And he entered and passed through Jericho.
Luke has been tracing one long journey to Jerusalem, and this short line marks the last stage before it. Two questions sit inside it. Why does Luke pause over this city? And why did no one in it open a door to Jesus?
Luke marks the road to Jerusalem more closely than Matthew or Mark. One writer gathers the milestones and finds a purpose in the slow pace.
In Luke's Gospel His slow approach to the city for this purpose is traced more clearly than in either Matthew or Mark. See Luke 9:51; Luke 13:22, 33; Luke 17:11; Luke 18:31; Luke 19:1, 11, 28. He seems to linger from stage to stage. He is not willing to hurry the doom of the nation, because what was to happen to Him there would fill up their sin and leave them for judgment. He was waiting to be gracious. It is the same now in this age: God's patience in not sending Jesus is salvation, because He is not willing that any should perish.
Matthew and Mark place the healing of blind Bartimaeus as Jesus left Jericho. Luke 18:35 puts a blind man's healing as He drew near. One writer finds the answer in the wording.
Luke 18:35 says no more than "He was near" (not "come near"), so it agrees with Matthew and Mark. They set the scene after the Lord left Jericho. Luke 19:1 says that Jesus passed through Jericho, and verse 2 lets the mind go back to what happened inside the city, giving us the story of Zacchaeus.
Jesus was moving through the town, not settling in it. One writer stays with that detail and asks what this rich city did with its chance.
The Lord "entered Jericho and was passing through," as Luke actually wrote it. Who would receive Him? Who would show Him ordinary hospitality? No house seemed open to Him. No Pharisee, if there were any there, asked for His company. In Galilee He had been invited more than once, and He had accepted the hospitality offered. In fact, we never read that the Lord turned down an invitation... At Jericho, rich as the city was, no one asked for His company, though anyone was free to invite Him. He had entered Jericho and was passing through it, and the people must have known. They knew His route too. Where then would He stay? The Lord knew, and made it plain, though His intended host, Zacchaeus, did not yet know it.
Jericho carries a long history in Scripture. One writer traces it from Joshua's day to the prophet's.
This was the city that first stood in the way of Israel entering the promised land. It fell by the mighty power of God when His people submitted to His word through Joshua. This was the city that brought the foretold curse on the man who rebuilt it, and on his sons. This was the city whose waters the prophet healed, and whose land he freed from barrenness by grace. That is the scene of a remarkable display of kind power.
Another writer sees the city itself as a picture of the world He was about to leave.
There was still another man to be rescued from Jericho, the city of the curse (Joshua 6:26). In faithful grace the Lord passed through that city, a Saviour available to all, yet only a few responded to Him. Jericho is a picture of the attractive world that He was about to leave by way of death.
The story of Zacchaeus appears in no other Gospel. One writer explains both why Luke keeps it and why he sets it just here.
The account of Zacchaeus is one of those found only in Luke, and we can easily see how well it serves the Spirit's moral aim in this Gospel. Where Luke places it is explained on the same principle. I take it that these events happened while the Lord was passing through Jericho, while the blind man Bartimaeus did not receive his sight until the Lord was on His way out. But it seemed good to the Holy Spirit here, as often elsewhere, to set the story of Zacchaeus next to the parable that follows, so that the two together show the general character of His first coming and of His second.
- Journey. Luke marks the road to Jerusalem stage by stage, and this verse is one of the milestones. The Lord lingers instead of hurrying the nation toward judgment.
- Passing. He "was passing through" and did not stop. That wording explains why one account tells of the blind man as Jesus drew near and the others as He left.
- Silence. A rich city knew He was there and knew His route, yet no household invited Him in.
- Curse. Jericho lay under a curse, yet a prophet's grace healed its waters — a fitting place for a Saviour passing through a world He was about to leave by death.
- Purpose. Luke alone keeps this scene. He sets it beside the parable that follows, so the two together show His first coming and His second.
And behold, [there was] a man by name called Zacchaeus, and he was chief tax-gatherer, and he was rich.
Luke names one man in Jericho and gives three facts about him: his name, his job, and his money. To the people around him, each fact was a reason to write him off.
The name is Jewish, and it belongs to a family line found elsewhere in Scripture.
Luke 19:2 — "Zacchaeus." His is a Hebrew name: see "Zacchai" in Ezra 2:9; Neh. 7:14.
The meaning of the name clashes with his trade. One writer links it to the way Zacchaeus later answers the crowd.
The name means "pure" or "clean," and his words to the Lord show him to be just that. We should certainly take those words not as a promise of what he meant to do, but as his answer to the muttered charge against him — a charge that touched Christ too — that He had gone to stay with a man who was a sinner.
