Sermon 2665. A Day to Be Remembered
(No. 2665)
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S DAY, MARCH 11, 1900.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, OCTOBER 1, 1882.
"And Jesus said unto him, This day has salvation come to this house." Luke 19:9.
OBSERVE, dear Friends, that our Lord spoke this sentence to Zacchaeus. Some of us may have fancied that He said it to theobjecting people, but He did not. They may have heard it and their objection may have been answered by it, but the main purposeof our blessed Lord, in uttering those words, was not to answer objectors, but to comfort one who might feel dispirited bytheir murmuring remark. Therefore, "Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house."
It is always better to comfort Believers than to answer quibblers. The quibblers scarcely deserve a reply, for they are prettysure to find fault again-it is according to their nature to do so. But as for the poor distressed people of God, who gladlyreceive the Truth of God, and yet have to endure unkind observations, let these be cheered, for has not the Lord, Himself,said, "Comfort you, comfort you My people"? Now, what could give Zacchaeus greater consolation than for the Lord Jesus Christto bear witness to the fact of his salvation? "Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house."
I fancy that I can hear some of you say, "We should count it the happiest day in our lives if the Lord Jesus would come andtell us that salvation had come to us." But, Beloved, you cannot have Him come, in the flesh, to say that to you, for He hasgone away, to carry on His service elsewhere. Among other things, He has gone to prepare a place for you who believe in Him.But His Spirit is equally Divine and He is always with us-and you may have the Spirit of God bearing witness with your spiritthat you are the children of God. No, I trust that you not only believe that you may have this Witness, but that you actuallyhave hadit-you have had that secret, silent, inward evidence which no man understands but the one who receives it-and youknow, in your own soul, that you have passed from death unto life because the Holy Sprit has sealed that Truth of God uponyour heart! Therefore, dear Friend, be joyful. Yes, be exceedingly glad! If anything can make a man leap for joy, it oughtto be the assurance of his eternal safety. If salvation has come to your heart, you ought to be as happy as an angel! I thinkthat there are some reasons why you should be even happier, for an angel cannot know, by personal experience, the bliss ofhaving his sins forgiven. You who have realized this wondrous blessing ought to cause the wilderness and the solitary placesto resound with the melody of your thanksgiving! And with the music of your grateful delight you should make even the desertto rejoice and blossom as the rose. Oh, what bliss it is to be assured by the Holy Spirit, Himself, that you have passed fromdeath unto life, and that salvation has indeed come to you! May many of you enjoy that bliss from this very hour!
Now let us come directly to the text. "This day," says Christ, "is salvation come to this house." You will not forget theoutline of the sermon, for it is very simple, and one that can be easily remembered. First, This day-what?Secondly, This day-why?Thirdly,This day-why not?
I. First, THIS DAY-WHAT? What about this day?
Christ says, "This day is salvation come to this house." He seemed to cut that day out of all the rest of time and to sayconcerning it, "This day-this particular day-on this very day-is salvation come to you." Then, let this day be a holy
day and let it be a holiday! Let it be remembered for many a year, yes, let it be remembered throughout all time and throughouteternity, too. "This day."
You know that there are some people who observe certain days which God has not ordained to be kept in any special manner.The Galatians did so and, therefore, Paul wrote to them, "I am afraid for you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain."We do not judge those who act in a similar way, today, but still, like Paul, we are afraid for them-that is to say, we fearthey are mistaken in what they do. But there aresome days which God commanded to be observed.
The first was the day when the work of creation was finished, concerning which we read, "On the seventh day God ended Hiswork which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventhday, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." The completion ofthe creation, when, "God saw everything that He had made and, behold, it was very good," deserves to be remembered! And doesnot the new creation also deserve to be remembered? When the Lord creates in a man a new heart and a right spirit, shall wenot say, one to another, "This day-this joyful day-this Divine day-this new creation day-is a day to be observed very specially"?
