The Beginning:
Jesus enters Jericho as He passes through the city. Zacchaeus, described as a chief tax collector and wealthy, wants to see who Jesus is but cannot because of the crowd and because he is short.
The Middle:
Zacchaeus runs ahead and climbs a sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus. When Jesus reaches the spot, He looks up and calls Zacchaeus by name, telling him to come down because Jesus must stay at his house. Zacchaeus hurries down and welcomes Him gladly, while many in the crowd complain that Jesus has gone to be the guest of a “sinner.”
The End:
Zacchaeus responds publicly, pledging to give half his goods to the poor and to repay fourfold anyone he has defrauded. Jesus declares that salvation has come to Zacchaeus’s house, identifying him as a “son of Abraham.” Jesus concludes by stating His mission: to seek and to save the lost.
This episode highlights Jesus’ saving initiative toward those viewed as morally compromised and socially excluded. By calling Zacchaeus and entering his home, Jesus shows that God’s mercy reaches into real places of sin and unjust gain, bringing repentance and restored life. Zacchaeus’s restitution does not purchase salvation; rather, it manifests the transforming reality of salvation that Jesus announces—God reclaiming the lost and reasserting covenant belonging (“son of Abraham”) through the Messiah’s mission.
Tax collectors in the Roman system often contracted to collect tolls or taxes and were widely associated with greed, corruption, and ritual/social impurity. Jericho’s location on important trade and pilgrimage routes made it a strategic place for toll collection, which helps explain Zacchaeus’s wealth and the crowd’s hostility toward him.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” — Luke 19:10
Answer the questions below. When you choose an option, you will see the result and an explanation.
1. Why was Zacchaeus unable to see who Jesus was at first?
2. What did Zacchaeus pledge to do after Jesus told him He must stay at his house?