is God calling out to us, inviting us. 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:17.360 He is seeking and saving. 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:20.080 Again, he's not hiding from us. 00:08:20.139 --> 00:08:21.540 He wants to have fellowship with us 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:23.160 and speak with us and be with us. 00:08:23.780 --> 00:08:26.300 So that's the first surprise in the story, 00:08:26.400 --> 00:08:27.920 that Jesus is the searcher. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.759 Second surprise, Jesus shouldn't go to Zacchaeus' house. 00:08:32.680 --> 00:08:34.740 Now, it's not that Zacchaeus' house wasn't very nice. 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:36.759 He was a wealthy man, according to verse 2. 00:08:36.820 --> 00:08:39.279 So I imagine his house was quite impressive. 00:08:40.060 --> 00:08:41.399 Rather, the problem is not his house, 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:43.320 the problem is Zacchaeus himself, right? 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:44.680 Verse 2 tells you, 00:08:44.679 --> 00:08:47.059 not just that Zacchaeus was a tax collector, 00:08:47.179 --> 00:08:48.059 which would have been bad enough, 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:50.879 but he is a chief tax collector. 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:53.839 Now, Zacchaeus was a Jewish man 00:08:53.839 --> 00:08:56.459 who got wealthy by taking money 00:08:56.459 --> 00:08:58.439 from his Jewish brothers and sisters 00:08:58.439 --> 00:09:01.919 and passing it on to the occupying Roman forces. 00:09:02.819 --> 00:09:05.120 And then, because he was a chief tax collector, 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:07.199 he organized other people to do the same. 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:10.279 Now, just think about what that means, 00:09:10.359 --> 00:09:12.679 collecting money from your fellow Jews 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:15.419 and passing it on to occupying Roman forces. 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:16.500 What does that make you? 00:09:17.319 --> 00:09:19.079 It makes you a traitor, doesn't it? 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:20.039 That's what it makes you. 00:09:20.620 --> 00:09:23.299 You are a blasphemer of the nation. 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:27.419 You have traded national pride 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:30.259 for your own personal fast prophet. 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:33.120 He was a betrayer. 00:09:34.019 --> 00:09:36.139 And in verse 7, we're told that all the people 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:37.279 are muttering about this. 00:09:37.579 --> 00:09:39.319 Jesus has gone to Zacchaeus' house. 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:41.340 Jesus has gone to the house of a sinner. 00:09:42.800 --> 00:09:45.320 In verse 8, which we'll get to in the detail later, 00:09:45.460 --> 00:09:48.040 Zacchaeus is admitting, essentially, to shady dealing. 00:09:48.980 --> 00:09:52.500 So Zacchaeus owns the badge of sinner, if you like. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:55.879 But the problem isn't just Zacchaeus' sin. 00:09:56.280 --> 00:10:00.860 It is Zacchaeus' sin along with Jesus' righteousness. 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:04.539 So in verse 7, their problem isn't so much 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:05.620 just that Zacchaeus is a sinner. 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:09.580 It's rather that Jesus wants to be with this guy 00:10:09.580 --> 00:10:10.519 who is a sinner. 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:12.820 So notice their assumption. 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:16.080 The crowd assume that they know a few things about Jesus. 00:10:16.440 --> 00:10:18.399 They've been with Jesus for a little bit. 00:10:18.779 --> 00:10:19.940 They've heard him speak. 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:21.539 He's spoken with great authority 00:10:21.539 --> 00:10:23.240 that no one ever else has had. 00:10:23.659 --> 00:10:25.680 He's spoken about the sinfulness of sin. 00:10:25.800 --> 00:10:28.580 He's spoken about the moral requirements of a holy God. 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:34.340 And now they see that man walking into the house of a sinner. 00:10:35.020 --> 00:10:38.440 A notorious chief traitor. 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:41.040 And that seems to them a contradiction. 00:10:42.280 --> 00:10:43.340 Why would Jesus go there? 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:46.259 Now Zacchaeus knows it. 00:10:46.340 --> 00:10:47.400 The crowd know it. 00:10:47.660 --> 00:10:49.800 And presumably Jesus is not unaware of it. 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:52.560 And I want to suggest to you this morning 00:10:52.560 --> 00:10:55.360 that unless you actually grapple with that, 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.820 unless you wrestle with the idea of 00:10:57.820 --> 00:11:01.279 why would Jesus go to Zacchaeus' house, 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:02.340 a notorious sinner, 00:11:02.539 --> 00:11:04.200 you will not understand the story. 00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:08.419 Jesus' eagerness to be with Zacchaeus 00:11:08.419 --> 00:11:10.639 is the first surprise, isn't it? 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:11.519 He searches him down. 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:14.960 But it is nothing to do with Zacchaeus' worthiness. 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.600 Jesus' desire to seek and save the lost 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:21.720 is not because the lost are kind of attractive. 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:25.740 It's actually because Jesus is very gracious. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:30.060 Jesus should have called Zacchaeus down from the tree 00:11:30.060 --> 00:11:31.080 and said, right, listen. 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:35.040 Let me tell you that betraying your country 00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:38.180 for the occupying Romans is a terrible thing to do. 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:42.480 We are going to now prosecute you for that. 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:47.240 But instead, he says, let me come to your home. 00:11:48.300 --> 00:11:49.800 It's a great surprise, isn't it? 00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:53.779 Jesus is more eager to meet with us 00:11:53.779 --> 00:11:55.440 than we are with him. 00:11:56.680 --> 00:11:58.200 Jesus is eager to meet with us 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:00.539 even though we definitely don't deserve his attention. 00:12:01.920 --> 00:12:03.180 We deserve his judgment. 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:07.139 We're going to look at this in a bit more detail in a moment. 