He entered Jericho
and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. – Luke
19:1-2a (ESV)
The first ten verses
of the nineteenth chapter of Luke tell the story of Zacchaeus. As we go
through this story of Zacchaeus, attempting to understand the truths conveyed
herein, we must bear in mind to whom this Gospel of Luke has been
written. It has been written to a Roman government official, a believer,
presumably a Gentile, named Theophilus. That is important as it relates
to this story.
It is said of
Zacchaeus that “He was a chief tax collector and was rich” (19:2b). In
this role, he would have been quite hated by a sizable majority of the people
of Israel with whom he came into contact, as he worked to collect taxes on
behalf of the oppressive Roman government.
Thus, he served to perpetuate and enforce the rule that the people
wished to throw off and bring to an end. For what it’s worth, he would
also have been known as a publican.
The people of Jericho
gathered to see Jesus, the one that they had heard about, and who some had come
to believe might very well be the promised Messiah. Though there were many views of the Messiah,
one that was quite prevalent was one in which the Messiah was the individual
that had been purposely sent by their Creator God to overthrow those who
presumed to rule over God’s chosen people. Not surprisingly, with the
stir that the presence of Jesus created wherever He went, Zacchaeus wanted to
see this Jesus as well.
It is reasonable to
presume that he also would have been fully aware of what was implied by messianic
claims, especially as it related to his own job and his livelihood. Normally,
though he would have been the object of the scorn of the members of the family
of Israel, being the chief tax collector would have afforded him a place of
honor (though begrudging) when it came to significant happenings and public
events, but in this case the people ignored him, which is understandable
because of what was implied by all this talk of Messiah. Of course, as is
generally noted when people talk of Zacchaeus, it did not help that “he was of
small stature” (19:3b).
We all know how the
story goes. Zacchaeus, this chief tax collector for Jericho, “ran on
ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He (Jesus) was about
to pass that way” (19:4). Would that not have been an odd sight for the
people of Jericho? Their hated chief tax collector, was climbing a tree
so that he could get a glimpse of the Messiah, the One that was about to put
him out of a job. Not only that, but he
ran. Both of these activities were
considered to be dishonorable, and a respectable man would not engage in them.
Putting aside the
potential shame of climbing a tree (hints of Jesus’ own ignoring of shame to
come when He would effectively “run ahead and climb a tree”?) Zacchaeus had
elevated himself so that not only was he going to be able to see Jesus, but also
so that Jesus could see him. It is likely that the people thought that
Jesus, upon seeing Zacchaeus in the tree, would have some harsh words for
him. However, something quite surprising happens when Jesus encounters
part of Rome’s oppressive cabal. “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.’ So he hurried and came down and received Him joyfully”
(19:5-6).
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