Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9)

As we saw in a previous study, Jesus had restored the sight of Bartimaeus the blind beggar just before he entered new Jericho, the city built by Herod the Great beside the ancient city with that name. No doubt, the travellers accompanying Jesus were amazed at what they had seen him do for Bartimaeus. Of course, a real matter of interest for us in reading about the incident would be whether there was an anticipation in the crowd concerning what Jesus would do next.

One thing that can be said of Jesus is that his next action was not predictable, and that remains true today. For example, when he calmed the sea, who would have thought that his next action would be to heal a demoniac? Luke gives a hint that something will happen when he says that Jesus was passing through the city. Otherwise he would have merely said that Jesus had left the city after helping Bartimaeus.

Who was Zacchaeus?

There is a statement in the Old Testament where God says he will bring one person from a city and two from a family and bring them to Zion (Jer. 3:14). That statement says that God at times is satisfied when one person in a city becomes a believer. Will there be one person in new Jericho? Bartimaeus was probably already a believer when Jesus helped him. Luke is going to tell us about another individual, and with regard to him Luke wants readers to take special notice of what happened when he uses the word ‘behold’.

Zacchaeus was a man who had done well in life and was now perhaps in charge of the tax collectors in Jericho, a prominent place for collecting taxes as it was on a main road. He had climbed the ladder very successfully and had provided longterm security for himself. In reality, he was almost the exact opposite of Bartimaeus who had nothing for himself and was dependent on others. Zacchaeus did not need anyone’s help. Yet he was interested in what was going on, and news of the fame of Jesus had already reached him.

The curiosity (vv. 3-4)

The arrival of Jesus in the city gave Zacchaeus an opportunity of seeing Jesus. But there were two problems facing him – the actions of others and his own personal limitations. The large crowd round Jesus made it impossible for him to be seen by a man of small height like Zacchaeus. We can note in passing that, usually, conversions are hindered by the presence of others and the individual’s own limitations.

Nevertheless Zacchaeus did not assume that he could do nothing about the situation he faced. Clearly he was good at running and climbing. These abilities could indicate that he was a young man rather than an older person. A sycamore tree could be quite tall; some can grow to a hundred feet in height and have sufficient foliage in which a person could hide, although we have no idea about the height of the one Zacchaeus climbed. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but it looks as if he did not want Jesus to see him, nor did he want the residents of Jericho to see what he was doing.

Sometimes, people begin researching about Jesus in this way, imagining that he cannot see them, and making sure that no-one knows what they are doing. Will such a strategy work? What will it lead to? Many a person has found the Saviour in this way, even although it was only curiosity at the start.

The challenge (vv. 5-6)

We can see that the strategy of Zacchaeus did not succeed. Without being told by anyone that Zacchaeus was up the tree, Jesus stopped beside it. Obviously, Zacchaeus now had a great view of Jesus. What he did not realise was that Jesus also had a great view of him, that Jesus could see into his heart.

Then Zacchaeus saw that Jesus was about to speak. Perhaps he wondered what Jesus would say. After all, he had heard that Jesus was a great teacher. Imagine the shock he would have when he heard the first word from Jesus’ lips – Jesus called him by his name. This was a clear indication that Jesus knew about him.

Yet it was not merely that Jesus repeated his name. It was also how he said it. Zacchaeus knew about how to speak with authority as a tax-collector when he informed people of the amount they had to pay. His words on those occasions would not be suggestions, but demands. And neither was it a suggestion that he heard from Jesus when he spoke under the tree.

What did Jesus say to him? Basically three things. Come down from your hiding place, show me the way to your house, and we will spend the day together. Do you think Luke is depicting the Christian life in his information about what Jesus desired? We could say that Jesus wanted to walk with Zacchaeus publicly through the town as well as spend time with Zacchaeus privately in his house. And is that not a description of the Christian life?

I suppose we could say that there is another description of the Christian life here as well. We can see it when we realise that the way to discover the place of joy is by coming down from our self-made securities and opening up everything we have to Jesus. Coming down the tree was how Zacchaeus would show that he acknowledged the authority of Jesus. And we cannot have joy from Jesus if we do not acknowledge his right to tell us what to do. The only way of acknowledging him is by glad obedience to his revealed will.

The criticism (v. 7)

Not surprisingly, the action of Jesus was criticised. It is important to note that Zacchaeus’ first action as a follower of Jesus was to experience criticism of the Saviour. Is that not what usually happens when a person gets converted? People might say that the new believer is a fool, or they may not. But they will often comment on what is so significant about Jesus, not because they imagine he is, but because they assume that he is not. Such comments can come in many different ways. But they all question his authenticity as the Saviour.

