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OUT ON A LIMB

By Michael Guido, D.D.

Luke 19:10 NKJ

A cat crawled onto a sub station of the Illinois Power Company in Stallings, Illinois, and brushed against wires carrying 33,000 volts of electricity. Three transformers valued at $10,000 each were ruined. So was the cat. That was one time that curiosity killed a cat. But let’s think of the time that curiosity converted a politician named Zacchaeus.

Israel had lost her independence and was under the rule of Rome. The taxes levied by the Roman government were countless and costly. They were paid to tax collectors who were considered to be rascals and renegades. These men would bid for the job, and those who paid the most money were hired. The tax collectors not only collected the exorbitant taxes Rome demanded, but more to reimburse them for buying the job, and much more to enrich themselves. Zacchaeus was the chief collector. That means he was the blackest blackmailer, the crookedest crook, the greediest grafter.

Mark The Cure.

As the Lord Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road begging from travelers.

When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked, "What’s happening?" They answered, "Jesus from Nazareth is going by." Immediately he began shouting, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

The crowds ahead of the Lord Jesus tried to silence the blind beggar. But he only yelled the louder, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" It’s strange, but true; no one has ever come to the Lord Jesus without someone trying to stop him. It’s bad enough not to come yourself, but it’s much worse to hinder others. Are you helping others come to the Lord Jesus? You’re not? Then you’re hindering them. Tragic, isn’t it?

When the Lord Jesus arrived at the spot, He stopped. People are thrilled that the sun stood still for Joshua’s victory. But I’m more thrilled that the Son of God stood still for the blind beggar’s victory. And He’ll stop to help you, if only you’ll ask Him.

The Lord Jesus said, "Bring the blind man here." Then He asked, "What do you want?" Did he answer, "A seeing eye dog?" No. "Lord," he pleaded, "I want to see." Can’t you hear the Lord asking you, "What do you want?" Pray, but be particular. Solicit, but be specific. And remember what the poet wrote, "You are coming to a King, large petitions with you bring."

The Lord Jesus granted his request, saying, "See immediately." What a mighty miracle. And He added, "Your faith has saved you." This means permanent physical healing and permanent spiritual healing. For immediately he saw, and he kept on following the Lord Jesus, praising Him with all his heart.

Mark The Curiosity.

It’s written in Luke 19:1-4, "Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way."

Isn’t it awful that those who were so spirited about the Savior were standing in the way of a sinner? Can it be that you’re blocking some sinner’s view of the Savior?

You’ll always find something or someone between you and the Lord Jesus, whether you’re numbered among the believers or the unbelievers.

Think of the time four men wanted their friend to meet the Lord Jesus. But there was an obstacle. The man was paralyzed, so they put him on a stretcher. But there was another obstacle. They couldn’t get to the Lord Jesus because of the crowd. Did they give up? No, they got up. They climbed on top of the house, dug a hole through the clay roof above the head where the Lord Jesus was standing, and they lowered the sick man on the stretcher, right down in front of Jesus. When the Lord Jesus saw how strongly they believed that He would help and heal, He cured the man and converted his soul.

Then there’s Zacchaeus. He couldn’t get to the Lord Jesus because of the crowd. Did he give up? No, he got up. He meant to see Jesus and he went to see Jesus. He climbed up into a tree. There’s always a tree available for you to see the Lord Jesus. Are you willing to climb it?

There are places on mountains which the eyes of fish never see. There are places in the water which the eyes of birds never see. There are places in secret which the eyes of man never see. But there’s no place which the eyes of the Lord Jesus never see. He saw the tax collector up the tree. What a sight! They usually have others up a tree. But the Lord Jesus came to the tree, and that’s where they met. And it’s still at a tree - the cross of Christ - where the seeking Savior meets the seeking sinner. Have you met Jesus there?

An artist found a woman who met the Lord Jesus at a tree. He made a beautiful monument of that life-changing experience, and he entitled it: "The Last Refuge." The woman had sought everywhere for cleaning and comfort, pardon and peace, but all in vain. At last, after many wasted and woeful years, she met the Christ at the cross. Even as she sank down, there seemed to fall upon her a sense of rest; a certainty that in coming to Christ she found a refuge for her soul.

Mark The Call.

A census taker called at a certain home and said to the mother, "Please give me the number of your children." "Sir," she replied, "they don’t have numbers. They have names." Sin lowers men and women to numbers. To jailers, men and women are numbers. But to Jesus, men and women have names.

When He was seeking the persecutor of Tarsus, He called, "Saul, Saul." And when He was seeking the tax collector of Jericho, He called, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."

Can’t you hear Zacchaeus saying, "The Lord Jesus knows me. He called me by name. He wants me. He wants me just as I am. He offers Himself as a guest in my home. I’ll offer myself as a guest for His heavenly home"?

The Lord Jesus said, "Zacchaeus, make haste." And the Bible says, "he made haste." No man departed from a burning house more quickly than he descended from that tree. No passenger jumped from a sinking ship more readily than he jumped from that tree. Won’t you, too, make haste in coming to the Lord Jesus? If you put it off, you may perish. If you hesitate now, you may be in hell tomorrow.

