Have you ever wondered: What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus?
I have always been intrigued by the story of Zacchaeus in Chapter 19 of Luke. He’s the guy who climbed up a tree so he could see Jesus.
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-10 NIV
I just love the way Jesus invites himself over to Zacchaeus’s house so spontaneously and effortlessly. And I’ve always wondered what Jesus said to him that caused such a radical and immediate transformation of character.
What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus?
Of course, there’s no way to know. I wasn’t there and Luke, who’s writing about it, wasn’t there either. He says in the opening of his Gospel that he’s writing down what eyewitnesses have reported.
So, the easy answer to this question, “What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus?” is: All we know for sure is that Jesus told him to come out of the tree and that he would come to his house. But what Jesus said to him once he got there, no one knows.
I used to spend a lot of time wishing Luke had written down their conversation the way the Gospel of John records Jesus’s conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. That’s in Chapter 4 of John.
John gives such amazing details of how Jesus interacted with her. I always get a lot of inspiration when I read that story. Why couldn’t Luke have done the same thing?
Now, based on the title of this episode, “What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus,” if you thought I had some ancient secret source that revealed what Jesus said to Zacchaeus, you will be sorely disappointed. But I hope you’ll keep listening anyway, because there’s a lot we can learn from this story. And I will share some thoughts about the kinds of things Jesus might have said to the short little tax collector who climbed up a tree to see him.
What do we know about Zacchaeus?
First of all, what do these few verses in Luke tell us about Zacchaeus? Well, let’s start with his name. Zacchaeus comes from a Hebrew root that means “pure” or “innocent.” Think of the hopes his parents must have had when they named him this.
We have no idea of his backstory, except that he was Jewish. We don’t know what influences in his life caused him to work with the Romans as a tax collector.
He lived in Jericho, a very wealthy town at that time. And because of this wealth, there were lots of taxes being collected.
Zacchaeus was not just any tax collector, he was one of the main ones. It might be fair to assume he had worked his way up to this position.
Nobody liked tax collectors
Bible scholars generally agree that tax collectors, such as Zacchaeus, were despised by the Jewish population because they collaborated with the Romans collecting taxes. At the heart of the issue was the fact taxes went to the Roman Empire, ruled by Caesar, who was considered by them as a god. This was an affront to every Jew who was faithful to the one God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of their fathers.
But the Jews also hated the tax collectors because they had a reputation for charging more taxes than were actually owed. That’s how they became wealthy. Luke tells us Zacchaeus was very wealthy. The implication here is that he cheated a lot of people out of their money. Zacchaeus basically admits this later in the story, when he promises to return four times what he cheated people out of.
How would you feel if you paid your government taxes to an individual, who charged you, not just the taxes you owed, but another 20-30% and then kept that for himself? If you didn’t pay the extra, he would report you to the authorities and things would get worse very fast.
What else do we know about Zacchaeus? Well, the people saw him as a sinner, for these very two reasons. He had collaborated with the Romans and he had charged the people more taxes than they actually owed and got very wealthy because of it.
Why did Zacchaeus want to see Jesus?
When Zacchaeus heard Jesus was passing through Jericho, he wanted to see him. What does this tell us about the man?
Okay, I realize I’m reading in between the lines here, but Zacchaeus must have heard about Jesus before he came to Jericho. News of Jesus healing people must have spread far and wide, so when he showed up in Jericho, lots of people wanted to see him.
However it happened, Zacchaeus knew enough about Jesus to want to see him too.
So, just imagine everyone in town knows exactly who and what you are: a traitor to the Jews for working with the Romans and a long time cheat for charging too much tax. What would happen when he went out into the crowd, where everyone would recognize him.
Crucial detail: Zacchaeus was short
One of the crucial details of this story is that Zacchaeus was short. When he dared to show himself in public for the hope of seeing Jesus, he couldn’t see over the heads of the people in the crowd waiting to see Jesus pass by.
Now, just think about it. If you were one of those people and a friend of yours, who was shorter than everyone else, came up behind you and tried to get a good place to stand to see Jesus, you probably would have let him get in front of you, and so may have others.
But no one was allowing Zacchaeus to get in front of them. They felt no brotherly love for such a man.
What Zacchaeus did next tells us how intently he wanted to see Jesus. He ran ahead and climbed up a tree so he could see Jesus as he passed by.
Would you climb a tree to see Jesus?
Why do you think Zacchaeus was so desperate to see Jesus? Here’s a grown man, probably wearing very expensive clothes, more than likely accustomed to feeling superior to the people in this crowd. And he climbs a tree. Not necessarily a very dignified thing to do? I would imagine this is way outside of his normal sense of propriety for someone of his social stature.
