Luke 19:1-10

Butler's Comments

SECTION 1

Penitence (Luke 19:1-10)

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. 3And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. 4So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today. 6So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. 7And when they saw it they all murmured, He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner, 8And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold. 9And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.

Luke 19:1-5 Confrontation: Jesus passed on from healing the two blind men to the Roman Jericho. Jericho at that time was largely populated by Roman tax-gatherers and priests of Jerusalem. It was an important customs gate. Archaeological ruins of the Roman Jericho produce a picture of magnificence with pools, villas, a hippodrome and a theater. A great civic center, of the best Roman masonry, with a spectacular facade containing statuary niches, potted plants and a reflecting basin before it, testify of the grandeur of the international culture that was Jericho's at the time of Jesus and Zacchaeus. Jericho was an important tax collecting station because of the many caravans passing through it or near it. It was a winter resort place for the affluent Jews and Gentiles in Palestine at that time. Herod had his winter residence there. Date palm trees flourished there, and balsam, from which medicine was extracted and its vegetable growing season was ideal making it a green oasis in the middle of the dry Jordan wilderness and a prosperous place to do business.

Zacchaeus was a chief publican (Greek, architelones) which probably means he was an executive of some sort in the tax-system of the Roman province of Judea. He may have been in charge of all the collections in Jericho and supervisor of a number of subordinate tax-collectors. He was rich, and influential. Tax-collectors (publicans) became rich only by extortion and dishonesty. Rome's method of collecting taxes in the provinces was to appoint certain natives of the province, assign certain tax amounts to be collected and forwarded to Rome, and then ask no more questions. The tax-collector had all the authority of Rome behind him and so if he were minded to do so he could shake down individuals and businesses by threats, demand more taxes than Rome required and pocket the excess. The publicans who became rich in this way were despised by their countrymen as traitors and Gentiles. The financial dishonesty of government agents is reflected in John the Baptist's charge to the publicans, Extort no more than is appointed you (Luke 3:13, see comments there). Zacchaeus admits he has wronged others and thus violated God's law. The Greek, kai ei tinos ti esukophantesa, is first person singular, first aorist indicative, and therefore a first class condition which means that Zacchaeus is saying, On the condition that I have robbed anyone of anything, which I admit I have done.. He had become rich by dishonesty and extortion. Most men who have become rich through dishonest means are men who have put their whole trust in riches and what they can buy. Riches gained by wickedness separate men from God and men from men. It is very unusual that a rich, powerful man like Zacchaeus should want to see the poor, itinerant, Galilean teacher who was violently opposed by Jewish officials. G. Campbell Morgan writes, I am inclined to think one reason why he was glad to receive Jesus was that he was pleased to do anything that would annoy the Pharisees! Whatever the case, Zacchaeus was determined to see Jesus. He had to overcome serious obstacles to fulfill his wish. The crowd selfishly pressed around him and paid no attention to him because he was small of stature. They were not like the friends of the paralytic let down through the roof. They were the same crowd who told the blind men to shut up. Knowing Zacchaeus to be a publican and feeling safe with their numbers they probably blocked him away from Jesus deliberately. But neither the hostility of the crowd, his own secure position in wealth nor his physical impairment (small) kept him from his desire. He climbed up into a fig-mulberry tree. The sycamore tree of Palestine is shiqmah in Hebrew and is of the genus ficus sycomorus, the sycamore fig tree, bearing a fruit like the ordinary fig tree but of inferior quality.

When Jesus came to the tree He could see Zacchaeus there. Jesus would have known he was there even if he had not been visible, Jesus knew his name and there is no indication they had ever met before. The Lord said, Zacchaeus, quickly come down from there, for in your house it is necessary that I stay this day. The Greek syntax emphasizes the necessity. The necessity was for Zacchaeus-' benefit, not Jesus-'. Jesus often accepted invitations to visit people's homes and eat with them, but this is the only recorded instance where Jesus invited Himself to someone's home. He had a compelling purposeHe saw in this sawed-off little government official, the possibility of repentance. Even though Jesus is bearing the heart-rending burden of the cross, His first thought is not of Himself but of lost sheep.

Jesus risked His reputation with that crowd by calling upon Zacchaeus. He showed that He loved men even though He hated their sin. He showed that love and truth are not cowed in the presence of sin, power, wealth or popular opinion. Jesus took time to go into Zacchaeus-' house (away from the hostile crowd) and teach the despised publican about the kingdom of God. Jesus demonstrated the Son of man came not to be served but to serve.

Luke 19:6-10 Change: Zacchaeus came quickly down out of the tree and was almost beside himself with joy that Jesus was coming to his house. The Greek verb hupedexato means Zacchaeus was hyper-receiving Jesus. His expression of reception to Jesus-' announcement was over and above normal welcoming. Add to that the Greek word chairon (joyfully) and one gets a picture of Zacchaeus-' excitement and joy so evident that the great crowds thronging the streets of Jericho saw it and were astonished. Many of them murmured (Gr. diegogguzon, growled), He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!

