#156 Lu. 19:10  JESUS COME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE

Introduction:

     In this text Jesus sets forth the reason that He came
into the world.  He came to seek and to save those who are
lost.

I.  The relation of this statement to our Lord's encounter
    with Zacchaeus

     This statement is directly related to His conversation
with Zacchaeus.  You will recall that in our previous text as
Jesus walked along the streets of Jericho a little short man
by the name of Zacchaeus climbed up in a sycamore tree so
that he could get a look at Jesus.  Zacchaeus was the chief
of the publicans in that district.
     Perhaps you will remember that the word, Zacchaeus,
means "pure, innocent" and yet Zacchaeus was not at all pure
or innocent.  He was a sinful man.  He had a bad reputation.
He was thought of by all of his fellow Jews as a wicked
sinner.  He, himself, acknowledged that he was a sinner.  He
acknowledge that he had used his office as tax collector to
defraud and cheat citizens out of their money.  The
implication in the passage is that he had taken much money
from them by false accusation and he acknowledged it.  This
sin was in addition to whatever other sins he had committed.
     Therefore, when Jesus stopped under the sycamore tree
and told Zacchaeus to come down and that He was going to his
house the fellow citizens were very critical of Jesus.  They
thought that one who claimed to be a spokesman for God had no
business going to the house of a man who had the kind of
reputation that Zacchaeus had.
     Now let me point out to you that Jesus did not have to
give account to these men for His actions.  He did not have
to give them an explanation of why He would go to the home of
a wicked and sinful man.  But He did.  Jesus wanted them to
know why He would go to the home of Zacchaeus.  He wanted
them to know why He would go to the home of a wicked man.  V.
10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that
which is lost."

II.  The term, "Son of Man"

     Before we look further at the explanation that Jesus
gave His critics, let us take a look at the term Jesus used
to refer to Himself.  Note that Jesus here spoke of Himself
as "the Son of man."  You will perhaps recall that the blind
man called Him "thou Son of David." That expression, "Son of
David," was used to point out that Jesus was a descendant of
King David of old.  God had made a promise to David that He
would send a Savior to the world and that the Savior would be
one of David's descendants.  That expression, "Son of David,"
was commonly used by the Jews to identify the promised
Messiah, the promised Savior--the Christ.  So the blind man
called Jesus the Son of David as an expression of his belief
that Jesus is the promised Christ, the promised Savior.
     The term, "the Son of Man," which Jesus here used to
identify Himself was much broader term than "the Son of
David."  "The Son of David" identified Him as a descendant of
David whereas the term, "Son of Man," identified Him with the
whole human race.  It did not specifically identify Him with
David's lineage or even as a Jew.
     This term, "the Son of Man," is, likewise, a much
broader term than the term, "son of Abraham."  Jesus had
spoken of Zacchaeus as being a descendant of Abraham.  And it
is true that Old Testament prophecy had predicted that the
Savior would be born a seed or a descendant of Abraham.
     But what I want you to see here is that Jesus is using a
term to identify Himself which links Himself with all
mankind.  True, He is a descendant of Abraham and is rightly
called by the Apostle Paul in the book of Galatians "the Seed
of Abraham."  It is true that He is a descendant of David and
is rightly so called by the blind man and others in
Scripture.  But Jesus is also rightly called "the Son of Man"
because He came as a Savior for all mankind.  He came not
just as a Savior for the Jews.  He came to seek and to save
people of all races of people.
     Before we leave that expression, however, let me point
out to you that Jesus in no way used the expression "Son of
Man" to indicate that He would be conceived by a male.  The
Scripture is too clear on that matter for us to reach that
conclusion.  The Scripture is very clear in Old Testament
prophecy that Jesus would be born of a virgin, Isa. 7:14.  It
is also very clear in New Testament record that Jesus was
conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit of God.  No
male was involved in His conception.  He was virgin born and
He was Holy Spirit conceived.  See Matthew 1:18-23.
     I repeat:  The emphasis that Jesus intended to make in
the use of the term, "Son of Man," is that He was born into
human flesh.  Although He is Spirit God, He was born into the
human family to live among men.  Although He is Eternal
Spirit God, yet His physical life among men began as a
physical birth into a human body.
     Although Jesus never sinned in His entire lifetime, yet
He lived in a human body and was tempted to sin just as all
men are tempted.  The Scriptures teach that He was tempted in
every way that other human beings are tempted to sin and yet
He never yielded to sin.  He was tempted to sin and yet He
never had even a desire to sin.  He never thought a sinful
thought---not one.  He never committed a sinful act---not
one.  He is Holy, Sinless, Righteous, Perfect,  Deity God
living in a human body.  He is the promised Savior, but He is
not just the Savior of the descendants of Abraham.  He is not
just the Savior of the Jews.  He is the Savior for all races
of people.

