The Compelling Mission Of The Savior

THE COMPELLING MISSION OF THE SAVIOR

Luke 19:1-10

There’s a story about a local fitness center, which was offering $1,000 to anyone who could demonstrate that they were stronger than the owner of the place. Here’s how it worked. This muscle man would squeeze a lemon until all the juice ran into a glass, and then hand the lemon to the next challenger. Anyone who could squeeze just one more drop of juice out would win the money.

Many people tried over time - other weight-lifters, construction workers, even professional wrestlers, but nobody could do it.

One day a short and skinny guy came in and signed up for the contest. After the laughter died down, the owner grabbed a lemon and squeezed away. Then he handed the wrinkled remains to the little man.

The crowd’s laughter turned to silence as the man clenched his fist around the lemon and six drops fell into the glass. As the crowd cheered, the manager paid out the winning prize and asked the short guy what he did for a living. “Are you a lumberjack, a weightlifter, or what?”

The man replied, “I work for the IRS.”

Well, this morning we’re focusing on a high-ranking IRS man who cheated not on his return, but on everyone else’s. He had figured out a way to skim some money off the top and squeeze the last drop from people’s wallets.

From this story we will observe the purpose of the Lord’s coming.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost.”

In what has to be one of the sweetest verses in all of the Bible, there is also one of the saddest words in all of the Bible—the word, LOST.

Our text is peculiar to Luke. It is not found in the other Gospels.

Verse 10 has sixteen monosyllables, only one of which has as many as five letters, and yet they tell the story of God’s eternal mission in its fullness.

“THE SON OF MAN IS COME.” It is not “a” son of man, nor “the” son of “a” man, but “THE SON OF MAN.” As the title, Son of God, tells the story that Christ is equal with God; the term “SON OF MAN” declares that in matchless grace He took a place of equality with man – He came to take our place and die for our sins.

THE COMPELLING MISSION OF THE SAVIOUR is seen in the verses.

I. THE MISSION REVOLVES AROUND THE SINNER WHO IS LOST (1-4)

“a man named Zacchaeus”

In Luke 15 we observe have a parable about a sheep, a silver, and a son. Each were equally lost, but in each case the reason for they were lost was different. The sheep was lost through FOOLISHNESS; the silver was lost through CARELESSNESS; and the son was lost through WILLFULNESS.

The sheep was lost in a dangerous place, the silver was lost in a dark place, but the son was lost in a distant place (Ephesians 2:13); but each were lost.

The mission of Jesus revolves around FICKLE sinners as pictured in the lost sheep; the mission of Jesus revolves around FALLEN sinners as pictured in the lost silver; the mission of Jesus revolves around FOOLISH sinners as pictured in the lost son.

Apply lost to any area of life and it spells tragedy, grief, headache and pain. C. H. Spurgeon once said, “I do not know if there is a more dreadful word I the English language than that word LOST.” Lost means to be “be way from, separated from, apart from, cut-off from.”

Zaccaheus was lost without Christ.

Zacchaeus was short in stature. Zacchaeus didn’t measure up physically to those around him. He was shorter than the average. We may be able to stand head and shoulders above the rest physically; we may be smarter than the average; we may be above everyone else on the ladder of success; but none of us measure up spiritually. We have all come short of the righteousness of God

A salesman is driving down a country road when he sees a young kid in front of a barn. On the barn are 5 targets with arrows in the bulls-eye of each target. Screeching to a stop he runs out to the kid amazed that this kid could shoot so well. "Son," he says, "how did you hit all those bulls eyes?"

"Well sir," the boy replied, "I take the arrow and lick my fingers like this, then I take my fingers and straiten the feathers like this, take aim with my hand against my cheek, let go and wherever the arrow hits I draw a bulls-eye." We may attempt to make the impression that we measure up, but according to the Bible, we have all fallen short!