How does Zaccheus measure up?

If, before he met Jesus in Luke 19:1-10, you’d asked Zaccheus his philosophy of living, he might have said, “Every man for himself. Get all you can while you can.” 

Contrast #1: Zaccheus before and after

It’s safe to surmise he was happy with the way life was going. Vast wealth sufficiently compensated whatever pangs were caused by putting himself at odds with his countrymen as a tax collector for Rome.

But now? Now that Jesus had called him by name, was staring him in the face, had invited Himself to his home? Suddenly Zaccheus’ belief system was no comfort. Was he able to meet Jesus’ gaze?

Maybe other faces had flashed before his eyes—faces of men glaring, wives crying, children cowering, old people shivering—as he took their money. He hadn’t cared if they were evicted from their homes, or went to bed hungry, or sold themselves into slavery. 

But now? Holiness Himself, Jesus commanded obedience. Jesus reminded Zaccheus of how the wealth that allowed him to hold his head high had been obtained. Was it enough to ensure the destiny of his soul?

Jesus was also Love incarnate. He was full of a pure, selfless love that pitied the people to whom Zaccheus had been so cruel.

He was suddenly filled with hatred for himself, and for all that his wealth represented. He wanted to rid himself of both the guilt and the wealth, even if it was to his own detriment. “I will give half my wealth to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” 

Where did he get that idea? From God’s law. 

Contrast #2: Zaccheus and the rich ruler

Shortly before this episode with Zaccheus, in Luke 18:18-27, Jesus had encountered another wealthy man. This ruler, whom we know to be rich from Mark 10:17-22, said he perfectly followed the ten commandments, yet his enthusiasm faded when Jesus pointed out one lacking thing. Had the ruler obtained or sustained his wealth by being ungenerous? We don’t know.

Zaccheus self-owned. Without prompting, he volunteered half his wealth, plus whatever restitution he had to make for wrongful acquisitions. Why was Jesus satisfied with this arrangement?

If Zaccheus owed restitution, he needed to establish a Victims Fund to repay the law’s requisite four-fold restitution to any person, rich or poor. (Importantly, he didn’t justify any thefts he’d made from other rich malefactors.) He’d have to look back on years of records, perhaps undergo an audit, and potentially wipe out his savings.

Zaccheus seems to have known the finer points of law better than the ruler, finer points drawn from passages deeper in the Law that explained the 8th commandment (“you shall not steal;” see Exodus 22:1, Leviticus 6:4-5, 2 Samuel 12:6). It’s possible he’d studied rabbinical loopholes in order to work the law to his advantage. Now they no longer comforted him but only condemned.

His immediate response ties in well with that of the nobles and officials of Nehemiah’s day, as seen in the previous post.

Contrast #3: Zaccheus and the crowd

The passage carries another contrast between Zaccheus and the unidentified “they” who grumbled against Jesus. Who were they? To find out, we have to look at the wider context.

• Luke 18:9-14 – Not long before meeting Zaccheus, Jesus told a parable aimed at “people who trust they are righteous and view others with contempt,” an attitude that coincides with grumbling. He surprised them with an unlikely candidate for salvation… a tax collector! 
• Luke 18:15-17 – Jesus rebuked His own disciples for rebuking parents who were bringing their children to Jesus. Maybe the disciples began grumbling too, but they needed to learn “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” A grown man climbing a tree is definitely behaving childishly, don’t you think?
• Luke 18:18-27 – The disciples had not turned away the ruler. They expressed surprise that someone who was rich and who scrupulously kept the law would have a hard time getting saved. The key takeaway here is, “Things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” 
• Luke 18:35-43 – The passage mentions a crowd who is going along with Jesus, through Jericho to Jerusalem.They tried to hush a blind man who was trying to attract Jesus’ attention. When the man was healed and joined the crowd following Jesus, at least they had the grace to cheer.
• Luke 19:3-4 – This crowd, no doubt augmented by people of Jericho, is blamed for blocking Zaccheus’ view of Jesus. We don’t know if this was deliberate or not, but it does display a lack of grace from people who’d already met Jesus and had been with him for a while. They forced him to climb a tree! 
• Luke 19:5-7 – By having said to Zaccheus, “I MUST stay at YOUR house,” Jesus incited the crowd to say what was in their hearts. Their disgruntlement bordered on impudence—either Jesus didn’t know everything or He’s a sinner Himself. They felt He’d be better off at their homes, because they were not quite so obvious sinners. Fans are always dangerously close to becoming an angry mob. 
• 19:11-27 – Shortly after declaring Zaccheus was  their brother,and that salvation had come to his house that day, Jesus told another parable about citizens who hated a king they rejected as Sovereign over them. This crowd received multiple warnings that day.

Whoever “they” were, they were attempting to drive Jesus’ agenda and gatekeep His encounters. Rich rulers who kept the law were in; children, the disabled, and sinful tax collectors were out. The funny thing was, “they” had not felt the need to repent of anything when they met Jesus. 

The people complaining should have rejoiced at Zaccheus’ conversion and felt gratified he now cared whether they lived or died. Like a prodigal son, he was restored to them (Luke 15:11-32) and suddenly acting like a brother-keeper. By calling Zaccheus a “son of Abraham,” Jesus expected His followers to embrace him as a brother. (See Luke 13:10-17 where Jesus calls a disabled woman “daughter of Abraham.”)

Notice that, when he came to Jesus, Zaccheus was not like the cynical legal expert who asked, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-37). He did not ask, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

God had left Cain's question hanging, although the law given to Moses would be explicit about the actions Israel had to take on behalf of brothers, neighbors, and countrymen, and even strangers. Their reluctance to let people into the family revealed they failed to look at the law closely enough, and weren’t really that interested in keeping it. 

The question of brother-keeping had sat unanswered in Zaccheus’ life until the day he met Jesus—the Son of Man “who came to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Contrast #4: grace or works? 

Was it the promise of salvation through law-keeping that motivated him? It’s necessary to bear in mind the order in which things develop in the passage:

1. Jesus chose to make His way to Jerusalem through Jericho.
2. Zaccheus was curious to see Jesus, but we don’t know why.
3. Jesus saw him in the tree and invited Himself to Zaccheus’ house.
4. Zaccheus received Jesus gladly.
5. Zaccheus then felt shame over his guilty past and turned from his former ways.
6. Jesus announced Zaccheus was accepted by God: “Today salvation has come to this house!”

The announcement that “he too is a son of Abraham,” foreshadows Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:7 that “it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.” Faith precedes, and is necessary to, salvation; Zaccheus’ works were the result of salvation and a response to it.

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Image credit: James Tissot (Nantes, France, 1836–1902, Chenecey–Buillon, France). Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Awaiting the Passage of Jesus (Zachée sur le sycomore attendant le passage de Jésus), 1886–1896; https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/4540. 

Helpful article: “Making Amends,” Robin Gallaher Branch, Biblical Archaeology Society, Bible History Daily, 12/9/022, https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/making-amends/.