Bible Study series: Luke 19:1-10. This a true story of a man who enthusiastically repented and proved that he genuinely did with action. “Today salvation has happened in this household.”
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 19:1-10
1 And after entering the town, Jesus went through Jericho. 2 And look! A man called by the name Zacchaeus, and he was a head tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see Jesus—who he is—but he was unable because of the crowd, for he was short in height. 4 He ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree in order to see where he was about to pass through. 5 And as he came to the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today!” 6 He hurried down and welcomed him gladly. 7 When everyone saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He entered to take accommodation at a sinful man’s house!” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Consider, Lord! I am giving half of my possessions to the poor! And if I extorted anything from anyone, I am restoring it fourfold!” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has happened in this household, because this man is also a son of Abraham, 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10)
Comments:
Why do we get Zacchaeus’s name here? Indeed, why do we have this story about him in Luke’s Gospel at all (and not in Matthew’s or Mark’s Gospels)? Luke researched these matters for his own Gospel, likely when he entered Jerusalem with Paul (Acts 21:17). Then Luke may have met Zacchaeus either near Jerusalem or in the city itself. Maybe Luke traveled around Israel for a week or two, though hugging the south in Judea (the province around Jerusalem). Did he get to Jericho, which is was eighteen miles away, a walk of about six hours? Probably. A two-day stay would have been sufficient to do his research and return soon enough to support Paul. So it may be the case that Luke interviewed Zacchaeus, if he was still alive two or three decades later, a wealthy member of the earliest Christian community. Or if he had died, Luke interviewed Zacchaeus’s friends or descendants. It’s as simple as that.
1-2:
So Jesus entered and went through Jericho, and this is where he was in the last chapter. But it’s not clear how far outside of the town he was. See my discussion at Matt. 20:29-34:
“look!”: it is a command or imperative that is often untranslated, but I like it. It is the storyteller’s art to draw attention to the people and action that follows. “As you, my audience, sit and listen to me read this Gospel, listen up! Look! An interesting person or action is being introduced. The story is about to take a noteworthy turn!” . Here Zacchaeus plays the prominent role, and his act or fruit of repentance comes at the end.
“head tax collector”: Being a head or chief tax collector, he must have overseen the tax farming system in his area.
For more about tax collectors, go to this post:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
“rich”: no doubt he skimmed money from the top of the tax collectors below him, in a quasi-pyramid scheme. In context, it could have been translated as “very rich,” but since Luke does not use a modifier like “exceedingly” or “very,” let’s leave it alone.
3:
Luke moves to the action of Zacchaeus. Verse 2 was about Zacchaeus’s identity. He was a rich tax collector. Now Luke describes what is about to do. He was trying to see Jesus and who is was (or is). I like the idea of seeing Jesus (direct object), who he is (his identity and ministry)—seeing and figuring out who he was.
4:
Zacchaeus was unable to see Jesus with his eyes, so he takes action. He ran ahead. Does a wealthy tax collector run? It’s difficult to imagine very many doing that. They must have walked with an entourage around them, for protection from a zealous or disgruntled citizen. But not Zacchaeus. He ran ahead. Then he takes the further undignified step of climbing a sycamore tree. Should a wealthy tax collector do such a thing? By running and climbing, he broke down social expectation and humbled himself by climbing up a tree! We saw this stepping over social norms with the blind beggar in the last chapter (named Bartimaeus in Mark’s Gospel). The ones leading the crowd told him to pipe down. Jesus values eager and sincere seeking of him.
5:
Jesus stood right below the sycamore tree. He may have caught a glimpse of him, as he hoisted himself up. If so, then that must have made Jesus smile.
6:
I like Zacchaeus’s enthusiasm again. He hurried down and went to his house and told his servants to get things prepared. The Master is stopping by for a visit. He welcomed Jesus gladly, rejoicing. Great image.
