Zacchaeus: Jesus Sees and Calls Him First

Jesus came into Jericho and was passing through the town. Crowds filled the street. Imagine the dust rising from the ground, the noise of people pressing together, and heads craning to see him go by. Perhaps many were simply curious, while others quietly hoped for something.

A man named Zacchaeus was there. Luke records two things about him: he was a chief tax collector, and he was wealthy. Zacchaeus was trying to see who Jesus was. He could not. The crowd blocked his view, because he was short in stature.

Perhaps he was used to suspicious looks from the people around him, so no one would give him a place at the front. Yet his desire to see Jesus was evidently stronger. He ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree on the road Jesus would take. Imagine a wealthy chief tax collector hugging a tree trunk like a small child.

Then Jesus reached the tree. “When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."” (Lk 19:5) Jesus called him by name. He did not wait for Zacchaeus to come to him. He himself stopped, looked up, and asked to stay at his house that very day.

Zacchaeus came down quickly and received Jesus with joy. But everyone who saw it began to grumble. They complained that Jesus had gone to stay at the house of a sinner. Perhaps to them a chief tax collector was no fitting host for Jesus at all, and the visit felt like approving of his wrongdoing.

In the middle of that grumbling, Zacchaeus took a stand. “But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."” (Lk 19:8) The Gospel does not record that Jesus demanded this promise. Zacchaeus made it himself.

Jesus responded to the promise. Luke records his words, which close the whole story and explain why he stopped at the house of a chief tax collector:

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." (Lk 19:9-10)

New American Bible: Lk 19:1-10

Jericho and Its Tax Collectors

In his general audience catechesis of 2 April 2025, Pope Francis recalled that Jericho lies below sea level. Because of this, the city has been seen as an image of the underworld, the place where Jesus comes to seek those who feel lost.

Tax collectors gathered taxes from their fellow citizens for the Roman rulers who occupied the land, and Zacchaeus was their chief. Pope Francis interprets Luke's note about his wealth as a hint that he grew rich by abusing his position. This background helps explain why the crowd called him a sinner and perhaps kept away from him.

The fourfold repayment also has a background. According to Pope Francis, Zacchaeus combined Roman law on theft with rabbinic law on penance, that is, making amends for wrongdoing as a sign of repentance. The text itself speaks conditionally, of anything he may have extorted, so Luke does not spell out what Zacchaeus did wrong.

The Meaning of Being Sought and Found

Pope Francis stresses that Jesus goes ahead of Zacchaeus: he is the first to see, the first to draw near, and the first to speak. In his catechesis he affirms that God does not simply pass by without seeking the lost. Zacchaeus's joy is the joy of someone who feels seen, recognized, and forgiven, for Jesus' gaze is not condemnation but mercy.

The order of the story shows that the encounter with Jesus comes first, and then Zacchaeus's life changes. Pope Francis explains that Zacchaeus's promise is not a price paid, because God's forgiveness is free; it springs from a desire to imitate the One who loved him. Calling him a descendant of Abraham shows that someone labelled a sinner still belongs to the people God seeks.

For teenagers and young adults today, this story touches two sides. Sometimes we feel too small because of bad grades, a habit that is hard to break, or a reputation ruined among friends. Pope Francis sees Zacchaeus's short stature as an image of the limits everyone must face. At other times we join in the grumbling. The Pope warns that such complaints come from wanting to limit God's love, whereas a disciple of Jesus is not an inspector of other people's lives but one who encourages good in everyone.

This story is retold by the Light of Saints editorial team from the Catholic edition of Scripture and the Church sources listed, with the help of AI, and checked by an editor. Some of the atmosphere and the characters' feelings are our portrayal. For the full text, read the passage in Scripture.