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:08.639 But what we really need to see here 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:11.860 is that this moral transformation that Zacchaeus undergoes 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:15.080 is not a condition on which Jesus arrives. 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:17.899 Jesus doesn't say, listen, I'll come round to your house 00:12:17.899 --> 00:12:19.879 but you must tidy yourself up first. 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:21.899 You know, stop defrauding people 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:23.120 and then I'll come round. 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:25.840 No, it's the very opposite of that, isn't it? 00:12:26.060 --> 00:12:29.539 Jesus comes round to the man who he knows defrauds people. 00:12:31.159 --> 00:12:35.000 Zacchaeus' moral transformation comes as a result of Jesus' visit 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:37.340 not as the precondition for it. 00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:39.980 And so for you and I this morning 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:41.920 if we picture ourselves, you know, 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:44.779 we're up the tree observing Jesus from a safe distance. 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:47.279 He is looking up our metaphorical tree, 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:48.000 whatever that might be. 00:12:48.379 --> 00:12:50.240 He's inviting himself to come and stay with us. 00:12:50.680 --> 00:12:52.940 You know, don't you, he's not saying to you, 00:12:53.060 --> 00:12:55.279 listen, you can have me over 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:57.379 as soon as you clean your life up. 00:12:58.080 --> 00:12:59.240 He's not saying that. 00:13:00.500 --> 00:13:02.420 He's not saying, listen, I will come over, 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:04.399 I will spend time with you 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:06.620 as long as you stop thinking like that. 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:08.320 As long as you stop doing that. 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:10.340 Clean your act up and I'll be right over. 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:10.779 No. 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:12.360 Here's the surprise. 00:13:13.060 --> 00:13:16.139 Jesus wants to come to you in the mess of your life. 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:18.779 In the mess of your life. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:22.060 With all your muck and sin and dirt. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:24.000 Why? 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.179 Isn't he holy? 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:28.080 He is holy. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:30.220 But he wants you to know, 00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:31.500 he wants me to know 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:34.279 that he doesn't want to be with me 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:35.659 because I deserve it. 00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:38.120 It's not something about me, 00:13:38.860 --> 00:13:39.960 but he wants to be with me 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:41.000 because he's gracious, 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:43.139 loving, kind. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:47.440 I don't know whether you do this. 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:49.799 When you have friends around to your flat, right? 00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:51.279 Do you have a little bit of a clean up 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:51.919 before they come? 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:54.399 Do you have that place 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:55.620 where you shove stuff, yeah? 00:13:55.699 --> 00:13:57.360 So that they don't notice it. 00:13:57.439 --> 00:13:57.799 So, you know, 00:13:57.860 --> 00:13:59.219 I'm going to put this behind that cushion. 00:13:59.860 --> 00:14:00.819 I'm going to put that behind the curtain. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:01.620 They'll never know it's there. 00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:03.139 They'll never check there. 00:14:03.939 --> 00:14:05.799 I once went around to a friend's flat 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:08.039 and I was in the kitchen bit 00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:10.459 and it looked like it was something weird in the oven. 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:13.000 Now, probably a normal person 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:14.759 should have just observed that, 00:14:14.839 --> 00:14:15.659 maybe noted it mentally 00:14:15.659 --> 00:14:16.259 and then walked on. 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:16.799 But I was like, what? 00:14:16.839 --> 00:14:17.219 It's in the oven. 00:14:17.299 --> 00:14:18.079 So I'm going to open the oven. 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:19.200 I opened the oven 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:21.160 and there is their washing up 00:14:21.160 --> 00:14:22.560 that they've not yet done, right? 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:24.639 And they had shoved it in the oven 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:26.460 in the hope that I wouldn't notice 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:27.240 when I came around. 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:28.460 But being the person I was, 00:14:28.520 --> 00:14:29.160 I opened the oven and went, 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:30.460 why have you got your washing up in the oven? 00:14:31.340 --> 00:14:31.840 And they're like, 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:33.080 oh, we were hoping you wouldn't find it. 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:36.460 Listen, you do that with your friends, don't you? 00:14:36.560 --> 00:14:37.920 But you don't have to do it with Jesus. 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:39.960 You don't have to do it with Jesus. 00:14:41.040 --> 00:14:42.259 You don't have to pretend 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:43.320 that you're better than you are. 00:14:44.260 --> 00:14:46.020 You know, you don't go, 00:14:46.140 --> 00:14:48.780 oh, my jealousy, my anger, my selfishness. 00:14:48.780 --> 00:14:49.879 I'm going to put those under that cushion 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:51.320 and Jesus will never notice it there. 00:14:52.180 --> 00:14:54.000 Pride, lust, people-pleasing. 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:55.800 I'll tuck those behind the curtains. 00:14:55.940 --> 00:14:57.140 He won't look there. 00:14:57.240 --> 00:14:58.080 He surely won't look there. 00:14:59.420 --> 00:15:00.900 Of course, it's a stupid mistake, isn't it? 00:15:00.900 --> 00:15:02.560 Not only because you can't actually hide 00:15:02.560 --> 00:15:03.660 that sort of thing from Jesus, 00:15:04.260 --> 00:15:06.060 but also it's a stupid thing 00:15:06.060 --> 00:15:07.400 because he's not in your life 00:15:07.400 --> 00:15:09.700 because he thought you were all sorted anyway. 