Our Old Covenant reading is taken from Hosea, starting with chapter 5, verse 13. Remember that in the Minor Prophets, the 12 shorter books of prophecy, there are two prophets that go from Judah up to Israel or to Ephraim to preach to them. One is Hosea and the other is Amos. Mnemonically, that's very easy to remember because both prophets are rejected by Israel. And you can think of their first letters of their name, H-A, as Ha. So they show up in Israel, and they say, Ha. Go back. Just wrote it off. I know it's silly, but now you'll never forget it. Try though you may. And Hosea is one of these prophets, and you may be familiar with the context of this prophecy, but it bears on the prophecy that our Lord made about his own death and resurrection. We'll see that in chapter six. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent the great king. but he is not able to cure you or heal your wound. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away. I will carry off and no one shall rescue. I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. And in their distress, earnestly seek me. Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, that He may heal us. He has struck us down, and He will bind us up. After two days, He will revive us. On the third day, He will raise us up, that we may live before Him. Let us know. Let us press on to know the Lord. His going out is sure as the dawn. He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Therefore I have hewn you by them, by the prophets. I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Our New Covenant reading is found in the Gospel of Luke. And this will be my preaching text for today. We're looking at primarily the comparison between the rich ruler in Luke 18, 18, and Zacchaeus in Luke 19, 1 to 10. But I'll be tracing a little bit what surrounds these pericopes so that we see the purpose and the theological flow of Luke as he's narrating this event. And a ruler asked him, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother. And he said, all these things I have kept from my youth. And when Jesus heard this, he said to him, one thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me. But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Just Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter into the kingdom of God. For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Those who heard it said, then who can be saved? But he said, what is impossible with man is possible with God. And Peter said, see, we have left our homes and followed you. And he said to them, truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive many times more than this in this time and in the age to come, eternal life. And then look down at Luke 19, verse one. 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 is gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, half of all 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 the son of Abraham. For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. This is the word of the Lord. David has the advantage that he goes in any text to the next text each week, subsequently. The disadvantage is you come in and say, this is the text for today, and trying to see it in context. We think sometimes, particularly with the synoptic gospels, that these little preaching texts, these pericopes, as they're called, are self-contained, but there is a order to the manner in which the gospel writers narrate the life of Christ. In Matthew, you see the big outline of the five discourses, major discourses of Matthew, and how things happen in between these discourses. thematically carries the theology of Matthew from beginning to end, supporting that Jesus is the son of David. He's the heir to the throne of David. In Luke, we see that his audience, as much as we can tell, may be largely Greek as he's writing to them. And there is a different kind of structure in Luke. There's a movement and an urgency in Luke that picks up really in Caesarea Philippi and Luke, the end of chapter nine of Luke where in verse 51 Jesus said, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. And from that point forward, all the way up to the triumphal entry in Jerusalem, there are these various encounters that Jesus has with people, sometimes they're healing, sometimes they're teaching, sometimes, in this case, teaching the encounters that he's having with people, little parables, all of which are designed to illustrate what you find in all the synoptic gospels, this threefold proclamation that Jesus has come to seek and to save those who are lost, and that he is going to suffer, he's going to be persecuted, he's going to die, and then on the third day he's going to rise from the dead. He repeats this because it's something they don't comprehend, even after the third time, and it's a very explicit statement, which we skipped over in our text today. But given that, in these 25 encounters that you find in the Gospel of Luke, and there are approximately 25, some positive, some negative, as I recall, I think 16 positive and nine negative, or the other way around, encounters that he has with people, either positively receiving him or negatively receiving him, there's a connection. that he's trying to build something. And we see this in our text here as well. In chapter 18, if you were to go back to the beginning of it, you would see that there's an encounter with this persistent