"And He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. And Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on before and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have extorted anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost."
Good Morning my beloved friends, brothers and sisters,
It is such a privilege to welcome you to worship today this Lord's Day. May we never take such a precious gift for granted. Thank you for joining us today, we're so glad you're here. Even as I write this, our brothers and sisters all around the world are facing and enduring high levels of severe persecution, even martyrdom, for the freedom to worship, and that suffering is only going to become worse and more widespread as we near the end of man's age. A September 2026 report indicates over 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in the first seven months of 2026 alone. So, I urge you to please join me in continuing to lift them up in prayer and seek meaningful ways to offer your help. In 2 Timothy 3:12, our beloved apostle Paul wrote to dear Timothy, reminding him that "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
I want to begin with a statement that sounds simple enough, but if we really and truly understand it, I believe it will change the way we read the entire Bible: Since the fall of man until now, God has continually sought sinners. After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they did not go seeking God looking for forgiveness, in fact, they hid from Him. And yet. God came looking for them (Genesis 3:9). The Bible is not the story of humanity climbing upward toward God, but God coming downward toward humanity in the Person of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God dwelling among us (John 1:14), not come because mankind was worthy of His love, but because we were helpless, sinful, and alienated from Him. Romans 5:6 says, For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."
Still, the sinner is hiding, but God is seeking. In Philippians 2:6–8, Paul expressed the astonishing humility of Christ, "although He existed in the form of God, He humbled Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross." That is clear distinction between the Christianity and every other religion. All man-made religion begins with man searching for God through human effort, religious rituals, or merit but the Gospel of Jesus Christ turns that around, beginning with God pursuing the lost of humanity by descending to mankind, a unique claim not found in other faiths. Since salvation is received through grace and faith in what Jesus Christ has already done—not something we earn through human works or self-improvement projects, the flesh recoils at the notion that salvation is wholly the work of God. Because grace is counterintuitive to human pride. In Luke 15:3–7, the lost sheep did not wander around trying to find its way back to the shepherd. The shepherd went searching for the sheep. In verses 8–10, the lost coin did not find the woman; she searched for it until she found it and celebrated with her friends and neighbors, saying, "‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost!' In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
If there was to be any salvation at all, it would have to be God Who would do that. According to Scripture, before the foundation of the world, knowing all things, God decided who would be saved and if His decision was final and settled, then humanity deserves no credit for any aspect of his salvation. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 4:7, asserts that believers have no basis for boasting or considering themselves superior to others saying, "What do you have that you did not receive?" God does for us what we could never do for ourselves. That is grace.
If you are reading this message, you are not merely reading a message about God seeking sinners, you are receiving the call of a loving God Who is seeking you! It s the desire of God to save and transform ALL sinners, so that they may put His mercy, His grace and His forgiveness on display. Many Christians simply go through the motions—attending church, serving, tithing—yet miss the heart of true obedience. The only question is, how you will respond? Focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important, most transforming thing that we as Christians can do. There are far too many people who claim to be Christians yet their daily lives embody no Christ-like values, because they have adopted Christianity as merely a label without a personal allegiance to Jesus, rather than lifestyle defined by personal faith.
Let's pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for You Word. A timely reminder of how salvation works, that we can never earn our salvation, and how profound grace is. Help us to resist conformity to the world’s patterns so that we might live obedient lives not only in the church but in the world, so that they might see that we're distinctly different rather than we really don't care what anybody thinks. O' Father, help us to live in that way that makes them believe that You are great and merciful God, and Jesus Christ is a great Redeemer, Who paid the price for our sin through His atoning death and resurrection and the Holy Spirit is a great resident teacher, illuminating the Truth and transforming sinners of lives into the image of Christ through sanctification. Lord, use us to bring many more to the same salvation we have received. We ask and pray this for Your glory. In Christ's precious name.
Amen.
