He was the chief of tax collectors; he was responsible for the taxes paid for the Romans: The Roman authority assigns him and in exchange he pays a certain amount of money, he assigns assistants that help him in collecting taxes from people. These collectors used to choose the amount of taxes according to their will, this way they used to make huge personal extra profits. For example, the chief of tax collectors in Jericho could be assigned and asked for ten thousand Dinars, so he goes on, collects twenty thousand and keeps the difference in his pocket.
Zacchaeus the tax collector was the chief of collectors in Jericho. The Gospel says that he was a rich man, but doesn’t say that he was a thief like most tax collectors in the Roman authority.
Zacchaeus had the curiosity to see Jesus when he knew that the Lord was meant to pass through Jericho. Did he just have curiosity to see a personality that has become famous in the country, or was there more spiritual depth?
All that we know is that he made an effort as he climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus because he was of short stature. Did Luke purposely describe Zacchaeus as short and tell us that he climbed a sycamore in order to show us that we have to overcome all spiritual difficulties in us if we wanted to meet Jesus?
When Jesus saw Zacchaeus sitting on the tree branch, he told him: “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house”. The Lord wanted to go into a conversation with the man that would take hours of the night.
Here the Gospel said: “So he made haste and came down”, it didn’t simply say “he came down”. He did exactly what Jesus wanted him to do. Then it says: “he received him joyfully”. Zacchaeus knew that this new teacher had things from God to say, words for his repentance. After entering the house, the shocking word from Zacchaeus came: “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”.
Who gives half of his goods to the poor? And why “fourfold”? Doesn’t this mean that he was afraid not to return everything he might have taken by false accusation through tax collecting?
After that, the saving verse comes from Lord Jesus: “Today salvation has come to this household”. Today, through the repentance of this man his old life is ended. Then the promise comes: “for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”. No person could be considered convicted or lost if he loved the Lord more than every humanly thing in him.
Translated by Mark Najjar
Original Text: “زكا العشار” – 31.01.11
