1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; 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. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:1-10 KJV)
Thomas Scott
Verses 1-10: Zaccheus seems to have farmed the revenue of a certain district; so that he was “the chief among the publicans” in that neighbourhood, having many others under him, who either rented of him smaller portions, or were employed as his servants to collect the taxes. It is probable that he possessed considerable property before he engaged in this employment, as large securities were required of those who farmed the taxes under the Roman governors: but he had doubtless greatly increased his wealth by his lucrative occupation.—It does not appear that he had previously any serious concern about religion; and his contrivance to get a sight of Jesus, was probably the result of curiosity, which the miracle just before wrought on Bartimeus could not fail to increase.
In what manner the words of our Lord affected his mind we cannot tell; but without all doubt, they were attended with a divine influence to humble and change his heart, and to make way for true repentance and living faith. He therefore gladly welcomed Christ, and doubtless was further instructed, convinced, and determined by his discourse. While the Pharisees and others, as usual, murmured at our Lord’s inviting himself to be the guest of a man whose employment and character were infamous, in preference to any of the priests or Levites who resided there; Zacchaeus stood forth in the midst of the company, and avowing the change which had taken place in his judgment and disposition, he professed his purpose of immediately devoting half his wealth to charitable uses, and of making four-fold restitution to all those whom he had wronged.
The publicans were used to charge the people more than the real amount of their taxes; and then, if they refused to pay it, they “falsely accused them” to the Romans as disobedient to their authority; and thus they obtained the assistance of the military to enforce their exorbitant demands. In every instance in which Zacchaeus had thus, or in any other manner, oppressed and injured any man, he was determined to make the utmost restitution required by the law in case of concealed theft.—It has been argued that he could not have got much of his wealth by extortion, or his estate would not have sufficed for such a restitution after half of it had been given to the poor, especially if he reserved any part of it for himself.
But it is more reasonable to suppose, that he did not give half to the poor till after restitution had been made; as he could not previously consider his riches as his own even to give away. Perhaps he lay under a worse character than he really deserved: yet the transaction seems recorded as an illustrious triumph of mercy and grace; and the whole narration implies that he was before a man of bad character.—But Jesus, knowing the sincerity and humility of his professed subjection to the gospel, declared that “salvation was that day come to his house.” He and his family had before been estranged from it, but it was now come thither, “forasmuch as he also was a son of Abraham,” not only according to the flesh, but as being now made partaker of Abraham’s faith and privileges, and the promises made to him and his seed: for this was indeed the very end for which he, “the Son of man,” was come into the world, even to seek out and save lost sinners.—‘The name of Zaccheus (which is the same with Zaccai, Ezr 2:9) shows that he was a Jew.’—Doddridge.