Luke 19:6 says, "He made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully." Coming to the Lord Jesus isn’t coming to a cemetery, it’s coming to a celebration; it’s not coming to a famine, it’s coming to a feast. For the Lord Jesus gives a blessing, not a burden; a lift, not a load; a heaven, not a hell.

What had sin given him? It had stripped him of his dignity, his manliness, his self-respect. What had society done for him? It had cast him off, put him out, turned him down. What did the Lord Jesus do for him? He reached out to him, rescued him, redeemed him, and made him rejoice! Won’t you let Him do that for you?

Mark The Critics.

When Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully, Dr. Luke said, "When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, ‘He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.’"

The word "murmured" is an interesting word. It suggests a buzzing, like the buzzing of bees. They kept buzzing angrily and antagonistically. There was no love on any lips over the life-changing experience of a louse. There was no thanksgiving on any tongue over the transformation of a thief. What mischief and misery is caused by mur-murings!

Think of the time that a demon possessed man ran out of the graveyard just as the Lord Jesus was getting out of a boat. This man had lived among the gravestones. All day long he’d cut himself and all night long he’d cry. No one was able to control him. The Lord Jesus commanded the demon within him, "Come out, you evil spirit!" Many were in him. Coming out, they entered the hogs. The entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned. A large crowd gathered. They saw the man dressed, not denuded; sane, not senseless; calm, not crazy; quiet, not quarrelsome; heaven-bound, not hell-bound. What did the people do? They complained. They begged the Lord Jesus to go away and let them alone! The sinners said to the Savior, "Begone!"

But the criticism of the crowd can’t curb the Christ! The demon possessed man was delivered, the crookedest crook was converted, despite the scoffing and the sarcasm. Blessed be the Savior—He came to seek and to save the lost!

Mark The Change.

Dr. Luke reported in verse 8, "Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’"

What a resolution! The word "behold" suggests a sudden and sure resolution. And his standing suggests dogged determination. Nothing and no one would keep him from being all that the Lord wanted him to be and from doing all that the Lord wanted him to do. It was a do or die situation. Don’t you like such determination?

What restitution! First he said, "I give half of my goods to the poor." The marks of a Christian are giving and forgiving. A lot of people are willing to give the Lord the credit. But not many are willing to give Him the cash. Zacchaeus was. And he gave gladly as well as generously. Second he said, "If I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." This grammatical construction is one which ordinarily affirms the condition. It signifies, "Since I have defrauded, I restore fourfold." The law made a distinction between fraud and theft. In the case of fraud, the individual was required to return the part illegally gained and add to it one-fifth of the amount. In the case of theft, the individual, when apprehended, was required to pay four to one for what he had stolen. Zacchaeus felt his fraudulent dealings were to be regarded as theft and he would restore on that basis.

When repentance is real, restitution will be revealed. You see this in the conversion of the Philippian jailer. Before his conversion he whipped Paul and Silas with stripes. After his conversion he washed their stripes. Before his conversion he flogged them. After his conversion he fed them. Before his conversion he was cruel. After his conversion he was kind.

While conducting an evangelistic crusade in a certain church, we were invited to preach to the workmen of a large plant. After preaching in that plant for a week I asked the Christian superintendent, "Have you seen any changes in the men who have professed conversion?" "Yes, sir," he answered. "My men have stolen drills, many drills. We couldn’t keep enough on hand to do the work that had to be done. But the men who professed conversion brought back the drills they had stolen. Now we have more drills than we know what to do with." There’s always a change without when there’s a change within. Have you, like Zacchaeus, experienced such a change?

It’s no wonder that our Lord declared, "Today salvation has come to this house." When the Savior is embraced in the heart salvation is enjoyed in the house. Only the Savior can save: not any servant or service, not any sacrament or site. Matthew 1:21 says, "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Mark The Commission.

Two Boy Scouts were on a hike. One said to the other, "Speaking for myself, I’m courteous, kind, and lost." It’s sad to be lost in the forest, but it’s sadder to be lost to the Father. While you suffer, He suffers more.

He doesn’t wait for you to see Him. Lovingly, the Lord says, "the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." He has come to you where the battle is the fiercest, where the tears are the bitterest, where the load is the heaviest, where the problems are the hardest, and where the sins are the strongest. Let Him save you, won’t you?

You don’t have to be one of the underworld to be lost. You can be an understudy of an angel and still be lost. You don’t have to be a reprobate. You can be religious and still be lost. You don’t have to sit in the seat of the scornful. You can sit in the amen corner and still be lost.

The word "lost" signifies "in the wrong place." You were made for fellowship with the Lord. Out of fellowship with Him you’re lost. When you’re lost, life is empty, meaningless, unsatisfying.

But you don’t have to find the Lord. He’s seeking you. You’re no further than one step from Him. That one step is turning around. When you turn around you’re in the arms of the seeking Lord.

You’re no further than one sentence from the Lord. When you cry, "Lord, save me!" He will!

Turn around and cry with all your heart, "Lord, save me!" Won’t you?

Each month, Dr. Guido writes a new sermon for his 25 minute radio broadcast, "The Sower 25." This is published and included in the mailing sent out each month, which includes the daily devotional booklet, "Seeds From the Sower," and "Sowing and Reaping." To receive this material absolutely free, click on the "Subscribe Now" button on the menu bar.