"Chief tax collector" was a real job in a system that invited abuse.
These were the men who bought the right to collect the taxes Rome charged, paying a fixed sum for each district. They then sold smaller areas on to others, or hired them to collect the money. The whole system was bad, and collectors could abuse it by demanding more than they should. John the Baptist's advice to the tax collectors was: "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." Luke 3:12-13. Zacchaeus seems to have been a fair and generous man. He speaks of paying back money taken 'by false accusation'; as 'the chief among the tax collectors,' he put right whatever was under his control.
Beyond the money, there was the politics. This Jew collected money for Rome, the foreign power ruling the land.
This story is found only in this Gospel. It is a striking picture of the grace that receives a man, no matter how low, and does so in the face of Jewish prejudice. A tax collector — a rich chief of the tax collectors — was rightly hated by people who saw him as the very face of foreign domination. Everything was wrong through sin, and Israel was not humbled. Still, it was a sad position for an Israelite, however honest and careful Zacchaeus might be in it.
Zacchaeus later defends his conduct to the Lord. One writer insists that this was a report, not a resolution.
He had in fact been a conscientious man. That was his character. His words are no promise of what he is going to do; he states something that was true of him at that very moment. He was what people call a just and good man — yet a chief tax collector, and a rich one. Those are hard things to put together.
His money is not a stray detail. One writer ties it to the question the disciples had just asked: "Who then can be saved?"
As soon as the disciples ask, "Who then can be saved?" the Lord saves Bartimaeus, as we find in Luke. Then He saves Zacchaeus the rich man, who shows real eagerness — running ahead and climbing the tree. So there were difficulties, but salvation came that day to his house. If salvation comes, the devil will raise difficulties. With Zacchaeus the great point is "This day." Though he was chief of the tax collectors, he had made a habit of giving to the poor and paying back four times over if he had wronged anyone without knowing it. Excellent as all this was, it did not bring him salvation.
Jericho was a rich city. Yet no one there offered Jesus a bed for the night.
The Lord "entered, and was passing through Jericho" — that is what Luke actually wrote. Who would receive Him? Who would show Him ordinary hospitality? No house seemed open to Him. No Pharisee, if there were any there, asked for His company... At Jericho, rich as the city was, no one asked for His company, though anyone there had the chance to invite Him.
The two facts Luke records are the two that made Zacchaeus an unlikely host. They did not stop Jesus.
Zacchaeus stood in the worst possible circumstances — a tax collector, and rich. But the Lord, as King, chooses where He will go and whom He will favour... In Jericho, the cursed city yet Israel's gateway into the land, He chooses a tax collector, and goes to dine there uninvited.
- Named. "Zacchaeus" is a Hebrew name meaning "pure" or "clean" — a name at odds with his job.
- Despised. As chief tax collector he headed a system open to abuse, and he stood in the public eye for Rome's grip on the land.
- Honest. His later words describe what he already did, not a new promise. Just, rich, and a tax collector are hard things to put together.
- Rich. His money raises the disciples' question: who then can be saved? His good habits, excellent as they were, never brought him salvation.
- Chosen. No door in that rich town opened to Jesus. So He invited Himself to the house of the man everyone had ruled out.
And he sought to see Jesus who he was and he could not for the crowd, because he was little in stature.
Jericho was a rich city, and the crowd that day was large, yet the one man who wanted a look at Jesus was too short to get one. What he was really after, and who was really seeking whom, is what this verse opens up.
The city He walked through lay under a curse, and the one man drawn to Him was not after a show. He wanted to know who this Person was; his money had already let him down.
The Lord, in faithful grace, passed through Jericho, the city of the curse (Josh. 6:26). He was a Saviour available to everyone there, but only a few responded. Jericho is a picture of the attractive world that He was about to leave by way of death. Zacchaeus was a rich man among the tax collectors, but his riches did not satisfy him. When he heard of Jesus, he wanted to see Him. What drew him was the question in his mind about who the Lord was. He did not want to watch Him work a miracle.
A wish this strong points back to a cause outside the man himself.
But it was the day of grace, and "he was seeking to see who Jesus was." There were difficulties and hindrances, both inside him and around him. But faith keeps going despite opposition. The blind man was fixed on what he wanted, and the rich tax collector was just as fixed on seeing Jesus. This shows the working of God's Spirit — the soul grasps the worth of the One it is after. We want that object, and we want more of it; we know enough to want more. It is an appetite produced by the Holy Spirit.
Anyone who moves toward Christ meets resistance. Here it looked like a wall of taller people, and the fear of being laughed at.
Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but "on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature." Is that always the case? Always. The devil will always do his best to hinder anyone who seeks Christ... It was a big crowd that day, and Zacchaeus was a small man. I have no doubt the devil suggested to him that a small man like him could never see over the heads of the big people. If he had not been completely in earnest, he would have said, "Here are hundreds of people gathered. This is not the time to see Him. I will wait for another opportunity."
Commentators differ over the state of this man's soul before that day.
Some say Zacchaeus was a man without the fear of God, and not converted; others compare him with Simeon in the temple... He fought his way past the many obstacles in his path. He dropped all sense of his own dignity and faced all ridicule, just to see Jesus. Then, to his astonishment, he heard the voice of the Good Shepherd call His sheep by name.
The crowd pressed close around Jesus. Being near Him and wanting Him are two different things.
Who would receive Him? Who would show Him ordinary hospitality? No house seemed open to Him. No Pharisee, if there were any there, asked Him in... At Jericho, rich as the city was, no one asked for His company, though anyone was free to invite Him. He had entered Jericho and was passing through it, and the people must have known it, for a large crowd travelled with Him, not just a few faithful disciples (Luke 19:3).
He set out to find Jesus. He had no idea the search was running both ways.
There may have been more than mere curiosity working in his heart. He let neither the crush of the crowd nor anything else stop him from getting what he wanted... Either way, it is clear that Jesus was the great attraction to him — "he was seeking to see who Jesus was." Nothing less than Christ Himself would satisfy him, so he went where he knew the Lord would pass. But while he was busy seeking the Lord, he little thought that the Lord was seeking him.
He came with a question about who Jesus was. The answer went far past what he was looking for, and it is still not exhausted.
In body he was of little account. Others mistrusted him and treated him as a sinful man. He worked for the enemy — the people who oppressed God's own inheritance. Yet God had clearly touched his heart, and he wanted "to see who Jesus was"... In seeking to see who Jesus was, Zacchaeus found Him to be the Bringer of salvation (v. 9)... we too have found salvation in our Lord, but there is infinitely more to discover.
- Desire given. The wish to see "who He was" was an appetite produced by the Holy Spirit, not mere curiosity about a miracle-worker.
- Desire tested. The crowd and his height were real barriers. Everyone who seeks Christ meets something like them.
- Desire priced. He dropped his dignity and faced being laughed at. Nothing less than Christ Himself would satisfy him.
- Desire answered. While he was seeking, the Lord was seeking him — and he heard the Good Shepherd call him by name.
- Desire enlarged. He found the Bringer of salvation — and there is still infinitely more to discover.
And running on before, he got up into a sycamore that he might see him, for he was going to pass that [way].
A rich chief tax collector runs ahead of a crowd and climbs a roadside tree. Two questions follow. Where did that desire come from? What did the climb cost a man of his rank?
Luke names one particular tree, a common one in that country.
This is a tree large enough for a man to rest in its branches, as Zacchaeus did. People knew it in Egypt, and it grew plentifully in Palestine... It is thought to be the sycamore-fig, or fig-mulberry.
One writer traces the wish back to its source, and notes how out of character the climb was for such a man.
He had a desire to see Christ. Who gave the desire? The life-giving Spirit of Christ. How beautiful to see eternal life beginning in such a seed! The power that clothed the desire is strongly shown. Pressing through crowds to climb up trees was not the habit of this rich citizen. He made himself one of the rabble to satisfy this commanding desire, and got up into a tree.
One writer says every Christ-seeker meets something in the way. Here it was the crowd, and what Zacchaeus did with it sets the pattern.
The devil will always do his best to hinder a Christ-seeker... Here it was the crowd... Zacchaeus got away from the press; he wriggled out of it. He got clear of the thing that entangled him. If there is a convicted sinner here, who wants Christ, I will tell you what that man will do. In his heart he will say before God, "I will get out of the crowd. I will get clean away from everything that holds me back." Zacchaeus was thoroughly in earnest. He ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus.
The verse gives a reason for that particular tree: it stood where Jesus would come by. One writer sees a settled purpose behind the run and the climb.
He was a rich man, but his purpose was firm. He would not let anything stop him from seeing Jesus. So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree, on the road he knew the Lord would take. More than mere curiosity may have been at work in his heart, for he let neither the crowd nor anything else keep him from what he wanted. ...It is clear that Jesus was the great attraction to him. He sought to see Jesus. Nothing less than Christ Himself would satisfy him.
Going up a tree lifted him physically, but it lowered him socially. One writer sees the climb as the opposite of self-importance.
Going up that tree was not self-exaltation. It was self-abasement. He forgot his official rank and dignity and climbed the sycamore like a schoolboy, set on catching a glimpse of the Saviour... Zacchaeus sought and found. In fact, he found more than he sought. His eyes saw the salvation which God had prepared in the presence of all peoples. More than that, the Saviour invited Himself as a guest to Zacchaeus, and it is His joy to honour those who humble themselves.