Yet sometimes the criticisms can reveal wonderful truths about Jesus. Everyone in Jericho would have regarded Zacchaeus as a sinner because he worked for the Roman occupiers and probably charged too much when demanding payment of taxes. They disapproved of Jesus going to the house of a sinner. They may not have known that Jesus frequently did this, as we know about them from events recorded in the Gospel accounts.

Yet in reality, wherever Jesus went throughout his life, the only houses he had ever been in were inhabited by sinners. When he went to Simon Peter’s house, he went to the house of a sinner. When he went to Jairus’ house, he went to the house of a sinner. When he went to the home of Mary and Martha, he went to a house where sinners lived. When he went to the house in Emmaus after his resurrection, he went to the house of two sinners. The fact is that Jesus liked going to the houses of sinners even when the occupants were despised tax collectors, as was shown previously when he went to the home of Matthew.

The confession (v. 8)

It is not clear where Zacchaeus and Jesus were when Zacchaeus made his financial statement. Probably, they were inside his home. His words indicate that his life had changed, and he is willing to show his repentance by his actions. He begins his new way of living by telling the Lord what he would do. Perhaps his words are a response to what Jesus had said to him about discipleship, although we cannot discover if that was the case.

The obvious detail of his words is that divine grace had opened his heart, not only to Jesus, but also to others. He mentions two groups of people that he intended to help – the poor and any he had defrauded in his work. Of course, we have to bear in mind that Zacchaeus was a wealthy man, and he may have had so many resources that he would not miss half of what he had. Yet he is making a vow to the Lord here, a vow he would need to keep. Nevertheless, his experience of grace had made him a generous man, like the Saviour who gave his all for Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus was also determined to make restitution for any wrong financial transactions he had engaged in. What he promised to give was much more than the Old Testament law required, which was a fifth of the value. In order to get the point, we can think of it in this way. If he owed a man £1, the law said give the man £1.20. Zacchaeus said, ‘If I owe a man £1, I will give him £4.’ Or if it was £100, the law said to give £120, but Zacchaeus promised to give £400. Sometimes, repentance is costly even in financial terms. But could he live in Jericho as a follower of Jesus while knowing he had not sorted out the effects of his previous personal sins?

It is interesting that the name Zacchaeus means pure or innocent. Perhaps in the past, many could point the figure at him and find fault with his behaviour, of not living up to his name. But now he is determined as a follower of Jesus to live up to his name.

The comfort (vv. 9-10)

We can imagine the delight that there would be in the heart of Jesus as he heard the words of Zacchaeus. He gives great words of assurance to the changed tax collector. His words indicate that divine blessing not only came to Zacchaeus but also to his household. That kind of experience was common in the New Testament, as can be seen in the Book of Acts where spiritual blessing followed a profession of faith in Jesus by one of the household. Although he was a Jew and descended from Abraham, Zacchaeus had become a real son of Abraham when he became a follower of the One who had been promised to Abraham by God as the coming deliverer.

Jesus also provides a summary of his mission in the well-known words of verse 10: ‘For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’ There is added strength to his statement when we recall when he said it. He was on the way to Jerusalem for the last time and he knew that seeking for Zacchaeus did not merely mean coming to Jericho and speaking to him, but also involved him having to go to the cross and there to pay the penalty for the sins of his people, including the sins of Zacchaeus.

We should observe the royal title that Jesus gives to himself – indeed, the title ‘Son of Man’ is the one that Jesus used most frequently for describing himself and it is first found in the Book of Daniel where it is used of the One who receives universal authority from the Ancient of Days. It does not really refer to his humanity in distinction from his deity, but points to his self-awareness of the glory he was yet to inherit at his ascension.

This statement by Jesus has definiteness in each other part of it in addition to his own self-description as Son of Man. His words also describe the definite state of those who are outside the kingdom of God. They are lost and unable to deliver themselves. The word ‘lost’ could describe lost to whom, lost where and lost how. They are lost because of sin, they are lost in that they are alienated from God, and they are lost because they exist in an environment of spiritual darkness. When a person is lost, what can they do?

Jesus is also definite about how salvation comes to sinners. It involves him seeking and saving them. As far as Zacchaeus was concerned, the seeking came first timewise because Jesus found him in Jericho before paying the penalty for his sins on the cross. With regard to us, the seeking comes after the saving. His people were saved when he paid the penalty, but they don’t experience the benefits until they embrace him by faith. But we are reminded by Jesus here that he did not come merely to make salvation possible; rather, he came to achieve it, which he did when he said on the cross that he had finished the work. If someone asks us as believers when we were saved, it is the same answer for each one. All believers were saved when Jesus suffered in their place, although each of them experiences it when they trust in him at conversion.

The challenge that comes to us is whether we have imitated Zacchaeus in his experience. Have we discovered that personal knowledge of Jesus as the Saviour is of much more value than even the best that this world can provide? Zacchaeus had known success, but now he had salvation.