I’ll ask again: Why was Zacchaeus so desperate to see Jesus? As I mentioned, he must have heard something about him and all his miracles. But he may have also heard of how Jesus treated people with love and forgiveness, and just imagine the gossip he may have heard about how Jesus interacted with the Pharisees. It was worth seeing a man like that.
Zacchaeus could have just been curious. But I think it was more than that. He may have been disillusioned with life. He had lots of money, and everything that went along with it at the time. But was he really happy with his life? Was he inwardly fulfilled?
I don’t think so. If he had been, he wouldn’t have been so extreme in his attempt to see Jesus. Now, I could be totally wrong. I wasn’t there. I did not talk to Zacchaeus about what was going on in his head or his heart.
Maybe he was just mildly, or perhaps even sarcastically, curious about this Jesus fellow he kept hearing about. Whatever it was, it impelled him to climb a tree to get a good look at him.
We don’t know how long Zacchaeus was in that tree waiting, but every minute probably increased his level of expectation and curiosity.
What Jesus saw in Zacchaeus
Finally, Jesus shows up and sees this little man in expensive clothes in a tree looking at him, and he stops. Can’t you just hear the crowd shouting nasty things to and about Zacchaeus?
But Jesus, as he always does, sees something the man on the street does not. He sees something in Zacchaeus that delights him.
When you look at all the types of people Jesus talked to, whether it was a poor person, a rich person, a person who was faithful to the Law or a sinner, a person of high social standing or an outcast of society, they all had one thing in common. There was some degree of receptivity to who Jesus was and to his message of healing and salvation.
That’s what he instantly saw in Zacchaeus: spiritual receptivity. Why else would such a man have climbed a tree to see Jesus? No one else saw this, but Jesus did.
The invitation
So Jesus tells the short little tax collector to come down out of the tree and then invited himself over to his house.
I bet no one has ever gotten out of a tree so fast. Zacchaeus must have been delighted beyond his wildest dreams. Here was the man he had heard so much about and he was coming to his house.
If you had been in that crowd, how would you have responded? They were totally disgusted. All they could see was Jesus going to spend time with the worst sinner they knew. They had come to see Jesus too, perhaps in hope of being healed. It didn’t seem fair. Zacchaeus had robbed them of their money. Now he was robbing them of Jesus.
When someone you know, whom you don’t think deserves a particular honor or recognition, gets it anyway, how do you respond? It doesn’t seem fair, does it.
Not always, but sometimes there may be something bigger going on that you’re not aware of. That was certainly the case for Zacchaeus. And even though Jesus left the crowd, it would end of being a blessing to them.
Some of this story is missing
Now, there’s a big gap in the story. Jesus has gone to Zacchaeus’s house, but then we don’t know what happened. All of a sudden, Zacchaeus is standing up and says that famous line:
“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Luke 19:8 NIV
This is where I have always wondered what Jesus said to cause Zacchaeus to offer half his wealth to the poor and to restore four times what he cheated people out of. If only the crowd on the street could hear him now.
What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus?
What did Jesus say to him? The more I’ve asked this question, the more I’ve realized the real question in my heart is: What I could say to someone like Zacchaeus that would cause a similar moral transformation?
And as I’ve continued to think about this, I’ve also realized that it was not just the words Jesus said, as if they were a magic formula anyone could repeat and expect the same results.
It wasn’t just what Jesus said, but how he saw Zacchaeus that transformed him. I can only imagine Jesus said the same kinds of things he always said to people. He probably told a parable or two to make a point in a way Zacchaeus could accept it. He probably told him about the kingdom of heaven, that it was at hand, and not just way off in the future. And undoubtedly, Jesus discerned what was in Zacchaeus’s heart and then said exactly what God told him to say.
If you’ve been listening to The Bible Speaks to You Podcast for a while, you know I often quote these two verses,
For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. John 12:49, 50 NIV
It’s not just the words Jesus said
If you or I knew the exact words Jesus said to Zacchaeus and repeated them to someone buried in their sins, would those words, without the spirit of love behind them, have the same healing effect? No. Words don’t heal. Love heals.
The secret is not to repeat the exact words Jesus may have said to Zacchaeus or anyone, but to listen for what God tells you to say in every situation.
Jesus could see beneath all the outward appearances Zacchaeus put forth. He must have given Zacchaeus a new view of himself as well.
At the end of their conversation, Jesus proclaims
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. Luke 19:9 NIV
In other words, Jesus saw his value as a child of God.
The love behind the words
If you want to bring moral and spiritual transformation to someone, the words you say are important, but not nearly as important as the love behind those words.
Are they words you’ve memorized from an evangelical tract of what to say to someone to scare them into repentance and believing in Jesus? Probably not if you’re a regular listener to this podcast, but that’s the way some people approach sharing their faith.