It is clear, from the practice of the Apostles, that the Lord intends us to observe the first day of the week, because thatwas the day of Christ's Resurrection from the dead, the day of the completion of our redemption-and well may we commemoratethe complete redemption even more than the complete creation! Shall not each saved man especially celebrate the day when hewas redeemed from sin? Shall he not count it worthy to be observed, with holy rites of preaching, praise and prayer, and tobe had in grateful remembrance as long as he lives? Each Believer can say of the Lord's Day, "This day the Lord redeemed mysoul out of the land of the enemy and set me free forever." God has appointed but one day to be kept sacred above all others-thatis the Lord's Day. Your Christmas days, and your Good Fridays and all such seasons are only observed by man's ordinance-butthe Sabbath is ordained of God-and that is to be observed as the emblem of rest. Now, surely, when a man comes into rest and"we which have believed do enter into rest," then that day should be especially observed by him. It should become a Sabbathunto the Lord throughout the man's whole life- that happy day in which salvation came to him. Let, then, "this day" standas a special day in your calendar! Mark it with a red line, if you like. Or mark it with a golden seal and let it be had inremembrance forevermore.
Our Lord said to Zacchaeus, "This day is salvation come to this house." From these Words I learn, first, that salvation isa speedy blessing. It can come to a house in a day. No, more, it can take possession of a man's heartin a day. No, to go further,this great work can be accomplished in a single moment! I suppose that the new birth is actually a thing which requires noappreciable period of time-a flash and it is done! If a man is dead and he is restored to life, there may be, in certain respects,a gradual operation upon that man and some time may elapse before he is able to walk. But there must be a certain instantin which there is life in the man, whereas, a moment before, there was no life in him. The actual quickening must be a thingthat is instantaneous, so that the working of salvation in a man may not only be performed this day, or this hour, or thisquarter of an hour, but this minute, or even this second! Between light and darkness there is usually a period of twilightand so there is in the soul, but, even in twilight there is a measure of light, and there must be a moment when the firstreal beam of light begins to smite the ebonite darkness.
So there must be a moment when Grace first enters the soul and the man who before was graceless, becomes gracious! I thinkthis is a good point to be remembered. You poor deluded souls who hope to save yourselves by your own works will have to keepon throughout your whole lives at that useless occupation! And even when you lie dying, you may be sure that you are not savedif you have been trusting to your own works. But he that believes in Christ Jesus is saved then and there and he can joyfullysing-
"'Tis done! The great transaction's done! I am my Lord's, and He is mine." This is a blessed fact, that salvation can cometo a soul this very hour. No, as I have already reminded you, long before the hand of that clock shall have reached the endof this hour, salvation may have entered into many hearts that are in this place, as truly as it entered into the house ofZacchaeus!
Next, I learn from our text that salvation is a discernible blessing. "This day is salvation come to this house." Christ couldsee it, so that it was something which could be seen. Yes, and salvation was also seen by Zacchaeus, himself, and the fruitsof it were soon seen by those who were in the house with him. Do not suppose that a man can be saved and yet know
nothing about the great change that has been worked in him. It is not every man who can say for certain that he is saved,for faith is a thing of growth and assurance may not come at once. But when a man is really and completely saved, he has butto use the proper means and he may become absolutely certain of it. God the Holy Spirit is willing and waiting to give thefull assurance of faith and of understanding to those who seek it at His hands.