00:15:10.460 --> 00:15:13.180 He's come to seek and save lost people. 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:16.379 People lost in their sin, like you and me. 00:15:17.520 --> 00:15:19.879 He came to us knowing our brokenness and our sin. 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:22.680 Let me say to you, 00:15:22.700 --> 00:15:23.680 if you're a Christian this morning, 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:24.660 you know, don't you, 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:26.720 that you have no other relationship like this. 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:29.660 No one else is like this to you. 00:15:30.620 --> 00:15:31.800 No one else is like this. 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:34.960 No one else knows all of your faults and failings, 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:35.740 sins and messes. 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:37.260 Some people will know some of them, 00:15:37.880 --> 00:15:39.880 but no one else knows all of them 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:41.580 and still seeks you out. 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:44.019 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:46.500 who was a theologian killed by the Nazis in Germany, 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:47.860 pointed out that we're very good 00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:50.080 not only at hiding things from other people, 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:52.779 we are very good at hiding things from ourselves. 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:55.559 We lie to ourselves all the time. 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:57.919 So much so, says Bonhoeffer, 00:15:58.179 --> 00:16:00.399 that not only are you essentially a mystery 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:01.839 to the person sat next to you, 00:16:02.079 --> 00:16:05.139 you are also a mystery in some sense to yourself. 00:16:06.359 --> 00:16:08.599 You yourself will not admit to yourself 00:16:08.599 --> 00:16:10.819 how bad you really are or what you're really like. 00:16:11.859 --> 00:16:15.759 You know, it's as if we've shoved the moral mess 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:16.919 behind the cushions 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:19.039 and we ourselves have forgotten that they're there. 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:24.519 But Jesus knows all about us. 00:16:25.779 --> 00:16:26.939 He knows our mess. 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:28.779 He knows our lostness. 00:16:29.299 --> 00:16:30.779 And he seeks us out 00:16:30.779 --> 00:16:32.759 and comes to see us. 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:35.339 Next thing to notice, 00:16:35.459 --> 00:16:36.360 the third surprise, 00:16:36.579 --> 00:16:40.039 is that hosting Jesus changes Zacchaeus. 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.279 I think for Christians reading the story, 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:45.779 the surprise is that it doesn't seem to mention 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:48.659 Zacchaeus saying that he believes in Jesus, right? 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:52.179 I would imagine that if any of our church members here 00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:53.360 were rewriting the story, 00:16:53.459 --> 00:16:55.039 they would add that line in, right? 00:16:56.059 --> 00:16:58.099 Zacchaeus knelt down and prayed the sinner's prayer, 00:16:58.279 --> 00:16:58.839 something like that. 00:16:59.500 --> 00:17:00.719 But there is none of that, is there? 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:03.240 Now, that's not because Luke doesn't believe 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:04.460 in the sinner's prayer 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:06.599 or doesn't believe that you should believe in Jesus 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:07.859 or say sorry for your sin. 00:17:08.180 --> 00:17:10.099 Of course he thinks those things are important. 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:12.500 The point is that he's got a better way 00:17:12.500 --> 00:17:13.980 of showing you that that happened 00:17:13.980 --> 00:17:15.319 than just telling you it happened. 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:18.420 He wants to show you this radical transformation 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:19.380 that Zacchaeus has, 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:21.039 this heart transformation 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:23.600 which comes through this encounter with Jesus. 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:25.120 And he shows you that, 00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:26.860 not by detailing it, 00:17:26.900 --> 00:17:28.940 but by showing you its effects in verse 8. 00:17:30.100 --> 00:17:30.820 So in verse 8, 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:32.360 you're not told exactly when it is 00:17:32.360 --> 00:17:34.220 or to whom the declaration is made, 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:35.740 but it seems sometime on the same day 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:37.560 that Zacchaeus makes some kind of public declaration 00:17:38.120 --> 00:17:41.519 that he is going to pay back what he stole. 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:42.080 Verse 8, 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:42.879 Look, Lord, 00:17:43.199 --> 00:17:45.879 here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor. 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:48.179 If I've cheated anybody out of anything, 00:17:48.579 --> 00:17:50.639 I will pay back four times the amount. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:53.539 Now, scholars will tell you 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:55.960 that Zacchaeus here is going way above and beyond 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:57.179 the legal requirements 00:17:57.179 --> 00:17:59.139 or the expectation of the Old Testament law. 00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:01.639 He's not deciding to give away a tenth 00:18:01.639 --> 00:18:02.500 of what he has, 00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:04.720 but a half of his possessions away. 00:18:05.179 --> 00:18:07.319 He's not just making a double restitution 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:09.500 that is required for defrauded money. 00:18:09.500 --> 00:18:12.440 He's paying back four times what was owed. 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:14.640 The transformation is incredible. 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:16.519 It is very thorough 00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:19.359 beyond any of the requirements laid out by the law. 