Today's Message: Jesus: The Seeking Savior
What does it mean to be lost? Like most words found in Scripture, we tend to use them casually, such as "I got lost" or "I lost my keys." But when Scripture uses the word lost, it means something much more serious. To be spiritually lost means to be separated from God, under His righteous judgment, spiritually dead and headed toward eternal judgment. Jesus Christ did not come merely to improve people's earthly lives, He did not come to make humanity more accepting of sin, He came to save the lost, rescuing them from the kingdom of darkness by destroying the works of Satan, which are biblically identified as sin, lawlessness, and rebellion against God’s authority, including deception and spiritual bondage, through His sacrificial death and resurrection. All of the previous sacrifices could only cover sins, they could not do away with sin and all of its consequences. Christ delivers men from sin and its consequences; including it's power, it's penalty and it's presence. That's why John can say 1 john 3, "Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who does sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. The Son of God was manifested for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifested."
Before salvation, we weren't simply spiritually confused. We were spiritually lost sinners, not merely people who occasionally sinned. In Mark 7:21–23, Jesus said "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man." Changing your religious identity is not the same thing as being "born again." Being born again isn't about becoming more religious, it's about becoming righteous, not by "works of righteousness" but a transformation wrought by the Holy Spirit. There are many who sit in church every Sunday and are still spiritually lost. Jesus said entrance into the kingdom is reserved for those who actively do the will of the Father, rather than just merely saying "Lord, Lord" (Matthew 7:21-23). Notice Jesus is not warning unbelievers in that verse, He's warning religious people, who speak the right religious language, who think they know God. Unfortunately, many of them will likely discover much too late that religious activity isn't the same as salvation. That is why Zaccheus story matters, he was the man everyone had already judged.
Open your Bibles with me if you will, and please keep them open to the first ten verses of Gospel of Luke chapter 19, where we will explore one of the New Testament most familiar, most captivating stories in all the Bible. Zaccheus was not merely a man who was morally compromised and socially ostracized, he was a man who was spiritually lost and desperately seeking hope. I hope that you will follow along with me as I read, and I pray that we all will listen with an open mind and a receptive heart to what the Spirit is saying. I believe that Luke 19:1-10 will provide a very valuable lesson for all of us, because we are all in that same, corrupted condition. And, I strongly believe that desperately needs to be understood.
"And He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. And Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on before and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have extorted anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost." We’re neither able nor willing to seek after God. He has to seek us. The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to seek and save sinners. That is the core of Gospel message summarized. In1 Timothy 1:15, the apostle Paul emphasized that is trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance by all people, identifying himself as the "worst" of all sinners, offering hope that even the most notorious sinners, regardless of their background or sinfulness, can be redeemed through God's grace and mercy, once the Holy Spirit opens our understanding to our own sinfulness.
Before we dive in, allow me to read from Romans 3 which provides us with God's description of man's sinful condition, nothing less, nothing more: "Their condemnation is just. What then? Are we better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; There is none who does good, There is not even one. Their throat is an open tomb, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Let's dive in to verse 1 with fresh eyes, "And He entered Jericho and was passing through." First, Jericho was a wonderful, fertile little oasis in the West Bank within the Jordan Valley, just west of the Jordan River and north of the Dead Sea. It had two abundant springs, known as Elisha’s Spring and with aqueducts that distributed the water to the lush vegetation, that included date palms, citrus, and balsam, earning Jericho the biblical title "The City of Palms." Its strategic location at the intersection of major trade routes and its status as the lowest city on earth, making it a vital agricultural and commercial hub throughout antiquity and into the modern era.
It had a wall around it and four massive forts on the wall. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Herod the Great constructed a magnificent palace complex that an amphitheater, it later had some lush, magnificent gardens that Archelaus had developed following the destruction of Herod's palace. What really stands out about Jericho to me, is that when Jesus enters Jericho and heals a blind beggar, someone who is isolated from society and had no money. Here, He befriends and heals Zacchaeus, someone who is "spiritually blind," and despite his wealth, he is isolated from society. And, Jesus came to seek and save them both.