widow, the woman who just wouldn't be put off. I need justice. He's giving this story. I need justice. And then there's the Pharisee and the tax collector, which in some ways would have gone very well with the story of Zacchaeus. Here's two tax collectors, which in some sense set the parents of our narrative. Here's the tax collector and the publican, both coming into the temple, both sons of Abraham, as it were. The Pharisee comes and he says, I thank God that you've delivered me from this sinful life, and I'm now only a former sinner, and I live righteously, I tithe, and I do all the good things, and everybody knows me to be a godly man, and they're just hungering to hear what kind of spiritual wisdom I have to feed them. And this is pretty much the attitude of his heart. is coming in to offer sacrifice. And of course the tax collector comes in, sees himself as somebody who is ostracized by the religious community of which he is at least genealogically an heir of. And he's marginalized and rejected. And sees himself and is convicted of his sinfulness. And as it were, it's kind of huddled in a little ball, curled up, can't even lift his head up, and lamenting and crying out like the psalmist in Psalm 38. And I'm a sinner and my bones themselves are melting away within me because the sin is so great. I have no strength in my body whatsoever. And then Jesus says, which one is justified before God? It's the one who's broken. Because what is it that God is looking for is that broken and contrite heart. This narrative is then followed by the little children that have come to me. All of this is to demonstrate one key important thing that there's really nothing that you can do to merit your salvation. No matter how noble your intents or you thought your heart was when you encountered Christ, no matter what you may have vowed at that point, you failed at some juncture. So there's no place that you can go in terms of your relationship with God where you can say, now I stand before him as someone who is justified, as it were, before God. That's just not possible. Two weeks ago, today, I was in Nevada. A friend of mine, he was the chairman of the elders of the church I pastored for a number of years outside of Las Vegas, died. An extraordinary man, godly, wise, monumentally generous, helped people who hated Christ with a passion. And he and his wife were responsible for their success in the art industry. They owned an art gallery, among many other things that they did. Schools were named after them, all sorts of things. And as I was there, I wrote. I preached the sermon for this and conducted the service. And I wrote an article. for his bulletin, which was eight pages long. And in part, I said, the meaning of Christianity is found in the cross, not in the moral life of Christ, not in his incarnation, not in the social implications of the church he established, not in the model of living he gives to the world. The gospel does not focus upon what man can do, but on what God has done. It is not a matter of men extricating themselves from an awful predicament. Rather, it's an account of the love of God being manifest toward a desperate people. And the love of God is supremely manifest on the cross. Indeed, if there is no cross, there is no Christianity. In common parlance, sometimes people are mistakenly credited with being Christian, at least in a broad sense of the name, merely because they do a religious type thing. Not so with a Christian. His life is a reflection of his faith. His focus is on the cross of Christ. And while he may be a great encourager to many in his life, his confidence in death was not that he led a good life, and that God would receive him into his heavenly kingdom. Rather, his only hope was in Christ himself. For like Paul, we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called, and those he called he also justified, and those he justified he also glorified. That is to say, God graciously preserves his children in whatever circumstances he ordains for them. He shapes them and fits them for heaven. They know that the love of God constrains them, and then in due course, they will see him face to face. The apostle John writes, see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, And what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope within him purifies himself as he is pure. This is what marks the Christian's life. This is what shapes him. There's no confidence in good works. These pericopes, this succession of narratives in Luke, all focus on this one thing, that purity of heart is to will Christ. It's to do exactly what it is that Paul says in Philippians 3, I want to know him. Those five words, I want to know him. And he goes on, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering. If somehow, maybe even being conformable to his death, so that somehow I might also attain to the resurrection of the dead. And that's what he says then following, we press on to this. We press on towards heaven, we press on towards the goal, the prize, the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I want to know him, I want to be conformed to him. This is the call that comes out in these texts. The question is, what hinders it? Is there something that impedes this forward progress in knowing Christ? And it can be different for other different people. For the rich young ruler, when he came to him, And in the text, he says he's very