How we would love to know what Jesus said to Zacchaeus and how the visit went. G. Campbell Morgan writes, I have often wondered what Jesus said to him. I am sure He talked to him courteously, but there was more than courtesy. No doubt Jesus spoke firmly about the Law of Moses and sin and repentance. Jesus undoubtedly promised the tax-collector forgiveness if he would repent and believe in His Word. Zacchaeus-' first commitment to Jesus-' way of life was, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. Now there are many rich men who will give half their goods to the pooras tax breaks, as salve for guilty conscience, or as attempts to earn righteousness before God. But Zacchaeus-' commitment was by way of true repentance, for his second statement was, and if I have defrauded any one anything, I restore it fourfold. Zacchaeus was willing to fulfill his trust in Jesus-' word by complying with the law of God. Exodus 22:1 and 2 Samuel 12:6 indicate that four-fold restitution was a requirement of repentance for stealing or defrauding. The Greek word translated defrauded is esukophantesa and means literally, a fig shower; it is the word from which we get the English word, sycophant which also means, accuse falsely, advise falsely, defraud or flatter to deceive. Jesus replied, Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. Note the following things which indicate a dramatic change in Zacchaeus-' thinking and living:

a.

He accepted Jesus and called Him, Lord. Originally he got up into the tree to see who Jesus wasnow he acknowledges Him as Lord.

b.

He acted in accordance with his trust in Jesus-' conversation with him (whatever that was). He cut himself loose from his former life of trust in his money and power. He followed Jesus in offering service to an exploited, defrauded, oppressed society.

c.

He acted to remove the barriers between himself and his fellow man. His repentance was public. He said, To the poor I am giving now.. (Gr. didomi, present tense), not some future date. He repented in accordance with divine revelation.

d.

Jesus-' closing statement implies Zacchaeus entered into a saving relationship. Salvation came to Zacchaeus by the grace of God through his faith in the Lordship of Christ, by repentance and by obedience to covenant terms. He had lost his inheritance by sinning against the Old Covenant, he became a true descendant and heir of Abraham by faith in Christ.

Applebury's Comments

Zacchaeus the Publican
Scripture

Luke 19:1-10 And he entered and was passing through Jericho. 2 And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus; and he was a chief publican, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the crowd, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran on before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He is gone in to lodge with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, To-day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Comments

Jericho.The place of the healing of the blind man (Luke 18:35) and location of the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30). For its Old Testament history, see Joshua 2:1; Joshua 6:1-2; Joshua 6:26-27; 1 Kings 16:34, For its later history, see Bible Dictionaries and works on Archaeology.

Zacchaeus, and he was a chief publican.Luke made his story of the Life of Christ live by giving names of people and places and by showing the Lord in action as He dealt with all kinds of people. Zacchaeus was a chief publican, and rich. He probably had other tax collectors working under him. Tax collectors were generally thought to have gotten their wealth by abuse of their office.

he sought to see Jesus.We do not know why; perhaps he had heard of Jesus-' attitude toward publicans. Being a little man, he was unable to catch a glimpse of Jesus because of the crowds. He didn-'t let his handicap keep him for realizing his desire; he made up for it by extra effort. He ran on before the crowd and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus as He passed by. There is no indication that he even thought of Jesus looking up and seeing him.

today I must abide at thy house.Did Luke abbreviate the story, or did Jesus speak abruptly as the record shows? He was very busy, but was never discourteous or offensive in His approach to people. See Luke 14:7-14.It may be that Zacchaeus-' own interest was so evident that nothing more needed to be said. Jesus went directly to the point and told him that He was to stay in his house that day. Zacchaeus was delighted, but the crowds were critical because He was going in to lodge in the house of a publican. But Jesus openly and boldly identified Himself with this one in need of salvation, this one whom the crowds designated a sinner.

Lord, behold, Lord.Many other words may have been spoken by Jesus and Zacchaeus, but Luke reported the essentials of the story. The words of Zacchaeus are significant; they acknowledge Jesus as Lord, meaning far more than words of polite address. The gift of his goods to the poor was indicative of a change that had taken place because of the presence of Jesus, not only in his house, but also in his heart.

if I have wrongfully exacted aught.If does not suggest that there was any doubt about it. He knew that he had cheated and used pressure because of his office to get his wealth. Now he must make restitution, a sure sign of repentance.

To-day is salvation come to this house.The Savior had sought and found another lost sinner. Salvation had come to Zacchaeus for he was a son of Abrahama Jew, yes, but more than that, he was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. See John 8:31-44 for Jesus-' comment about those who are truly Abraham's children.

For the Son of man came to seek and save that which was lost.Jesus had already successfully defended His ministry against the false charges of the Pharisees that He was receiving sinners (Luke 15:1-32). Now He is proving the correctness of His position by actually rescuing this publican, a man that is a sinner, from his lost estate.

Today is still the day of salvation. The church which is the body of Christ should be following the example of Christ in seeking and saving the lost sinner. This is its first business in the world until Christ comes again.