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“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.”” (Luke 19:1-10, ESV)

Pastor Skyler’s sermon on this passage is titled, “Lost and Found”.

This story is well-known. It tells us about Zacchaeus who was ‘a wee little man’ as the children song says, and how he was saved by Jesus. One of the more striking details of the story is that, while Zacchaeus clearly sought Jesus, going so far as to climb a tree just to see the Rabbi, it is also clear that Jesus knew about the unpopular tax collector ahead of time, and was also seeking him.

Notice the phrasing Jesus used. He said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” This was not optional for Jesus. Staying at Zacchaues’ house was something he said he ‘must’ do. Jesus is God, so it seems odd that he ‘must’ do anything. However, from elsewhere, we know that Jesus always obeyed his Father. For example, he says in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (NASB).

What was the will of the Father that Jesus had to do? Jesus says it in this very passage. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Therefore, on that day, before Zacchaeus ever climbed the sycamore tree, Jesus had received instruction from the Father to seek and save Zacchaeus.

This truth, that those who Jesus saves are chosen by the Father, is known as the doctrine of election. Jesus set out that day with a mission, to seek and to save an individual, a sinful tax-collector named Zacchaeus. He didn’t just set out with a vague goal of saving people in general. His goal was to save someone in particular.

And, if you are saved, that is how Jesus saved you. God the Father chose you (Ephesians 1:3) and gave you to Christ as one of his sheep (John 10:27-28). And when Jesus died, his blood covered you and all of your sin specifically, so that you would be forgiven and welcomed into fellowship with him forever.

 

Further Study