·his soul makes him quick in invention. He forces his way through the crowd, climbs the small sycamore tree, o.nd there be we.its. He knows, confusedly enough, but by a. kind of intuition, tho.t the Poorest of all who on foot treads the street is his Lord; that with him is the wealth wanting which a man has no real inheritance. When the fountains of the inner deep are broken up, when any one is in earnest about the king- dom of God and his righteousness, the mere accidents of position and circumstance are forgotten. 'l'he Princess .Alice of England, on her dying-bed, acknowledged her debt to a Scotsman in humble life for the help he bad given in bringing her soul back to its rest in Christ. Zacchmus, chief among the publicans, heeds not appearances, thinks not of dignity, rUDs before the multitude, perches himself on the branch of the fig tree that be might see him whom bis soul loved. II. The incident illustrates THE MEETING BETWEEN A SUPREME PURPOSE DI MAN AND THE PURPOSE OF THE LOVE OF Goo. It may be said that the publican's motive was mere curiosity. Supposing that it was, it brought abont the sight of the Lord. Curiosity impelled .Augustine to the church of Ambrose in Milan, and there Christ foUDd him. It is a gain to get people, even from an inferior desire, within the reach of the gospel of grace: who knows whether the one who came to scoff may not remain to pray ? But was there not a cause deeper than mere curiosity at work in Zacchmus? He may not have had the same kind of plea as blind Bartimmus, but be had his own plea; and what Christ asks from each of us is that, as we are, in the specialties of our need and condition, we come to him. Faith carries an "I must" in its bosom. It always presses: "To-day I must see thee who thou art." That day the two "I musts," the one in the sinner, the other in the Saviour's heart, meet and touch. " Zaccbmus, to-day I must abide at thy house" (ver. 5). What a journey that "I must" of Jericho repre- sents! Has it not come from the heaven of heavens, out from the bosom of the great God himself? The fig leaves and branches cannot hide from Christ. The eyes of the two are seeking each other. He looks up; the one for whom he is in search receives the gaze. That one knows that he is looked into; he is understood; he is named. And the fellowship is formed from which neither things present nor things to come can separate. III. The incident illustrates THE PURPOSE -OF A MIND RENEWED IN ITS SPIRIT. What is the response to the Lord's " make haste "? " He made haste, and came down, aud received him joyfully" (ver. 6). 'I'he whole heart opens to this new Master. There is no further asking who he is. That has been answered by the heart itself; and the welcome to his home, to all, immediately follows. If Christ will take one such as he, " Love so amazing, eo Divine, Dewe.nds the soul, the life, the e.ll" There is more than this. We need not discuss whether the noble speech recorded in ver. 8 is the vindication of the publican as against the calnmnies of those aroUDd him, indicating that he had not been the unjust extortioner whom they took him to be; that he had been in the habit of giving half of his goods to the poor. The latter part of the verse at least is the expression of a solemn purpose formed in Christ's presence. It indicates a change of character. "Is his pocket converted?" was a question put, when the conversion of one who had been greedy and selfish was annouuced. Hitherto this Zacchreus had lived to make money; now he will live to use it. Hitherto he had lived for him&elf; now he will live for God. Henceforth he will aim, not only at being just, but at making others the better and happier for him. When Christ is received joyfully, the narrow becomes the broad, the bard becomes the generous; the levels of the life are altered: "Old things pass away, and all things become new." IV. Reflecting on the incident, two points are to be noted-its revelation of Christ, and its enforcement of the solemn word "opportunity." 1. Christ the Brother and Saviour. (I) It is interesting to observe that, on the same day, poor and rich were visibly embraced within the love of God. That love stretches from pole to pole in human experience and condition. Christ's sympathies a.re not with class as againgt tluss; for he is the Son of man. When the beggar comes he is so polite: " What wilt thou i'" .As to Zacchreus, he turns to the Jews (ver. 9), Everywhere he recognizes a something of God-a jewel to be snatched from among the ruins. "He is not afraid of consorting with tho ricll lc~t pei,ple should say he cares too much for money, any 142 fHE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. [oH. :xix.1-48.
more tha1;1 _he is of consorting with the poor lest they should say he cares too little for r,·spectab1hty. He will dine with the Pharisee, if invited; and he will dine with a publican, even when uninvited, if the man's heart be indeed a guest-chamber." 'l'he most brotherly of hearts is the heart of God, (2) 'l'he Brother a.ad the Saviour. See ~he sentence in which the conjunction is realized (ver. 10). It was spoken with 1mmed1ate reference to Zacchreus. He was lost, for he l1ad lived alone• and whoso Ji yes alone, away from the light of God, out of sympathy v1ith his brethre~ an outside person, is really one lost. And is not Christ among us to bring the ou~siders in, to a waken up dead worldly souls, and restore them to communion with the Father in heaven and the Father's children on earth? Christ is the Saviour because he is the Brother and he is the Brother because he is the Son. Look at the Saviour in his work of love'. 'l'he royalty of his grace shines marvellously forth. Note the self-invitation: "I love him because h_e first loved 1~e." Note also the joy of sa\vatio_n-not a. passing glimpse -" I must abide." There 1s a new rule, a. new compan10nsh1p, a. new mirth. 2. The wo1·d "opportunity" is e11forced. That word contains the lesson most obviously taucrht 0 iu every part of the story. Jesus is passing; to-day and to-day only. There is no time tu tnfie. "Make haste, and come down."