So, here comes Jesus passing through with His massive entourage of people who were following Him, along with the daily throngs of people coming and going in the normal course of events. Jericho would have had a significant number of tax collectors. As we have noted several times in the past, in biblical times, tax collectors were among the most despised people in society, viewed as traitors who collaborated with Roman occupiers, collecting taxes from their fellow Jews and often overcharged the Jewish people and pocketed the extra money for personal gain. Their role placed them on the fringes of society, causing them to be regarded as ceremonially unclean. Understanding the role of the tax collector in the Bible is essential to grasp the profound significance of Jesus’ interactions with them.
Tax collectors were known for their corruption, however, despite their low social status and reputation for dishonesty, Jesus’ willingness to engage with them reveals his mission to bring salvation to the lost, no matter their past, which often challenges our understanding of repentance, grace, and transformation. Making the question on people's minds, "Is this Jesus the Messiah who is going to bring the promised kingdom?" Jesus was not merely passing through Jericho, He was on a divine mission, He was heading toward the cross.
Verse 2, "And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich." By the way, this is sixth encounter our Lord has had with a tax gatherer, and all of them have been favorable, reminding us that no matter who you are, and regardless of what you've done, Jesus seeks the lost, the broken, the outcasts of society, offering salvation and life-changing transformation, because Jesus Christ died for the ungodly, which may encourage some of you. This is then both an invitation, and a warning to look at your own heart and ask yourself, "Where am I going when I die?" Because there are, according to Jesus, churches are filled with people who think they are going to Heaven that are on the broad road headed to Hell, and there are plenty of false teachers who are enabling them, and there are few who find the narrow road that leads to Heaven. People who do not have the Holy Spirit does not accept the things of the Holy Spirit and considers them foolishness. Which explain why a lot of "Christians" are deceived about what Scripture teaches about sin, because spiritual truths are discerned only through the Spirit. By the way, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. According to Matthew 7:21, only those who actively do the will of the Father will enter the kingdom of heaven. Genuine salvation produces a life characterized by continuous obedience to God's will, not just verbal profession of faith. Believers are commanded to flee from sexual immorality rather than merely resisting it. When Jesus Christ saves a sinner, grace produces a transformed life, empowering them to live godly lives and deny ungodliness and renounce worldly passions, evidence of genuine faith, thereby fulfilling the good works God prepared for them. Genuine salvation is one of those moments in life that truly divides everything into before and after. I am very strongly convinced that there are many organizations that call themselves churches, that are not biblical churches; that have men leading them who call themselves pastors, whose teachings prove that they are not biblical pastors; that have congregations who call themselves Christians, whose lives demonstrate that they are not biblical Christians, who are, to put it bluntly, on their way to hell, yet they all proudly claim the label "Christian." Claiming to be a Christian without the biblical marks of salvation, is not a Christian. It's self-deceived.
Verses 3-4, "And Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on before and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way." This is not a story of a sinful man who sought Jesus, but a story of the sovereign Savior Who sought a sinful man. Everybody heard about Jesus, he probably heard about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, he was likely curious and wanted to see Jesus. However, the crowd, because of his small stature, posed a problem. Notice Luke tells us that Zaccheus was trying to see Him, the Greek verb "zéteó" it's in the perfect tense, he kept trying, indicating it was a persistent, ongoing effort to try to see Jesus. You can just imagine Zaccheus, being short in stature, jumping up and down, bobbing and weaving back and forth, just trying to get a glimpse of Jesus in this very massive crowd. By the way, his actions highlight his determination and desperation to see Jesus. But the crowd was too large, so he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass by. We've met the sinner that Jesus is going to save, next we meet the Savior Who not only knows His own, but knows when and where He will save them. In Psalm 139:2, David wrote "You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar," highlighting that God’s supernatural knowledge is not limited by distance or physical presence, which I believe speaks volumes about His intimate knowledge of our inner thoughts and actions, even when we are far from Him.