rich. He said, what is it that hinders you? And Jesus, seeing into the heart, knows it's these material things have gotten in your way. And they hinder you. By every stretch of the imagination, the text suggests to us that this was a good man. He's a person that is moral and upright. When he confronts him, he says, well, what must I do? I've already been doing these things. As much as it's possible, I've adhered to the tablet of the law. I'll talk more about this tonight when we look at the same question in the Gospel of John. But what must I do now to move forward? Well, there's just one little thing. put all this stuff aside, set up for yourself treasure in heaven, and then come and follow me. And here's an invitation to follow Jesus. And it's too much. Now, Jesus doesn't do this with Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus responds already to that initially. He says, well, half I'll give away, and then, rather than what the table of the law says that I have to repair anyone I've defaulted double, I'll give them four times. So money wasn't the issue. And it's different, for some people it's pride. Fear. I think fear drives a lot of people. Fear of rejection. Being not a part of the group. Making a stand at some level. regarding what it is you're going to do with your life and how you're going to draw some people into it. By drawing them in, you're going to exclude others because they're going to judge you because you're opening your home for homosexuals to come and live there. I don't know, you have to judge for yourself what that is. But I see that there are impediments that stand in our way. But Christ says, essentially, that there's only one thing. And it's what Soren Kierkegaard said in his little treatise, Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing. It's to know Christ and then to make Him known and to follow after Him. The disciples, as they're listening to this, come away and say, well, who can be saved? I mean, they see the implications of where this is going. And they're saying, have we done enough? They said, this is what you asked, we did that, is that enough, or is the underlying question that's not asked, is there something more? And that's always the question we ask. Have I made you happy? Is there anything else you want from me? Because I want this affirmation, I want this approbation that you've praised me, that you've accepted me. I've given everything else up. And he said, no, you'll be rewarded. And now he comes back to this theme. This is what we skipped over before we got to Zacharias. He tells his death a third time. This is why I've come. I've come for this reason, to seek and to save those who are lost. And this is what's going to happen to me. And if you want to follow me, one of the themes that's in Luke and in the Gospel narratives, and indeed The New Testament, Pauline discourse and Acts, you see it everywhere. Pick up your cross. You're already dead. Some of you have seen The Band of Brothers. Generally around Veterans Day, I watch this series every year. Because there's something that's to be said about this bond that takes place when you're already dead. And in that movie, the lieutenant comes to one soldier who's cowering, fearful of being shot and killed. And he says, what you don't recognize is you're already dead. Just assume that you're a dead man and get up and fight. I was doing, I was with the Marine Corps, I was down in Lejeune and we were doing an exercise in red flag days, it was disgusting. And one of the men in my unit was Captain Bonadonna. His wife's a medical doctor, he used ABD, that is all but his dissertation, from Boston University. Brilliant man, he's already done his active duty, he's been overseas in combat. And I went to him and said, Bonadonna, why are you still in the Marine Corps? You've got plenty of money. If nothing else, your wife will support you until the day you die. So nothing to worry about financially. You married well. and you're brilliant, why are you still here? I said, I'm here because I'm concerned about your soul and all these other slobs that are dying and on a slick pole sliding into a bottomless fire-burning pit. I didn't say it quite like that, but, you know, essentially that I'm concerned about your eternal state. And I'll never forget his response. He said, Chaplain, there's no Fellowship, like the fellowship of suffering. That's right out of Paul's epistles. That's right out of Acts. When Ananias is told to tell Paul, tell him how much you'll suffer for my sake, for the gospel's sake. This is taking up the cross. You're already dead, so what does it matter that you are not accepted by your peers. Better to be accepted by the saints in heaven, by the Lord Jesus Christ, than somebody who is following a path that leads to destruction. This is a band. of brothers, and there's a bond here. And it's what Paul is referring to in Philippians chapter one. He does it a lot of places. Verse 29 says, get unto you behalf of Christ, not only to believe on his name, but also to suffer for his sake. I just want to know Christ. And he comes back over several times in this short epistle. to where I took you earlier that I might share even in fellowship of his suffering. I just want to know Christ, whatever that is, whatever that entails, that's my goal. I want to be bound to him. And then the healing of this beggar as he's coming in, a messianic sign, and then he