Luke 19:1-10

 ¹ 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.”

Commentary

Vs. 1-3 ¹ 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.

At this time Jesus also entered and passed through Jericho, the ancient city which dates back to the days of Joshua. Now as Jesus did so there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector; thus, he was a man well acquainted with the Romans, in overseeing their tax collecting in that region. Now Zacchaeus was rich, which would have endeared him even less to the Jews whom he collected taxes from, for a portion of those proceeds were to be kept for himself as payment for the work he did for Rome. And so, it was that when Zacchaeus heard that Jesus coming, he readily sought to see who He was, however because he was of a short statute, and the crowds were gathering all around Jesus, he could not see Him over them. Indeed, in being a tax collector, and a chief one at that, no one was going to make room for him to get to the front of the throng so he could see Jesus. Nonetheless Zacchaeus desire to see Jesus was strong, and so instead of giving up, as we will see he rand a head of Jesus and climbed a tree along the pathway where Jesus was going to be walking so that he could see Him when He arrived there.

Vs. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.

And so not being discouraged by not being able to see Jesus through the crowds, Zacchaeus runs ahead of where Jesus is walking, and finding a sycamore tree he climbs up into it, in the hope of seeing Jesus from there. All which reveals signs of a true hungering faith.

Vs. 5-6 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.

Now when Jesus came to the place where Zacchaeus was, He looked and saw him, and seeing him, Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” One can only imagine the great joy and jubilation that Zacchaeus felt when the Lord not only saw him up in the tree and acknowledged him, but He also told him to come down for He was wanting to stay at his house! And so, in great haste Zacchaeus scrambles down the tree and receives Jesus joyfully. Again, a true sign of genuine faith.

Vs. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

Now no matter how wonderful and beautiful this all is to us, the crowds had other ideas, for they all “knew” Zacchaeus, that is they knew of him through all the slander and evil spoken about him, which they all believed and readily received. And so, when Jesus received Zacchaeus they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” Now Jesus was never concerned with (nor will He ever be concerned about) what people think about His being with this person or that. For He knows the person, their heart and their life, and all the circumstances behind it. And so, His measure of someone will never be based upon what others have wrongly or unjustly spoken, or thought about someone. Just ask Jobs “friends.”

Vs. 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.”

Hearing then the crowds outcry against him for Jesus receiving him, Zacchaeus most incredible high, the highlight of his life, is now turned into a desperate and yet very revealing self defense of his own true character, and so Zacchaeus now says, “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.” Consider it for a moment that Zacchaeus though condemned by the crowds as a sinner, (as an unjust man working for Rome), was in fact a very just man. For though he was rich, he his riches did not come to him by exploiting the poor, or taking advantage of anyone for that matter. For he plainly says to the Lord that he gives half of his goods to the poor…, which reveals not only an incredibly generous spirit, but also when someone does something like that regularly, where there is neither guarantee of reward, or acknowledge for doing so, it reveals that he not only fears God, but he also (though he is rich) truly cares about the well being of others. Equally then Zacchaeus also says that if he takes anything from anyone by false accusation, that is in his life or his duties as a chief tax collector, then he restores fourfold. And yet here he is condemned by the crowds who all think they “know” him (and yet have never spent a minute with him to get to know him) him as a sinner!

Vs. 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.”

Now when Zacchaeus made his defense and declaration to the Lord if there was anything false, or untrue, or misleading in it, Jesus would’ve have immediately said so. But instead Jesus says to Zacchaeus and all the multitude there of 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.”

Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ not only declares that salvation has come to Zacchaeus house, (which would’ve just stunned the crowds) but also Jesus bestows on him (or restores to him) the dignity of being called a son of Abraham, the father of the Jews. For Zacchaeus actions prove that he was a son of Abraham, who was being judged and treated very unfairly and unjustly by his brethren. And so, though Zacchaeus was once lost, now he is found, found by the Lord Jesus Christ to be a just man, who wanted more than anything just to see Jesus (much less be able to actually receive Him!), and so Jesus who knows the heart knew that Zacchaeus’ heart was right towards God. Therefore, of all the people there, Jesus chose to come and stay at Zacchaeus house, the person everyone there had already rejected and condemned. For the Lord found him a just man, and so He brought salvation to his house. And how many others are there like Zacchaeus, who are right now being treated in the same unjust manner, God knows, and because He knows He actively seeks out and finds and restores them all to Himself. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” For the righteousness aren’t rejected by God, but they are seated on thrones as princes with His people forever (Job 36:7; Psalm 34:15).

Scripture Quotations

New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson