Luke 19:1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
There was to be a miracle at each end of Jericho. Long before, it had been cursed; now it was to have a double blessing.
Luke 19:2. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans,
That is, tax-gatherers
Luke 19:2. And he was rich.
As they often were, for they farmed the taxes, and then squeezed every farthing they could out of the people.
Luke 19:3. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
That was a fortunate thing for him. We need not all wish to be so tall as some people are. Perhaps Zacchaeus would not have gone up the sycomore tree if he had been a tall man; but the whole story turns upon something which many regard as a disadvantage: «he was little of stature.»
Luke 19:4-7. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured,
There is a great contrast between this verse and the last one in the previous chapter: «All the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.» Here it is, «When they saw it, they murmured.» Yet, very likely, many of them were the same people; certainly, they were the same sort of people that we hear of every now and then: «When they saw it, they all murmured.» There are far too many of that kind about still; we do not quite know who they are, nor where they are, they have a sort of nondescript, mysterious existence that finds expression in the words, «They say so-and-so and so-and-so.» They have been saying something about the minister, something about the Sunday-school, something about the Bible-class, something about your work and mine. You see, there always were such people about, and they always would talk, and their talk often took the form of complaining: «When they saw it, they all murmured,»
Luke 19:7. Saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
If he had not done so, he could not have gone anywhere, for all men are sinners. «All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.» But this man was a sinner above others, for he had sold himself to the hated Roman power, and was authorized to collect the conqueror's taxes from his own people; so, of course, in the estimation of the Jews, he was the worst kind of sinner that could be found anywhere.
Luke 19:8. And Zacchaeus stood,
And he did not talk at all like a sinner,
Luke 19:8. And said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor;
Some of those saints, as they reckoned themselves, had not done anything like as much as that: «The half of my goods I give to the poor;»
Luke 19:8. And if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
Which restitution was an act of justice; and when charity and justice go hand in hand, what more can we expect of men?
Luke 19:9-10. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
And that day he had both sought and saved one of the lost ones, for he had found Zacchaeus up in the sycomore tree, and he had brought salvation to the tax-gatherer's house. May he do the same for many who are here!
This exposition consisted of readings from Luke 18:35-43; and Luke 19:1-10.