Verse 5, "And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." His determination paid off, Jesus called him down from that sycamore tree and invited himself to Zacchaeus's home, leading to a transformative encounter. Can you imagine Zaccheus' shock and disbelief as Jesus called him by name, I bet he never imagined that Jesus would know him, having never met him before. If that had been me, I'd have fallen out of the tree, and knocked myself out. Jesus didn't see just a sinner, He recognized the image of God within him. Remember Philips friend Nathanael and fellow disciple, who was convinced of Jesus' supernatural insight upon meeting Him, after Jesus declared He saw him under a fig tree. Philip immediately acknowledged Him as the Son of God and confessed Him to be the King of Israel. There are those moments in Scripture when a single sentence grants us an open window into the heart of God, I believe this is certainly one of them. He not only meets us where we are, whether in times of uncertainty, or even in the branches of a sycamore tree, additionally, He offers us grace and salvation. It is predetermined before the foundation of the world, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." Jesus doesn't just see you, He calls you by name.
Verse 6, "And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly." When Jesus stated "for today I must stay at your house" this was not a request, it was a divine command, "I'm not just passing through Jericho; I'm coming over and I'm going to stay with you." In the first-century, it was Jewish custom, that a guest who accepted a host's invitation would eat, converse, and lodge for the nigh, hospitality was a binding social responsibility, an honor to provide shelter, safety for travelers and strengthened ties between families and neighbors. There are numerous biblical examples supporting this practice including including Genesis 18:1–8 and 19:1–3, where both Abraham and Lot hosting strangers. As well as the biblical commandment instructing believers to treat foreigners as native-born citizens and love them as themselves.
Notice Luke uses the Greek verb "speudó" which carries a sense of urgency — Zacchaeus doesn't come down slowly, he hurries eagerly and received Him gladly, as if he were welcoming a long-anticipated guest, however, Zacchaeus never could have anticipated anything like this, he knew he was considered unclean. I believe Zacchaeus's encounter with Jesus in this verse clearly emphasizes that sinners are not the ones who initiate salvation; Christ is the seeking Savior, and the sinner is the one who gets to receive. It would have likely been the first time a righteous, noble, respected person had come to his house, he was a "sinner beyond redemption."
Verse 7, "And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." Zaccheus was not just a sinner, he was hated by his Jewish countrymen, viewed as a collaborator with Rome. A chief tax collector was not a minor participant in that corruption. Interestingly enough, the rich young ruler, the respectable sinner, walked away from Jesus sad, refusing to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. Zaccheus, ran toward Jesus and received Him gladly. As I stated many times before, it's not what you've done, it's your willing to walk away from it and leave it behind you that matters. The question is not, whether or not you've sinned, we all have. In Romans 3:23, Paul declares "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Never assume that a visibly broken person is beyond God's grace. Many of those who are the most lost wears often religious robes. Notice they are began to grumble, in the Greek it an onomatopoetic word, "diagogguzó," it sounds like what it means. No self-respecting Jew would ever expose himself to such a low-life tax gatherer, much less eat a meal with him, and sleep at his house, especially the most corrupt of all, the chief tax collector. Obviously, they are disgusted and outraged that someone like Jesus, claiming to be from God, would associate with Zaccheus, viewing it as a violation of social and religious purity rather than an opportunity for redemption. Hypothetically speaking, if you had been in that crowd, how would you have responded? How do you respond today, when someone new comes to church who doesn't fit your "Christian criteria?" Is your first instinct to say, "our" church, "our" standards, "our" rules, and anyone who challenges the status quo "doesn't fit" or to prioritize love, hospitality, and discipleship, trusting God to handle the heart of the other person over rigid adherence to traditions concocted by corrupt men and dare I say demons?