comes to Zacchaeus. as he's coming to Jerusalem. Now remember when we first started out, I said in chapter nine, he set his face towards Jerusalem. And everything that he's done from that point to this point is he's been moving towards his appointment at Golgotha. He's moving towards his place where he's just now for the third and last time prophesied that he's going to die. that He's gonna take up the cross for your sins, for my sins, the very thing that Jeremiah was talking about in Jeremiah 31. This is where He's going, and now He's come to Jericho, which is just down at the end of the Wadi Kelt. There's a little pathway that goes from the Dead Sea near where Jericho is and winds its way up to Jerusalem. It's where the the parable of the Good Samaritan takes place on this well-known and well-traveled path. So Jesus is headed this way. And here's his final encounter with Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus says, I want to see Jesus. I want to see him. What does it take to do that? So here's a man, again, of considerable wealth. No doubt numerous servants and financial well-being may not be well-received among his Jewish neighbors. So they're not gonna let him, he's a little guy. He's not gonna let him get to the front of the line. You gotta push your way up front if you wanna see Jesus. Don't let those guys get in front of you. And if they won't let you up because they're just too big, go climb a tree. You get up the tree, right? And you can see him. And he says, this is what it takes? That's what I'll do. And then when Jesus comes by, you know the story. What's interesting here is Zacchaeus wanted to see him, but it's actually Jesus who initiates the relationship and said, I've been wanting to have a talk with you. So he invites himself over to the house for lunch or for dinner or whatever it is. I'm coming to your place. Oh good, what are we having? Actually somebody already invited me. Now you're glad. But he invites himself in and then there's this dramatic encounter. and Ezekiel is transformed. Now, I'm telling you all of this, in some ways, I debated doing it because what good does it tell you, good for me to tell you about all these pericopes or stories or encounters, because you know all this stuff already, I presume most of you. So what good does it do? Well, I suppose in one sense, it reaffirms that your relationship with God isn't something that you initiated, it's something that he himself has orchestrated step by step and has brought you to himself, that you already know or hopefully it's been reinforced that you are a failure at some point, that you are not a former sinner, And that's why I took you back to that account with the publican and the tax collector, or the publican and the Pharisee, because sometimes when people are converted in the Christian community, what do we expect them to be in three weeks? Tithing, attending all the church functions, never failing again. We expect people who are converted to be former sinners, and they're not. and the change takes place gradually. I like the guy that came to me and that I had a conflict with in my church when I was pastoring and he said, I've never met a pastor as disgusting as you. I don't know how you got to be a pastor. I said, if you only knew what I was like before Christ came into my life, you'd appreciate the work of grace that's been done. Now get out of my office. I had a sign there that said, go away, but he couldn't read. The reality is we're going to fail and we're going to fail again. So Christ forgives us. So in that sense, how is it that you treat sinners? How do you deal with people who fail again and again? With what kind of grace and what kind of mercy do you extend to them? How is it that is God at work within you, both to will and to do his good pleasure as an ambassador of the kingdom? And then, how much of this mentality affects the warp and wolf of your daily life? Do you think in terms of relationships developing them, ongoing relationships, and then how can you, at some level or other, be a minister of grace into another person's life? Jesus is modeling this for his disciples. They're seeing it time after time after time. When the children are put away, Jesus is drawing them in. It's the simplicity of the gospel. It's just simple. When the blind man is there, Jesus draws him in. The people who are marginalized are the people that Jesus is reaching. Who is marginalized in your life? And how are you reaching out to them? Or in your sphere of influence? And do people come into the church and they're just quiet? They slip in, they slip out, unnoticed? Do you notice? Do you run out into the parking lot and stop them from getting in their car and invite yourself over for lunch or something to that effect, develop some kind of relationship? These and other things can be learned from these texts. I'm giving you a broad overview of these pericopes, these texts. As you meditate on them and pore over them, you'll see that the grace of our saving Lord is it permeates your life. It permeates your conversation and your actions and the dynamic of every relationship that you have. I'll talk more about this tonight, and then on the 17th, I think I'm coming back, and I'll develop this theme, and then really lay a guilt trip on you for my final message. Actually, David already told me not to do that. Just be more gentle, Gary. And I'll try to do that. Let's pray.