Luke 19:1-10 (unique to Luke) (Year C October 30-November 5) is a biographical story of Zacchaeus, an imaginary scene. The connection of this story with Mk 2:14-17 is clear. The saying of Jesus to which the story builds in verse 9 is intelligible only in relation to the situation. It has an ideal character because it embodies a truth in some metaphorical sort of situation which, by reason of this wider reference, gives the biographical story its symbolic character, in this case giving consolation to the sinner who needs it.[1] It is a conversion story but has some unique features that may make it a vindication story. The incident occurs near the Jordan River, the place where John the Baptist conducted his baptism of repentance and where Jesus was baptized. However, of none of this is there any mention, and to add to this, Jesus does not baptize Zacchaeus, nor does he have his disciples baptize him.[2]
The Zacchaeus story both echoes and reaffirms some of the previous themes found in Luke's gospel. It recalls the concepts of salvation and wealth. Moreover, Luke's emphasis on sight and the actions of the crowd poignantly connects with the previous episode of Jesus' healing of the blind man. In 18:35-43, he meets a blind man, who, despite the hindrance of the crowd, garnered Jesus’ attention and his healing. What is interesting about both accounts — in which strangers respond positively to Jesus — is that they both follow Luke’s report of the obduracy of the apostles. Following the third passion prediction (9:22; 17:25), the disciples have no comprehension of the mission of their master (18:34). By contrast, although they did not know the full ramifications of Jesus’ purpose, the strangers Jesus met on the road knew that he was special and trustworthy. After the story of Zacchaeus, Jesus tells only one more parable before he prepares for his entry into Jerusalem. It seems then that Luke has placed this story at a prominent place in the narrative, as a positive example of a response that coalesces many themes of Jesus’ itinerant ministry. Right outside Jericho, the healing of the blind man not only resulted in his following Jesus but also changed the stifling crowd to one that issued forth in praise to God (18:43). The reader might expect that even greater miracles would happen within the town itself. Jericho could very well just be a town through which Jesus happens to travel, but for Luke the only other time that we hear of this town is in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Violent people attack the man in the parable on his way to Jericho (Luke 10:30). The roads from Jerusalem to Jericho were rife with danger, but the city itself was a wealthy city built by Herod the Great,[3] a fitting place to meet a character like Zacchaeus.
Jesus now enters Jericho, where he will find yet another person unable to see Jesus: Zacchaeus. Jesus has no plans to stop. He is simply "passing through it" en route to Jerusalem (see 18:31,19:28). The setting for this last incident in the travel narrative Luke has been providing is the wealthy Greco-Roman city of Herodian Jericho. This city, nothing like the Old Testament Jericho, was a beautiful municipality known for its fine buildings, wide streets, public squares, and well-appointed homes. Located near the Jordan River, Jericho was a major stop on the trade routes between Jerusalem, Judea, and cities that lay to the east. It was, therefore, an important customs and tax center, where toll collectors could shake down their victims, and beggars could confront the wealthy (cf. 18:35-42). Zacchaeus was there. He was a chief tax collector, the only character so designated in the New Testament. The term is a hapax legomenon, used only here in the NT and does not appear anywhere else in extant Greek literature. He had successfully made the highest bid for the toll income of a district for a fixed period.[4] It may refer to someone who "bought the local taxation rights from the Roman government."[5] Therefore, he may have had a contract with the government and hired other tax collectors to work for him.[6] In 5:27-32, Jesus calls Levi to follow him and then proceeds to have dinner at Levi’s house. The Pharisees protest Jesus’ actions and group tax collectors with sinners. In the eyes of the Pharisees, these two groups are people with whom the “righteous” should not engage (cf. 15:2). Again, in 7:34, Jesus repeats the Pharisees’ depiction of him as a “friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Finally, in 18:9-14, Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector who go to the temple to pray. In his prayer, the Pharisee boasts about not being like other people, especially the tax collector, whereas the tax collector humbly asks for mercy. Through this parable and through his interactions with tax collectors, Jesus combats the popular stereotype of tax collectors and emphasizes that God has called them as well. A reader of Luke’s gospel might think of Zacchaeus as a traitor to his people who exploits others for his own good, but if that reader has been paying close attention to Luke’s narrative, she or he would have learned that tax collectors generally fare well in Jesus’ life and stories (Luke 3:12; 5:27-29; 7:29; 15:1; 18:10-14). Jesus disregards popular opinion about them. Indeed, the rule of God breaks social boundaries and explodes social expectations. This chief tax collector was also rich, gaining wealth derived from the diligent pursuit of his occupation. A surprising feature of this man is that he was trying to see who Jesus was, but the crowd was large enough and he was small enough, that he could not see. Zacchaeus is curious. Like the blind man in the previous story, a physical limitation contributes to the crowd hindering him from satisfying his curiosity. By juxtaposing these stories, Luke highlights the importance of the theme of sight. The blind man, unable to see, asks the crowd what is going on. They answer him that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. Later, the crowd tries to prevent him from crying out to Jesus (18:39). Here, the crowd operates obstructively to the blind man's quest for sight. Similarly, Zacchaeus, due to his small stature and to the crowd, is unable to see Jesus. Here again, the crowd serves an obstructionist function.[7] Yet, each man overcomes the obstructions through his determined actions. This led Zacchaeus to run ahead of the path Jesus was traveling and climb a sycamore fig tree,[8] its low-spreading branches making it easy for a short person to climb. He is willing to endure the teasing of the crowd, who must have thought it funny that their chief tax collector, short man that he was, was up in a tree! Waiting out on a limb, he waits to see Jesus. The blind beggar called out to Jesus. Zacchaeus does not. When Jesus arrives at the spot chosen by Zacchaeus, he looks up and says in verse 5, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today. This was the Jesus chose to proclaim forgiveness in action, by lodging quite openly with this chief toll collector in Jericho.