This event has not been well served by countless retellings as a children’s story. If you’ve grown over-familiar with it, try to recapture its significance. It’s truly shocking that this up-and-coming religious teacher Jesus should be going out of his way to associate with someone so despised in the community. Tax collectors worked for the hated Roman government, greedily lining their own pockets by over-charging the people. As The Message version puts it, the people grumble about Jesus ‘getting cozy with this crook’ (v 7). In their eyes, Zacchaeus is definitely beyond redemption. But Jesus says that Zacchaeus – like the disabled and oppressed woman he met and healed earlier (Luke 13:10–13) – is a ‘son of Abraham’ – potentially as much God’s child as they are. 

Jesus never forgets that the heart of his mission is to ‘seek and save the lost’. And there can be no doubt that meeting Jesus is totally life-transforming for Zacchaeus. How can we tell? Because his immediate response is to unshackle himself from the love of money that has driven his career (v 8). A genuine change of heart always leads to changed behaviour.

‘If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?’¹

Jesus, the new Joshua, is in Jericho, not to overthrow it² but to save the lost. This specifies our mission: shalom for poor and rich alike. Reading previous passages, one can think that Luke has little hope for the rich. However, in Luke 18:35 – 19:10 we see that Jesus loves and calls rich and poor alike. A camel can get through a needle’s eye!³ As chief tax-collector, Zacchaeus is prosperous through his team. Such collectors were infamous for taking their own cut on top of Rome’s requirements. Unsurprisingly, they were despised as traitors and robbers. They were also seen as sinners (v 7). For Jesus, they were no more sinful than the rest of us.

Zacchaeus meets Jesus while in a tree. Jesus sees him and invites himself to stay with Zacchaeus. We see here Jesus’ desire to dwell with us all – he sees us and knocks on our hearts’ doors. Zacchaeus makes the right response to Jesus’ invitation – he hurries and welcomes Jesus joyfully. Moreover, he resolves to give half his wealth to the poor (such as Bartimaeus ⁴) and pay four times what he has taken illegitimately. This is stunning, since only 20 per cent restitution plus repayment was required! He then welcomed Jesus into his home.

Jesus then announces Zacchaeus’ salvation – praise God! A lost man and his family have entered the kingdom. His welcome of Jesus implies repentance and his social concern speaks of the obedience of faith. Despite his seemingly traitorous employment, he is Abraham’s son, for ever a member of God’s people. Now, Jesus gives the crispest definition of his mission in the Gospels: ‘the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost’ (v 10, TNIV). Filled with the Spirit, this is our mission – let’s do it!  

God, give me a heart like Zacchaeus. Open my eyes to see the lost, the Zacchaeus amidst the trees of life. Give me the courage to reach out to them. 

¹ 1 John 3:17, NIV  ² Cf Josh 6  ³ Luke 18:25  ⁴ Mark 10:46; Luke 18:35  ⁵ Lev 5:16