7:
Now the scene shifts to the crowd—everyone. They grumbled. It means “grumble, mutter, complain” (Matt. 20:11; Luke 5:30; John 6:41, 43, 61; 1 Cor. 10:10) and also “secret talk, whisper” (John 7:32). These are the only verses where this verb appears, so it is comparatively rare. Apparently, adding the preposition dia as a prefix makes things a little more thorough.
In any case, all the people knew about the large house of this rich chief tax collector. It must have sat as a memorial to the injustice and squeeze Zacchaeus placed on the populace. It was a scandal for Jesus to be seen entering the house. Everyone saw him do this, too.
“sinful man”: two words here, but let’s focus on “sinful.” It is the adjective hamartōlos (pronounced hah-mahr-toh-loss and used 47 times and used 18 times in Luke), and it means as I translated it. It is someone who does not observe the law, in this context: “unobservant or irreligious person … of one who is especially sinful.”
BDAG defines the adjective hamartōlos as follows: “pertaining to behavior or activity that does not measure up to standard moral or [religious] expectations (being considered an outsider because of failure to conform to certain standards is a frequent semantic component. Persons engaged in certain occupations, e.g. herding and tanning [and tax collecting] that jeopardized [religious] purity, would be considered by some as ‘sinners,’ a term tantamount to ‘outsider.’” Non-Israelites were especially considered out of bounds [see Acts 10:28].)” “Sinner, with a general focus on wrongdoing as such.” “Irreligious, unobservant people.” “Unobservant” means that he did not care about law keeping or observing the law.
Bible Basics about Sin: Word Studies
Human Sin: Original and Our Committed Sin
So Zacchaeus was not very careful about following the law and justice. And the people resented this. Normally it would have been the Pharisees and other legal experts who called out those who did not observe the law, but here everyone felt the same.
8:
It is charming and nice to observe Zacchaeus standing up to make an announcement. Did he feel the pressure from the crowd? No. He had felt this pressure for years and ignored it. What shifted his attitude of heart? Jesus. His presence and his words—not included here—made all the difference. This reason, not clearly spelled out, is one of Luke’s great omissions (see v. 18-19). He does this frequently, and he expects us to fill in the details. Recall that Zacchaeus was already eager to see Jesus, by the tax collector running on ahead and climbing up the tree.
And now for the announcement. He too uses the same verb that Luke did in v. 2—“Consider!” Since Zacchaeus stood up, he must have wanted the people in his house to notice him. Expanded translation: “Look at me and my announcement!” Or even more expanded: “People, please, listen up! I have the following announcement to make!”
And what an announcement. Remember what John the Baptist told the people who gathered around him at the Jordan River?
And the crowds were asking him, saying, “And so what should we do?” 11 In reply he began to say, “He who has two coats should give to the person who doesn’t have one. And the one who has food should do the same thing!” 12 And tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Don’t collect more than what has been ordered to you!” 14 And even soldiers asked him, saying, “What should also we do?” He said to them, “Don’t extort and don’t oppress! Be satisfied with your wages!” (Luke 3:10-14)
The tax collectors were called out in vv. 12-13. No doubt Zacchaeus heard about John and even went to be baptized. Jericho was on a major road going towards the Jordan River. Or he did go out to see John and was certainly not baptized. Zacchaeus was not yet ready to make such major changes, until Jesus appeared on the scene. It takes a while for change to happen in most people.
“half my possessions”: In Judaism, giving away twenty percent was not prudent. Zacchaeus was willing to give away half. “fourfold”: The law prescribed twenty percent to restore extortion (Lev. 5:16; Num. 5:7). The law imposed twenty-five percent on rustlers (Exod. 22:1). Zacchaeus went the extra-mile. He did not give away half of his possession to Jesus’s ministry, nor did the Lord insist on it. Jesus was obviously happy when the rich man gave it away to the poor. Can mega-ministry leaders today act as Jesus did if a rich man repented and said he would give away half of his millions to the poor and not to the ministry? Let’s hope so.
