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Christ Abides with Zacchaeus
Luke 19:1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
Luke 19:2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
Zaccheus probably oversaw a large tax district, and had other tax collectors working for him.
Jericho alone was a prosperous trading center, so it is certain that Zaccheus was a wealthy man.
It is striking to note that only a chapter earlier, Luke recorded the account of the rich young ruler, and Jesus’ statement about “how hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God” (18:24). Here Jesus demonstrates that with God, nothing is impossible (cf. 18:27).
Luke 19:3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.
Christ was probably traveling with a large entourage of pilgrims to the Passover in Jerusalem. But “the crowd” apparently refers to people in Jericho who lined the street to see Him pass through.
They had undoubtedly heard about the recent raising of Lazarus in Bethany, less than 15 mi. away (Jn 11). That, combined with His fame as a healer and teacher, stirred the entire city when word arrived that He was coming.
Luke 19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.
A sturdy tree with low, spreading branches. A small person could get out on a limb and hang over the road.
This was an undignified position for someone of Zaccheus’ rank, but he was desperate to see Christ.
Luke 19:5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
This was worded as a mandate, not a request. It is the only place in all the gospels where Jesus invited Himself to be someone’s guest. ..... Isaiah 65:1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name.
Luke 19:6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.
Such a despicable sinner as a typical tax collector might have been distressed at the prospect of a visit from the perfect, sinless Son of God. But Zaccheus’ heart was prepared.
Luke 19:7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
The Savior’s critics all complained against Him because He went to be a guest with a man who was a known sinner. They overlooked the fact that, coming into a world like ours, He was limited exclusively to such homes!
Luke 19:8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
Salvation had brought a radical change in the life of the tax gatherer. He informed the Savior that he now intended to give half his goods to the poor. (Up to this time, he had been gouging as much as possible from the poor.)
He also planned to make fourfold restitution for any money he had gained dishonestly. This was more than the law demanded (Ex. 22:4, 7; Lev. 6:5; Num. 5:7). It showed that Zacchaeus was now controlled by love whereas formerly he was mastered by greed.
There was little doubt that Zacchaeus had taken things dishonestly. Wuest translates v. 8b: “And since I have wrongfully exacted ...” No “if” about it.
It almost sounds as if Zacchaeus were boasting of his philanthropy and trusting in this for his salvation. That is not the point at all. He was saying that his new life in Christ made him desire to make restitution for the past, and that in gratitude to God for salvation, he now wanted to use his money for the glory of God and for the blessing of his neighbors.
Verse 8 is one of the strongest in the Bible on restitution. Salvation does not relieve a person from righting the wrongs of the past.
Debts contracted during one’s unconverted days are not canceled by the new birth.
And if money was stolen before salvation, then a true sense of the grace of God requires that this money be repaid after a person has become a child of God.
Luke 19:9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
Jesus plainly announced that salvation had come to the house of Zacchaeus, because he was a son of Abraham. Salvation did not come because Zacchaeus was a Jew by birth. Here the expression, “a son of Abraham” indicates more than natural descent; it means that Zacchaeus exercised the same kind of faith in the Lord that Abraham did.
Also, salvation did not come to Zacchaeus’s home because of his charity and restitution (v. 8). These things are the effect of salvation, not the cause.
Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
In answer to those who criticized Him for lodging with a sinner, Jesus said, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” In other words, the conversion of Zacchaeus was a fulfillment of the very purpose of Christ’s coming into the world.
Christ Gives the Parable of the Ten Minas
Luke 19:11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.
As the Savior neared Jerusalem from Jericho, many of His followers thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. In the parable of the ten minas, He disabused them of such hopes. He showed that there would be an interval between His First and Second Advents during which His disciples were to be busy for Him.
Luke 19:12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
Kings in Roman provinces like Galilee and Perea actually went to Rome to receive their kingdoms. The entire Herodian dynasty was dependent on Rome for ruling power, and Herod the Great himself had gone to Rome to be given his kingdom. This parable illustrates Christ, who would soon depart to receive His kingdom, and will one day return to rule. It is similar to the parable of the talents (Mt 25:14–30).
Luke 19:13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’
A Gr. measure of money, equal to slightly more than 3 months’ salary. The mina was one-sixtieth of a talent, meaning that the 10 servants in this parable had been given a considerably smaller sum to account for than any of the 3 servants in the parable of the talents (Mt 25:14–30).
Luke 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
This was precisely what had happened to Archelaus, son of Herod the Great, when he went to Rome to be made tetrarch of Judea. A delegation of Jews traveled to Rome with a protest to Caesar....
Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 121). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. MacArthur, J. F., Jr., MacDonald, Farstad, Believers Bible; Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2195). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