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:20.559 In other words, 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:22.200 Luke wants you to notice 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:26.619 that Jesus has managed to transform Zacchaeus 00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:28.539 way above and beyond 00:18:28.539 --> 00:18:30.619 anything that could be expected. 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:34.960 No list of rules would have done Zacchaeus 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:36.240 this transformation, right? 00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:38.599 So Zacchaeus hasn't just received a list of rules 00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:39.899 and said, okay, I'm going to obey those 00:18:39.899 --> 00:18:40.959 because if he had, 00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:42.019 he would have done less. 00:18:42.980 --> 00:18:44.799 Jesus' transformation is deeper. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:49.299 On the previous page in your Bible, 00:18:49.619 --> 00:18:51.139 there's a story of a rich man 00:18:51.139 --> 00:18:52.319 who comes to see Jesus. 00:18:52.459 --> 00:18:54.319 This man is interested in Jesus. 00:18:54.779 --> 00:18:56.299 He claims to have kept all the commandments, 00:18:56.500 --> 00:18:58.019 but is sadly in love with his money. 00:18:58.879 --> 00:19:01.659 And Jesus famously tells him and the crowd, 00:19:01.659 --> 00:19:03.539 it is easier for a camel 00:19:03.539 --> 00:19:05.859 to pass through the eye of a needle 00:19:05.859 --> 00:19:08.459 than it is for a rich man to be saved. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:09.559 In other words, 00:19:09.779 --> 00:19:12.559 think of the largest moving object you can, 00:19:12.679 --> 00:19:13.139 a camel, 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:16.319 and think of the smallest hole you can imagine, 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:17.279 the eye of a needle. 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:18.679 It is impossible 00:19:18.679 --> 00:19:21.039 for the camel to get through the eye of a needle. 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:22.579 And the disciples go, 00:19:22.659 --> 00:19:24.559 well, who then can be saved? 00:19:24.899 --> 00:19:25.919 And Jesus replies, 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:27.679 what is impossible with man 00:19:27.679 --> 00:19:29.500 is possible with God. 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:31.659 And so here it is. 00:19:31.660 --> 00:19:34.600 Jesus is getting the camel of Zacchaeus 00:19:34.600 --> 00:19:36.220 through the eye of the needle 00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:38.279 of God's holy requirements. 00:19:40.040 --> 00:19:42.720 Jesus has entered into the mess of Zacchaeus' life, 00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:44.300 which was much worse 00:19:44.300 --> 00:19:46.900 than the rich ruler of chapter 18, 00:19:47.340 --> 00:19:50.400 and has done what could never be done on his own, 00:19:50.820 --> 00:19:52.420 and that is he's liberated him 00:19:52.420 --> 00:19:53.460 from his love of money 00:19:53.460 --> 00:19:55.920 and has transformed him into a lover of others. 00:19:56.600 --> 00:19:58.800 Generous, gracious, kind. 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:01.759 Now, of course, Luke doesn't preface this 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:03.619 with saying that Zacchaeus said the sinner's prayer 00:20:03.619 --> 00:20:05.839 or said that he stated his faith in Jesus, 00:20:06.019 --> 00:20:07.960 because Luke expects you to read it and go, 00:20:08.180 --> 00:20:10.460 wow, that's a miracle. 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:12.440 That's a miracle. 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:14.399 What a miraculous turnaround. 00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:17.919 Jesus has made this notoriously greedy sinner 00:20:17.919 --> 00:20:20.000 into a remarkably generous saint, 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:23.940 all at once, immediately, on the same day. 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:26.379 Zacchaeus doesn't go to rehab, right? 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:29.320 He doesn't go on a kind of therapy program 00:20:29.320 --> 00:20:33.180 for the greedy and the kleptomaniac. 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:34.320 He doesn't. 00:20:35.860 --> 00:20:38.720 Instantly, miraculously, his life has changed. 00:20:40.080 --> 00:20:40.880 Let me say to you, 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:42.820 the same can be true for us this morning. 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:46.060 Jesus, as we've seen, is at the foot of our tree, 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:48.220 inviting himself into our lives. 00:20:48.620 --> 00:20:50.080 He's more eager to be with us 00:20:50.080 --> 00:20:51.120 than we are to be with him. 00:20:51.360 --> 00:20:53.660 He's not expecting us to clean up before he comes. 00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:56.500 He's expecting us to see that his desire to be with us 00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:58.360 is a gracious and kind desire. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:01.420 But listen, he's not planning on leaving you unchanged. 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:05.680 In fact, the sign of a genuine encounter with Jesus 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:07.040 is a radical transformation 00:21:07.040 --> 00:21:09.340 that we'll be incapable of in our own strength. 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.820 This is what the Bible means by repentance. 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.920 Repentance in the Bible is not your decision 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:20.680 or my decision to try and clean my life up. 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:21.160 Yeah? 00:21:21.600 --> 00:21:23.259 It's not that, do you know what? 00:21:23.580 --> 00:21:25.000 I think I'm going to start going to church. 00:21:25.100 --> 00:21:26.960 I'm going to start trying to be a better person. 00:21:27.080 --> 00:21:29.279 That is not biblical repentance. 00:21:30.140 --> 00:21:32.440 Biblical repentance is an internal transformation 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:33.680 that God does in our hearts, 00:21:34.100 --> 00:21:36.860 liberating us from the hold that sin has over us 00:21:36.860 --> 00:21:39.039 so that we are able to turn to God 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:40.420 and live for him in a way that 00:21:40.420 --> 00:21:42.460 way exceeds our natural ability. 00:21:43.539 --> 00:21:45.620 And so biblical repentance is not just saying 00:21:45.620 --> 00:21:47.000 sorry for our sin. 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:50.660 Biblical repentance is doing sorry for our sin, 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:51.539 if I can put it that way. 00:21:51.900 --> 00:21:53.440 As we're enabled by the Spirit, 00:21:53.819 --> 00:21:55.200 we stop loving our money. 00:21:55.619 --> 00:21:57.839 Yes, but we also give generously. 00:21:58.140 --> 00:22:00.220 Zacchaeus gives away half of what he has. 00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:03.119 Biblical repentance isn't just sad 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:04.599 that it stole from people. 