Next, salvation is a perfect blessing. ' 'This day is salvation come to this house." Well, but only as late as yesterday thatman had not even seen Jesus! Half an hour ago, he was climbing a tree, like a boy might have done, with no wish but just toget a sight of Jesus! And, now, is that man saved "Yes," says Christ, "this day is salvation come to this house." "But, surely,you don't talk as positively as that concerning a man who came here tonight unsaved and who has just trusted in Jesus? Youmust mean that he has reached a hopeful stage in his experience and that, after several years, he may, perhaps, come to bereally assured that he is a saved man." I mean nothing of the sort! I mean just what the text implies, which is that the momentthe Lord Jesus Christ crossed the threshold of the house of Zacchaeus, his sins were forgiven him, his heart was renewed,his spirit was changed and he was a saved man. "But," someone asks, "is anybody ever saved before he dies?" Yes, certainly!Were those persons dead of whom Paul wrote, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness, but untous who are saved, it is the power of God." They were living men and women, yet the Apostle said that they were saved-and sothey were! And, at the present moment, there are hundreds of thousands of believers in Jesus upon the face of this earth whoare as truly saved, now, as they will be when they stand before the burning Throne of God "without spot, or wrinkle or anysuch thing." In God's judgment, by virtue of the Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, on whom they are resting by faith, theyhave been delivered from condemnation, they have escaped from the dominion of sin and, in a word, they are saved! So, yousee dear Friends, that salvation is a perfect blessing.
Notice, next, that it is a much-containing blessing. A man who believes in Christ is saved directly, but he does not fullyknow how much that word, "saved," means yet. It is like a big box that comes into the house and you begin to open it and totake out, first, one thing and then another. "There," you say, "that is all." "Oh, no!" somebody says, who looks more carefully,"here is another packet." "Well, then, that is surely all. There is nothing but straw at the bottom of the box." You put yourhand in and you cry, "Why, there is something more, and something more-what a boxful it is!" And what a boxful salvation is!You have no idea what there is in it-not only the pardon of sin, but justifying righteousness. Not only that, but regeneration,a new heart and a right spirit! Not only that, but sanctification, adoption, acceptance, power in prayer, preservation, perseverance,victory-yes, we are to be more than conquerors through Him that has loved us-and all that is in the box!
Yes, and more, too, for we are to have a safe and happy departure out of this world and an abundant entrance into the everlastingKingdom of God our Father! All that is in the box and all that had come into the house of Zacchaeus when the Lord Jesus Christcame there. And you, also, have all that if you have Christ, for it is all in Christ. You know how He said, "All things aredelivered unto Me of My Father," and Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "All things are yours: whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas,or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and you are Christ's and Christ is God's."You will never get to the bottom of that box which bears the name, "salvation." However great your needs may be, you may keepon taking out of it all that you require and still there shall be more left! Or, to change the figure, salvation is a springingwell from which the more you draw, the more there is remaining, for drawn wells are always the sweetest and usually the fullest.So, bring your buckets to this great well of Gospel Grace that is springing up at your very feet! Thus you see that salvationis an all-containing blessing.
And, next, it is a spreading blessing, for salvation had come to the house of Zacchaeus-not to him only, but I hope it meansto his wife, his children, and his servants. I never like to have the servants left out, though I am afraid that they oftenare. You servants who live in Christian families, mind that you do not get left out, for remember that Noah, although he wasa good man, did not get a servant into the ark with him and his family. Also remember Lot. He was a good man of a very poorsort and he only got his two children out of Sodom, and no servant went with them. It is a sad thing when you live and laborin the midst of Christian people and yet you remain unsaved. I hope and believe that in the case of Zacchaeus, all in hishouse were saved when salvation came there.
But, once more, the salvation which had come to the house of Zacchaeus, was an abiding blessing, for I never read that itwent away. If salvation comes to a man's house, it comes to stay there, as Christ said to Zacchaeus, "I must abide at yourhouse." I can never believe in a man being saved for a time and then falling from Grace-and having to begin all
over again. If he does not hold on his way to the end, it is clear that he was never really saved at all. As I have oftentold you, I can understand a man being regenerated, that is, being born again-but then some people tell us that it is possiblefor him, afterwards, to fall away from Grace. But what is to become of him the next time? Why, I suppose that he must be re-regenerated,born again and again! But I never read in Scripture anything of the kind. A man may be born again once, but he cannot be bornagain, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again! That cannot be! When the work of regeneration is once done,it is done forever! The work of man comes to an end, but the work of God fails not. That which is born of God is as immortalas God Himself! The new life that comes into the converted man from God cannot die. How often do we ring in the ears of ourfriends those glorious words of our Lord, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto themeternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them toMe, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand." Happy is the man to whose house salvationcomes, for it comes to stay, world without end! That must suffice for the first head, This day-what?
