Luke

19:1-10

The teachings of Messiah, 9:51-19:44

6. Discipleship and the rejected king, 18:15-19:44

iv] The faith of Zacchaeus

As he was passing through Jericho, Jesus is confronted by a tax collector called Zacchaeus. In this pronouncement story we learn how Zacchaeus gets to see Jesus, Jesus' warm response in reaching out to this social outcast, the grumbling of the crowd, the generous response of Zacchaeus, and Jesus' pronouncement that Zacchaeus is a true son of Abraham, ie., he possesses the faith of Abraham. A saying then places the episode within the context of the messianic mission of the Son of Man to save the lost, v10.

The messianic mission of the Son of Man is to save the lost, abiding with them through faith.

i] Context: See 18:15-17. The faith of Zacchaeus is the fourth episode in the teaching unit Discipleship and the Rejected King, 18:15-19:44. This series of studies depict Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem, revealing something of his messiahship, and his teachings on discipleship, a discipleship which is grounded in divine grace and appropriated through faith. Having revealed that the children of faith are those who receive the kingdom of God as a little child receives a gift, Luke goes on to make the point that the gift cannot be earned, but is appropriated by faith (faith in Christ's faith / faithfulness). It is through faith, a faith like Abraham's, that Jesus abides with the sinner; the Son of Man came to save the lost.

ii] Structure: The faith of Zacchaeus:

iii] Interpretation:

iv] Synoptics:

v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.

Saving faith- the story of Zacchaeus and his salvation, v1-10: i] Setting, v1: Jericho was a major trading town, serving as the main customs point for all imports into Palestine from the East. It was deep in the Jordan valley, about 30 kilometres east of Jerusalem.

kai "-" - and. Transitional, here used to indicate a step in the narrative, but by using kai instead of de, Luke indicates to the reader that this story has a coordinating attachment to the proceeding story of the healing of the blind man. This supports the proposition that saving faith remains the dominant theme. "Then he went into Jericho", Phillips.

eiselqwn (eisercomai) aor. part. "Jesus entered" - having entered. The participle is adverbial, temporal, "after Jesus had entered Jericho", Cassirer.

dihrceto (diercomai) imperf. "was passing through" - he was passing through [jericho]. Durative, so he had entered Jericho and "was on his way through it", Barclay. Of course, the imperfect is often used for background information, and that may be the only reason for its use here.

ii] Zacchaeus is determined to see Jesus, v2-4: Zacchaeus, as the "chief tax collector" of the area, would take a cut for himself from the taxes he raised for the Roman administration. In today's terms, he is a corrupt politician, very wealthy, and hated. Obviously, he has heard of Jesus, a messianic hopeful who associates with social outcasts like himself, and so he is determined to get to meet with Jesus, a determination that shows how the good news of the coming kingdom has already touched him.

kai idou "-" - and behold. Serving to focus the reader's attention, even promote surprise; "and suddenly", NJB.

onomati kaloumenoV "by the name of" - [a man,] the one being called by name. A pleonastic construction - a redundant duplication; "whose name was", NJB. The participle kaloumenoV is best viewed as a substantive standing in apposition to "man". The dative noun onamati is adverbial, reference / respect; "with respect to his name."

ZakcaioV "Zacchaeus" - zacchaeus. Complement of the nominative subject, "the one being called", standing in a double nominative construction and stating a fact about the subject. From the Hebrew of Zechariah, a good Jewish name.

arcitelwnhV "chief tax collector" - [and he was] a chief tax collector. Predicate nominative. Zacchaeus was the head government official in Jericho for the collection of revenue and probably most other government business. He would have purchased this rite, even tendered for it. Our equivalent, head of the department of taxation, does not fit since Zacchaeus was regarded by his fellow Jews as a traitor, in the pay of Rome. As part of the tax component, a percentage went to the tax collector, set at his discretion, heightening the people's hate of the profession. We may be better served if we call him "a powerful corrupt politician."

polousioV adj. "wealthy" - [and he was] rich. Predicate nominate of an assumed verb to-be. How hard is it for a person who has wealth to enter the kingdom of God? cf. 18:24. Obviously not hard for a person who has faith.

ezhtei (zhtew) imperf. "he wanted" - [and] he was seeking. Do we put the weight on his seeking of Jesus, or on Jesus' seeking of him? The imperfect is possibly tendential / conative, serving to express attempted action, so "he was trying to see Jesus", Barclay, possibly "eager to see", Fitzmyer.

idein (eidon) aor. inf. "to see" - to see [jesus]. The infinitive may be classified as complementary, completing the sense of the verb "he wanted", although with cognitive verbs an infinitive may also be classified as forming a dependent statement of perception, here expressing what Zacchaeus wanted. Is it just "see" or "meet with"?