He aimed at a glimpse from a distance. What met him was his own name, spoken aloud.
The obstacle of his physical shortness did not hinder him, for faith will overcome obstacles. It produced the energy to climb a sycamore tree. He never expected the Lord even to notice him in the tree. Still less did he expect Him to stop, call him by name, and tell him to hurry down. It was the call of sovereign grace, powerful and real.
One writer names the turn Zacchaeus never saw coming.
He little thought, while he was busy seeking the Lord, that the Lord was seeking him. Many a seeker says, "I am trying to find the Saviour." The truth is that He who came to seek and save the lost is seeking them.
- Desire. The wish to see Jesus did not start with Zacchaeus. One writer asks who gave the desire, and answers: the life-giving Spirit of Christ.
- Determination. The crowd and his short height stood in the way. He got clear of what entangled him, and that is the pattern for anyone in earnest about Christ.
- Direction. He did not climb just any tree. He ran ahead to the road he knew the Lord would take, because nothing less than Christ Himself would satisfy him.
- Descent. The climb lowered him: self-abasement, not self-exaltation. The Saviour delights to honour those who humble themselves.
- Discovery. He climbed for a passing glimpse and got more. The Lord called him by name, and the seeker turned out to be the one Christ was seeking.
And when he came up to the place, Jesus looked up and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for to-day I must remain in thy house.
Jericho's chief tax collector climbed a tree to catch sight of Jesus, and instead heard his own name called from the road below. Four short phrases carry the verse: the look up, "come down," "today," and "at your house."
Zacchaeus had a plan: get ahead of the crowd and watch Jesus go by. He did not plan on being the one searched for.
Though he was a rich man, he was so determined that he would not let anything stop him from seeing Jesus... But he little thought, while he was busy seeking the Lord, that the Lord was seeking him.
Being called by name from a tree is not a reward for a good climb.
How little he expected that the Lord would even notice him in the tree, let alone stop and speak to him by name, telling him to make haste and come down. It was the call of sovereign grace, powerful and real, with the addition that He must come to the little man's house.
Jesus looked up. That direction reverses what you would expect between the Lord of glory and a tax collector.
What an amazing stooping down — the Lord of glory looks up and speaks to sinful man! What love! But that is the character of the heart of Jesus... God made man in His own image, and man always had a place in His heart. Then man fell into degradation and ruin, through sin and rebellion against his Creator. Jesus still loved him. And man's fallen, ruined state only showed all the more how vast the resources of divine love and mercy are.
The first word of command is a descent. Whatever height a person has climbed — literal or otherwise — it has to be left.
By nature we are all lifted up with self-esteem. Men live and speak as if they were not fallen creatures. But every true Christian has experienced what it is to "come down" to receive salvation. All must "come down" if they are to be saved from the wrath to come. For all have sinned, and the blood of Christ alone gives forgiveness... The way of God the Father is to bring the proud mind of man down to the Saviour's feet.
That command was not just for one man in one tree.
To bring you down. That is it. Though in the surface details of conversion there is infinite variety, in its bedrock principles it is always the same. "Hurry and come down" was the word of Jesus to Zacchaeus. It is just as much His word to you.
The Lord did not say soon. He named the day — and most people answer with a later one.
How many say in their hearts, "Not yet!" Like Felix, they sometimes tremble when the word is preached. But they put off thinking about it until "a more convenient season." And with some, we have to fear, "a more convenient season" never comes... When my family is grown up and settled, says one. When my business matters are over, says another. When I am free from my present work, says a third. Then I will see to the state of my soul. So they reject Christ and His salvation.
The crowd found the whole thing indefensible. Their complaint shows how strange grace is to us.
Nothing makes less sense to a man than God's grace. "And when they saw it they all murmured, saying that he had gone in to lodge with a sinful man." How blessed that He could, and that He would! How hopeless the blank for us if it were not so! It suits His love to deal this way with those who have not the smallest claim.
The Lord named a place, not just a person.
Notice that the Lord did not just say to Zacchaeus, "I must stay with you," but "AT YOUR HOUSE." He was interested in the family of the man He had sought and saved. There was to be a place for Him in the home. Then not only the man's own needs and difficulties, but those of the whole household as well, could be brought to Him.
Zacchaeus came down glad — but he did not yet understand much.
He did not yet have the full knowledge of Jesus, but his desire had been met, and he had joy. This was not law, and not glory: it was a hidden Messiah who had come in full grace... Finding Jesus is everything. Grace does not give at first the knowledge of Christ's work; there may be little or no understanding that we are made the righteousness of God in Him.
