Come On Down [5-31-26]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHj_boPUwzw?si=UJprAYI0tlVQp7TA

May 31, 2026

Luke 19:1-10

“Come on Down”

The place to start is at the end. Luke 19:10 sets the tone and tenor for understanding this wonderful encounter:

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

Remember, the trajectory of our salvation history is moving Jesus to Jerusalem. There he will die on the cross for our forgiveness. That movement has been taking Jesus toward, into, and through Jericho. Jericho, the City of Palms, has been our geographical focus since the middle of chapter eighteen.

Verse ten is nothing less than the declaration of the purpose for Jesus’ birth. It is why he has set his face for Jerusalem. Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, was born into the world to seek and save lost sinners. That is the grand design of God’s plan of salvation for us. Jesus is seeking and 

saving the lost:

• Ezekiel 34:15-16…I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep,              and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord         God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.  {We don’t find Jesus…Jesus finds us.}

• Matthew 1:20-21…But as he considered these things, behold,          an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 

• 1 Timothy 1:15…The saying is trustworthy and deserving of      full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

• Romans 3:11…None is righteous, no, not one; no one              understands; no one seeks for God. {Jesus seeks us.}

These are but a sample of the Biblical truth spoken by Jesus in Luke 19:10.

Our God is a seeking God. God is not removed from us, off in some sort of isolation, waiting for us to figure out a way to get to Him. No…no…no. We are neither willing nor able to seek after God. God is beyond discovery. As the Bible warns us, in our sin, each one of us desires to go his or her own way. God has to seek us. And God has to save us. We cannot save ourselves from sin and death. Not gonna happen if it were solely up to us.

So let’s now look at the full passage. Here’s Luke 19:1-10:

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 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.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 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.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

First, a little geography. Jericho is located in an oasis paradise. It sits in the Jordan Valley. It has an abundance of natural, perennial fresh water from springs, which make it a fertile, lush spot in the midst of a barren desert. Because of that, Jericho is economically thriving. Also, because of the water, it is a crossroads from north, south, east, and west. All trade routes pass through Jericho.

Which leads us to Zacchaeus. The Roman government awards tax collection contracts to the highest bidder. Zacchaeus is a smart tax collector. Not only does he collect what Rome says he has to collect, but he can structure his own tax categories. And he has the muscle of Rome to back him. What a deal. Zacchaeus is no slouch. Which is why he is wealthy.

So, as Jesus moves toward Jericho, Zacchaeus wants to see who he is. We’re not told why. Here are the most important things we know:

• Zacchaeus is wealthy.

• Zacchaeus is short.

• Zacchaeus is not liked.

Zacchaeus shamelessly scurries up a tree. He wants to see Jesus. It has leaves large enough to conceal him from the people who hate him. We know the crowd hates Zacchaeus. Like crowds in previous gatherings, they grumble about what they don’t like. And they don’t like that Jesus talks to Zacchaeus. They also don’t like that Jesus invites himself to the house of Zacchaeus. And so they grumble.

I love how Charles Spurgeon referred to the grumblers. He called them cavillers. It’s a great word that means:

“People who raise annoying, petty, or trivial objections, often nitpicking or finding fault unnecessarily. A caviller is essentially a quibbler, faultfinder, or someone who argues over minor, insignificant details.”

You will notice that Jesus rarely, if ever, answers people like that. Because you can never win with grumblers. They scarcely deserve a reply, for they will find fault again. It’s in their nature to do so. So, what does Jesus do? He doubles down with Zacchaeus. He calls him by name and, instead of simply passing through Jericho, as was him plan, he decides to stay the night.

There’s one important thing to keep in mind about their initial interaction. Jesus has not been introduced to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus has not been introduced to Jesus. The crowd hasn’t told Jesus about Zacchaeus. They haven’t even pointed him out to Jesus. Ironic that Zacchaeus wants to know who Jesus is only to find out that Jesus already knows who he is. Again the point is something you might want to write down:

JESUS’ DIVINE MISSION IS TO SEEK AND SAVE THE LOST.

And boy, oh boy, is Zacchaeus lost. He’s as lost as the rich ruler in chapter eighteen. Remember him? The guy wants to know about getting right with God. Jesus leads him from one truth to another. The guy rejects it. And so, Jesus says:

“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.”

You remember that, right? The disciples wonder if that’s the thing, then who can be saved? And Jesus says, what sounds impossible to you is always possible with God. That’s the good news. Everything’s always possible with God. Can rich people be saved? This encounter with Zacchaeus gives the answer.

Always remember. The direction here is Jesus finding the lost. We’ve worked up to it with three distinct parables…a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. Now, here we have it in a real-life encounter. Jesus finds a lost man. And what happens? What happens when Jesus calls out to him? Notice the urgency…the quickness…the speed with which Jesus calls and Zacchaeus answers. “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.’ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.” This moment…this encounter…is far, far removed from slow and deliberate.

I’m reminded here, in a sort of sideways way, of what Paul writes in 1 

Corinthians 15:50-52:

“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

Zacchaeus doesn’t find Jesus. Jesus finds Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus doesn’t call out to Jesus. Jesus calls out to Zacchaeus. And then, what happens? What happens immediately? Zacchaeus repents. He changes the direction of his life. His greatest desire is to start living a decent and honorable life.

Remember what we say around here. Zacchaeus desires to produce in his life what Paul will later describe in Galatians 5:22-23:

“Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

As St. Augustine once wrote:

“GRACE IS BESTOWED ON US, NOT BECAUSE WE HAVE DONE GOOD WORKS, BUT THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO DO THEM.”

Jesus calls us and we respond. That is always the order of things. Call and response. When we were without merit, without any ability to please God, with no hope of saving ourselves, that’s when Jesus looked up in the tree, saying, “For I must stay at your house today.” And then we, like Zacchaeus, jump at joyful obedience. What happens when Jesus Christ  calls us out of sin? What happens when he saves us to live eternally with him? We want to be decent, kind people. And let me tell you, I see a lot of that here at Covenant Church. That’s why I say, “Amen.”

Jesus came to save sinners. God takes the initiative. He finds us. And like Zacchaeus, once we understand how far…Jesus dying on the cross…once we understand how far God goes to find us, what else can we do but seek to live radically changed lives? Jesus finding us changes our hearts and minds. As Jesus says in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” That promise is first lived out with Zacchaeus. And now, 2,000 years later, it is lived out with us. Salvation has come to our house.

Here we are, May, 2026. 2,000 years ago, Jesus called Zacchaeus by name. To this very day, Jesus continues to call people by name. May 31, 

2026, and people will continue to answer Jesus. Perhaps even here, right now, this very day, someone will give his or her life to Christ. I cannot think of a good reason why not. It is never too late.

Let us pray together:

LORD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CLEAR MESSAGE. WE CAN’T EARN SALVATION BY BEING GOOD. SALVATION ONLY COMES AS A GIFT TO THOSE WHO KNOW THEY ARE SINFUL AND CRY OUT FOR MERCY. WE PRAY, FOR YOUR GLORY, THAT YOU WOULD SEEK AND SAVE SOME WHO ARE LOST, EVEN THIS DAY. WE PRAY THESE THINGS IN CHRIST’S NAME. AMEN.