tivV estin "who [Jesus] was" - who he is. The interrogative pronoun introduces an indirect question, dependent statement of perception, expressing what Zacchaeus wanted "to see", "Who / what is he?". Note the use of the present tense, as originally used by Zacchaeus' in his musings. Possibly "What is Jesus like?", or maybe just "trying to see [among the crowd] which was Jesus", TNT.

ouk hdunato (dunamai) imperf. pas. "he could not" - [and = but] he was not able to see. "But he could not see him", NAB.

apo + gen. "because" - from [the crowd]. On rare occasions this preposition expresses cause, as NIV, but the more common sense of source / origin is still possibly intended, ie., from his position in the crowd Zacchaeus was not able to see Jesus because he was short, cf. Culy.

oJti "because" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why he could not see, namely, "as (because) he was so small in stature", Williams.

th/ hJlikia/ (a) dat. "a short [man]" - [he was short] in height. Dative of respect; "with respect to his height, he was little." Obviously it is Zacchaeus who is short, not Jesus, as some have argued, although there is nothing intrinsically wrong with Jesus being named among "the short people"! Of course, as Nolland notes, as far as the crowd is concerned, Zacchaeus' littleness is more than just height, and so no one is likely to get out of his way and let him see Jesus.

prodramwn (protrecw) aor. part. "[so] he ran ahead" - [and] having run ahead. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to climb"; "he ran ahead and climbed ....." Possibly adverbial, temporal, "after running on ahead", TH.

eiV to emprosqen "-" - into the front. Pleonastic, ie., redundant. Variant readings exist without this prepositional phrase.

epi + acc. "-" - [he climbed up] upon. Spatial; "up into a sycamore tree."

sukomorean (a) "sycamore-fig tree" - a fig mulberry, sycamore fig. This tree looks like an Oak tree and can grow into a very large tree.

iJna + subj. "to" - that [he might see him]. Introducing a final clause expressing purpose; "in order to see him." "To catch sight of Jesus", Fitzmyer.

oJti "since" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why Zacchaeus climbed up a tree, namely, because Jesus was travelling that way.

ekeinhV gen. pro. "that way" - [he was about to pass] that way. "Way" understood. Genitive of space; "he was about to pass through that way", Wallace.

iii] Jesus opts to stay with Zacchaeus, v5-6: Jesus is an expert in reading human nature and he certainly reads Zacchaeus. Here is Rome's local representative willing to degrade himself by climbing a tree to get to meet with Jesus. Zacchaeus' obvious acceptance of Jesus, his faith in Jesus, is rewarded by Jesus' acceptance of him, and as a consequence Jesus invites himself for a meal.

wJV "when [Jesus reached]" - as / while [he came]. Here the conjunction takes a temporal sense, as NIV.

epi + acc. "-" - to [the place]. Spatial.

anableyaV (anablepw) aor. part. "he looked up" - having looked up [jesus said to him]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "said", as NIV; "looked up and said."

speusaV (speudw) aor. part. "[come down] immediately" - [zacchaeus] having hurried [come down]. The participle is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of the command to "come down"; "quickly come down", Bock.

gar "-" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why Zacchaeus should come down from the tree.

dei "[I] must" - it is necessary. Divine imperative?

meinai (menw) aor. inf. "stay" - [me] to remain, abide, stay [today]. The infinitive serves as the subject of the verb "is necessary", with the pronoun me, "me", the accusative subject of the infinitive; "me to stay [today in your house] is necessary" = "I must be your guest today", Phillips. Obviously, "stay overnight." For a complementary classification for this infinitive, see grayai, 1:3. Note that with the adverb shmeron, "today", some suggest there is an allusion here to "the day", that coming day, which for Zacchaeus has come. The position is emphatic; "today I must stay at your house", NAB.

en + dat. ""at [your house]"" - in [the house of you]. Local, expressing space.

kai "so" - and. Here consecutive, expressing result, BDF.442[2], as NIV; "and so."

speusaV (speudw) aor. part. "at once" - having hurried [he came down]. The participle is adverbial, probably modal expressing the manner in which the action of the verb "came down" is accomplished; "he climbed down as quickly as he could", REB.

cairwn (cairw) pres. part. "gladly" - [and welcomed him] rejoicing. Again, the participle is modal, expressing the manner in which he welcomed him. Possibly "gladly welcomed him", CEV, or "welcomed him joyfully", TNT. The image is of an outcast joyfully accepting, and thus entering the coming kingdom. Marshall notes that Jesus' entry into Zacchaeus' home serves as a sign of forgiveness.