III.  Why Jesus was going to the house of a sinner

     But now let us get back to the explanation which Jesus
gave to His critics because He was going to the house of a
sinful man.  Jesus said that this is the reason that He came
to the world.  "For the Son of man is come to seek and to
save that which was lost." He went to the house of a sinner
because He had come to this world to seek and save lost
sinners.
     Zacchaeus ha been a lost man.  They were right in saying
that Zacchaeus was a sinful man.  He was sinful and he was
lost.  He was hell-bound.  He was headed into the fires of
hell.  If Zacchaeus had continued the way he was headed, he
would ended up in the fires of hell and where he would spend
eternity there.
     That is exactly why Jesus was especially interested in
Zacchaeus.  Jesus had come to this world to save sinners like
Zacchaeus.  Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem right at that
very time to die on the cross so that lost sinners could be
saved.  Jesus was going there to suffer on the cross and to
pay the sin debt for such men as Zacchaeus so that Zacchaeus
could be saved.  Jesus had come to save lost sinners.

IV. What the people should have seen in the statement

     Let me point out to you that those critics ought to
rejoice that this is so.  Jesus, as Almighty Holy Deity God
had not come to the world to judge the world for their sin.
He had not come into the world to condemn the people of the
world for their sin.  He would most certainly been just if He
had just condemned every man, woman, boy and girl to the
fires of hell because all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God.  Jesus would have been just if He had condemned
Zacchaeus and all of that whole crowd of people and all of
the whole world.  But Jesus had not come to condemn the
world; He had come to seek and to save that which is lost.
     Jesus was going to the house of Zacchaeus because--as He
had explained to Zacchaeus--salvation had come to his house.
Zacchaeus got saved that day.  Jesus saved Zacchaeus that
day.  He was going to his house and there was the likelihood
that others in the house of Zacchaeus would get saved that
very day.  If they did get saved--if they ever got saved--it
was Jesus who saved them.
     What the people in that great crowd of people should
have done upon hearing this statement from Jesus was to call
on Him and ask Him to save them, too.  You see, these people
who criticized Jesus for going to the house of a sinner were
also sinners.  It is true that they had not done what
Zacchaeus had done.  But they were they were wicked sinners
just as Zacchaeus was a wicked sinner.  Perhaps they never
actually took money falsely, but they had most certainly
sinned in many other ways.  They all stood as guilty sinners
before the eyes of God.  If they continued as they were they
would one day stand before the throne of God as guilty
sinners in the sight of God.  They would one day be judged by
Him and sentenced to the fires of hell.  Just as Zacchaeus
was on the road to hell, even so, these people were on the
road to hell.
     So when Jesus told them that He had come to save sinner-
--when He told them that He had come to save people like
Zacchaeus---He was also telling them that He had come to
save sinners like them.  Every last one of them had the same
opportunity that Zacchaeus had.  Every last one of them had
the opportunity to repent of sin and trust in Jesus and be
saved.  Every last one of them had the opportunity to stay
out of hell.  Every last one of them had the opportunity to
go to heaven.

V.  The statement as it relates to all mankind

     There was no way that anyone could ever be saved without
Jesus.  No man, no woman, no boy or girl can stay out of hell
by being good enough.  There is no way that anybody can go to
heaven by their won works of righteousness.  All are already
sinners.  All are already guilty before God.  All are already
sinners in the sight of God.  There is no way any man can
change his sinful nature by turning over a new leaf and by
trying to change his ways.
     There was no way in this world for anybody to ever get
saved except for Jesus to come to this world, be born of a
virgin and go to the cross and pay the sin-debt for lost
sinners.  But Jesus did come.  He was born in human flesh.
He did go to the cross.  He did suffer for the sins of the
world.  He did pay the sin-debt for every lost sinner.  And
He wants every lost sinner in the whole world.  Jesus wants
every lost sinner in the world to turn to Him and trust in
Him and get saved.
     Listen, Jesus not only came to make it possible for men
to get saved, but Jesus came to seek them out and try to get
them to be saved.  Jesus wanted Zacchaeus to be saved.  He
tried to get Zacchaeus to be saved.  Jesus knew that
Zacchaeus lived at Jericho.  He could have gone to Jerusalem
some other route, but He deliberately chose to go through
Jericho where Zacchaeus lived because He wanted Zacchaeus to
be saved.  He wanted all of the other people there in that
great crowd to be saved.
     Jesus still seeks to save those who are lost.  He sends
the gospel to every man, woman, boy and girl.  He wants them
all to be saved.  Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to convict
every man of his guilt and his need of salvation.  He wants
them all to repent and be saved.  Jesus goes to great effort
to impress upon the minds of unsaved men, women, boys and
girls that they need to call on Him and trust in Him and be
saved.
     Jesus, through the preaching of the word of God, through
the testimony of a Christian family member or Christian
friend, and through the wooing of the Holy Spirit of God has
impressed upon very one of you who is still lost and headed
for the fires of hell that you need to get saved.  He
wants you to get saved this morning.

Conclusion:

     I am going to ask every unsaved person here this morning
to come to Jesus and put your trust in Him and get saved.  I
am also going to ask every one of you who are saved and who
have not followed through with Scriptural baptism and church
membership to come and petition this church for membership.
     I am also asking that those of you who are saved hold
membership somewhere else and who stand in need of a church
home here to come and present yourself for membership.