ZACCHAEUS, THE CROOK Luke 19:1-10

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Katrina Elliott
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1 1 ZACCHAEUS, THE CROOK Luke 19:1-10 Jesus encountered Zacchaeus on his way through Jericho, a city known for its balsam groves, a prosperous city being an important trade-route from Jerusalem to the East. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy (vv. 1-2). This story illustrates the fact that there is hope for everyone, even the rich, even rich crooks, and that following Jesus is costly. This story is in marked contrast to that of the rich young ruler whose riches kept him from experiencing eternal life (18:18-30). His love of money kept him out of God s kingdom. The story of Zacchaeus is as follows: He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost " (vv. 3-10). Zacchaeus was a tax collector, in fact he was a chief tax collector (19:2). This is a position referred to only here in the Bible, and it probably designated one to be in charge of a district, with other tax collectors under him. The region was prosperous at this time, so it is no wonder that Zacchaeus had grown rich (3:12; Mk 2:14-15).

2 2 HUMILITY (19:3) Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he couldn t see Him because of the crowd (v. 3). He was resourceful, after all, he had not become chief tax collector for nothing, so he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore-fig tree to be able to see Jesus, since Jesus was coming that way. The sycamore-fig tree was easy to climb and often planted by the roadside. It was a sturdy tree from 30 to 40 feet high, with a short trunk and spreading branches, capable of holding a grown man. In fact, Amos, the Old Testament prophet, used to work as a shepherd and took care of sycamore-fig trees (Am 7:14). Zacchaeus did not let his dignity get in the way of seeing Jesus. He climbed up the tree. He was desperate to see this Teacher from Nazareth. The shortness of his stature was amply compensated by his agility and invention (v. 4). Had he been as tall as most of the people in the crowd, he might have been equally unnoticed with the rest. His getting into the tree made him conspicuous. Had he not been so short he may not have done so. Our imperfections may become subservient to the grace of God. As the Passover was taking place, the road was probably crowded with people going to Jerusalem; but the fame of the cure of the blind man was probably the cause of the concourse at this time. JESUS DIVINE MISSION (19:5) When Jesus reached the spot where Zacchaeus was sitting, He said, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today (v. 5). Jesus statement seems to imply divine necessity. Jesus sought Zacchaeus. He saw His visit to Zacchaeus as part of His divine mission. Zacchaeus responded immediately with joy by coming down from the tree and welcoming Jesus into his home. THE DISAPPROVAL OF THE CROWD (19:7) The crowd disapproved. All the people who saw this began to mutter, He has gone to be the guest of a sinner (v. 7). They condemned Zacchaeus out of hand as a sinner and criticized Jesus for being the guest of such a man. To finance their great world empire, the Romans levied heavy taxes on all nations under their control. The Jews opposed these taxes because they supported a secular government and its pagan gods, but they were still forced to pay. Tax collectors were among the most unpopular

3 3 people in Israel. Jews by birth, they chose to work for Rome and were considered traitors. Besides, it was common knowledge that tax collectors were making themselves rich by gouging their fellow Jews. No wonder the people muttered when Jesus went home with the sinner Zacchaeus. It is not unlikely that this person was a Jew by birth (v. 9), but because he had engaged in a business considered infamous, in the eyes of the Jews, he was considered as a mere sinner or heathen (v. 7). But despite the fact that Zacchaeus was both a cheater and a turncoat, Jesus loved him; and in response, the little tax collector was converted. RESTITUTION (19:8) Once at the house, Zacchaeus says to Jesus, Lord, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount (v. 8). A fourfold restitution to any he had defrauded. This is almost the extreme repayment required under the law in case of theft (Ex 22:1; 2 Sa 12:4-6; Pr 6:30-31). SALVATION (19:9-10) Then Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham (v. 9). Jesus assured Zacchaeus, the crook, that he was a true Jew not only of the lineage of Abraham but one who also walks in the footsteps of Abraham s faith. Paul explained to the Christians in Rome: And he [Abraham] is also the father of the circumcision who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised (Ro 4:12). Circumcision was, among other things, the outward sign of the righteousness that God had credited to Abraham for his faith. But Abraham is not only the father of the Jews, those circumcised who believe, he is also the father of the Gentiles, the uncircumcised who believe, because Abraham believed and was justified before the rite of circumcision was instituted. This means that there is only one way of justification the way of faith. Jesus recognized the tax collector as such, though Jewish society excluded him. Then Jesus makes the statement, which has become a key verse in Luke s Gospel: For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost (v. 10).

4 Son of Man is a Messianic title (Da 7:13) used only by Jesus in the four Gospels, by Stephen (Ac 7:56) and in John s vision (Rev 1:13). 4 The phrase to seek and to save is an important summary of Jesus purpose in coming to earth to bring salvation, meaning eternal life (18:18) and the kingdom of God (18:25). In The Parable of the Lost Son, Luke uses similar terminology in referring to the prodigal son. He says of him that he was dead and is alive (15:24), that is, perished and saved (19:10; Mt 10:6; 18:10-14). APPLICATION While salvation is free, following Jesus is not. To become a disciple of Jesus, Zacchaeus had to give up everything. His restitution was proof of his sincerity. His life had been built around money. His goals, his purposes, his very identity as a person were built on the importance to Him of wealth and material success. But suddenly Jesus comes into his life and everything changes. He gave away half of all he had to the poor, and repaid four times over any he had swindled. The core of his personality, the values that had given him direction in life, had suddenly shifted. Shockingly, people became more important than money. Honesty became more important than gain. Zacchaeus become a different person, a new person. This is what discipleship will cost us. What are our values? What is our life built around? What is our identity? To the extent that what is important to us is not important to God, to just that extent discipleship will cost us. We need to give up what is important to us for what is important for Him. For Zacchaeus, his decision meant rejection of the old values on which his life had been based and commitment to the values of Jesus. Zacchaeus expressed those values by his behavior. He gave away the wealth he had once lived for. Intellectual assent or agreement with what the Bible says is not enough. To be a disciple we must step beyond mere agreement to definite action. After all, it is our actions which express our true values. What we do is what we believe. How we spend our time, money and talents tell us a lot more about ourselves than what we accept as intellectually true. Agreement with truth is only the first step in conversion and discipleship. It is commitment that counts!

5 5 We just had a wedding yesterday. What if John just said, I really like Pamela, I think the world of her, there is no one I would rather be with, I would like for her to be my wife some day without ever saying, Will you marry me? No amount of words will ever unite this couple unless they commit to a wedding and a marriage. That is the proof of the pudding. In every society, there are tax collectors. Not tax collectors who collect taxes, but people who are neglected or despised for various reasons. Every society has certain groups of people who are considered untouchable because of their political views, their immoral behavior or their lifestyle. We should not give in to social pressure to avoid these people. Jesus loves them, and we need to reach out to them in compassion and share His Good News.

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I. A TAX COLLECTOR EAGER TO SEE JESUS (Luke 19:1-6)

Lesson Text: Luke 19:1-10 King James Version (KJV) Sunday, March 24, 2019 I. A TAX COLLECTOR EAGER TO SEE JESUS (Luke 19:1-6) 1. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2. And, behold, there was