- Sought. He was climbing to see Jesus; Jesus was already coming to find him.
- Named. The call was personal — his own name, called out from the road.
- Down. Salvation begins with a descent; self-esteem has to be left in the tree.
- Today. The Lord fixed the day. "Not yet" is the one answer the verse forbids.
- Home. He asked not just for the man but for his house — His grace takes in the whole family.
And he made haste and came down, and received him with joy.
Jesus stops under a tree, calls a tax collector by name, and invites Himself home. The man's answer is instant, and it is glad.
Zacchaeus does not weigh the offer; he hurries. One writer lines up others who moved just as fast for Christ:
Let us not forget, dear Christian readers, that one of faith's marks is to hurry. Abraham hurried when it was a matter of the Lord's service. Zacchaeus did so when the Savior invited him to receive Him into his house. Mary did so when the Lord called her to come to Him. If it is a matter of Him and of His Person, can we ever hurry enough?
Where he sat was still too far from Jesus. Coming down was the test of obedience:
But the branch of a sycamore tree is too far away from Christ, and the Lord tells Zacchaeus to come down. His heart obeys the call, and he comes down, and receives Him joyfully. The people grumbled that He had gone to be the guest of a man who was a sinner. … The moment the will bends to Jesus, the moment the sinner's heart bows at the Saviour's feet, this word comes to the conscience: "Today salvation has come to this house."
What Zacchaeus welcomed was a Person. One writer traces what that welcome did to him:
Zacchaeus then received Jesus — not particular views, or rites, or ceremonies, but the Lord Himself. He believed that the Lord of glory loved him, and had come from heaven to save such a sinful and unworthy creature. This marvellous grace did more than comfort him. It humbled him into a spirit of self-judgment and confession. It also drove him to serve and follow Christ.
Zacchaeus was glad before he understood much. One writer explains why that first joy can later fade:
He did not yet have the full knowledge of Jesus, but his desire had been met, and he had joy… Finding Jesus is everything. Zacchaeus had the answer to the need which divine grace had created. Grace does not give the knowledge of Christ's work at first. There may be little or no understanding that we are made the righteousness of God in Him. So the first joy often fades. When conscience is accused, I want the awareness of that righteousness.
One writer points to Luke's word for staying as a guest:
That word is kept for the home of "a man who was a sinner." He, and he only, gives to the Son of God what was refused Him at His birth. He gives a place to unload, a place where He might loosen His clothes and rest. And what rest and refreshment that day must have been to our Saviour, as He saw something of the anguish of His soul, and in part was satisfied.
The joy in the verse, then, ran in both directions:
And if there was joy in the presence of the angels that day, as we know there was, then there was equal — no, greater — joy inside that "sinner's" house in Jericho. Joy for the sinner, truly: but joy that was greater for the sinner's Guest.
No one today can climb down a tree and take Jesus home. So how do we receive Him now?
And how may we receive Him? you ask. He is not here on earth as He was then, and we cannot receive Him in the same way Zacchaeus did. If you want to receive Him, the Word of God tells us the way. It says: "To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." The way we receive Jesus is by believing on His name. If you want to receive Him, He is willing to receive you. You believe on His name, and Christ is yours, and you are Christ's.
- Called — Christ names him and invites Himself in. The move starts on Jesus' side, and it meets a desire His own grace had created.
- Hurried — hurry is a mark of faith when the matter is Christ Himself. Zacchaeus loses no time between the call and the obedience.
- Received — he welcomed the Lord Himself, not views or ceremonies. That welcome led to self-judgment, confession and service.
- Rejoiced — real joy came before any full understanding of Christ's work. The joy is genuine, and the knowledge of righteousness follows later.
- Rested — the sinner's house gave the Son of God the rest He was refused at His birth. The joy inside was greater for the Guest than for the host.
And all murmured when they saw [it], saying, He has turned in to lodge with a sinful man.
Jesus had just gone into the house of Jericho's chief tax collector. The crowd turned on Him with one voice, complaining that He had gone where they thought no holy man should go.
The crowd saw what happened. Making sense of it was another matter.
But nothing is so unintelligible to a man as God's grace. "And when they saw it, they all grumbled, 'He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.'" How blessed that so He could, and so He would! How hopeless the blank for us if it were not so! It suits His love to deal in this way with those who have not the smallest claim.
Nobody in the story denies the label they pinned on Zacchaeus. Their words were true. But what they meant by them was not what came of them.
They spoke the truth in their hatred. What they thought was His shame was His glory. A countless host of sinners saved by grace will declare it to His eternal praise.
The crowd assumed some cleaner house in Jericho would have suited Him better.
