Towards the end of the journey to Jerusalem, Luke reports a narrative that highlights the teachings on discipleship and recalls many of the themes presented during the journey narrative. It should be remembered that Mark ends his journey narrative with the healing of Bartimaeus. With the blind man's healing, Mark brings home the message that thsoe who have been made to see can walk behind Jesus. Luke rewrites the healing of the blind man by taking out the name of Bartimaeus and follows up the story with the one about Zacchaeus.
The narrative is well constructed: first, it shows Zacchaeus the chief publican, a wealthy man and short in stature trying to see Jesus. Prevented by the crowd, he runs ahead and climbs a sycamore tree. In other words, he was breaking the protocols for a public official in his desire to see Jesus. When Jesus reaches the place where Zacchaeus was, he calls him by name and tells him that he "must" stay at his place. Zacchaeus was overjoyed: he goes down the sycamore tree and begins to welcome Jesus. Those witnessing the event begin to murmur and Zacchaeus justifies the invitation by saying that he will give up a part of his wealth and pay back those he had cheated. The narrative ends with Jesus announcing that coming of salvation into the household of Zacchaeus and declaring his mission to seek and save those who are lost.
The narrative recalls many of the themes in the preceding chapters of Luke:
- the positive attitude of publicans to his person and message
- the proper use of wealth
- creativity (his height didn't stop Zacchaeus from getting a good look)
- the desire to know/see Jesus
- Jesus crossing the threshhold of clean and unclean to the objection of the crowd
- the conversion of Zacchaeus and his desire to give up his wealth -- albeit a part of it
- welcoming Jesus
- the "today" of salvation
- Jesus the good shepherd who seeks and saves what is lost
- Yeshua (Salvation/Jesus) entering Zacchaeus life and home
We have already given a brief synopsis of how publicans behave in the Gospel of Luke. It is to be noted that a "chief publican" would be to the eyes of many, a "chief sinner" and a "chief public enemy". Thus one can understand the murmurring of "all" in 19:7. Zacchaeus is described as wealthy. It must be remembered that when John the Baptist was preaching conversion, he told tax collectors to stop collecting more than the amount of tax required. Thus Zacchaeus' promise to pay back four-fold to everyone whom he may have cheated gives us a hint of how tax collectors operated in the first century. This promise, a gesture which he makes in the act of welcoming Jesus into his home, is also the expression of a life that is changed by a call.
In an earlier chapter, Jesus had talked about being creative. Zacchaeus' desire to know who Jesus is bigger than any complexes he may have because of his height. He climbed a tree so as to see Jesus as he passed by. Luke mentions Herod as another character in the gospel who wanted to see Jesus. This desire willl be met later on with silence. With Zacchaeus however, the desire of the publican was met with a call.
Jesus had earlier in the Lucan gospel met with opposition from the Pharisees due to his call of Levi and the party that followed this call. Once more, Jesus crosses the threshold of clean and unclean when he invites himself into Zacchaeus' house. The crowd's disapproval is expressed in one word "murmurring". In Luke 15:2, the Pharisees were the ones murmurring because of the way Jesus welcomes the publicans and sinners. That time, Jesus answered them with the parables of the lost and found. This time, it is Zacchaeus who answers for Jesus whom he addresses as "Lord". In this address, Zacchaeus professed to do what another rich man was unable to do: to give half of his wealth to the poor.
Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus; he responds to His call with a changed life. The act of welcoming Jesus recalls Luke 10:38. Martha welcomes Jesus into her home and immediately busies herself with the amenities of hospitality while her sister sits at the feet of Jesus. Later, Martha will be made to realize that welcoming Jesus is to make Him "the one thing necessary." Zacchaeus in professing to give out his wealth in order to make room for Jesus does just that: he welcomes Jesus as the one thing necessary in his life.
The word "today" is connected to salvation in five occurences before this episode. In Luke 2:11, one finds the "today" of Jesus' birth announced by the angels to the shepherds. In Luke 4:21 is found the "today" of the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. In 5:26, one finds the "today" of "amazing things" wrought by Jesus. In 13:32-33, Jesus gives a message to Herod about the work he is doing "today and tomorrow". All these "today" finds focus in the salvation that comes to Zacchaeus' life (19:9) and later in that of the repentant thief (23:43). "Today, salvation has come to this household" declares Jesus. One shoujld note that the aramaic for "salvation" is Yeshua, the name of Jesus.
Jesus tells everyone that Zacchaeus, being a "son of Abraham" is not excluded from salvation. He says this about a publican whom everybody else considers unsaveable. They cannot be ritually cleaned since they won't have the money that will be acceptable in the temple. The title "son/daughter of Abraham" is used by Jesus another time with respect to the the woman who was bent over for eighteen years. He heals her on the sabbath because it is her privilege, Jesus says, being a "daughter of Abraham". This particular concern about the "seed of Abraham" is underlined in Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:55): God has promised, and so He will show mercy to Abraham's descendants.
The narrative closes with Jesus' validation of the words of Zacchaeus
Today, salvation has come to this house,
because he also is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come
to seek
and to save that which was lost
Zacchaeus had been seeking to know Jesus, God's salvation proferred to men. In the end, the reader of Luke is made to realize that Jesus had been seeking Zacchaeus all along. The drama of conversion is such that one who thinks that he has finally discovered Jesus finds out with surprise and amazement that it was he who has been finally found. God's salvation is not an idea; it is palpable and perceptible. To know God's salvation is to know Jesus and to realize that one is known by Him.
Jericho is the last town Jesus passes before entering into Jerusalem. It was one of the big conquests of the people of Israel when Joshua led them into the Promised Land. In Luke 19:1-10 it becomes the stage where another one of the lost sons of Abraham is recovered and saved. "Come down, Zacchaeus" Jesus said, "I must stay in your house today". As the walls of Jericho fell down at the sound of the trumpets, so on the day that Zacchaeus heard the call of Jesus, he who was perched on the heights of a tree came down and was privileged to welcome Jesus into his house. Mary, the lowly handmaid had welcomed the word of the angel and so carried the Lord in her womb. Zacchaeus, short in stature but one of society's big men, left the heights and opened his heart to the Lord, giving Him room and thus welcomed him into his life.
