Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through, and there was a man by the name of Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector and was wealthy, Luke 19:1-2.
Most people know that a tax collector wasn’t highly esteemed in Biblical times; in fact, most were hated because they were considered either a traitor or a thief. This is because Israel was occupied by Rome, and all the taxes collected went to Rome. The Romans demanded a certain amount of tax, but the tax collector could add more to bump up his wages, Luke 3:13.
The tax collectors were called ‘publicans’, which is the equivalent of what we would call the Inland Revenue. Their job was to collect not only Roman taxes but the temple tax, which was paid yearly, about a month before Passover, in order to support those who worked with the religious services of the temple, Exodus 30:13-14.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector for the Romans, but Luke also tells us that he was wealthy, but not how he came by his wealth. Because the name Zacchaeus means ‘pure’, we would assume that he became wealthy through collecting taxes, which was his job.
We can also assume that he was a righteous man, Luke 19:9, and this is one of these people who remained faithful to God despite his wealth, Luke 18:24-27 / 1 Timothy 6:6-12. It’s all too easy to condemn someone because of their wealth, and it’s all too easy to tell them they must give up everything they own and give it to the poor, Matthew 10:17-27.
I guess we could say that Zacchaeus was the camel passing through the eye of the needle, and the rich man entering the kingdom of God, Luke 18:25 / Matthew 19:24 / Mark 10:25 . There’s nothing wrong with being wealthy; it all depends on whether we rely on our wealth more than we do on God and how we use our wealth.
It’s clear that Zacchaeus was small in size because he couldn’t see over the crowd, Luke 19:3, but something else to keep in mind here, because he was a tax collector, the Pharisees commanded that they would be a part of God’s people when the Messiah came. Despite him being rich and in a high position in the Roman rule, he still had to climb up a tree to get a look at Jesus.
The tree in question, Luke 19:4, was the sycamore-fig tree, the fig-mulberry, having fig-like fruit and leaves like the mulberry. These trees were strong, with long branches and were often climbed, especially by young children. The very fact that he took the time to climb the tree tells us a lot about his determination just to see Jesus in the flesh.
Even though Jesus had never met Zacchaeus before, He certainly knew His name, Luke 19:5 / Luke 6:8 / Luke 9:47 / Matthew 9:4 / Matthew 12:25 / Matthew 22:18 / Matthew 24:25 / Mark 2:8 / Mark 5:30. Isn’t it wonderful that He knows us personally, Luke 12:7.
He not only knew who Zacchaeus was, but He also knew the condition of Zacchaeus’ heart. Jesus wanted to stay at his house this day, Luke 19:5. This is the only occasion where Jesus invites Himself to stay at someone’s house.
Notice that he ‘welcomed him gladly’, Luke 19:6, which tells us that God will always welcome anyone who welcomes Him into their lives. But, as always, there are those in the background who aren’t happy with Jesus and His decisions to associate with ‘sinners’.
The crowd seemed to have made up their minds that Zacchaeus was a traitor to the Jews and therefore a sinner, Luke 19:7, because he was a tax collector, regardless of whether he was an honest tax collector or not, 1 Samuel 16:7.
In other words, Zacchaeus was guilty, in their minds at least, of being a sinner because he worked for sinners, the Romans. He was guilty by association. Jesus was going to deal with this mentally later in Luke 19:11-27.
I don’t believe that Zacchaeus is saying from this point on he’s going to do all these things, Luke 19:8. I believe he’s saying that he’s going to continue to do what he’s been doing for years, he will continually give to the poor, and he will continue to have compassion on the poor, Psalm 41:1.
Surely this gives us a glimpse into his heart and his honesty, he wants to continue to do what’s right, he’s even willing to pay back anyone ‘if’ he has cheated anybody out of anything, Luke 19:8.
Notice the word ‘if’, implying he may not have cheated anyone deliberately. Other tax collectors may have been charging a lot of extra charges over and above what was actually required by the Romans, but Zacchaeus seems to be charging just enough to earn a decent living.
This idea of paying back ‘four times the amount’, Luke 19:8, went way beyond what the Old Testament law required, Exodus 22 / Numbers 5:6-7 / Leviticus 6:1-6, but was often what was required by Roman law in some cases.
Zacchaeus was obviously very careful when it came to dealing with people’s money, and if he overcharged people by mistake, he would go back and give them not just the difference but four times the amount.
Again, this shows us the integrity of the man; he was honest and also strove to do what was right, even if that did mean he had to humble himself when he realised he had made a mistake. How many of us are quick to give the shopkeeper the money back when they give us too much change?
Jesus tells him that salvation has come to his house, Luke 19:9.
Ryle, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Salvation comes to a house when the head and master of it is saved.’
Zacchaeus was a son of Abraham by faith, Luke 19:9 / Romans 2:28-29 / Galatians 3:7 / Galatians 3:26-29. The Jews wouldn’t accept him as a son of Abraham because he was a tax collector. Notice his faith had legs attached, he climbed the tree, he came down when Jesus asked him to, He was willing to do what was right, He took Jesus to his house.
In other words, his faith in Jesus moved him to respond to Jesus, which resulted in his salvation, James 2:14-26. The Jews believed that salvation comes to a house when the head and master of it are saved. Here we read about Christ’s mission whilst He was on earth, ‘He came to seek and to save the lost’, Luke 19:10.
It’s a truth that many people ignore, many people won’t admit they are lost, lost in sin. Isn’t it interesting that despite Zacchaeus being a righteous man, Jesus still classed him as ‘lost’?
The word ‘lost’ here simply means ‘spiritual destitution and alienation from God’. Zacchaeus was lost, and he didn’t even know it. Salvation came to him because Jesus brought it to him and accepted Him.
Zacchaeus proved that he was the real deal. The Pharisees and the Jews as a whole tried to justify themselves by their works, but Zacchaeus was different and had a different attitude towards his good works; his faith and repentance clearly show us that he was different from those around him.
And as a result, he is saved from his sins, that is, from the guilt of his sins, from the power of his sins, and now all the benefits of salvation are his. We’re not told if he ever went on in later years to become a Christian; we can only hope that he did. His faith in Christ was rewarded then, but a greater reward awaited him if he obeyed Christ’s later commands, Matthew 28:18-20 / Mark 16:16.
Because Christ’s mission was to ‘save’, this tells us that we couldn’t save ourselves; Christ had to come and do something for us that we couldn’t do ourselves. Some people are just happy to read about Jesus, whilst others are more than happy to obey Him too. The question is, what heights will we climb, not only to see Jesus but to allow Him to save us?