When Grace Comes Home - Luke 19

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv

Introduction: When Grace Comes Home to Jericho and to Us

Today we begin our Christmas message series, The Gift of Presence. It's easy at Christmas to fill our homes with things, but still feel unseen and alone.

Our hearts yearn for something more , a deep relationship with our Creator. Jesus, the very Son of God, came into our world not with fanfare, but as a baby, to bring the gift of His presence. He came as Immanuel, which means God with us. The heart of God is to bring His grace into your life, your family, and your home.

Think about God’s heart and grace this way: Every Sunday, a family would set one extra chair at their table for a son who walked away, They were reminding themselves that there’s always room at the table. No matter how far we’ve wandered, God says, "Come Home".

Today’s message, “When Grace Comes Home,” shows us exactly what happens when that grace shows up at a house in Jericho in the story of Zacchaeus. We will see how this gift of presence Finds Us Where We Are, Brings Us Into Relationship and Transforms Our Entire House. If you are tired of filling the empty spaces in your life with things, stay with me. Let’s look into God’s word!

John 6:37 (ESV) All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

Jesus is giving us the promise that if we come to Him, He will receive you, He will never cast you out. Sometimes we’re afraid of building a relationship with another person because we’re not sure if they will accept us.

But we don’t need to fear coming to Jesus, He will not reject you. His grace is big enough to forgive any sin and to love you forever.

Psalm 34:18 (ESV) The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Sometimes we are brokenhearted or crushed because of the things life throws at us. Other times we are brokenhearted or crushed because of mistakes and wrong things we have done. In those difficult times, no matter the reason, the Lord is near to bring healing and grace.

Ephesians 2:13 (ESV) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

All of us were once far off from God because of our sins. No one is good enough to have a relationship with God. The only way that we can draw near to God is through the blood of Christ.

On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, by dying for us. That sacrifice provides forgiveness for everyone who believes in Jesus. Through the blood of Christ, we are brought near to God in an eternal relationship.

God’s grace finds us where we are and changes everything it touches. Many people think they are searching for God, but actually God is searching for you. If He was not searching for you, you would not be searching for Him. Today, we’re going to look at a story about Jesus to see what happens when grace shows up at a house in Jericho.

Grace Finds Us Where We Are

Luke 19:2–4 (ESV) … 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.

Zacchaeus seemed to have it all together. He was a chief tax collector who had become very rich from that job. Yet there was something inside Zacchaeus that was drawn to Jesus whom he had heard about. As he was physically short and couldn’t see over the crowd, he decided to climb a tree so he could catch a glimpse of Jesus.

Zaccheus climbed the tree to see Jesus, but the truth is, Jesus was already looking for him. Grace always makes the first move, stirring Zaccheus’ interest in Jesus.

Psalm 139:1–2 (ESV) O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

David writes how God knows everything about us, inside and out, even our thoughts There is nothing we are or do that is hidden from God. And not only does God know us, He is seeking to draw us to Himself.

Luke 15:4 (ESV) What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

Jesus told this parable of a shepherd, representing himself, that searches after every lost sheep until he finds it and bring is back into the fold. Jesus came to earth to seek and save the lost. He was searching for Zacchaeus even though Zaccheus didn’t know that he was the lost sheep. Jesus was searching for him, not to condemn him but to offer grace to him.

Application: Stop Hiding—God Sees and Seeks You

Stop pretending God doesn’t see where you really are. Don’t think you can hide anything from God, He knows even your thoughts. Even though He knows everything about you, the good and the bad, He loves you and cares about you. He wants to offer you His grace and welcome you into His family.

If you feel lost and maybe even afraid of God, believe that His grace and kindness is moving toward you. Don’t try to hide from God, it doesn’t work. Remember that He loves you and is searching to bring you home. If you are already in the fold, look for people around you who feel unseen.

Remind them that God notices, knows them and loves them. No sin is too big for God’s grace and forgiveness to reach. Grace begins by being found by Jesus and embracing Him.

Grace Brings Us Into Relationship

Luke 19:5–6 (ESV) 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.

Zaccheus had no idea that Jesus would see him hidden behind the leaves of the tree. Jesus didn’t overlook the man everyone avoided. He looked up, not down. He didn’t see a thief; He saw a son.

Jesus told Zacchaeus to hurry up and come down out of that tree. Then Jesus invited himself to the home of Zachaeus. When Jesus said, I must stay at your house, He was saying, I want relationship with you. I’m not going to simply wave at you hiding in the tree, I want you part of my family.

What was Zacchaeus’ response? He responded to Jesus’ invitation. He came down and received Jesus joyfully into his home.

Revelation 3:20 (ESV) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Jesus says that He is standing at the door of everyone’s heart and knocking. If a person responds to Jesus by opening the door, Jesus promises to come in. He comes in to establish and build a relationship with you.

When Jesus comes in, it is not just about a relationship with Him.

Ephesians 2:19 (ESV) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

When Jesus comes into a person’s life, it is not just about a relationship with Jesus. Grace brings us into the household or family of God. The family of God on earth is the church, where we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord.

When you have a relationship with Jesus, you will build relationship with other believers in the church, This is not optional.

John 15:12 (ESV) This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

When we accept Jesus’ love and grace into our lives, Jesus commands us that we love one another. He is speaking of loving other believers in the family of God. People who claim to know Jesus but want nothing to do with His church do not really know Him at all.

Application: Open Every Room—Let Jesus Lead Relationships

When you open the door of your heart to Jesus, you are inviting Him into every room of your life. Some people try to keep secret closets of sin away from Jesus. But to be a believer means to make Jesus Lord or your life. This means that you give Him full control of everything.

You allow Him to clean out your secret closets, so He is Lord of all. With Jesus in your life, He will impact every area of your life. Make space for others in your home and heart. Remember being part of God’s family means loving the people He brings into it.

Grace never ends at your doorstep, it creates fellowship.

Grace Transforms the House

Luke 19:8–10 (ESV) And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of 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 a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

When grace came into Zacchaeus home, everything changed. The man who once took from others now gives freely and restores what he has stolen. The one who isolated himself now invites others in. When we receive God’s grace, it always produces fruit, joy, generosity and reconciliation.

Jesus acknowledges that salvation and forgiveness had come into Zaccheaus’ heart and home. He was lost but now was found and saved. Jesus came to seek and save the lost and that is our mission as well.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

When grace comes into someone life, they are born again to a new life. Everything in their life will change to become more and more like Jesus. There is always good fruit in a new believer’s life, just like we see with Zacchaeus. Jesus transforms every aspect of our lives.

Titus 2:11–12 (ESV) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.

These verses tell us what happens when grace brings salvation to a person’s life. God’s grace trains us to renounce our sinful lifestyles. We put off the old way of life and put on the new way of godly living. We put off our sinful habits and learn to be more and more like Jesus.

Acts 2:46–47 (ESV) And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.

We see the same pattern in the book of Acts. The believers who were saved on the day of Pentecost lived in community with others in the church family. They attended larger worship meetings in the temple and met in small groups in homes for fellowship. They were thankful for God’s blessings and had generous hearts to give back to God and to others.

Grace transforms the house.

Application: Let Grace Reshape Habits, Money, and Forgiveness

When grace transforms your heart, it will also transform your habits if you let it. God is at work in your life as a believer to develop new godly habits. This work of God’s grace in your life is a lifelong process. Allow Jesus to rewrite how you handle money, relationships and forgiveness.

Your money is not yours to do as you please, its God’s money and He directs how you should use it. God’s grace will guide you in your relationships. God’s grace will help you forgive those who have hurt you. Be the kind of person who brings grace into every room that you enter.

Salvation that comes home is meant to spread throughout the house.

Conclusion: Grace Moves In—Not Just for the Weekend

Remember the empty chair at the table we talked about at the beginning. If you haven’t opened the door to Jesus, He is waiting for you to open the door. He wants to come into your life with His grace and change everything for the good. Jesus is knocking at your heart, He is inviting Himself into your life.

Zacchaeus came down from that tree at Jesus’ call and grace came home. His story reminds us that Jesus still stops under trees and still calls names. He still walks into ordinary houses like yours with extraordinary love. Grace finds us where we are.

Grace brings us into relationship with God and His family. Grace transforms the entire house, our entire lives. Grace finds us where we are and changes everything it touches. Grace doesn’t visit for the weekend—it moves in to stay.

📘 Continue the Journey

Reflect deeper and apply this week’s message with the Message Study Guide — perfect for personal devotions, family discussion, or your Life Group.

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