Zacchaeus[1] was a wee little man, but not a man left out, was he. In the pericope of Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus (Luke 19:1-10), it is far too easy to skim the beginning of the narrative in order to get to the happy ending of Zacchaeus receiving salvation. Yet without a thorough understanding of the person of Zacchaeus, and his social and economic standing, the reader misses Zacchaeus’ extraordinary life of following Jesus’ economic teachings in light of his vocation and context. One also misses a major characteristic of Jesus, as Lord, the God of Israel who seeks after the lost sheep of Israel, who breaks down assumed boundaries of salvation, and who teaches that how one uses one’s money determines how one is seen in the kingdom of God.
In the Zacchaeus pericope, Christ is the Lord, God, who brings salvation by vindicating and bringing back into the Jewish people, Zacchaeus, who acts in accordance with what it means to live as a son of Abraham. In Luke’s introduction of Zacchaeus, and in Jesus’ response to Zacchaeus’ speech, Luke exhibits, through his orderly narrative structuring, diction, and Christology, that Zacchaeus is a faithful Jew, one who- although he has been ostracized by the religious elite on account of his vocation- lives a life characterized by repentance.
The story of Zacchaeus is a masterful piece of writing by Luke. At the beginning of the pericope, Luke gives three descriptors; he later gives a fourth- sinner. All of these descriptors act to destabilize any readerly expectations concerning the outcome of the passage. How will this Jewish man act in front of Jesus? Will Jesus once again prove a friend to a tax collector? Will Jesus give a rebuke or another condemnatory speech to Zacchaeus because he is rich? By setting up all of these inharmonious narrative boundaries around Zacchaeus, Luke tears all of them down, leaving it to the rest of the pericope to show how Jesus will receive Zacchaeus. Jesus decides Zacchaeus’ fate, not the reader.
Zacchaeus, in his speech, explains to Jesus how he treats his wealth and his vocation; Zacchaues gives to the poor and pays retribution, more than that required, to those he has learned he has defrauded. Alluding to John the Baptist in chapter 3, Luke shows how Zacchaeus lives a life of repentance, illustrating Zacchaeus as a true son of Abraham- a true Jew.[2] As both Luke and Zacchaeus refer to Jesus as Lord in the passage, Luke shows that Jesus is not only the one preaching hope to the poor and ostracized, but also the one who is capable of giving salvation, here and now, as he is the one who has come to seek and to save the lost sheep of Israel.
The church, in its reading of this pericope, must first become destabilized in reference to the labels it puts on different peoples. Those following Christ must name what boundaries we create we self-deceivingly think we have the authority and wisdom to decide who does and who does not deserve to receive God’s salvation, grace, and favor.
Jesus turns the world’s narratives on their heads and summons those who might follow him to live a life of repentance, which in the Zacchaeus pericope means giving one’s wealth to the poor and seeking justice in economic structures. When the church lives like so, may it pray in hope to hear the words, “Today, salvation has come to this house.”
Daniel J Reeves 