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:07.720 It pays back four times what was robbed. 00:22:08.839 --> 00:22:10.680 You know, repentance isn't just regretful 00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:12.700 or sad for its pride or its lust 00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:14.140 or its anger or its selfishness. 00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:17.640 Biblical repentance does all that it can 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:20.460 to cut those things and run from them. 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:24.940 I was asked a really brilliant question 00:22:24.940 --> 00:22:27.040 after the sermon last week. 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:28.480 See, if you were with us last week, 00:22:28.540 --> 00:22:30.000 we were looking at Manasseh's repentance. 00:22:31.360 --> 00:22:32.480 And someone asked me last week, 00:22:32.560 --> 00:22:34.040 where's the justice in all of that? 00:22:34.540 --> 00:22:35.780 Manasseh, in the Old Testament, 00:22:36.020 --> 00:22:38.080 filled Jerusalem with the blood of innocent people. 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:41.180 And then we're told that he repented 00:22:41.180 --> 00:22:42.140 and God forgave him. 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:45.060 And the question, where's the justice in that? 00:22:45.820 --> 00:22:47.620 You know, where's the price 00:22:47.620 --> 00:22:49.620 for all that innocent blood that Manasseh shed? 00:22:50.300 --> 00:22:52.100 You know, do you get just to repent, right? 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:53.580 And then God forgives you, 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:55.259 it's a let-off. 00:22:55.360 --> 00:22:56.140 Is that what's going on? 00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:58.960 Is repentance just a way of dodging 00:22:58.960 --> 00:22:59.980 the consequences of sin? 00:23:00.020 --> 00:23:01.259 If it is, we'd all do it, right? 00:23:02.560 --> 00:23:04.840 No, that's not what biblical repentance is, is it? 00:23:05.320 --> 00:23:07.280 No sin in the Bible goes unpunished. 00:23:07.380 --> 00:23:09.340 That's what the cross of Jesus Christ is about. 00:23:09.339 --> 00:23:10.939 That's where sin gets punished. 00:23:11.619 --> 00:23:13.259 But the other answer to the question, 00:23:13.419 --> 00:23:15.299 which is answered here in Luke 19, 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:17.779 is that genuine repentance, 00:23:18.159 --> 00:23:18.939 biblical repentance, 00:23:19.399 --> 00:23:22.339 seeks to make restitution for past sins. 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:24.759 The repentance that Jesus brings 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:27.019 comes with this desire to put things right. 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:29.720 The repentant, fraudulent tax collector 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:31.519 doesn't get a let-off. 00:23:31.659 --> 00:23:34.480 Rather, his sin is punished in Christ, 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:36.960 and he himself seeks to put things right. 00:23:37.579 --> 00:23:38.980 Christ pays his moral debt 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:40.299 before a holy God at the cross, 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:43.180 and through the change that God has brought in him, 00:23:43.259 --> 00:23:44.740 he seeks to make restitution. 00:23:46.299 --> 00:23:47.700 Imagine you were one of the people 00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:49.720 that Zacchaeus defrauded, right? 00:23:49.779 --> 00:23:51.940 He had taken your money off you, 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:54.819 yeah, taken it away from you, 00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:56.920 and suddenly this happens to him, 00:23:56.960 --> 00:23:59.660 and he pays you back four times what he took. 00:23:59.860 --> 00:24:01.779 That was better than any savings account. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:03.160 I wouldn't even got that in an ISA. 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:07.400 So, and yet Zacchaeus has put it right 00:24:07.400 --> 00:24:09.040 because God has worked in his heart. 00:24:10.120 --> 00:24:12.620 So, let me say, for you and me this morning, 00:24:12.840 --> 00:24:14.860 it is not possible for us 00:24:14.860 --> 00:24:18.500 to be both biblically repentant for our sin 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:21.540 and hold onto it at the same time. 00:24:22.620 --> 00:24:24.920 We can't be Bible sorry 00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:28.779 and also unwilling to put things right. 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:32.540 Sometimes it's obviously impossible, isn't it, 00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:34.680 to fix the damage from past sins. 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:37.240 And we need to be clear about that. 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:39.700 Biblical repentance doesn't stop a criminal 00:24:39.700 --> 00:24:41.859 from going to prison if that's where they need to go. 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:45.720 It loosens the chains of sin on their hearts. 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:50.180 But biblical repentance leads us to seek restitution. 00:24:51.779 --> 00:24:55.440 Biblical repentance leads the unfaithful husband 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:58.320 to own it and face the consequences 00:24:58.320 --> 00:24:59.340 and seek reconciliation. 00:25:00.820 --> 00:25:03.840 Biblical repentance is prepared to say sorry publicly 00:25:03.840 --> 00:25:05.980 when a public sorry is required. 00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:09.059 Biblical repentance puts things in place 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:10.160 to remove temptation, 00:25:10.620 --> 00:25:12.240 to find accountability, 00:25:13.059 --> 00:25:15.100 to stop doing what it was doing 00:25:15.100 --> 00:25:16.240 and start doing what it should. 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:19.880 And it doesn't do those things out of some kind of dry duty. 00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:23.000 Rather, we do them because having met with Jesus, 00:25:23.140 --> 00:25:24.960 we hate our sin as much as he does. 00:25:26.260 --> 00:25:28.240 And we want to be rid of it and put it right. 00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:31.500 So let me ask you this morning, 00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:33.000 if you're a Christian this morning, 00:25:33.080 --> 00:25:33.940 can I ask you, 00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:36.340 are you doing repentance? 00:25:37.700 --> 00:25:38.620 Not just asking, 00:25:38.800 --> 00:25:40.320 are you saying sorry? 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:42.019 I'm asking you, 00:25:42.099 --> 00:25:43.419 are you doing sorry? 00:25:44.859 --> 00:25:47.339 Are you seeking to put right past wrongs? 