Bible Verses About Zacchaeus

Quick Answer: What Does the Bible Say About Zacchaeus?

Zacchaeus was a wealthy chief tax collector who lived in Jericho. Because tax collectors were often despised by the Jewish people, Zacchaeus was not someone the crowd expected Jesus to welcome. Yet when Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, Jesus stopped, called him down from the tree and chose to stay at his house.

What happened next is what makes the story so powerful.

Zacchaeus didn’t simply say that he believed in Jesus and then carry on living exactly as he had before. His encounter with Jesus changed him. He willingly gave half of his possessions to the poor and promised to repay four times what he had taken from anyone dishonestly. Jesus then said:

Luke 19:9–10 (KJV)
“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.”

The story of Zacchaeus is ultimately a story about Jesus seeking and saving the lost, repentance that produces changed behaviour, and the grace of God reaching someone others had written off.

Who Was Zacchaeus?

The Bible introduces Zacchaeus at the beginning of Luke 19.

Luke 19:1–4 (KJV)
“And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
And, behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.”

There are a few things we learn about Zacchaeus straight away.

He was a chief tax collector, he was rich, and he was short enough that the crowd prevented him from seeing Jesus.

Being a tax collector also meant that Zacchaeus was not viewed favourably by many of his fellow Jews. Tax collectors worked for the Roman authorities and were associated with collecting taxes from their own people. The Gospels regularly show tax collectors being treated as sinners and outsiders.

Zacchaeus wasn’t simply an ordinary tax collector either. Luke specifically calls him a chief tax collector.

And yet, despite everything that may have been true about his life, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus.

That small detail matters.

Sometimes a person can be surrounded by everything the world says should make them satisfied and still know that something is missing.

Zacchaeus was wealthy, but he was looking for Jesus.

Zacchaeus Wanted to See Jesus

I love how simple this part of the story is.

Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming, and he wanted to see Him.

There was only one problem: he couldn’t see over the crowd.

So what did he do?

He ran ahead and climbed into a sycamore tree.

It probably wasn’t the most dignified thing for a wealthy chief tax collector to do. But Zacchaeus wasn’t worried about looking dignified. He wanted to see Jesus.

And Jesus saw him.

Luke 19:5–6 (KJV)
“And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchæus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.”

Think about that for a moment.

Zacchaeus climbed the tree because he wanted to see Jesus, but Jesus already knew exactly where he was.

Jesus called him by name.

And Jesus didn’t simply walk past him.

He said, “to day I must abide at thy house.”

Jesus was willing to enter the home of someone the crowd considered a sinner.

Jesus Saw Zacchaeus Differently

The crowd wasn’t happy about Jesus’ decision.

Luke 19:7 (KJV)
“And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.”

They saw Zacchaeus as a sinner.

Jesus knew he was a sinner too. Jesus wasn’t pretending that Zacchaeus had done nothing wrong.

But Jesus didn’t treat Zacchaeus as though he was beyond redemption.

That’s an important difference.

Jesus didn’t approve of Zacchaeus’ wrongdoing. Instead, He went to meet him where he was and called him into a changed life.

This is something we see throughout the ministry of Jesus. He came for people who knew they needed Him.

You don’t have to become perfect before you come to Jesus.

You come to Jesus because you need Him.

Zacchaeus Responded With Repentance

Something changed in Zacchaeus after Jesus came into his home.

Luke 19:8 (KJV)
“And Zacchæus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”

This is one of the most important parts of the story.

Zacchaeus didn’t simply feel sorry about his past. His response to Jesus affected the way he treated other people.

He said he would give half of his possessions to the poor.

And if he had taken anything from someone by false accusation, he would restore it fourfold.

His behaviour was changing because his heart had been changed.

This doesn’t mean Zacchaeus was buying his salvation by giving away his money. Jesus had already initiated the encounter, and Jesus Himself declared that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house.

Rather, Zacchaeus’ actions showed that his encounter with Jesus was producing genuine repentance.

When we truly turn to Christ, that doesn’t mean we suddenly become perfect. But it does mean that we shouldn’t expect our lives to remain completely unchanged.

Zacchaeus Made Things Right

There is something else worth noticing about Zacchaeus.

He didn’t only say, “I’m sorry.”

He wanted to make things right with people he had wronged.

That is a powerful picture of repentance.

Sometimes repentance means admitting that what we did was wrong. Sometimes it means asking someone for forgiveness. And sometimes, where it is possible and appropriate, it means making restitution for the harm we’ve caused.

