![]() “But Zacchaeus had had a great will to grow rich, and he had found there a way to that. If Zacchaeus had a small heart, he would have given up and not worked to see Jesus. It also probably affected his personality small in size, we can imagine how Zacchaeus was mocked and hated by others – and how he returned the favor by increasing the taxes on his victims. He was of short stature: His natural state gave him a disadvantage in seeking after Jesus. Perhaps Zacchaeus had heard that Jesus accepted people like him he longed to see this remarkable Man Jesus for himself.ĭ. He sought to see who Jesus was: Zacchaeus wanted to set his eyes on Jesus he sought after Him. “He should by his name have been a puritan (in the best sense), but he was an arch-publican, a public sinner, not simple, but subtle, a griping extortioner, a rich but wretched sycophant.” (Trapp)Ĭ. The name Zacchaeus means “pure one.” This man was anything but pure – until he received Jesus. Morris on chief tax collector: “The title is not found anywhere else, so its precise significance is not known, but it seems to point to the head of the local taxation department.” If you were a tax collector and you were rich, you were a rogue. When the tax collectors came to John the Baptist, asking how they could get right with God, he told them collect no more than what is appointed for you (Luke 3:13). A tax collector was highly motivated to make the taxes as high as possible. This was not only due to their natural dislike of taxes, but more so because of the practice known as tax farming, the collector made his profit on whatever extra he could get away with charging his victims. Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector: Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector, but a chief tax collector – and the Jews hated men like him. Men called it ‘The City of Palms.’ Josephus called it ‘a divine region,’ ‘the fattest in Palestine.’ The Romans carried its dates and balsam to world-wide trade and fame.” (Barclay)ī. Its gardens of roses were known far and wide. “It had a great palm forest and world-famous balsam groves which perfumed the air for miles around. Jesus entered and passed through Jericho: Jericho was an ancient and important city, and as Jesus passed through the city on His way to Jerusalem, it seems that the reason was to meet with this man named Zacchaeus. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.Ī. ![]() And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. ![]() Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ![]() Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. (1-4) Zacchaeus climbs a tree and risks ridicule to see Jesus. ![]()
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