Jesus came to seek and save the lost- Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10

Galatians 3:1-9

                                                Jesus came to seek and save the lost

There is something about Christmas were people need, want, desire to be at home.

And as we know from the Home Alone movie, being at home, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be in a particular house, or a particular place, but being at home at Christmas means you have to be with a particular person, or a particular group of people or a particular family.

No matter, if members of your family drive you mad, as they did for Kevin in the Home alone movie, there is something at Christmas time, that you want to be with those people you love.

No matter if you believe in Jesus or not, there is a general sense at Christmas that people want to be with family, or want to be with friends, who they love and trust, and that is a good thing.

This wanting to be with others, should be no surprise to us, since this was God’s purpose for us. God knew it is not good for us to be alone, God knew we needed friends and family, and so this need is shown and lived out particularly at Christmas.

Sadly, there are some people at Christmas who desperately feel lonely as they have no friends or family to share the day with.

Sadly, there are people who have had such a break down in relationships with family, that they try and avoid being with family altogether at Christmas.

Sadly, this Christmas, there are many people who appear just lost.

Lost to family, lost to friends, lost to this world.

Friends, just listen from Luke 19:10 of the reason why Jesus said he came to this world.

For the son of man came to seek and save the lost

Jesus said the reason he came to this world, was to seek and save the lost.

But who was the lost that Jesus was talking about?

Was it those people who may be on their own this Christmas?

Well, yes it includes those people.

Was it those people who may be looked as outcasts of our society?

Well yes,  it includes those people.

Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, whom Jesus sought and saved that day, was one of those outcasts. Zacchaeus probably had no real friends, Zacchaeus was perhaps hated by most people as he ripped people off, and yet Jesus came and sought him and saved him.

But when Jesus said he came to this earth to seek and save the lost, he was talking about a much broader group of people.

When Jesus talks about lost people, he was talking about all people who don’t humbly accept that Jesus is lord and king of this universe.

Paradoxically, when Jesus was talking about the lost, he was actually talking about those who didn’t think they were lost, and most definitely didn’t think they needed saving.

And so that means a man who is surrounded by family and friends this Christmas, could be the most lost person in the world, since they don’t know Jesus as Lord and saviour,

a woman who is surrounded by her business colleagues this Christmas in her penthouse could be the most lost person in the world, if she doesn’t know Jesus as Lord and saviour,

a person who spends Christmas night sleeping on the doorway of a shop could be the most lost person in the world, if they don’t know Jesus as their lord and saviour.

Zacchaeus was a man who was financially comfortable in this life.

It tells us this in Luke 19:2

Look at verse 2 with me:

2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 

Zacchaeus was just not a tax collector, but he was a chief tax collector, he was the CEO of the tax collectors, he was stinking rich.

And yet Zacchaeus, knew there was something better than money, and so he sought for something better.

Look at verses 3 and 4 with me:

3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.

And so, Zacchaeus did, what any rich person would do, who was trying to seek something better than money, he climbed his own way up a sycamore tree to seek out something else.

Just like Elon Musk is trying to seek to live in the moon

Just like Bradd Pitt, is trying to seek inner peace

Just like celebrity after celebrity trying to seek “world peace”

Just like many travellers, seek different parts of the world to seek that place of harmony.

And yet here is the thing about Jesus.

You don’t need to seek out your inner parts, or the outer universe, to find Jesus, in fact it is the opposite- Jesus finds you.

Just like Jesus found Zacchaeus that day.

Zacchaeus tried to seek his own way, but Jesus came to him and came to his level

Look at verse 5 with me:

 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.”

Jesus found Zacchaeus where he was at, and guess what?

Jesus met Zacchaeus in his own home.

Zacchaeus didn’t have to take a trip to the moon, or reach deep with in his soul- No- Jesus came and ate with him in his house.

And when Jesus found Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus changed.

That is what happens when Jesus finds you, you change.

Zacchaeus, changed from a man who ripped people off and gathered everything for himself, to someone who served others and put others first.

Look at verse 8 with me:

8 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.”

Friends, when Jesus finds you, you stop running to the agenda of this world, which is an “all about me” agenda, to the agenda of Jesus, which is all about God and serving others.

Friends, when Jesus finds you, you become a part of his family, you become a child of Abraham. You become a child of the promise, you become a person of faith who has faith in the offspring of Abraham- Jesus.

That is what Zacchaeus became a part of that day

Look at verse 9 with me:

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.

Friends, when Jesus finds you, you will always be part of a family- God’s family, not only his global family, of brothers and sisters in Christ, but hopefully a local church family too.

Friends, Jesus said he came to seek the lost.

That is what Jesus came to this earth, to seek out those who would humbly bow to him as king.

And so, this Christmas, we don’t have to go on a seeker mission to find peace with God, we don’t have to climb mountains, or go into the depths of caves, we don’t have to seek the stars of the universe, we don’t have to seek deep down within our souls

……nope, we don’t even need to by our own strength, try and find Jesus, because Jesus came to seek us.

That is why he stepped off his throne in heaven, to stoop down to our level and show the world exactly who God is.

He was born in a very public place, he died a very public death and he rose again in a very public way- Jesus came to this earth to show us who God was, so that he could call us into his kingdom.

Friends, may be Jesus is seeking you out today, maybe it is through friends and family, maybe, it is through parts of the bible that you are reading, I don’t know how Jesus may be seeking you, but I do know that He will find you.

And so, when people tell me that they have found Jesus, the reality is: Jesus found them.

It was Jesus who had been softening their hearts, changing their minds, working his spirit in them, so they came to that point of trust and belief in Him as Lord and saviour.

Friends, you don’t need to climb a ladder of good works to find Jesus, you don’t have to climb a ladder of penance to find Jesus, you don’t have to climb a ladder of charity to find Jesus, but instead Jesus meets you where you are at.

There is no need to put on a front with Jesus, no need to be pious, no need to try and look “the part”- Jesus knows your heart, he knows where you are at, and he seeks and saves you, from where you are at.

Friends, maybe today is the day of salvation for you

Let us pray