But with whom but a sinner could the Lord lodge anywhere upon earth? "None is righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). The strictest Pharisee, as well as the chief tax collector, was a sinner in God's sight.
The fault they named was the reason for the visit. And what took Jesus to that house still stands as an offer today.
He was a sinner, and that was the reason the Lord went to his house. Where else should the Saviour have gone? The doctor goes to the houses of the sick, and the Saviour came to seek and save the lost. How strangely blind these people were, who found fault with the Lord for going into the house of a sinner! That is the place most suited to Him, where He can show the exceeding riches of His grace. Are there any of you here who have not opened your doors to Him yet? I tell you the wonderful fact that today He would stay at your house. Don't say you would like to put some things right there first. They never will be put right until He gains an entrance, for He is the only one who can put you and your house right.
Luke's word for this visit is worth a second look. It tells us where Jesus went and what He found there.
That word, kataluo, is reserved for the home of "a man who is a sinner." He, and he only, gives the Son of God what was refused Him at His birth: a place to stop and rest. … The Greek word is more than just "gone." It is rather, "He has entered in to be guest." This seems to me much more vivid. I see Him walk up the path, pass through the doorway, and enter right inside the house. There was joy in the presence of the angels that day, as we know. And we know there was equal joy — no, greater joy — inside that "sinner's" house in Jericho. Joy for the sinner, truly; but joy that exceeded for the sinner's Guest.
This grumble was not a one-off. Luke records the same complaint again and again, and one writer shows who their hatred was truly against.
"Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" they ask in Luke 5. "A friend of tax collectors and sinners," they jeer in Luke 7. "This man receives sinners and eats with them" is their taunt in Luke 15, and in Luke 19 they murmur, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." They could not endure this grace. It refused to recognise class and sectarian distinctions, and it worked for the good of the weakest and the worst. They reproached Him for His condescending mercy; it exasperated them. But it was God's mercy. He was showing God's nature and ways, and it was their hatred of God that fell upon Him. We must be like Him and not like them.
- The fact. The crowd's label was true. Zacchaeus was a sinner, and no one in the story denies it.
- The blindness. Every murmurer was a sinner too, the strictest Pharisee as much as the chief tax collector. The cleaner house they wanted did not exist.
- The reason. Being a sinner was not what disqualified Zacchaeus; it was what qualified him. A doctor goes to the sick, and that house was the place best suited to show the riches of grace.
- The entrance. He did not pause at the gate. He entered in as guest, and a sinner's house gave Him the rest He was refused at His birth. The joy inside was greater for the Guest than for the man He came to save.
- The glory. What they threw at Him as shame became His glory. Following Him means being ready to carry the same reproach.
But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I return [him] fourfold.
Jericho's chief tax collector has just welcomed Jesus into his home. The crowd is muttering that He has gone in to be the guest of a sinner. Standing there, Zacchaeus answers — not with a defence of his job, but with an account of his money.
His words are not spoken into the air. They answer the charge just made against him — a charge that touched his visitor too.
The name means "pure" or "clean," and his words to the Lord show him to be just that. We should take them not as a promise of what he meant to do, but as his answer to the muttered charge against him. That charge touched Christ too: that He had gone to stay with a man who was a sinner. "A sinner!" he would say. "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything" — something a man might do without meaning to — "I restore it fourfold." He is speaking of what he does as a habit, not of some new resolve.
Commentators differ on whether this describes a settled habit or a fresh promise. Some read his words as fruit that shows repentance is real.
The Lord Jesus answered Zacchaeus's desire to see Him with such grace, and brought salvation to his house. Then Zacchaeus said, "If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold" (Luke 19:8). That is a case of bearing fruit that matches repentance.
Others weigh the word that opens the verse — he stood. They see a man already living this way, laying his case before Someone he trusts to settle it.
The word "stood" shows how anxious Zacchaeus was. He was taken up with his own questions, and he was sure Jesus could settle them. Jesus did settle them, with the perfect wisdom we have seen, as if He had said: "Be at peace, see here salvation." Perhaps "stood" means "standing up." I think that if this had been a new resolve it would have been out of place, and the Lord's answer seems to be a kind of reply to it.
Set both halves of his statement beside the law of Israel.
In the one case he gave more than the law could demand: a half, not a tenth; in the other he did no less than it required. The Lord heard all, the murmurings on the one hand and the answer on the other.
A debt to a neighbour can be repaid. A debt to God cannot.
But here is the question for our souls. If God condemns robbing a fellow man like this, how can anyone deal with the sin of robbing God? How can people who are already sinners make restitution to Him? It is impossible... But we read in the Psalms of One who said, "I restored what I did not steal" (Psalm 69:4). He was the trespass-offering as well as the sin and burnt-offerings. He has therefore made full and adequate restitution (we can say, if we believe) for all our trespasses.
