ZACCHAEUS THE PUBLICAN

Luke 19:1-10 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who He was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him: for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Immediately after giving sight to the blind beggar named Bartimaeus, and while still near the city of Jericho, Jesus meets another well known biblical character on the other end of the social spectrum - a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. Although most publicans were thought to be Gentiles, Zacchaeus was surely of Jewish ancestry, because his name was common among the Israelites. He was a rich Jew that held a governmental position of authority. He was "the chief" over other publicans who were responsible for collecting taxes, imposed by the Roman government, from all Jewish citizens. For two reasons publicans were held in very low esteem by the Jewish people, and even placed in the class of sinners (See Matt. 9:10-11; Mark 2:15). First of all, they were employed by, and directly responsible to, the Roman rulers. Secondly, most of them used extremely oppressive tactics of levying and collecting excessive amounts of taxes and converting the overage to their own personal use.

Having heard of Jesus' fame and knowing He was to pass that way, Zacchaeus desired to see Him. (B)ecause he was little of stature he was unable to see over the multitude of people that had gathered along the roadside by the way Jesus was traveling. In order to secure a better vantage to witness Jesus over the crowds, Zacchaeus climbed up into a sycamore (also spelled sycamine) tree to see Him as He passed by. Historians tell us that this tree bore fruit similar to a fig, grew to a height of 40 to 50 feet, and had a large trunk with branches forking out from it near the ground. In other words, it was a tree that was probably easy to climb and was very suitable for Zacchaeus to be able to see Jesus passing by. Not only was he able to see Jesus, but also when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and saw him. Although there is no record of Jesus ever seeing or hearing of him, yet Jesus, with His omnipotent wisdom, called to him by name and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. This chief publican thought the only thing possible for him was to be able to see Jesus as He passed by, and that from the vantage point of a sycamore tree. Yet when Jesus noticed the man's desire to see Him, He rewarded him even further by requesting that He be able to abide, that is, to lodge in his home for the night. With this wondrous request, Zacchaeus hastily came down, and received Him joyfully.

What a great honor to have Jesus, the promised Savior, the Son of God, request to enter this home. May we, with the same joy, allow Jesus to enter our hearts, abide with us, guide us with spiritual wisdom, and lead us to the heavenly home prepared for the righteous children of God. The multitude that witnessed this incident immediately murmured accusing Jesus of being the guest of a sinner. This may have been the conduct of Zacchaeus in the past, but the indication is that since Jesus came into his life, he had a change of heart. Realizing this unanimous opinion of the multitude, Zacchaeus stood up for his repentant character and assured Jesus that he had changed and was now living an exemplary life of righteousness toward God and his fellow Israelites. He said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Because of his repentant heart, Zacchaeus was saved that very day by the Lord Jesus Christ. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Indeed, salvation requires repentance!