Zacchaeus

Luke 19 tells us of an interesting encounter as Jesus makes his way through Jericho to the capital.  Luke 19:1-9 tells the story: 

“Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

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.”

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

The name Zacchaeus means “pure”; he was a citizen of the nation of Israel, and perhaps he had heard how kind Jesus had been to publicans.  Jericho was the point of entry for caravan routes and highways from the north and east into a final perilous stretch of mountain travel between Jericho and Jerusalem.  The road between Jericho and Jerusalem was well known for dangerous travel; however, many roads led into Jericho as traders and pilgrims made their way to the capital.  This city would have been an important location for the tax bureau, and Zacchaeus obviously profited from the location.  

The scriptures tell us of his wealth; he is rich.  RC Foster, in his Studies in the Life of Christ notes that “The chief motive is to give a clear portrait of the man and to show the difficulties he had to overcome in accepting Christ.  Luke had just offered extended description of Jesus’ encounter with another rich man and of a sermon He preached on the peril of riches.  The rich young ruler and Zacchaeus are thrown into immediate contrast, and the possibility of saving even a very rich man is illustrated.”

You think about it – Jesus ignored many who were seeking to see Him out of curiosity or evil motive or even just selfishness, like Herod Antipas for instance.  And so, it seems here that Jesus sees the heart of Zacchaeus, and He stops.  It is hard to imagine the excitement and anticipation as Jesus makes his way through Jericho to Jerusalem; it was not a secret that the leaders wanted to kill Him.  His apparent signs had been seen by all; He has just made the blind man see.  Jesus had shared meals with publicans and others like them, and He had been gracious to them in a way that others in this nation were not.  From the text, we know that Zacchaeus had not been one who had SEEN Jesus before, and he hoped to get a glimpse of Him as He made His way along this road.  The crowds would have been a challenge for even a tall person at this point – but for an exceedingly short person, it was near impossible to see this man among the throngs of people.  

But, his desire to see Jesus outweighed his obstacles – it was of great importance that he work to see this one who he had heard about.  He climbs up with the heart of a child – not to gain some special favor and not to be seen of men, but so that he had a chance, just a small chance, to see this Jesus of whom he had heard.  Though it seems that the crowd was not interested in this little man in the branches of this tree, it still must be noted that Zacchaeus’s efforts could have made him the source of ridicule and teasing – he was not hiding in this tree.  

Jesus stops – as He did when the woman with the issue of blood had touched His garment, who was also unnoticeable. Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name – this man who was a concern or interest to no one – is now of great interest to the One everyone was trying to see.  A special interest is taken as Jesus says, “Zacchaeus, come down, I need to stay at your house.  Hurry up and get down, I must stay at your house today.”

Luke tells us that Zacchaeus obeys immediately.  And that he receives Jesus joyously!  You can imagine how excited he must have been.  He had only hoped to see this Prophet from afar- but Jesus was now bestowing a great honor.  And, it would have been enough for him just to know privately that Jesus would spend time with him, but now Jesus made it known to this large group of people that He had chosen to have Zacchaeus host him for the day!

The Greek text indicates that Jesus stays for a while, for rest.  We don’t know how long Jesus visited, He could have spent the night there with Zacchaeus for a much needed rest before that next strenuous journey up to Jerusalem.  What we do understand from the text is that the crowd does not approve and once again accuses Jesus of associating with sinners.  My guess is that Zacchaeus didn’t care what others outside thought as he hosted our Lord. 

We can’t be sure of what Jesus taught in the home of Zacchaeus – but He did teach.  It is evident from the results that Zacchaeus had the privilege to hear words that changed him forever.  Could it be that He recounted parables – of the unjust servant – of those who lay up treasures on earth.  Could He have talked about those who would be blessed – the pure in heart, the meek, those that hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Could He have told him the story of the rich man who passed Lazarus each day?  Surely, Jesus spoke of heaven and the new kingdom and the new opportunities for all. 

The statement of Zacchaeus that is recorded in the text indicates that something he had heard moved him to a conclusion and a resolution.  He vows to act, to obey, and to change.  It is the words of Jesus that do the same for us; it is reasonable, logical, and essential for us as we process with pure hearts the gospel message.  Zacchaeus does not hide his confession of faith and his promise to change – he states for all to hear that he will be transformed, a new person.  He will change his habits, reevaluate his measure of right, and reassess his prior actions.  Zacchaeus is not asked to sell everything – nor does he promise to do so.  Instead, he is asked to act like one who belongs to his new Master.  It seems that there is confidence that this new man would manage himself and all he had with an understanding of its value.  He would replace his prior earthly treasures with the treasures of this new kingdom. Salvation then follows, for this man who humbled himself, went to great lengths to experience Jesus, and listened with a pure heart to this One who he did not feel worthy to entertain.  I sure would like to know him.