If generosity could earn salvation, this man had a strong case.
This went far beyond what the law demanded. A worldly man would have called it honesty carried too far — so much so that if anyone deserved salvation, Zacchaeus must have done so. The Lord brushed all such thoughts aside when He said, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
The same verse turned on the reader stops any comparison before it starts.
Do you give half of your goods to the poor? He did. Will any man stand up in this meeting and say, "The half of my goods I give to the poor"? No, he cannot... I honestly think that Zaccheus' life will compare most favourably with that of any living man here. Every soul, without exception, has to be saved, but not on that ground.
These words came at the end of a day spent in the company of Christ.
His heart spoke out of itself — a very different thing from the boasting of a self-righteous mind. The plain power of his fellowship with the Lord enabled Zacchaeus to speak like this. There was power when he pressed through the crowd, and there was power when he ended the day that had given him fellowship with Jesus.
Jesus does not contradict a word of it. He has something greater to speak about.
It is not that the Lord discredited the chief tax collector's account of his feelings and ways. Such was his character, such his habits... But why say this before One who had already proved that all was known to a heart that could not misjudge? Why talk even of what the Spirit had produced in the presence of the salvation-bringing grace of God?
- Answer — His words reply to the crowd's sneer that Jesus had gone in to a sinner. The charge touched his Guest as much as himself.
- Habit — Some writers read his words as a settled practice, not a new promise. Others read them as repentance bearing fruit.
- Measure — Half to the poor went beyond the law's tenth. Fourfold repayment matched what the law asked of a thief.
- Limit — By any human reckoning his honesty was exceptional. It still saved nobody, and the Lord brushed such thoughts aside.
- Restitution — What he could repay to men, no sinner can repay to God — so Another restored what He had never taken away.
And Jesus said to him, To-day salvation is come to this house, inasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham;
Jericho's chief tax collector was rich, and his neighbours despised his trade. When Jesus walked into his house, He did not say "well done" — He said "salvation," and He called this man a son of Abraham.
Nothing inside that house brought salvation to it. One writer points to the Person who stepped through the door.
But why and how had salvation come there? It was because He, the Saviour, had come. Salvation is in Him. He is it. Having Him, we have salvation and every other priceless blessing God can give. He does not send salvation, He brings it; and where He is welcomed, He stays, saying, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5). It is as though He said, "I have sought you so long, and love you so well, that never again will I allow you out of my company and care!" This is salvation — blessed, present, every-day, all-the-way salvation. It means being protected, cared for and held up by the ever-present and infinitely tender Saviour. He suffered for our sins. He bore all our judgment. He broke the devil's power. And He lives — yes, LIVES — as the Victor over death, for those who trust in Him.
Zacchaeus had just listed what he gave and what he restored. Commentators read this as a report on his life so far, not a promise about his future. One writer hears an unspoken question behind it.
People have completely misread this scene. They imagine that Zacchaeus was showing the Lord the effect the word had on him. I believe he was simply telling the Lord what his life had been up till then. He was saying, in effect, "This is what I am — will that not do?" Christ replies, "Today salvation has come to this house."
The Lord already knew that record. And the date He gave for salvation does not match it.
Yet he did not have to tell the Lord about his good works: the Lord knew every detail of them. What is more, his works had nothing to do with his salvation, for the Lord said salvation had come to his house that very day, not when he was doing his good works (v.9).
Zacchaeus' trade put him in a false position among his own people. One commentator asks what it would mean for everyone else if that position had disqualified him.
In Jericho (Luke 19) He shows grace, despite the spirit of the Pharisees. Still, it is as a son of Abraham that He points out Zacchaeus. His work did put him in a false position. Yet by grace he had a tender conscience and a generous heart. In the eyes of Jesus his position did not remove from him the character of son of Abraham. If it had, who could ever have been blessed? And it did not bar the way to the salvation that had come to save the lost.
Others tie the phrase to faith. One writer says, "For Him 'a son of Abraham' certainly meant a child of faith (compare John 8:39)" (Numerical Bible Notes). Commentators also differ about his background. Some early writers took him for a Gentile. One commentator calls that reading "manifestly unsound and inconsistent, even with the letter here" (William Kelly).
Commentators differ over whether Zacchaeus already feared God. One writer answers by separating salvation from a stirred conscience.
Some claim that Zacchaeus had no fear of God and was unconverted. Others compare him with Simeon in the temple. We should not forget that salvation is more than new birth. Only the Messiah could pronounce it then. Now it is proclaimed far and wide, on the ground of redemption, through faith in His name. It is the primary Christian blessing that a soul needs and receives in a dead and risen Christ. But never confuse it with the awakening that comes with the Spirit's giving of life.