If you can only see the person you’re trying to reform as a miserable sinner, you’re sort of like the people in the crowed who saw Zacchaeus that way. Did their perspective bring healing and transformation? Absolutely not.
Jesus saw what was spiritually true about Zacchaeus, that he was a son of Abraham, entitled to the blessing God gave Abraham and all his descendants, in fact, the whole world. God says,
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. Genesis 18:18 NIV
Jesus could bear witness to this blessing applying to Zacchaeus and must have given him a glimpse of it as well.
You might even say that Jesus saw Zacchaeus in the light of the meaning of his name, which was “pure” and “innocent.”
Modern day Zacchaeuses
So how does this story apply to you and me? Who are the Zacchaeuses of the world today, the people who are wealthy by dishonest means? And there are plenty of them. They need to hear the words of Christ and feel Christ’s love.
Not every tax collector and sinner were up in a tree that day in Jericho hoping to see Jesus. And so it is today. Not everyone who has cheated their way into wealth is curious or desperate to learn about who Jesus is. But there are some who are.
They may not admit it openly. They may not be totally aware of it themselves. But they’ re beginning to see that having lots of money doesn’t really satisfy their deeper needs to love and be loved.
They may not be literally up in a tree, but they’re making some sort of effort to, and are at least a little receptive to, the possibility of finding out how Christ can give them hope and bring redemption to their lives.
Today’s possibilities
Imagine the blessing and rejoicing in Jericho when Zacchaeus distributed half his wealth to the poor and then restored four times what he had cheated people out of. What if this happened today?
Now, you may be thinking: Hey James, what happened with Zacchaeus is wonderful, but that could never happen today. Jesus isn’t here on earth the way he was back then to talk to people the way he did.
Well, I agree with the last part of that statement, but not with the first part. What if you could think and love people the way Jesus did? What if you could see everyone, even the folks who have cheated their way to wealth, the way Jesus saw Zacchaeus? What if you could love them the way Jesus would? What if you had a reputation for loving this way, the way Jesus did?
And what if you practiced saying only what you heard God tell you to say, the way Jesus did?
To the degree you can think, pray, see, and love the way Jesus did, you will notice when the modern day Zacchaeus is up in a tree wanting to see you. You’ll be bold in the way you interact with them. You will see beyond their sins, all the way back to their original identity and value as a child of God.
The crowd will not understand. They’ll say you’re wasting your time. But if your motive is to glorify God and minister to the receptive heart in need, then you be following in Jesus’s footsteps, literally and spiritually.
Imagine what would happen if even just a handful of people who have become wealthy by dishonest means, experienced the transformation Zacchaeus did? What would that do to their communities? How would that bring blessings to the people they had cheated? How would they feel about themselves and act in the future?
I’m not talking about social justice work trying to orchestrate a redistribution of wealth. I’m talking about you and me seeing the world through Jesus’s eyes and loving people with his heart. And then treating people accordingly.
You can love the way Jesus did
Jesus expected us to follow his example in every aspect of his life. You may not be walking on the water and raising the dead, but you can start right this moment to love the way he did.
And how is this even possible? How on earth can you and I ever hope to love to the same extent and in the way Jesus did?
Paul gives a simple answer that settles the question.
…we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV
You can never love the way Jesus did with your limited human mind. But because you have the mind of Christ, you can love the way Jesus did.
You can never love the way Jesus did with your human love. But because you have the love of Christ in your heart, you can love with his love.
The time to do this is right now. You don’t need to think and pray and do a lot of Bible study to be ready. You are ready right now to begin, even if it’s just a few baby steps in the right direction.
Do you know a modern-day Zacchaeus?
So where do you start? Maybe you know someone personally who has cheated their way to success. Or you’ve probably heard of someone like this in the news. Right this moment, see them through the eyes of Jesus. Love them with the love of Jesus. See past their sins to bear witness to how God originally made them in the divine image and likeness.
If you are already actively seeing and loving the way Jesus did, then you’re following in his footsteps and blessing mankind more than you are perhaps aware of.
As you grow in your ability to think, see, and love like Jesus did, don’t be surprised when you see a modern day Zacchaeus waiting to talk to you. Maybe up a tree, but it could be anywhere. Jesus was spiritually alert to hear Zacchaeus’s call for help. And so will you.
It will not be just a question of what you say to them, although that’s important because you’ll be listening for what God tells you to say. It will be how you see them as a child of God, how you love them, that will make all the difference.
The question is no longer: What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus? It becomes: Will you love the Zacchaeuses in the world today the Jesus would?
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Luke 19:1-10 NIV
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:8 NIV
8 “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
John 12:49, 50 NIV
49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.
50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.
Luke 19:9 NIV
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
Genesis 18:18 NIV
18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV
16 …we have the mind of Christ.
