The Conversion of Zacchaeus the Little Big Sinner

Well, I want to take the time today friends to bring before you an important message from a familiar Bible story that is rich with truths for us today. Turn in your Bibles, if you have one, to the Gospel of Luke. We will camp out in chapter 19, beginning in verse 1. This is a story about the conversion of Zacchaeus.

We don't know much about real conversions today in our modern liberated churches, because we confuse decisions today with conversion. We have filled our churches with the unconverted, and we scratch our heads as we wonder why our churches are dens of iniquity, full of hypocrisy. But the title of my message today, friends, is The Conversion of Zacchaeus, the Little Big Sinner.

And it is a story of saving grace. As you already know, Zacchaeus was known for two things. He was a tax collector, and he was small in stature.

He was a little man with a lot of money and power. But what the text doesn't go into is the background of what a publican was, and how one became a tax collector, and how hated these individuals were in their communities. By the very men and women they cheated and robbed on a regular basis.

Zacchaeus was a publican who collected Roman taxes. It was a much sought-after job, because of the easy access to easy money from the act of extortion. The office was usually sold at auction to the highest bidder.

Because of the finances involved, usually only men of great wealth were able to obtain such a powerful position. The very nature and office of a tax collector was conducive to extortion, cheating, and abuse. And this made tax collectors an object of public scorn.

When they came down the street, you knew they were cheats, and you knew they were dangerous. Frequently, the tax collector farmed out portions of his territory. And this necessitated extra revenue to pay these middlemen.

So the publicans were always looking for more money. They were prone to working little and extracting financial hardship on the common people, which was often severe. That's the kind of man this little tyrant Zacchaeus was, who was a big sinner.

But something happened to Zacchaeus. God had begun to work on his heart, to show him the emptiness of his occupation and the hole he had in his life. Although he was rich, he was not rich toward God, and it began to trouble him.

It made him a seeker of Christ. And that's where we pick up our story in Luke 19, beginning in verse 1. Here now is the word of God. And may God's spirit attend the reading of his holy word.

And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans. And he was rich.

Let me pause here, friends, to say this little man wielded a lot of influence and power. He was the top dog in his occupation. He was the chief crook over a bunch of thieves.

That's how rotten this Zacchaeus was. We tend to approach this text all wrong and see him only as a sweet little fellow who amuses us by climbing a tree to get a better look at Jesus. No, friends, that's all wrong.

This little guy was a bad character who was both feared and hated by his fellow men. Do you know some rotten people like that? Well, there's a lot of folks up in Washington right now called politicians who are like that. Well, let's get back to our text.

And he sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the press because he was of little stature. Listen, friends, every time the son of God passed through a town or village, there was always a throng of people pressing upon him, crowding him to get a blessing or healing from him. Wherever Jesus went, there was a mob.

And this little short guy couldn't even see over the heads of this big crowd. He has a dilemma. Evidently, he'd already heard about the miracles of this man, Jesus, and it made him curious to see him.

But it went beyond that, for God was already at work and Zacchaeus' heart. Do you believe that, friend? Do you know that if you begin to get an interest in Christ, it is because God is drawing you? Oh, I hope you understand that. Jesus said so over in the Gospel of John in chapter six and verse sixty-five.

Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father. Well, let's get back to our text in verse four, because I want you to see God at work in this man's life. Here is a man who is a big sinner and a cheat, and he is no longer running away from God, but he is now running to God, our text says.

And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree. To see him, for he was to pass that way. Here is a man who is troubled inside by something much bigger than him, and it makes him run as fast as he can to get ahead of that teeming throng of sweaty people, so he can have a better look at Jesus, a look all to himself.

Has God ever worked in your heart that way, friend? Where you were going in one direction away from God, and something inexplicable happened to you, to where you did an about-face and started seeking God. What has happened to this man Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus was a prepared man sitting up in that tree. He was prepared to do what God would have him to do.