Ultimately, the only standard Christians should be concerned about is Christ’s, Who established our model for Christian love: sacrificial love and humble service, even to laying down one’s life for others. I am always amazed that so many Christians today rationalize their own sins, viewing them as minor or excusable, but are very quick to point out and condemn the sins of others. We tend to keep following a path of self-righteousness, marked by selective judgment and hypocrisy, ignoring Jesus’ command to remove the log from our own eye before addressing the speck in another's, rather than honestly examining our own ungodly behavior. If Christ is Lord on Sunday, He must also be Lord on Monday and the rest of the week too. If the Bible is true in the pulpit, it must be true in the home, on the job, in our private conversations, in our personal choices, and in the way we treat others who cannot benefit us. Worship that does not produce obedience is an incomplete and faulty worship. The authority of Scripture is not something we affirm only when it agrees with us and reject when it does not. It is authority because it has the right to confront and correct us when we are wrong. God’s Word is not a suggestion to be considered, a menu to be selected from, or a message to be edited according to culture. It is the standard by which all believers are called to live. The Bible is not just a book to be believed, it's God's Word to be lived.
Verse 8, "But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have extorted anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." Beloved, this is what genuine repentance looks like, dethroning your idol. Zaccheus encountered Jesus and immediately something happened, his relationship with his past, his sin changed, ultimately, changing his relationship with God. In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." If your life hasn't changed, you're not "following" Jesus. Notice Jesus did not command Zaccheus to make restitution by selling half of his possessions and giving to the poor or to repay anyone he had extorted four times what he had stolen, his actions were unprompted, and his response far exceeded the requirements of Mosaic law. To be clear, Zaccheus did not buy salvation with restitution, his restitution merely demonstrated that genuine salvation had taken place. Luke doesn't tell us whether or not there was a conversation about Jesus confronting his sin or calling him to repentance, he doesn't need to. Zaccheus actions speak for themselves, because when the grace of God touches a sinner, the abandonment of a sinful past and the repairing the relationships that have been damaged is entirely voluntary in order to begin a new life. If Zaccheus was willing to voluntarily abandon his sinful practices and repair the broken relationships he had damaged, what does our unwillingness to let go of sin or willingness to forgive those who have wronged us reveal about whether God’s grace has truly touched our lives? True righteousness results in self-denial.
Verse 9, "And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham." When the Lord said these words, He was publicly affirming his repentance validated his restoration before the people of God, marking that he was a true son of Abraham. I'll tell you something, we might not always know whether or not genuine salvation has taken place but Jesus does and this verse affirms that! There will be many people who stand before the Lord, who are deceived about their true spiritual condition, that will assume that they are about to enter Heaven, only to be told they’re headed to Hell.
That brings us to verse 10, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost." I am convinced that this verse affirms that Jesus did not come to provide societal reform, offer religious makeovers, or, fix all of the problems in our broken lives, the word "for" connects the event with Christ’s mission. He came to seek and to save the lost, deliver us from sin, redeeming those who are spiritually separated from God, through His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection. As followers of Christ, we are called to join Christ in His mission—seeking out the lost and pointing them to Christ, offering the same grace we’ve ourselves have received.
Given Zacchaeus’ story, if you were to die right now, can you say for absolute certain that you will immediately go into the presence of Jesus? Does your life demonstrate the "observable fruit" produced by biblical salvation or are you continuing in deliberate, habitual sin? If not, then I strongly urge you to honestly evaluate your life and repent, turning away from whatever sins you've been holding on to, to avoid eternal separation from God.
There are literally people everywhere, may be even some of you, who identify as Christian, who are in some way feel "connected" to the idea of God and even Jesus, yet their lives are utterly devoid of any evidence of a redeemed life, any true knowledge of God, or not even so much as a hint of salvation. I pray that you are not comfortable in your self-deception. The biggest reason why people are lulled into this deception, is because they cannot discern counterfeit teachings from the true Gospel. That's why our beloved apostle Paul exhorts us in 2 Timothy 4:1-5, "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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