II. Now, secondly, we are to think of another aspect of the subject, that is, THIS DAY-WHY? Why had salvation come to thehouse of Zacchaeus that day?
I answer, because that day Zacchaeus was called by effectual Grace and whenever effectual Grace comes to anyone, it bringssalvation. "Therefore, brethren," as Peter says, "give diligence to make your calling and election sure," for these are the"things that accompany salvation." If you are sure that you are called of God, you may be quite certain that you are saved,for "this day"-the day in which a man is effectually called by Grace-this day does salvation come to his house. Look, dearFriends, God chose His people in His everlasting purpose, but salvation did not come to their houses that day. They knew nothingof it at that time, for they were not then born! Christ redeemed His people when He died on the Cross, but salvation did notcome to their houses that day, for the most of them were not then in existence. But, in the fullness of time, the Gospel waspreached to them and they heard it. Yet, in all cases, salvation did not come to their houses that day, for though they heardit, they refused it. But the moment that effectual Grace says to anyone, "Today I must abide at your house," that Grace atonce gains admission and salvation comes, then and there, to that man's house. You remember how the Apostle Paul wrote tothe Romans, "Whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified"? These great blessingsare joined together, like the links of a chain, and you cannot pull them apart! There is the calling that fits into the justificationand the chain is so made that the two links never can be separated. And then justification fits into glorification in sucha way that you cannot possibly part them. It is no use for anyone to try to separate them. The devil may pull and hammer asmuch as ever he likes, but all his efforts will be in vain. I have sometimes likened that passage in Romans to a vast suspensionbridge between earth and Heaven-"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son,that He might be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called,them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified." If you get your foot firmly resting on that greatplank of effectual calling, you may be quite sure that you will be able to cross all the rest of the bridge and will mostcertainly reach the other side-and be "forever with the Lord."
But how do we know that Zacchaeus was really called? I answer in such a way that you may know whether you, also, are calledor not. The call of Zacchaeus was an effectual call, first, because it was a personal call He was up in the sycamore treeand He heard Christ call, "Zacchaeus!" "Why," he said to himself, "That is my name. He is calling me." "Zacchaeus, make hasteand come down." "Then He can see that I am up here! His description exactly fits my case." Now, when you come and hear mepreach the Gospel, I try to put the Truth of God before you in a clear and very pointed manner. Some people say that it iswrong to be personal in preaching, but I always try to be as personal as I can. Yet I know that many of my hearers pass onto their neighbors and friends what I say to them. "Oh, that just fits Mrs. So-and-So," says somebody. No, my dear Sir-itis meant for you, but you will not take it home to yourself. But when the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, calls, then the mansays, "Dear me! I do not believe that the preacher can see me right here, yet he is speaking straight at me. I am sure thathe is. How amazing! He just mentioned something that cannot have occurred to anybody but me. He has exactly described my case."
Those are the times when God is about to bless the soul-when the man feels himself picked out from the rest of the congregationand the Gospel sharpshooter is just covering him with His rifle of Grace! I pray that the blessed bullet of
the Gospel may find its mark in the very center of your heart and bring you down at the feet of Jesus as a weeping penitent!"Zacchaeus!" The Lord knew that was the name of the man up the sycamore and He also knows your name and your character. Andwhen He means to call you by His effectual Grace, He will hold your photograph up and make you say, "Yes, that is my portrait!There is nobody else exactly like that."
Next, it was a royal call. Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "Today I must abide at your house." One of our proverbs says, "Must isfor the king." And when the King speaks, He mustbe obeyed! We who are His ministers try to be very pressing and urgent, butwhen the Master Himself utters the call, where the word of that King is, there is power! I hope He is saying to someone here,"Today I must abide in your heart." Now you have come to the point when you, also, will have to say, "I must." There mustbe no turning back, now, dear Friend! You must not say to Christ, "Go your way for this time." No, but you must say, "Thistime is the time when I, also, will say, 'must,' as Christ says it to me." That is an effectual call when it comes as a royalmandate, a warrant from the King! "I must."