iv] The crowd is not impressed, v7: Their muttering is typical, cf. 5:30, 15:2.

idonteV (eidon) aor. part. " saw" - [and all] having seen. The participle is adverbial, probably temporal; "when they saw this", Moffatt.

diegogguzon (diagogguzon) imperf. "began to mutter" - were complaining, grumbling, murmuring. The imperfect is probably inceptive, highlighting the commencement of the action, as NIV; "they began muttering with indignation", Weymouth, "muttered their disapproval", Phillips.

legonteV (legw) pres. part. "-" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle, redundant, but see legwn, 4:35..

oJti "-" - that. Here introducing a dependent statement of direct speech.

katalusai "to be the guest of" - [he entered] to lodge, rest. The infinitive is adverbial, final, expressing the purpose of Jesus' going; "in order to lodge with him", and he a sinner.

para + dat. "-" - with [a sinful man]. Expressing association, emphatic by position; "with a sinful man, he entered ...." Jesus "has gone to stay with a real sinner", Phillips.

v] Zacchaeus' response, v8: Zacchaeus, in response to the disapproval of his neighbours, proclaims how his faith has changed him. There is no indication that Jesus has demanded this response, rather it comes out of a changed heart; it is the evidence of "faith expressing itself through love", Gal.5:6. Zacchaeus' offer of half his wealth to the poor is overly generous, as is his willingness to repay fourfold to those from whom he has "unlawfully exacted" taxes. We are reminded that those who are forgiven much, love much.

staqeiV (iJsthmi) aor. pas. part. "stood up" - [but/and] having stood, having taken his stand. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb eipen, "said"; "Zacchaeus stood and said." The standing up possibly serves to underline the importance of what Zacchaeus is about to say, or better, as a reaction to the negative response of his neighbours, thus a defence of Jesus' visit to his home, now appropriate since he is a changed man; "Zacchaeus stood his ground and said", NJB.

proV + acc. "to [the Lord]" - [zacchaeus said] toward [the lord]. The preposition is used here to introduce an indirect object instead of a dative.

kurie (oV) voc. "[Look], Lord!" - [behold] lord, master, sir. Vocative. "Lord" is surely intended, rather than just "sir".

didwmi pres. "I give" - i am giving. The present tense here is interesting. The action is durative, but Zacchaeus is obviously not handing money over at the present moment, so is the action progressive, ie., he has, in the past, began giving and has continued giving into the present, or is it futuristic, ie., he is asserting his intention to give in the future? So, the sense may be "I now give", Williams, or "I am giving", Rieu, or "I am going to give", Barclay.

ta hJmisia pl. adj. "half" - the half. The articular adjective serves as a substantive, object of the verb "I give." A 50% giving regime is excessive; the Pharisees regarded 20% as generous. The adage applies here, those who are forgiven much love much.

twn uJparcontwn (uJparcw) gen. pres. part. "of [my] possessions" - that which exists. The participle serves as a substantive, with the genitive adjectival, partitive; "a half of my possessions", "my fortune", Rieu.

toiV ptwcoiV dat. adj. "to the poor" - to the poor. The adjective serves as a substantive, dative of indirect object.

ei + ind. "if " - if. Introducing a conditional clause, 1st. class, where the condition is assumed to be true, "if, as is the case, ..... then ......." Zacchaeus has extorted, therefore best not translated "if", given that "if" in English is conditional, but rather, "from whomsoever I have wrongfully extracted anything", Marshall.

esukofanthsa (sukofantew) aor. "I have cheated" - i slandered = defrauded [something]. "Unlawfully exacted", Nolland.

tinoV gen. pro. "out of anything" - of a certain one. The genitive is ablative, expressing separation.

apodidwmi pres. "I will pay back" - i am paying back. Again, the present tense may be futuristic, see above, as NIV.

tetraploun adv. "four times the amount" - fourfold. Again, such theft would require the repayment of what was stolen + a fifth. Zacchaeus offers more than is required by the law - a fruit of faith.

vi] Jesus' pronouncement, v9: The messianic salvation hoped for by Israel, has evidenced itself in the life and home of a corrupt man. Here is a true "son of Abraham", a spiritual son, kaqoti, "because", he showed that he possessed the faith of Abraham, Rom.2:28f. Zacchaeus has put his faith in Jesus, in God's messiah, and is therefore counted a true child of Abraham, linked to Abraham through his faith rather than natural descent, or obedience to the law, cf., Rom.5 and 6.

proV + acc. "to" - [but/and jesus said] toward [him]. Usually taken to introduce an indirect object instead of a dative, but it is possible that here the preposition is being used adverbially, reference / respect, so, not really "to him", but about him." "Jesus said of him", Moffatt.