Zacchaeus understood that following Jesus affected the way he treated the people around him.

His money had once been connected with his sinful way of life, but now he was willing to use it to help the poor and make restitution.

His encounter with Jesus changed his relationship with possessions and with other people.

Jesus Said Salvation Had Come to His House

After Zacchaeus spoke about what he was going to do, Jesus said:

Luke 19:9–10 (KJV)
“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.”

This is the heart of the entire story.

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Jesus came looking for people who were lost.

Zacchaeus was one of those people.

He had money, a position and possessions. But none of those things could save him.

He needed Jesus.

And so do we.

Jesus Doesn’t Turn Away People Who Come to Him

There is something incredibly encouraging about Zacchaeus’ story.

The crowd had already decided who he was.

He was “a sinner.”

They saw his past, his occupation and his reputation.

Jesus saw a man who needed salvation.

That doesn’t mean Jesus ignored Zacchaeus’ sin. He didn’t.

But Jesus didn’t allow Zacchaeus’ past to become a reason to reject him.

This is good news for anyone who feels like they’ve gone too far.

Maybe you look back at your life and think, “God could never want someone like me.”

Or maybe you’ve made choices you deeply regret.

Maybe other people know about those choices and have never let you forget them.

Zacchaeus reminds us that Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

You don’t have to clean yourself up and become worthy before coming to Him.

Come to Him as you are, and allow Him to change you.

Zacchaeus Shows Us That Repentance Produces Change

The story of Zacchaeus also challenges the idea that repentance is simply saying sorry and then continuing exactly as before.

Zacchaeus’ response was practical.

He was willing to give, restore and willing to admit that he had done wrong.

His encounter with Jesus affected his choices.

The Bible gives us another example of this principle in the words of John the Baptist:

Luke 3:8 (KJV)
“Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance…”

Repentance isn’t about becoming perfect overnight.

It’s about turning away from sin and turning toward God.

Sometimes that change happens gradually. Sometimes there are things we need to work through for a long time. But genuine faith in Christ should begin changing the direction of our lives.

Zacchaeus Wasn’t Too Far Gone

Perhaps this is the part of Zacchaeus’ story you need to hear most.

He wasn’t too far gone.

His reputation, wealth, past, didn’t disqualify him and his sin didn’t make him unreachable.

Jesus came to him.

And Jesus can reach people who seem unreachable to us.

That doesn’t mean everyone will respond to Jesus in the same way Zacchaeus did. But it does mean we should never decide that someone is beyond God’s grace.

We also shouldn’t decide that we ourselves are beyond it.

Paul wrote:

1 Timothy 1:15–16 (KJV)
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

Jesus came to save sinners.

That includes you.

That includes me.

What Can We Learn From Zacchaeus?

There is so much packed into these ten verses in Luke 19.

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, and he wasn’t going to let the crowd stop him.

Jesus knew where Zacchaeus was and called him by name.

Jesus was willing to go into the home of someone others rejected.

Zacchaeus responded to Jesus with joy.

His encounter with Christ produced genuine change in the way he lived.

He was willing to give to the poor and make restitution to people he had wronged.

And Jesus made it clear why He had come:

Luke 19:10 (KJV)
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

That last verse is really the key to understanding the whole story.

Zacchaeus isn’t simply a cute story about a short man climbing a tree.

It’s a story about Jesus, the Saviour who sees people others overlook.

It’s about grace reaching someone with a sinful past, and it’s about repentance producing a changed life.

And it’s about the incredible truth that Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

Bible Verses About Zacchaeus

The main passage about Zacchaeus is found in Luke 19:1–10.

Luke 19:1–10 (KJV)
“And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
And, behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
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, Zacchæus, make haste, and come down; for to day 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, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
And Zacchæus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
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.”

What Does Zacchaeus Teach Us About Jesus?

Zacchaeus’ story gives us a beautiful picture of the heart of Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t ignore sin, but He doesn’t turn away sinners who come to Him either.

He seeks the lost, He calls people to repentance and He offers salvation.

And when someone truly responds to Him, that relationship begins to change the way they live.

So if you’re wondering whether Jesus could forgive you, whether you’ve gone too far, or whether your past has made you unworthy of coming to God, remember Zacchaeus.

He was a sinner who needed a Saviour.

And Jesus came looking for him.

The same Jesus who said, “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost,” is the One we can still turn to today.

You don’t have to wait until you’re worthy.

Come to Jesus.

John 6:37 (KJV)
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

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