Zacchaeus Standing in a Tree at JerichoBible World
19:1Luke 19:1
And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
Jesus entered and passed through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem. Jericho lay a few miles west of the Jordan on the edge of a valley plain, among palm trees and gardens watered by springs, with limestone hills and ravines between it and Jerusalem. It was a stop for caravans traveling to the feast, a residence for many priests, and a busy center of trade including Roman officials, soldiers, visitors, and publicans, and His arrival drew eager crowds because He had raised Lazarus.
The verse sets the scene for His meeting with Zacchaeus, amid crowded streets and a procession passing below the tree from which Zacchaeus tries to see Him. The Zacchaeus whom He met there was a wealthy, rich chief publican and tax collector whom the Jews despised, regarded as objectionable and as lost and hopeless in the eyes of others, spiritually sick and needing extra help. He had heard the report of Jesus' kindness, teaching, and merciful works and longed to see Him, sought to see Him, and received Him into his home. Those words had taken hold of his heart and given him hope as he began to turn from wrongdoing, awakening his need to repent, reform his life, and repay those he had unjustly overtaxed, so that the truth sown in him was about to bear fruit for God's glory.
His joyful reception was one of the bright spots in Jesus' experience as the world's Redeemer, bringing relief from anguish over the unbelief of His own family, who were losing precious opportunities to know Him and receive His lessons of truth. It also brought relief from rejection by the scribes and Pharisees and chief priests and religious leaders, who rejected Him because His teachings did not harmonize with the teaching of the professed people of God and they could not accept one unrecognized by rabbis and scribes teaching as one having authority, nor bear His love and mercy to those considered outcasts and sinners. The verse opens a meeting that shows He came to seek and save what was lost, drawing Zacchaeus with cords of love into merciful hands through prayer and tender leading and guiding rather than cutting him off, leaving him to Satan, or building barriers between God and his soul.
His attention and welcome to Zacchaeus show that people judged by outward appearance may still be reached and changed through Christlike tenderness and sympathy. Teachers and parents must not rule harshly or press humiliation until the sinner is driven to desperation and stubbornness, though the Pharisees found fault with such tenderness and mercy. Instead they must melt hard hearts, bring the erring to Christ, and instruct with tenderness from God's Word. His presence and message lead Zacchaeus toward repentance and a changed life, so that receiving Christ leads a person to abandon dishonest practices and make restitution to those wronged, with restitution as proof of sincere conversion. The account teaches that a person who recognizes what is hindering his Christian life should remove it, including by making right the wrongs done to others, because the value of the soul and salvation far outweighs money or possessions.
Jesus entered and passed through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem. Jericho lay a few miles west of the Jordan on the edge of a valley plain, among palm trees and gardens watered by springs, with limestone hills and ravines between it and Jerusalem. It was a stop for caravans traveling to the feast, a residence for many priests, and a busy center of trade including Roman officials, soldiers, visitors, and publicans, and His arrival drew eager crowds because He had raised Lazarus.
The verse sets the scene for His meeting with Zacchaeus, amid crowded streets and a procession passing below the tree from which Zacchaeus tries to see Him. The Zacchaeus whom He met there was a wealthy, rich chief publican and tax collector whom the Jews despised, regarded as objectionable and as lost and hopeless in the eyes of others, spiritually sick and needing extra help. He had heard the report of Jesus' kindness, teaching, and merciful works and longed to see Him, sought to see Him, and received Him into his home. Those words had taken hold of his heart and given him hope as he began to turn from wrongdoing, awakening his need to repent, reform his life, and repay those he had unjustly overtaxed, so that the truth sown in him was about to bear fruit for God's glory.
His joyful reception was one of the bright spots in Jesus' experience as the world's Redeemer, bringing relief from anguish over the unbelief of His own family, who were losing precious opportunities to know Him and receive His lessons of truth. It also brought relief from rejection by the scribes and Pharisees and chief priests and religious leaders, who rejected Him because His teachings did not harmonize with the teaching of the professed people of God and they could not accept one unrecognized by rabbis and scribes teaching as one having authority, nor bear His love and mercy to those considered outcasts and sinners. The verse opens a meeting that shows He came to seek and save what was lost, drawing Zacchaeus with cords of love into merciful hands through prayer and tender leading and guiding rather than cutting him off, leaving him to Satan, or building barriers between God and his soul.
His attention and welcome to Zacchaeus show that people judged by outward appearance may still be reached and changed through Christlike tenderness and sympathy. Teachers and parents must not rule harshly or press humiliation until the sinner is driven to desperation and stubbornness, though the Pharisees found fault with such tenderness and mercy. Instead they must melt hard hearts, bring the erring to Christ, and instruct with tenderness from God's Word. His presence and message lead Zacchaeus toward repentance and a changed life, so that receiving Christ leads a person to abandon dishonest practices and make restitution to those wronged, with restitution as proof of sincere conversion. The account teaches that a person who recognizes what is hindering his Christian life should remove it, including by making right the wrongs done to others, because the value of the soul and salvation far outweighs money or possessions.