Luke 19:1-10 ESV He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, be-cause he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 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.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Back in the day we had a “TV” antenna tower in our backyard. It was about 20 feet to the top and had our TV reception antenna on top. One day my wife called me at work and was upset, from the sound or her voice. As I remember it, she said something like, “Do you know what YOUR son just did?” Our two or three-year-old son thought climbing the tower was a good idea till he got to the top and didn’t know how to get down.
So he starts to call for his mommy, who was pregnant at the time. To shorten this story, she climbs to the top of the antenna and placing her hands on the side posts and our son between her arms holding on the cross pieces talk him down to the ground one rung at a time. (this story is much better when she tells it).
I don’t know why this story came to mind, but I suspect it has something to do with the first 10 verses of Luke 19. The Romans expected the conquered people to, keep order and pay their taxes to Rome. In order to achieve these expectation Roman solders were position throughout the land and people, mostly indigenous to the land, employed to collect taxes from the people. It is not hard to understand why people resented the occupation of there land by armies. But they also resented paying tax-es, at least partially to pay for this army to be there. Of course, the taxes were for much more than that and provided a tidy middle and upper middles class of people. Those commissioned by Rome to collect the tax got to keep for there effort anything over the allotted sum for Rome. This often gave way to fraud and over taxing.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was rich and was a “Son of Abraham” a Jew. He was not just disliked but was hated because he was engaged in what was thought to be traitorous business to his own people. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus but was held back by the crowd and his height was such he could not see over them.
The synoptic gospels give not hint of a ministry of Jesus into the Judean area around Jericho since his baptism by John The Baptist a few years before. John the apostle tells of a Judean ministry and of several trips to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover which is how His ministry had been called to have lasted over Three years. This was to be His last visit to Jerusalem as He will be betrayed, captured, tried and crucified in Jerusalem at the behest of the leaders and in answer to the call of the people.
The “chief, rich, tax collector” climbs up into a tree to see the famous man of the people. It is here his shortness of stature makes him conspicuous to the Son of God. As it was close to the Passover Feast the roads would have been crowded with many people. His short stature produced and agility of both mind and body to accomplish his task and allowed the Lord teach this lesson.
The tree he was a type of fig tree not unlike the one tended by Amos before his call to serve God’s purpose. Amos 7:14. It served Zacchaeus purpose to see above the crowd and Jesus’ purpose to see him over the throng of people. Because of his stature and occupation his position in the tree made him very vulnerable to the people around. Jesus stops under him and talks him down and escorts him home. Luke 19:5 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.”
Jesus had felt the wrath of the religious leaders before when eating with another publican, Levi. Luke 5:27f. Was Zacchaeus aware of Levi, we do not know. But he did know full well the line His actions that day would provide the leaders, this man could not have a message for God he eats with publicans and sinners.
Luke 19:8 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 any-thing, I restore it fourfold.” A truly shocking statement from one who lived a life eschewing what his own countrymen thought for the sake of money. He knew he was in the presence of the Lord God and needed to repent for his evil deeds.
Nothing more is written of this man whose stature has challenged him all his life and provided the way to see Jesus the son of God. If he stayed faithful to Jesus he very well could live to see in a few decades the Gospel envelop other outcasts from the Jewish faith. Paul would declare, Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God. and later in the fourth chapter he would declare Abraham, “…the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also.”
Questions:
- What two things did the Romans expect from the land they had conquered?
- What opinion did Jesus express about tax collectors? Matthew 18:17
- What city was Jesus passing through when He saw Zacchaeus?
- What two problems did Zacchaeus have for the trouble to see Jesus?
- What makes the sycamore tree important to the story?
- How did the people react to Jesus’ plans for Zacchaeus?
- Explain the justification Jesus offered for keeping company with Zacchaeus.
- Does this story encourage faithful Christians to avoid certain occupations today?
- Why do Christians need to balance association with sinners and the expectations that they be separate from the world? What are the dangers of the extremes?
