Luke 19:9 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Luke 19:9

Comments

The true sons of Abraham all have salvation, because they all have the faith of Abraham. Abraham had many descendants, but most of them were only his descendants according go the flesh. They were physically descended from him, but they were not spiritually descended from him, and they did not have his faith. Ishmael is a type of all those who have Abraham as their physical ancestor, but who never had his faith. To make this clear, he was excluded even from the typical covenant made with Abraham’s descendants.But Zacchaeus was in the Abrahamic covenant, not just in a typical sense, but in reality. He was born a Jew, and now he had been born again as a true child of God. The new birth had been delayed until this very day, when it had come to his house. Christ had come to Zacchaeus’ house and he had brought him salvation. Only now could he truly be said to be a son of Abraham.‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ That was Christ’s favourite title for himself, and it emphasised that he had taken human nature in order to become the Saviour of men and women. Zacchaeus had been lost until that very day, but Christ had been sent down from heaven to seek and to save specific individuals given him by the Father, and this was one of them. Now the day had arrived that this particular man received that salvation, for he had been chosen by God from all eternity, and given to Christ in the covenant of grace.What a difference this made to Zacchaeus. What a difference to his character, to his being. What happened to him? He began to feel uneasy in his life. He began to feel the shallow, shoddy cheapness of his lifestyle. He began to be hungry for truth within. He heard about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He had to make contact with him. Things got in the way, but that didn't make any difference because now he had become a seeker. Even at the risk of making a fool of himself, he was determined to see Jesus. And when he did, he was overwhelmed by his majesty, his deportment, his bearing. He felt smaller and cheaper than he had ever felt in his life. And yet Christ called to him, called to him to come down, and came to his house. He repented of his sin. He turned his back on the old life. He determined that all the things, all the sins which had characterized the old life would be in the past. And there, in that house, in that house, he turned to the Lord Jesus Christ, cast himself upon his mercy, pleaded for forgiveness, and in the very moment that he did so with all his heart, the Lord Jesus Christ overwhelmingly transformed him, changed his very character, remade him, liberated his mind, brought spiritual life into him, and began an entirely new life, knowing and praising God.

Application

What a picture of the grace of God this is! We would have found Zacchaeus a most unattractive individual. Why did God fix on him? Why did the Lord Jesus determine to have him come down, and to change him and to save him? To teach us this, that salvation is sheer grace. Thank God it is, because there is a sense in which every one of us can claim to be the worst in the sight of God. Nobody can be converted and have an encounter with God, until they begin to respect and reverence him, and realize that he is the holy God of the heavens. Equally nobody can have a conversion, nobody can seek God, until they really do realize their own moral weakness. You won't seek the Lord until you feel it, until you realize how rotten you are within. What a picture of mercy and grace, so surprising.

What comes out from the conversion of Zacchaeus? The fact that salvation is absolutely personal. The preacher preaches to a gathering of people, but the Lord, who alone can convert, will deal with them one by one. Can you imagine the astonishment and surprise of Zacchaeus to hear his name called? How did Jesus know his name? He was used to interviewing people, but he wasn't used to being interviewed. These tax inspector types never are. He was the one who sat behind a high desk with a henchman on either side. He was the one who conducted the inquisition to find out how much people owed him. But here, the Lord Jesus Christ, with his majesty and authority, calls him by name and calls him to account. That is salvation. We begin to revere God, we begin to feel our own unworthiness, and we begin to seek the Lord at a very personal level. How can I be saved? How can I be converted? By developing a great reverence for Almighty God who I've spurned. By coming to see my need and my rottenness, my vanity of life. By seeking the Lord Jesus personally.

Another thing we notice is this: the Lord Jesus Christ not only deals with Zacchaeus personally, but with such affection. He calls him a son of Abraham. He meets with him. He goes to his house. He is entertained by him. The affection of the Lord Jesus Christ, what a theme for us. If there is somebody who is not yet converted, and you seek to repent of your sins, and you plead with God to change your life and to convert you, if you are in earnest you will taste the affection of Almighty God. You will learn something about the love of the Lord Jesus. You will be seeking the one who is so full of love for those whom he saves, that he was willing to come down out of heaven and suffer and die on Calvary to bear the punishment for your sins. You will be dealing with one who is so full of love and affection that in order to deliver you from being judged and cast away for all eternity, he would willingly take the pain and the punishment of your sin himself.

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Luke 19:9 Commentary and Bible Study

Explain meaning of Luke 19:9