One writer turns the word "today" on the reader, and names three things this salvation is.
The moment the will bends to Jesus, the moment the sinner's heart bows at the Saviour's feet, this word comes to the conscience: "Today salvation has come to this house." It is a present salvation, because it is God's salvation wrapped up in the Person of Jesus... It is a present salvation; a perfect salvation; a personal salvation... and the moment you receive Jesus, you are a saved person.
- Come. Salvation entered because the Saviour entered. He does not send it; He brings it, and He is it.
- Not earned. Zacchaeus had been giving and repaying for years. The Lord still dated salvation "today," not back at his good works.
- Not disqualified. His despised trade did not cancel his place as a son of Abraham. If it could, no one could ever be blessed.
- Not just stirred. A working conscience is real. But salvation is more than that awakening.
- Not delayed. What came to that house is present, perfect and personal. And the Saviour who brings it stays: "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
for the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.
Jericho is the last stop before Jerusalem, and there a rich tax collector climbs a tree just to catch sight of Jesus. The visit ends with the Lord saying in one sentence why He came at all, and His words raise two questions: what does it mean to be lost, and what did the finding cost?
These words are placed where they are on purpose. One writer reads the run of stories before them — the Pharisee and the tax collector, the infants, the rich ruler, the blind man — as a set of illustrations of this single sentence:
Can we not take these last words as the keynote of the whole group of stories we have just read?… In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector you have a lost one sought, found, and saved. In the case of the little children you have lost ones received and blessed. He had come to save even them. And in the case of the young man, the ruler, you have one who refuses to accept God's estimate of what he was. He refuses to take the place of being lost. He is the one who goes away empty and sorrowful.
The verse names who Christ came for, and that decides who has good news and who does not.
He treats everyone as lost who is not already saved by faith in Him. This is the point from which I look at the Gospel. I am lost; but Jesus came to seek and to save the lost; therefore He came to seek and to save me… And where is the spot where you may meet Jesus, the Saviour? That spot, my dear friend, is the small circle of the consciously lost; for He came for the lost and only for the lost. Reader, if you are not lost, I have no Gospel for you.
Two verbs stand side by side here, and they are not the same act:
The Lord did not accuse, and speaks of nothing but the salvation which had come to the house that day… He gave what Zacchaeus had little thought of. He was come to meet the need He had created. He was come to seek, that is, to produce the desire; and to save, that is, to meet the desire.
The seeking also goes beyond what was accomplished at the cross:
He was not content with the work of the cross—mighty though that was—a work that in righteousness opens the way to heaven to the vilest who comes through Christ, but He SEEKS as well as saves—blessed be His name.
Zacchaeus had just told the Lord what he did. The Lord's answer leaves that list out completely.
Would Zacchaeus justify himself by setting out what he did? As one of the lost the Lord came to seek him and to save him. All his doings had not saved him, nor could they. Never until then had salvation entered his door. The Lord brought it that day.
One writer asks what actually came into Zacchaeus's house that day:
But why and how had salvation come there? It was because He, the Saviour, had come. Jesus Himself was salvation. If you have Him, the Saviour, then you have salvation. He does not send salvation, He brings it; and when He brings it, He comes to stay: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." We have the blessing, but we have the Blesser too.
The title the Lord uses here reaches past Israel:
As Son of Man — the title that ties Him to the whole human race — He cannot be limited to Israel; and as we have seen, Israel must still learn His wider interests. The title itself takes in people in general. And what He came to secure — the rich blessings in His generous hands — is open to all.
The second verb in the verse rests on the cross.
How does He save? He saves by His death; He saves by the work He accomplished for us on the cross. The only way we can be saved is through the death of the Saviour. Sin is on us; we have all sinned, and our sins must bring us into judgment. But what has taken place? The blessed Lord Jesus Christ has gone to the cross. There He bore our sins, and the judgment of God against sin, so that He may bring us to God.
The sentence describes God's method, and one writer turns it into a rule for how a wronged believer treats the person who wronged him.
When you were ruined and far from God, what met your case? Did God wait until you put away your sin? It never would have been done at all. God sent His own Son to seek you, to save you… That is the principle for you to act upon.
- Lost — the word sets the only ground on which anyone meets Christ; the man who refuses that place walks away empty.
- Sought — He does not wait to be wanted; He creates the desire He then satisfies.
- Saved — the cost of the seeking is the cross, where He bore our sins and the judgment.
- Settled — salvation entered Zacchaeus's house with the Saviour Himself, not with anything Zacchaeus had done.
- Sent — the way He dealt with us becomes the rule for how we go after others.