[9] This moment, this “today,” is by divine appointment, altering the intention of Jesus to simply pass through Jericho, and thus carries with it some urgency. In 2:11, the angels tell the shepherds that “today” Jesus is born in the city of David. In 4:21, after Jesus reads the Isaiah passage, he announces to the audience that his presence “today” fulfills this Scripture (cf. 23:43). In each case, “today” emphasizes the divinely appointed time of salvation. God has come now to redeem Israel and the nations (24:45-47). This tax collector’s redemption is part of God’s divine plan and timing. Zacchaeus does as Jesus asked and was happy to welcome Jesus into his home. The conversion story shows itself in this happiness, which contrasts sharply with the rich ruler who refused the salvation Jesus offers. The joy of Zacchaeus is also the antithesis of the grumbling reaction of the crowd to the self-invitation of Jesus to the home of the chief tax collector. The portion of the crowd who saw this, contrasting with the response of the crowd in 18:43 to the healing of the blind man, grumbles against what Jesus, a sign of their rejection of the message of Jesus,[10] has done in becoming the guest of a sinner, in this case, a term that for those engaged in despised trades.[11] With the complaints in the air, however, Zacchaeus said to the Lord (τὸν κύριον), addressing Jesus as Lord (κύριε) inviting him to see that he will give half of his possessions to the poor and if he has defrauding anyone he will pay back four times as much. Repentance for Jesus included an affirmation of guilt before God and others, and in this courageous act of making a public confession of sin. Experiencing salvation means he has shaken off the security of his possessions.[12] His promise is a magnanimous gesture that equaled or exceeded both Roman and Levitical law. Jewish Law required fourfold or fivefold recompense only for stolen oxen or sheep, if a person slaughtered or sold them, and if someone witnessed these actions.[13] Roman law required fourfold restitution in some cases such as wrongful accusation. At any rate, Zacchaeus' promise of restoration well exceeds what is necessary.[14] His stunning announcement occurs before he had the opportunity to hear Jesus proclaim his message or spend the night with him. His response to Jesus provides a fitting reversal to the episode of the rich ruler in 18:18-27. There the ruler refuses to let go of his possessions at Jesus' request and follow Jesus. Zacchaeus, on the other hand, without Jesus asking him, does what Jesus urged of the rich ruler. The tax collector, therefore, becomes an example of Jesus' statements in 11:25-27 that, although it is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, God can overcome this difficulty. Zacchaeus illustrates that all things are possible with God. Thus, we can view this statement as his confession of sin and repentance, pledging reparation for the past sins he has committed. Jesus brings sight. Zacchaeus' confession illustrates that he now sees and compels him to invite Jesus to see that he grasps the significance of this divinely appointed salvation moment.
The pronouncement of Jesus in verse 9 is that “Today (Σήμερον) salvation (σωτηρία) has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. Jesus makes this pronouncement before he has fulfilled his vow.[15] He is a foil to the rich young man, showing that it is indeed possible for a person of wealth to find salvation: "What is impossible with men is possible with God" (18:26 NIV). Here is another "outcast" to whom Jesus offers salvation. This conversion story gives us an insight into what repentance meant for Jesus. To this man it seems inconceivable that Jesus should want to look in on him, despised as he is and avoided by everyone else. Jesus restores the respect he has lost by staying in his house and breaking bread with him. He gives him his fellowship. This kindness on the part of Jesus overcomes Zacchaeus. It achieves what all the insults and all the contempt from his fellow citizens could not do. He experiences the joy of repentance, confesses his fault in public, surrenders his possessions, promises to make it all good, and help the poor (v. 8).[16]
In verse 10 (Lk 9:56, Mt 18:11) Jesus says, For the Son of Man (ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου) came to seek out and to save the lost.”[17] In Mark 2:17, we read that Jesus declares he has come to call sinners, for they are the ones in need of a physician. It is a summons to faith, to true life as intended by God, salvation being deliverance from anything that would hinder the formation of that life.[18] Jesus is offering a final soteriological insight into his own ministry. We learn that this story fulfills the mission of the Son of Man.
Looking back, this story is a quest story. Zacchaeus is in search of Jesus. His encounter with Jesus gives him insight into himself. However, we learn that Jesus is on a quest as well, as he has come to seek out the lost. It is a fitting commentary as he closes out his Jerusalem journey, like the mission statement he had offered at the beginning of the journey: "I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance" (5:32). Luke has thus bookended his story of Jesus by these two statements that define the salvific nature of his ministry. Zacchaeus, who wanted to "see who Jesus was," discovers that Jesus, the Seeker and Saver of the lost, is himself the quintessential Quester.
[1]
[2] Rengstorf, TDNT, VI, 617-8.
[3] (Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 414-15)
[4]
[5] (Laurence E. Porter, New International Bible Commentary, ed. F.F. Bruce [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979], 1219)
[6] Craig Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary New Testament [Downers Grove: IVP Press], 240.
[7] (John Nolland, Luke, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 35c [Dallas: Word Books, 1993], 907.
[8] Hunzinger, TDNT, VII, 758.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13] (Craig Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary New Testament [Downers Grove: IVP Press], 241.
[14] (John Nolland, Luke, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 35c [Dallas: Word Books, 1993], 906.
[15] Michel, TDNT, VIII, 105.
[16]
[17]
[18] Schweizer, TDNT, IX, 639.
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