In any case, giving to the poor is a special concern for Luke. The principal word for poor appears 10 times in Luke (4:18; 6:20; 7:22; 14:13, 21; 16:20, 22; 18:22; 19:8; 21:3), contrasted with 5 times in Matt., 6 times in Mark and 4 in John).
9:
Zacchaeus made his announcement and act of repentance from a changed heart, and now Jesus makes one of his own. He pronounced salvation has reached and penetrated Zacchaeus’s house. It is interesting that the head of household leads the way for the blessing on the entire house (Acts 16:32-33).
“salvation”: the noun is sōtēria (pronounced soh-tay-ree-ah and used 46 times). BDAG defines the noun sōtēria as follows, depending on the context: (1) “deliverance, preservation” … (2) “salvation.” Here it means that Zacchaeus experienced God reaching down and touching his heart. Zacchaeus’s heart was changed, and he consequently generously gave away half of his possessions.
What Is the Source of Salvation?
What Is the Work of Salvation?
How Do We Respond to God’s Salvation?
“this man is also”: he too is a son of Abraham. He belongs to the covenanted people. So the populace, the people, should now stop sneering at him. He has repented. He needed salvation and was receptive enough to receive it. Now what about the general public? Are they willing to repent and show the fruit of their repentance?
10:
Jesus announces his main mission. Liefeld and Pao write: “This could well be considered the ‘key verse’ of Luke … The verse itself expresses the heart of Jesus ministry as presented by Luke—both Jesus’ work of salvation and his quest for the lost” Comment on v. 10).
Here’s what the Son of Man was commissioned and anointed to accomplish, in its essence. Recall the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-7) and the Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10). In both parables the shepherd and the lady of the house looked hard and high and low for his lost sheep and her lost coin. Here is a living example in this dinner with Zacchaeus (Bock, p. 1523).
The Gospel of John adds the clarification that Jesus came down from heaven in his mission. Matthew, Mark, and Luke merely hint at it. But he Father is behind it all.
5. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Came Down from Heaven
“to save”: The verb sōzō (pronounced soh-zoh) means “save, rescue, heal” in a variety of contexts, but mostly it is used of saving the soul. BDAG says that the verb means, depending on the context: (1) “to preserve or rescue from natural dangers and afflictions, save, keep from harm, preserve,” and the sub-definitions under no. 1 are as follows: save from death; bring out safely; save from disease; keep, preserve in good condition; thrive, prosper, get on well; (2) “to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction, save or preserve from ‘eternal’ death … “bring Messianic salvation, bring to salvation,” and in the passive it means “be saved, attain salvation”; (3) some passages in the NT say we fit under the first and second definition at the same time (Mark 8:5; Luke 9:24; Rom. 9:27; 1 Cor. 3:15).
“lost”: it means, depending on the context: (1) “to cause or experience destruction (active voice) ruin, destroy”; (middle voice) “perish, be ruined”; (2) “to fail to obtain what one expects or anticipates, lose out on, lose”; (3) “to lose something that one already has or be separated from a normal connection, lose, be lost” (BDAG). The Shorter Lexicon adds “die.”
Jesus’s mission was to seek and save the lost.
“Son of Man”: it both means the powerful, divine Son of Man (Dan. 7:13-14) and the human son of man—Ezekiel himself—in the book of Ezekiel (numerous references). Jesus was and still is in heaven both divine and human. It could also be rightly translated as “Son of Humanity.”
4. Titles of Jesus: The Son of Man
It is stunning to me that Jesus had advanced knowledge of the condition of Zacchaeus’s heart. He could read the thoughts and heart of people (Luke 5:22; Matt. 12:25; Mark 2:8; John 2:24-25). Now we know why he must stay at Zacchaeus’s house: his salvation.
2. Gifts of the Spirit: Word of Knowledge
GrowApp for Luke 19:1-10
1. Zacchaeus was eager and made effort to see Jesus. How eager are you and how much effort do you make?
2. What practical things have you done to show the fruit or results of repentance? Did you give anything away your resources or give your bad habits to God?
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 