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:51.200 Are you fleeing from the sins of the past, 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:52.759 from temptations of the future? 00:25:53.439 --> 00:25:55.879 Are you putting things in your life 00:25:55.879 --> 00:25:57.519 to help you in that battle? 00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:00.659 Have you left that friendship group 00:26:00.659 --> 00:26:02.059 that keeps leading you astray? 00:26:02.579 --> 00:26:03.960 Have you spoken to that person 00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:05.419 who you know you've wronged? 00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:08.000 Have you put back what it was that you took? 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:10.400 Because if you encountered Jesus, 00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:13.380 then that's what encountering Jesus 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:14.400 enables you to do, 00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:15.940 in his strength, not your own. 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:18.880 Fourth surprise. 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:22.220 Repentance is the condition of salvation. 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:25.180 This is the tricky bit, right? 00:26:27.619 --> 00:26:29.079 Notice what happens here. 00:26:29.700 --> 00:26:31.880 Jesus hunts Zacchaeus down. 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:34.319 He goes to his house, 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:36.240 despite knowing he's a sinner, 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:38.620 and Jesus' visit, 00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:40.599 or his call, if you like, 00:26:41.240 --> 00:26:42.240 wasn't conditioned 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:44.440 by Zacchaeus' willingness to repent. 00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:47.960 Rather, Jesus' call of Zacchaeus 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:50.180 brought to Zacchaeus 00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:50.859 that repentance. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:53.420 And then Jesus, 00:26:53.700 --> 00:26:55.240 having witnessed the repentance 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:56.900 that he has brought to Zacchaeus, 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:58.059 says, verse 9, 00:26:58.579 --> 00:26:59.039 today, 00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:01.700 salvation has come to this house. 00:27:02.620 --> 00:27:03.519 And what does that mean? 00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:05.900 Well, it doesn't mean that 00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:06.879 Zacchaeus' repentance 00:27:06.879 --> 00:27:08.160 is a work that he's done 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:08.960 which has shown him 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:10.559 that he is now worthy of salvation. 00:27:11.139 --> 00:27:11.799 It's not that, is it? 00:27:11.819 --> 00:27:12.879 The whole story is written 00:27:12.879 --> 00:27:13.900 to show you that Zacchaeus 00:27:13.900 --> 00:27:14.940 is way too bad 00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:16.319 for that to be the case. 00:27:16.740 --> 00:27:18.339 And Jesus is far too gracious 00:27:18.339 --> 00:27:19.200 for that to be needed. 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:20.339 Rather, 00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:21.559 the point is that 00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:23.740 this miraculous repentance 00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:25.579 that Jesus has brought 00:27:25.579 --> 00:27:27.559 via his visit to Zacchaeus 00:27:27.559 --> 00:27:29.660 has become the means 00:27:29.660 --> 00:27:30.660 by which Zacchaeus 00:27:30.660 --> 00:27:31.519 receives salvation 00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:33.420 salvation in Jesus Christ. 00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:35.440 Literally, 00:27:35.660 --> 00:27:36.259 verse 9, 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:38.019 he receives Jesus. 00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:39.539 Jesus is the salvation. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:42.879 Perhaps we can put it this way. 00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:44.299 It was not possible 00:27:44.299 --> 00:27:46.259 for Zacchaeus 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:48.079 to have a saving encounter 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:48.859 with Jesus 00:27:48.859 --> 00:27:51.460 and keep a hold of his sin. 00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:54.339 And in turning from his sin, 00:27:54.859 --> 00:27:56.839 he receives Christ as saviour. 00:27:58.839 --> 00:27:59.319 Theologically, 00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:00.480 you might want to say 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:01.940 that biblical repentance 00:28:01.940 --> 00:28:03.599 and biblical faith 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:04.579 are essentially 00:28:04.579 --> 00:28:06.279 two sides of the same coin. 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:08.799 You cannot repent 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:10.059 and turn from your sin 00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:11.940 without also turning to 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:12.920 and receiving Christ. 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:14.700 And you cannot turn to 00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:15.660 and receive Christ 00:28:15.660 --> 00:28:16.720 unless you have turned 00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:17.460 from your sin. 00:28:17.799 --> 00:28:18.839 They're on the same ticket. 00:28:18.940 --> 00:28:19.660 They come together. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:21.860 It is possible, 00:28:21.980 --> 00:28:22.220 isn't it, 00:28:22.279 --> 00:28:22.599 for us? 00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:23.559 And I think we can make 00:28:23.559 --> 00:28:24.059 this mistake. 00:28:24.140 --> 00:28:24.740 And if you're making 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:25.620 this mistake this morning, 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:26.819 please listen to me. 00:28:26.819 --> 00:28:28.419 It is possible for you 00:28:28.419 --> 00:28:30.319 to be sad for your sin, 00:28:30.939 --> 00:28:33.740 to regret what you've done, 00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:36.960 and still not become a Christian. 00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:39.539 Plenty of people do that. 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:42.339 Plenty of people feel guilty 00:28:42.339 --> 00:28:43.659 and bad and sad 00:28:43.659 --> 00:28:44.539 about the things that they've done. 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:45.779 That's why the mosque 00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:47.159 is full on a Friday, right? 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:49.259 Full of people who know 00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:49.740 that they need 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:50.539 some kind of forgiveness. 