He is seeking Christ and waiting upon him with an excited expectation. And lo and behold, here comes Jesus. Here comes Jesus.

Has that been your experience, friend? And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him. Let me pause here to say that Jesus saw him way before that. Remember his words to Nathanael? In John chapter 1 and verse 48 we read, Nathanael saith unto him, O whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

If God's been dealing with you, friend, it's because the Son of God has his eye on you. I want you to see something in this striking passage of God's holy word. I want you to see the personal call of Zacchaeus, also known as the divine call.

Listen to me, friends. You better get rid of this so-called stuff we call salvation in our churches today, which is nothing more than a person giving Jesus a mental flip by making a decision. You better familiarize yourself to the divine operations of the Holy Spirit in the conversion of men.

Oh, when God is at work in a man or a woman's heart, you know it. There is a spiritual disturbance taking place and a revelation taking place. Hear me, friend.

This is important. You get saved, friend, from not making a decision for Jesus, but by receiving a revealed Christ. Listen to the divine call as it comes to this big sinner, Zacchaeus.

Let's get back to verse five. He looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at the house. When you get saved, friend, it's when Jesus has come in here to take up residence in here, to live in here, to abide in here, as you are joined by faith into a vital union to a living Lord.

That's salvation. You can put it down big, plain, and straight. Jesus comes in here.

Oh, well, look at this little man. See what he does. He answers the call and he made haste and came down and received him joyfully.

Here is a changed man. The old Zacchaeus would have hated Christ and would have taken his place with the same crowd that cried away with him as they crucified him. I want you to understand that, friend.

A lost person hates God and all things holy. Oh, he might like religion, okay. He might like a God he can live with, but he hates the holiness of an all-holy God.

A lost person will not submit to the claims of Christ in their life, but something took place in the heart of this little big sinner, Zacchaeus. He was the subject of regeneration through the new birth. He was given saving faith.

If you are saved, friend, it is because God has given you saving faith. Now, I want you to see how all of this was observed by the religious bigots in the crowd. The Pharisees got all bent out of shape and resented what just took place as these religious hypocrites pointed their finger at Jesus and berated him.

And when they saw it, they all murmured saying that he was gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner. That's why that unconverted religious crowd missed God in their midst because they were blind to the reality that Jesus is the friend of sinners. Are you a big sinner? Are you a big sinner, friend? Are you in need of a Savior from sin? Jesus is the only remedy and refuge for sin, but you must come to him and believe on him and own him as your Savior and Lord.

You must throw down your shotgun of rebellion at his nail-pierced feet and take your place as a lost sinner at that cross and surrender all you are to all he is. It's Jesus calling you if you get saved, friend, from this message today. It's not because you've heard the voice of this poor, pitiful, shaky preacher, but you have come away from this meeting a changed individual because you have heard his voice as it comes to you in all power, majesty, and authority.

As I finish this message, friend, I want you to see the transformation that occurred in this man Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I've taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. This man Zacchaeus had experienced change.

He is willing to make restitution to those he has wronged. I submit to you, friends, there are men sitting on deacon boards in Baptist churches right now who got their money by robbing their customers. This man Zacchaeus didn't just make a little decision and call it salvation.

He got changed. Jesus came in here. Jesus said about him, and Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, for as much as he also is a son of Abraham, for the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Now that's the end of my sermon, friend. But I feel I must not leave you today without giving you an opportunity to come to Christ for forgiveness of sin. The gospel is for the hungry, the weary, and the thirsty.

Are you hungry for God? Are you weary and sick and tired of your sins? Are you thirsty for Christ? Then you come to Christ and lay your sin burden down on him. Listen to me, friend. Listen to me.

If God's been dealing with your soul through this message, then don't delay. You come to Christ and repent of your sins and cast yourself on him by faith. You come as I sing.

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.

No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my pardon, this I see, nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my cleansing, this my plea, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.