Then, next, it was a call which produced immediate obedience. The Lord said to Zacchaeus, "Make haste and come down." Andwe read, "He made haste and came down." I think I see him coming down that tree a great deal faster than he had gone up! Hehad not moved at such a rate as that for a long while, but he scurried down, for he was told to make haste by One whose commandcompelled him to obey. When the Lord Jesus Christ calls any of you effectually, you will not put off your decision till thenext morning. You will not say, "I will wait till I can get home and pray." You will not even say, "I will wait till the endof the service and then talk with a Christian," but your prayer will be, "Lord, help me to look to Jesus, now. I yield myselfup to You this very instant. I am in a hurry about it. Lord, I am making haste to get to You! Make haste to come and saveme. I would not delay a single second longer. I want to be Yours alone, and Yours at once." That is a mark of effectual calling,when immediate obedience is given to the call.
Another mark in the case of Zacchaeus was, that it was joyful obedience. "He made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully."Oh, the joy of the heart that receives Christ when Christ Himself does really come to the soul! The moment I believed in Christ,I wanted to shout, "Hallelujah," and if I had done so, I think that I might have been forgiven. The moment one believes inChrist and knows that his sin is all gone, what extravagance would be extravagant under such circumstances? Is not the manjustified in being joyful when at length his iniquity is blotted out and his transgression is covered? It is a mark of effectualcalling when we receive Christ joyfully. In the case of Zacchaeus, observe that his obedience was complete, for Christ said,"Today I must abide at your house" and, "he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully" at his house, for the peoplemurmured because Christ had gone to be his guest. Now, dear Friends, will you also receive Christ? That is the point. Areyou willing to let Him come to you and be your salvation? Are you eager that He should come? Do you beg Him to Come? Dependupon it, He will come to you when you are ready to receive Him-but mind you-do not trust for salvation to anything else oranyone else but Christ! Be satisfied with nothing but the ever-living Savior to be your Savior from first to last.
There was yet one more mark of the effectual calling of Zacchaeus, and that was that He received Christ in a spiritual sense,for he did not only take Him into his house, but he took Him into his heart. I know that he did so because he began at onceto purge his heart by driving out covetousness. That was a splendid way of getting rid of it when he said, "Behold, Lord,the half of my goods I give to the poor." Then he began to drive put his former grasping habit, for he said, "And if I havetaken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore to him fourfold." That was clear evidence that he meant to receiveChrist in all His holy, gracious teaching, not merely as a man and a stranger, but, spiritually, as his Master, his Ruler,his Teacher, his Guide-in a word, as his Savior!
III. Now, lastly, THIS DAY-WHY NOT?
And now, change the day altogether, for I mean this very day when I am speaking to you, this first of October in the presentyear of Grace, 1882. "This day." This day-why not? Why should we not, "this day," give ourselves to Christ? I have tried tothink of a reason why a man should not give himself up to the Lord Jesus Christ this day and I cannot find one. Then, whyshould he give himself to Christ this day, on this particular day? I think I know several reasons why he should do so.
First, it is late enough. Surely you do not need to wait any longer! How old did you say you are, Friend? Seventy-six? Eighty-six?What? As old as that and not yet saved? You do not need one like me, so much younger, to urge you to a speedy decision. Ordid you say that you are not more than my own age-not yet fifty? Well, I find it is quite late enough
for me. There are certain influences and sensations creeping over me which make me realize that I am somewhat different fromwhat I used to be-and I expect it is the same with you. I think it is getting rather late in life for you to be still undecided.Perhaps some younger person says, "But I am only twenty-one." Well, that is late enough to be without Christ! It is a thousandpities that the devil should have had 21 years of your life. I was converted to the Lord Jesus Christ when I was fifteen,but I wish it could have been 15 years before. Oh, that I had known and loved Him as soon as I knew anything and had lispedHis name with the first words I ever uttered! I think every Christian will say the same. Whatever our age is, the time pastmay well suffice to have worked the will of the flesh. Do not you think so, my Friend? Have not you had quite enough of sin?What profit have you ever received from it? It is surely quite late enough for you to receive Christ as your Savior!