00:28:50.539 --> 00:28:53.639 But if you turn from your sin 00:28:53.639 --> 00:28:55.079 in the Bible sense, 00:28:55.180 --> 00:28:57.039 if you have an encounter 00:28:57.039 --> 00:28:58.200 with Jesus Christ 00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:00.440 which turns you to hate your sin 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:01.659 like he hates it, 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:04.899 then you will also turn to him 00:29:04.899 --> 00:29:07.539 and receive from him salvation. 00:29:11.139 --> 00:29:12.480 Perhaps I could be bold enough 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:13.500 this morning to phrase it 00:29:13.500 --> 00:29:14.139 as a question. 00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:16.039 Let me ask you, 00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:17.579 do you want Christ? 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:21.599 Do you want the salvation 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:23.079 that Christ alone can bring? 00:29:23.859 --> 00:29:25.119 Do you want forgiveness? 00:29:25.659 --> 00:29:26.559 Do you want freedom? 00:29:26.819 --> 00:29:27.980 Do you want eternal life? 00:29:28.199 --> 00:29:28.980 The eternal life 00:29:28.980 --> 00:29:30.559 that Christ alone can bring. 00:29:31.079 --> 00:29:32.759 If you want that, 00:29:33.740 --> 00:29:35.740 then you must let go of your sin. 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:38.039 You must let go of your sin. 00:29:38.699 --> 00:29:40.019 And you let go of your sin 00:29:40.019 --> 00:29:41.259 when we've had this encounter 00:29:41.259 --> 00:29:41.859 with Jesus 00:29:41.859 --> 00:29:44.339 who brings this miraculous repentance. 00:29:45.740 --> 00:29:46.639 And if you're a Christian 00:29:46.640 --> 00:29:48.280 this morning and you're going, 00:29:48.380 --> 00:29:48.680 do you know what? 00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:50.360 I want more of Christ. 00:29:51.020 --> 00:29:52.140 I want more of Christ. 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:54.360 I want more joy 00:29:54.360 --> 00:29:55.240 in my Christian life. 00:29:55.340 --> 00:29:56.780 I want a greater assurance 00:29:56.780 --> 00:29:57.660 of future glory. 00:29:58.020 --> 00:29:59.380 I want freedom from guilt. 00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:00.160 I want courage 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:01.060 to face the future. 00:30:01.580 --> 00:30:02.259 Well, let me say 00:30:02.259 --> 00:30:03.220 if that's what you want, 00:30:03.380 --> 00:30:05.060 let go of your sin. 00:30:07.220 --> 00:30:09.180 Pray even if you're bold enough, 00:30:09.300 --> 00:30:11.280 Lord, show me my sin 00:30:11.280 --> 00:30:12.980 that I might repent 00:30:12.980 --> 00:30:14.240 and have more of you. 00:30:14.320 --> 00:30:15.220 That's what I want. 00:30:15.220 --> 00:30:19.400 The fifth and final surprise. 00:30:21.180 --> 00:30:23.160 Jesus brings great assurance. 00:30:23.360 --> 00:30:25.180 Jesus brings great assurance. 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:28.000 Verse nine is an amazing statement 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:28.579 by Jesus. 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:29.680 It's addressed to Zacchaeus. 00:30:29.740 --> 00:30:30.640 Everyone gets to listen. 00:30:31.500 --> 00:30:32.640 Jesus said to him, 00:30:32.819 --> 00:30:35.660 today salvation has come 00:30:35.660 --> 00:30:36.680 to this house 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:38.779 because, here it is, 00:30:39.180 --> 00:30:40.680 this man too 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:42.660 is a son of Abraham. 00:30:44.060 --> 00:30:45.320 Now, Jesus could have really 00:30:45.320 --> 00:30:46.420 sort of said to Zacchaeus 00:30:46.420 --> 00:30:47.060 that he was saved 00:30:47.060 --> 00:30:47.980 in any number of ways, 00:30:48.080 --> 00:30:48.400 couldn't he? 00:30:48.820 --> 00:30:50.340 But he chose to call him 00:30:50.340 --> 00:30:51.220 a son of Abraham. 00:30:51.340 --> 00:30:52.519 It's really cleverly put. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:54.200 To be a son of Abraham 00:30:54.200 --> 00:30:56.539 is to be a genuine part 00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:57.360 of God's people, 00:30:58.019 --> 00:30:59.320 a treasured member 00:30:59.320 --> 00:31:00.120 of the family, 00:31:00.820 --> 00:31:02.700 right at the center 00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:03.720 of God's people. 00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:07.279 And this is amazing, 00:31:07.380 --> 00:31:07.839 isn't it? 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:09.279 Because Jesus says 00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:10.279 to the outcast 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:10.880 and the sinner, 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:11.819 the traitor, 00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:13.319 now listen, 00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:14.220 now you're right 00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:14.839 at the heart 00:31:14.839 --> 00:31:15.480 of God's people. 00:31:16.059 --> 00:31:16.680 You're adopted 00:31:16.680 --> 00:31:17.620 into God's family. 00:31:18.059 --> 00:31:19.259 You know God as Father. 00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:21.319 It's amazing, 00:31:21.400 --> 00:31:21.539 isn't it, 00:31:21.539 --> 00:31:22.120 you can imagine, 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:22.440 can't you, 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:23.600 just the look 00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:24.539 on Zacchaeus' face 00:31:24.539 --> 00:31:25.959 as Jesus looks him 00:31:25.959 --> 00:31:27.099 in the eyes 00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:27.419 and says, 00:31:27.500 --> 00:31:27.759 listen, 00:31:28.879 --> 00:31:29.319 traitor, 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:31.399 you're a son of Abraham. 00:31:32.699 --> 00:31:33.619 You're right 00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:34.039 at the heart 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:34.659 of God's people. 00:31:35.459 --> 00:31:36.259 I love you. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:37.659 You're a child 00:31:37.659 --> 00:31:38.240 of the covenant. 00:31:38.859 --> 00:31:39.439 You're included 00:31:39.439 --> 00:31:40.099 in the family. 00:31:41.319 --> 00:31:42.579 Jesus invited himself 00:31:42.579 --> 00:31:43.539 into Zacchaeus' home 00:31:43.539 --> 00:31:44.240 so that Zacchaeus 00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:44.779 could be invited 00:31:44.779 --> 00:31:45.859 into Jesus' family. 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:48.279 And notice what that means 00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:49.079 then for the story. 00:31:49.439 --> 00:31:49.959 Think about what 00:31:49.959 --> 00:31:50.879 the story is about. 00:31:51.659 --> 00:31:51.879 You know, 00:31:52.199 --> 00:31:53.219 Zacchaeus goes up 00:31:53.220 --> 00:31:54.559 a tree to see Jesus, 00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:56.039 to watch from a safe distance. 