Zacchaeus' Character

To fully grasp the profound nature of Jesus' saving work in Zacchaeus' life, we need to consider what kind of man Zacchaeus was before he met Jesus. In the story, Luke devotes only a few sentences to describing him, but even in this brief description his character emerges. He tells us that Zacchaeus was a tax collector, he was rich, he was short, and he was intensely disliked.

First, that Zacchaeus was a tax collector speaks volumes about him. Tax collectors are rarely popular figures, but in first century Palestine they were absolutely hated. The Jewish people were under Roman occupation. Their taxes went to what they saw as a cruel occupying force. So for Zacchaeus to be a tax collector, he was working with the enemy. Everyone had to deal with the Romans, but he was seen as befriending them and serving them. He was a chief tax collector—in the eyes of his neighbors, he was a high ranking traitor.

And if that weren't bad enough, he had made himself rich off his position. As a middle man, Zacchaeus had the freedom to charge people more and then skim that amount off for himself. So if you owed $1,000 in taxes, Zacchaeus would charge you $1,500 and take the extra $500 for himself.

Of course, what was most visible quality about Zacchaeus was his height. That's not insignificant. He was small of stature. And we get the impression that was on the short side of short. He was tiny. So tiny that he couldn't see over the heads of others to get a glimpse of Jesus. So tiny that he couldn't muscle his way through the crowd.

Zacchaeus wasn't physically impressive. We can guess that this shaped his personality in some way. Zacchaeus wasn't picked first for games. We can guess that he was scorned by others because of his size. And maybe that's why he was the ideal man to serve the Romans. In Zacchaeus the Romans found a man who was willing to betray his own race for money. Being a tax collector gave him power. It allowed him to feed his greed. It allowed him to push others around.

In light of his actions, it's understandable that Zacchaeus so despised. In Luke 19:7, we read that as soon as Jesus said he would dine with Zacchaeus, people began to grumble. He was known as a blatant sinner. This man cheated them to make himself rich. He collaborated with the Romans. He flaunted his money. He had turned his back on his people and his God. If anyone was spiritually lost, it was Zacchaeus the tax collector.

And I think that's exactly why Jesus went looking for him, and why he preserved his story for us.

(To be continued... )