Zacchaeus Standing in a Tree at JerichoBible World
19:2Luke 19:2
And, behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
Luke 19:2 names Zacchaeus as a Jewish holder of the chief tax office at Jericho who was rich, his rank and wealth coming from leadership among the tax collectors. His occupation was despised by the Jews as especially abhorrent and associated with injustice and extortion, so he was counted among outcasts and sinners and regarded by others as objectionable and hopeless, and his calling was not thought likely to refine character.
The verse places him in Jericho, a city on the western edge of the Jordan valley surrounded by palm trees and gardens watered by springs and set among limestone hills and ravines. Jericho was a major center of traffic where customs collection made it home to many tax collectors, and Roman officials, soldiers, and travelers from other regions were also there, alongside many priests. He was short in stature, and with the crowded streets blocking his view of Jesus he ran ahead and climbed a fig tree to see him. In that office he had unjustly taxed people, demanding exorbitant rates and gaining by false accusation and extortion.
Though he seemed worldly and proud, he was open to divine influence and longed for a better life and to see Jesus for himself after hearing reports of his merciful works and wonderful teaching. What he knew from Scripture and the words of Jesus reported to him convicted him that his practice was wrong, showed him his need to reform his life, to repent and to make restitution, gave him hope that repentance and a changed life were possible even for him, and made him desire to know more of his principles and doctrines, like seed sown in his heart and nurtured until about to bring forth a harvest. Even before meeting Christ he had already begun Christian works of giving half his goods to the poor and restoring fourfold anything gained by false accusation, but he found it hard to return from wrongdoing while facing suspicion and distrust.
Jesus welcomed him, chose to dine at his house, and treated him with tenderness as one come to save the lost, and his welcoming of Jesus stood as a bright spot in the journey through Jericho while Jesus faced unbelief from his own family and rejection by scribes, Pharisees, chief priests and religious leaders who opposed his authoritative teaching because it did not agree with their own. His example shows that outward status and a despised occupation do not reveal the heart, that people whom others might dismiss can be approached with mercy and become workers for God, and that those who have gone astray should not be abandoned or driven away but brought toward Christ with loving help. Genuine conversion leads a person involved in dishonest dealings to abandon unrighteous practices, to remove what hinders Christian growth, and to prove sincerity by practicing honesty toward others and making restitution, as he later promised to restore what he had taken.
Luke 19:2 names Zacchaeus as a Jewish holder of the chief tax office at Jericho who was rich, his rank and wealth coming from leadership among the tax collectors. His occupation was despised by the Jews as especially abhorrent and associated with injustice and extortion, so he was counted among outcasts and sinners and regarded by others as objectionable and hopeless, and his calling was not thought likely to refine character.
The verse places him in Jericho, a city on the western edge of the Jordan valley surrounded by palm trees and gardens watered by springs and set among limestone hills and ravines. Jericho was a major center of traffic where customs collection made it home to many tax collectors, and Roman officials, soldiers, and travelers from other regions were also there, alongside many priests. He was short in stature, and with the crowded streets blocking his view of Jesus he ran ahead and climbed a fig tree to see him. In that office he had unjustly taxed people, demanding exorbitant rates and gaining by false accusation and extortion.
Though he seemed worldly and proud, he was open to divine influence and longed for a better life and to see Jesus for himself after hearing reports of his merciful works and wonderful teaching. What he knew from Scripture and the words of Jesus reported to him convicted him that his practice was wrong, showed him his need to reform his life, to repent and to make restitution, gave him hope that repentance and a changed life were possible even for him, and made him desire to know more of his principles and doctrines, like seed sown in his heart and nurtured until about to bring forth a harvest. Even before meeting Christ he had already begun Christian works of giving half his goods to the poor and restoring fourfold anything gained by false accusation, but he found it hard to return from wrongdoing while facing suspicion and distrust.
Jesus welcomed him, chose to dine at his house, and treated him with tenderness as one come to save the lost, and his welcoming of Jesus stood as a bright spot in the journey through Jericho while Jesus faced unbelief from his own family and rejection by scribes, Pharisees, chief priests and religious leaders who opposed his authoritative teaching because it did not agree with their own. His example shows that outward status and a despised occupation do not reveal the heart, that people whom others might dismiss can be approached with mercy and become workers for God, and that those who have gone astray should not be abandoned or driven away but brought toward Christ with loving help. Genuine conversion leads a person involved in dishonest dealings to abandon unrighteous practices, to remove what hinders Christian growth, and to prove sincerity by practicing honesty toward others and making restitution, as he later promised to restore what he had taken.