We turn our attention to Luke 19:7-10. Zacchaeus, a tax collector for Rome, was called by name. Jesus called him down from the sycamore tree and told him he would eat with him. Zacchaeus hosted Jesus and at least some of his troop that day. Jesus had not been invited; Zacchaeus had been invited. That was the decision of the Son of God.
It was a savior's decision.
In verse ten, Jesus said plainly and publicly for all to hear, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
The part about being lost – that was past tense. It had already happened. The part about seeking and saving was present tense. It was the ongoing mission of the Son of man. The fall of man, his sinful nature, his need for redemption – all were concepts widely known and believed. Nothing about those concepts was foreign to the people standing around at the time.
Jesus said what he said for a pointed reason. Zacchaeus was not the only one standing there who was lost. He was an example of being lost, an example of the need for salvation, an example of God's grace.
The people had complained, they stood there and accused Zacchaeus of being a sinner. Sinners accusing sinners obviously ticked Jesus off. We can be so dense sometimes. And it wasn't just a few ornery individuals pointing the finger. Verse seven goes like this: “And when they saw it, they all murmured . . .”
Who, exactly, were 'they'? The people who had come to town with Jesus? Had he not traveled the country healing their diseases and forgiving their sins? His disciples? Had he not taught them better? Townfolk? Could they really be so grudging?
It was Jewish nature that accused. The national concept of a savior was bent around the hope that someone would save them from Rome. Rome was despised. Romans were despised. Anyone who sold out to Rome was despised. Was Zacchaeus a sinner because he collected taxes for the Romans? The Jewish consensus was a resounding 'Yes!'
The bruised and burdened Jewish heart accused anyone who worked against the Jewish state. Jewish equaled good, Roman equaled bad. Law of God equaled good, law of Rome equaled bad. It was a natural reaction for that day and age.
While those around Jesus spoke ill of Zacchaeus, murmuring, accusing, Zacchaeus, on the other hand, made confession. In the spirit of making things right, he confessed to Jesus that either he would make things right, or was already in the process of making things right.
He said this in verse eight, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”
The Hebrew law, found in Exodus 22, deals with the restoration of lost goods and requires a twofold, fourfold, or fivefold restoration.
To a son of Abraham, charity is a fundamental way of life. Jewish law requires an individual to give one tenth of his substance to the poor. “Tzedakah” is the Jewish word for charity. It is taken from the root “Tzadei-Dalet-Qof ” which translates as righteousness, justice or fairness.
A good article on this topic may be found here: http://www.jewfaq.org/tzedakah.htm
Zacchaeus worked for the Romans, but he was a fair and a just man who obeyed the laws of God. In everything we read about the man in these verses, we see a desire toward God and his laws. Zacchaeus had such a desire to see Jesus, who he unreservedly called Lord, that he climbed a tree, and when called down, “He made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully,” verse six.
Jesus judged the situation and the man in verse 9, “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.” Inasmuch as Zacchaeus was a son of Abraham no less than those who accused him of sin, and since it was the Son of man's ongoing mission to seek and save such sons of Abraham, Jesus clearly displayed the type of spirit in a man that is right with God and God's law.
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