And, further, it is late enough in the year I t seems to me, when the leaves are falling all around you, as if they all saidto you, "We all do fade as a leaf," is it not fully time to seek the Lord? I know of no season that seems more suited forpensive thought than just now when the year seems to be weeping itself into its tomb-and burying itself amid falling leaves.Now is the time to yield yourself to the Lord! There cannot be a better period than just now-before yet the year is fullygone.
The mercy is, dear Friend, that though it is quite late enough, it is not too late for anybody here. There is yet time foryou to seek the Lord! It is a pity to have put the Lord off until you have got into the sere and yellow leaf, but yet thereis time to turn to Him! What? Have you reached the eleventh hour of life? It is late, it is very late, but still, it is notyet too late! It is not yet too late even if you are to die this week-and there are some out of this great company who will,I suppose, pass into the unseen world this week. Dear Friend, I know not who you are, but you who stand nearest to your eternaldestiny, it is not yet too late even for you! I pray you, clutch at once at the great mercy now offered to you! God help youso to do!
Every week I have to hear of some out of our number who have passed away. There have been some this last week, and some whomI certainly thought we might have had with us for a long time. They were, apparently, in good health, yet now they are tobe buried at the beginning of the week, for they have gone from us quite suddenly. And why may not some of you be the nextto be taken? Do not postpone your decision any longer-I would that we could say tonight, "This day, October 1st, some souldid receive salvation! Let the recording angel mark it down." The harvest is not quite over, though I thought it was. We downsouth have almost forgotten it, but there is a farming friend up with us today, who said to me, "We have not finished ourharvest, for we have not got the beans in yet." So, you see, the harvest is not quite over, but I do not want you to haveto say, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." I would like to get some of you to come in with thebeans, just with the last crop. Oh, that you might be brought to Christ just at this end of the harvest! The Master is willingthat you should come to Him even now, so do not delay. "Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." "Behold,now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of salvation!"
Remember, also, that today is Gospel time. Still is Christ preached to you! The door of mercy is still set open before you!"Come," is still the cry uttered by the Spirit, and the bride, the Lamb's wife echoes it, "Come!" Still the Water of Lifeis freely flowing for all who are willing to receive it!
Recollect, too, that this is praying time. You are still on praying ground. A prayer will yet find God. A traveler tells usthat when he was in the East, he saw the procession of a Sultan passing through a certain city. The monarch was there-allbedizened with gems and every kind of barbaric ornament and surrounded by his guards. There was a poor wretch who wanted toget a petition to the Sultan, but he did not know how to manage it. He had no money with which to bribe the officials andhe could not force his way through the armed men. So, in his desperation, he got near enough to throw the petition down atthe monarch's feet, but one of the soldiers stuck a spear through it and he held it aloft-and that was the end of it, forthe Sultan took no notice of the incident-he was much too great a man to attend to the petition of his poor subject. It isnever so with God! Cast your petition-now you may-at His dear feet! He will answer it and send you on your way rejoicing!
You are not only on praying ground, for tonight seems to me to be a very auspicious season, for it is Communion time. God'speople are presently coming together around His Table to remember Christ. Will you not also remember Him? We are about toreceive Christ spiritually through the emblems of bread and wine which will set Him forth to us. Why should not you also receiveChrist, in a spiritual fashion, by faith, as your Savior? Oh, that you would press
through the throng and bow at the feet of Jesus Christ, our Lord! If you do so, He will accept you, and again it shall besaid, "This day is salvation come to this house." God grant it, for Christ's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: LUKE18:35-43; 19:1-10.
