Zacchaeus was a wealthy Jew who had made his money by working as a tax collector for the hated Romans. For that, and because he and other tax collectors exacted more tax than was really due, Zacchaeus was hated and called a “sinner.”
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Zacchaeus lived in Jericho, which sat on a trade route with much business commerce. The meeting of Zacchaeus and Jesus was not a coincidence. Zacchaeus had apparently come under spiritual conviction and wanted to make some changes in his life. He had heard about Jesus and wanted to see Him. Word must have gotten out that the group Jesus was traveling with would arrive in Jericho that day. Jesus needed to pass through Jericho from Galilee, on His final trip to Jerusalem. Christ’s first words to Zacchaeus revealed that, even before entering the town, Jesus knew all about him.
Read Luke 19:1-10. What were the differences between this rich man’s experience with Jesus and that of the rich young ruler?
Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler had some things in common. Both were rich; both wanted to see Jesus, and both wanted eternal life. But here the similarities stop.
Notice that when Zacchaeus said that he would give “half of my goods” (Luke 19:8) to the poor, Jesus accepted this gesture as an expression of a true conversion experience. He didn’t say to him, Sorry, Zac, but like with the rich young ruler, it’s all or nothing. Half is not going to cut it. Why? Most likely because, though Zacchaeus surely liked his wealth, it wasn’t the god to him that it was to the rich young ruler. In fact, though we don’t know what Jesus specially said to him, Zacchaeus is the one who first speaks about giving money to the poor. In contrast, Jesus had to tell the rich young ruler specifically to give it all up; otherwise it would have destroyed him. Though Zacchaeus, like any wealthy person, needed to be careful about the dangers of wealth, he seemed to have had it under better control than did the rich young ruler.
“When the rich young ruler had turned away from Jesus, the disciples had marveled at their Master’s saying, ‘How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!’ They had exclaimed one to another, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Now they had a demonstration of the truth of Christ’s words, ‘The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.’ Mark 10:24, Mark 10:26; Luke 18:27. They saw how, through the grace of God, a rich man could enter into the kingdom.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 555.
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