February 15, 2026
Luke 19:1-10 ESV
He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Discussion Questions:
We now come to an account that is only found in the Gospel of Luke. We want to find the deeper meaning that Luke is bringing to our attention.
In order to answer this, we would like to explore the following aspects that Luke gives us:
· What is the significance of Zacchaeus climbing a tree?
· What are we to conclude by Zacchaeus’ claims in verse 8? (Is he already doing these things? Is he pointing to his own righteous works?)
· What are the specifics of Jesus’s response in verses 9 and 10?
Discussion Summary:
Zaccheus was a rich tax collector. His physical shortness prohibited him from seeing Jesus in the crowd. We read that he climbed a tree in order to see Jesus. This incident shows us the necessary character elements that one must have when seeking after God. There has to be a desire, a longing to see. One must have persistence and make an effort and overcome obstacles and opposition even if it results in ridicule.
Zaccheus recognized his smallness. This pointed to the fact that the entire nation of Israel had fallen short of God’s requirements to be found faithful. They were unable to recognize that Jesus had been sent to them (John 1:11). John the Baptist had started to renew their national spirit (Luke 3). Jesus’ ministry expanded this work of regeneration. Zaccheus responded to this message and desired to be unburdened of his guilt.
Jesus called him down from the tree by name, reminding us of the earlier calling of the apostles in John 1:48,49. Jesus invited himself to Zaccheus’s home. The crowd reacted with scorn that Jesus would join such a disreputable man. Once inside his home, Zaccheus declared his reform. These claims of righting past and future wrongs showed that as a consequence of Jesus’ visit his heart was already taking these actions and would do so in the future. We note that these statements were made in response to the crowd, but to Jesus in the privacy of his home. Jesus alone needs to hear the declaration of our consecrated hearts. Everyone else will be able to see our transformed life.
In verses 9 and 10, Jesus again uses the picture of something lost (Luke 15:1-10) to refer to the nation of Israel (Ezekiel 34:11,16). Zaccheus’s demonstrated faith showed that his heart had been renewed. His faith was now like his “Father Abraham” (Isaiah 51:1-3, Romans 4:19-22).
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