Luke 18:35-39. And it came to pass, that as He was come near unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging: and hearingthe multitude pass by, he asked what it meant And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passed by. And he cried, saying, Jesus,Son of David, have mercy on me! And they who went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. "Hush," they cried, "howcan you disturb the blessed Master's discourse? Be quiet."
39, 40. But he cried so much the more, Son of David, have mercy on me! And Jesus stood still Prayer held Him fast. Here isa stationary Savior, held in His place by the cries of a blind man. Oh, the power of prayer! It stays the onward march ofthe Son of God. "Jesus stood still."
40, 41. And commandedhim to be brought to Him: and when he was come near, He askedhim saying, What do you want Me to do foryou? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight It is a great thing to know what you really need. There are some personswho are so blind that they do not know that they are blind-and because they say, "We see," therefore is their blindness themore intense! I fear that there is many a person who professes to pray, yet who, if Christ should come into the room and say,"What do you want Me to do for you?" would not know how to answer the question. This man did. He said, very briefly, and veryclearly, but in a very full way, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."
42. And Jesus said unto him, Receive your sight Often, the blessing from Christ's lips is the echo of the prayer which fellfrom ours. The blind man said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." Echo answered, "Receive your sight."
42, 43. Your faith has saved you. And immediately he received his sight See how the prayer, the Word of Christ and the immediateeffect of it, all tally? "That I might receive my sight." "Receive your sight." "He received his sight."
43. And followed Him. Christ likes not blind followers-"and followed Him."
43. Glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. They seemed to be greatly impressed, but weshall see that some of them soon spoke in another fashion.
Luke 19:1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. There was to be a miracle at each end of Jericho. Long before, it had beencursed-now it was to have a double blessing!
2. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was the chiefamong the publicans. That is, tax-gatherers.
2. And he was rich. As they often were, for they farmed the taxes and then squeezed every farthing they could out of the people.
3. Andhe sought to see Jesus, who He was, and couldnot for the crowd, because he was little of stature. That was a fortunatething for him. We need not all wish to be so tall as some people are. Perhaps Zacchaeus would not have gone up the sycamoretree if he had been a tall man. But the whole story turns upon something which many regard as a disadvantage-"he was littleof stature."
4-7. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him: for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus came totheplace, He looked up andsaw him, andsaid unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for today Imust abide atyour house.Andhe made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they allmur-mured. There is a great contrastbetween this verse and the last one in the previous Chapter-"All the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God." Hereit is, "When they saw it, they murmured." Yet, very likely many of them were the same people! Certainly they were the samesort of people that we hear of every now and then! "When they saw it, they all murmured." There are far too many of that kindstill about. We do not quite know who they are, nor where they are- they have a sort of nondescript, mysterious existencethat finds expression in the words, "They say so-and-so and so-and-so." They have been saying something about the minister,something about the Sunday school, something about the Bible class, something about your work and mine. You see, there alwayswere such people about, and they always would talk, and their talk often took the form of complaining. "When they saw it,they all murmured,"
7. Saying, He has gone to be guest with a man who is a sinner. If He had not done so, He could not have gone anywhere, forall men are sinners! "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." But this man was a sinner above
others, for he had sold himself to the hated Roman power and was authorized to collect the conqueror's taxes from his ownpeople. So, of course, in the estimation of the Jews, he was the worst kind of sinner that could be found anywhere. 8. AndZacchaeus stood. And he did not talk at all like a sinner!
8. And said unto the Lord; Beheld, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor Some of those saints, as they reckoned themselves,had not done anything like as much as that! "The half of my goods I give to the poor."
8. And if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Which restitution was an act ofjustice-andwhen charity and justice go hand in hand, what more can we expect of men?
9, 10. And Jesus said unto him, Today is salvation come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son ofMan is come to seek and to save that which was lost And that day He had both sought and saved one of the lost ones, for Hehad found Zacchaeus up in a sycamore tree, and He had brought salvation to the tax-gatherer's house. May He do the same formany who are here!