oJti "-" - that. Recitative, here introducing direct speech.

shmeron adv. "today" - today. Expressing the immediacy of salvation.

swthria (a) "salvation" - salvation. Nominative subject of the verb "to become." The sense being "messianic salvation" = "the kingdom of God has come near to you", 10:9, is present / bursting in upon, such that the believer is free to enter into / be welcomed into.

egeneto (ginomai) aor. "has come" - happened = came. "Salvation has happened in this house", Johnson.

tw/ oikw/ (oV) dat. "to [this] house" - to [this] house, family. The dative may be taken as locative, expressing space, "salvation has come to / into this house", or possibly interest, advantage, "salvation is for this house", or even possessive, "salvation belongs to this house", so Culy. As already noted, salvation in the terms of a household, rather than an individual, is at times evident in the gospels, and especially in Acts - here from the mouth of Jesus, ie., the extension of salvation to the repentant person's house / household = family and servants. To what extent salvation applies to those under the care of the repentant head of the household is unclear. Are they actually saved, or are they simply brought into a blessed environment where they are better able to respond to the gospel and/or share in kingdom blessings? See The status of children in the kingdom, 18:15-17.

kaqoti "because" - because, for / as, as to the degree that. Introducing a causal clause explaining why salvation has come to this man's household, as NIV.

kai "[this man], too" - even [this one, he]. Ascensive; "even this tax-collector", Marshall.

Abraham "of Abraham" - [is a son] of abraham. The genitive is adjectival, relational. He is obviously a son of Abraham by descent so what is Jesus saying? The sense is unlikely to mean that Zacchaeus aligns with Abraham morally. Possibly the point is that as a descendant of Abraham, Zacchaeus is entitled to "salvation", eg. Plummer, Bock, etc. - "because even this tax-collector is a Jew and so is entitled to salvation."; Yet, it seems more likely that Jesus is making the point that Zacchaeus possesses the faith of Abraham - "because even this tax collector is a true son of Abraham, in that he possesses the faith of Abraham, and so is entitled to salvation", so Stein.

vii] Saying - The Son of Man seeks the lost, v10. To the story of Jesus abiding with a sinner who believes as Abraham believed, Luke attaches an independent saying of Jesus, cf., 9:55, Matt.18:11. The saying serves to tie this episode to Jesus' overall messianic mission, a mission in which he seeks to gather into the kingdom those who, due to sin, stand outside the covenant and thus apart from its promised blessings, namely, the blessing of salvation by grace through faith in the faithful of Jesus, and this apart from works of the law. The way is now complete, Jesus' royal progress has reached its goal; messianic enthronement now awaits him.

gar "for" - for. Possibly expressing cause / reason, so introducing a causal clause explaining how the story of Zacchaeus fits into the overall mission of Jesus, although somewhat tenuously. It seems more likely to function here as a stitching device and so best left untranslated, so Barclay.

tou anqrwpou (oV) gen. "[the Son] of Man" - [the son] of man. The genitive is adjectival, relational. Many commentators balk at this title being used here of Jesus' earthly ministry, but with the eschatological ministry of the "coming Son of Man", the heavenly man who "comes" to the Ancient of Days and receives his kingdom, there is the suffering Son of Man. Jeremias sees the Son of Man's role here as the Shepherd of the sheep; see oJ uiJoV tou anqrwpou, 5:24.

zhthsai (zhtew) inf. "to seek" - [came] to seek. The infinitive expressing purpose, "in order to seek ......" The messiah's role of seeking the lost sheep of the house of Israel is central to Old Testament prophecy and to Jesus' ministry, cf., Ezk.34. We automatically extend this role to include Gentiles, "save people who are lost", CEV. Yet, for the NT., the lost are the lost of the house of Israel, the Israel scattered and facing destruction. Israel is saved by adopting the faith of Abraham, and it is by a faith like Abraham's that Gentiles become Abraham's children and are incorporated into God's people Israel. As noted above, "to seek out" = "to save", but the thought is clearer when fully expressed; "the Son of Man came to search for and to rescue the lost", Barclay.

kai "and" - and [to save]. Here the coordinate kai is probably epexegetic in that "to seek" = "to save"; "the Son of Man seeks the lost, that is, he saves the lost."

to apolwloV (apollumi) perf. part. "what was lost" - the ones being destroyed. The participle serves as a substantive. The perfect tense expressing a past situation which is ongoing. "The Son of Man came to find and restore the lost", Peterson.

Luke Introduction

Exposition

Exegetical Commentaries

lectionarystudies.com