00:31:56.380 --> 00:31:57.759 But Jesus wants more, 00:31:57.860 --> 00:31:58.100 doesn't he? 00:31:58.100 --> 00:31:59.319 He wants to bring salvation. 00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:01.120 So Jesus climbed 00:32:01.120 --> 00:32:02.160 his own tree, 00:32:02.779 --> 00:32:04.220 but not a sycamore tree, 00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:05.660 a tree to which 00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:06.279 he was named. 00:32:07.100 --> 00:32:08.640 Knowing that for Zacchaeus 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:09.759 to be included 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:10.700 in God's people 00:32:10.700 --> 00:32:11.960 meant that he would 00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:13.620 have to be excluded 00:32:13.620 --> 00:32:14.559 from God's people. 00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:16.039 For Zacchaeus 00:32:16.039 --> 00:32:17.079 to be made holy, 00:32:17.880 --> 00:32:18.579 Jesus would have 00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:19.579 to be made sin. 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:21.519 For Jesus to be able 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:22.660 to say to Zacchaeus, 00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:24.120 you are mine. 00:32:24.620 --> 00:32:25.580 Jesus had to say 00:32:25.580 --> 00:32:26.200 to his father, 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:28.600 why have you forsaken me? 00:32:30.779 --> 00:32:31.960 So for us this morning, 00:32:32.100 --> 00:32:33.000 if we've encountered 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:34.580 Jesus like Zacchaeus, 00:32:34.660 --> 00:32:35.620 this is our assurance. 00:32:36.500 --> 00:32:37.560 Christ was put out 00:32:37.560 --> 00:32:38.220 so that we might 00:32:38.220 --> 00:32:38.920 be brought in. 00:32:39.380 --> 00:32:40.360 He was made sin 00:32:40.360 --> 00:32:40.960 so that we could 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:41.640 be made holy. 00:32:42.120 --> 00:32:43.060 So that you and I 00:32:43.060 --> 00:32:43.940 could hear Jesus 00:32:43.940 --> 00:32:44.820 say to us, 00:32:45.320 --> 00:32:46.220 you're mine. 00:32:46.900 --> 00:32:48.480 You belong to me. 00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:50.420 You're one of my people. 00:32:50.420 --> 00:32:51.340 You're included. 00:32:51.500 --> 00:32:52.620 You're a son of Abraham. 00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:54.019 You know, 00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:54.600 the rest of the world 00:32:54.600 --> 00:32:55.740 might not think 00:32:55.740 --> 00:32:56.440 anything of you. 00:32:57.340 --> 00:32:57.900 They might think 00:32:57.900 --> 00:32:58.980 you're very insignificant 00:32:58.980 --> 00:33:00.000 and unimportant. 00:33:00.660 --> 00:33:01.759 But Jesus says, 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:03.019 I have given myself 00:33:03.019 --> 00:33:03.680 for you. 00:33:03.840 --> 00:33:05.240 I climbed my tree 00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:05.779 for you 00:33:05.779 --> 00:33:07.560 so that you might 00:33:07.560 --> 00:33:08.060 be mine. 00:33:11.259 --> 00:33:12.019 Let me ask, 00:33:12.080 --> 00:33:12.759 how do you know 00:33:12.759 --> 00:33:14.420 if you've encountered 00:33:14.920 --> 00:33:16.680 Jesus like Zacchaeus? 00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:18.820 It's obvious, 00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:19.320 isn't it? 00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:21.180 You've repented 00:33:21.180 --> 00:33:22.100 like Zacchaeus 00:33:22.100 --> 00:33:23.740 and you will keep 00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:25.700 repenting like Zacchaeus, 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:27.140 knowing that you were 00:33:27.140 --> 00:33:28.160 lost but Jesus 00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:29.500 found you. 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:31.000 And that's the 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:31.460 application, 00:33:31.620 --> 00:33:31.820 isn't it, 00:33:31.820 --> 00:33:32.860 of the story of Zacchaeus 00:33:32.860 --> 00:33:34.160 as we were looking 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:34.779 at last week. 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:35.680 Repent then 00:33:35.680 --> 00:33:37.259 so that your sins 00:33:37.259 --> 00:33:38.299 may be wiped out 00:33:38.299 --> 00:33:39.720 and times of 00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:40.160 refreshing 00:33:40.160 --> 00:33:41.779 may come from the 00:33:41.779 --> 00:33:42.060 Lord. 00:33:42.539 --> 00:33:43.200 Let me pray 00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:44.019 as I close. 00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:44.019 00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:44.120 Amen. 00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:44.120 00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:44.120 00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:44.120 00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:44.120 00:33:46.680 --> 00:33:54.860 Heavenly Father, 00:33:54.920 --> 00:33:56.160 we thank you so much 00:33:56.160 --> 00:33:57.039 that you are gracious 00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:57.799 to us 00:33:57.799 --> 00:33:59.440 and you send 00:33:59.440 --> 00:34:00.140 the Lord Jesus 00:34:00.140 --> 00:34:01.700 to call out to us 00:34:01.700 --> 00:34:02.960 not because we've 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:04.080 cleaned our act up 00:34:04.080 --> 00:34:06.660 but because you love us 00:34:06.660 --> 00:34:08.659 and you want us 00:34:08.659 --> 00:34:09.619 to encounter you 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:10.320 and know you. 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:12.139 And thank you 00:34:12.139 --> 00:34:13.240 that in meeting Jesus 00:34:13.240 --> 00:34:14.039 you don't leave us 00:34:14.039 --> 00:34:14.639 the same. 00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:16.879 you transform us 00:34:16.879 --> 00:34:18.259 and you enable us 00:34:18.259 --> 00:34:19.219 to take hold 00:34:19.219 --> 00:34:19.920 of salvation 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:20.679 in the Lord Jesus 00:34:20.679 --> 00:34:22.039 and hear these 00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:23.319 great words of assurance 00:34:23.319 --> 00:34:25.239 that we belong to you. 00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:26.859 And so Lord, 00:34:26.900 --> 00:34:27.319 we pray 00:34:27.319 --> 00:34:29.219 that you might make us 00:34:29.219 --> 00:34:31.679 ongoingly repentant, 00:34:32.599 --> 00:34:33.639 turning from our sin 00:34:33.639 --> 00:34:34.579 and receiving more 00:34:34.579 --> 00:34:35.460 and more of Christ 00:34:35.460 --> 00:34:37.139 as we pray in his name. 00:34:37.839 --> 00:34:38.159 Amen. 00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:38.279 Amen. 00:34:44.699 --> 00:34:44.699 00:34:44.699 --> 00:34:44.799 Amen. 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:44.799 00:34:44.800 --> 00:35:14.780 Thank you.