Tackling Tradition 15 : Reevaluating Zaccheus

Was Zaccheus a stereotypical tax collector in first century Judea?  If you’re like me you might have grown up hearing Ecclesiastical Tradition that taught that to be case.   Here are couple of representative examples: 

Jericho’s chief tax collector was Zaccheus, the most hated man in the city. He, along with the other publicans, was dishonest, an extortioner, a man who practiced fraud and bribery, too. He was a very rich, powerful and proud man of the world, living in pomp and luxury.

https://www.imsmessenger.org/december-2003/zaccheus/

Zacchaeus is a very important character in the Bible because he is a concrete example of a sinful man who was changed by Jesus Christ’s compassion over sinners. Luke 19 describes Zacchaeus as a tax collector in the City of Jericho.

He was known as a corrupt tax collector who collected more than he should have collected.  Because of this, he had a negative reputation in the community.

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/who-was-zacchaeus-in-the-bible.html?amp=1z

One reason for this view has to do with the translation of the text.  In the NRSV & NIV text is rendered in a manner that makes it appear that Zaccheus was a sinner who at that moment repented of his activity & only then got on board with the program. 

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

On this view Zaccheus admits his guilt & proceeds to repent & vows to do what he is failing to do.  

I strongly disagree.   Here’s why:

1. Consider the source of the accusation.  When we see these words in Luke’s Gospel, “He eats with tax collector & sinners,” they emanate from the villains in the story.   They never come from Yeshua & / or His followers, & we know from the trajectory of Luke’s text (and that of the other 3 Gospels), that this accusation is always unjust.   
2. These words generally come from the majority party among the Sanhedrin who are depicted as at times manipulative, hypocritical, & dictatorial judges whose methods (John 5, John 9) draw attention to their own moral failings.  Their replies to Yeshua do as well.  (Matt. 22,  Luke 11, Luke 14, John 9) 
3. There is no admonition to repent.  It’s true that a broken clock (the accusers) is correct about the time at least twice a day, at issue is how Luke presents these encounters in which sinners are called to repentance.   In Luke 19, there is no call to repentance. Neither is a woe pronounced against him.  
4. Apropos 3, the woe is pronounced against the accusers when Yeshua recognizes Zaccheus as a righteous man who does the works of Father Abraham.
5. In Luke 16, when Lazarus crosses over, he retains his name.   The rich man does not.  He is known by his accusation.   The fact that Lazarus retains his name, which means “God has helped” seems to me to be drawing our attention to the story of Zaccheus & the story of Lazarus & Rich Man.  Lazarus means “God has helped, “ & he is analogous to Zaccheus, whose name means “Righteous.”   
6. Apropos 5, Zaccheus is called a son of Abraham.  Abraham appears in Chapter 16 after Rich Man crosses over.  Rich Man — unlike Zaccheus — comes across as a stereotypical tax collector / publican who accumulated material wealth at the expense of others, which, literarily, is a common trait of the Pharisees, their sychophants  & others like them.     
7. By way of contrast, Lazarus was a righteous man who is depicted as a man mercilessly defrauded & mistreated by Rich Man, just like Naboth in 1 Kings 21 & Zaccheus in Luke 19 who sought to do justice by way of replicating & restoring while concomitantly enduring the criticism of Yeshua’s opponents. 

Luke 19

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 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.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

As Yeshua entered Jericho, Zaccheus heard He had arrived & made haste to get his attention.    Zaccheus himself was chief tax collector for his district in Judea & was a righteous man who set the pace with respect to his behavior.  In a land plagued by corruption, Zaccheus was a light in the darkness and not a stereotypical publican / tax collector. 

Short of stature, he climbed into a sycamore tree, which recalls Amos & his message of justice & who indicts people of wealth, power, & privilege who trample over the rights of others, especially those of the poor & marginalized.   From there, he was able to draw attention to himself as if presenting himself to Yeshua for His judgment. 

Yeshua saw Zaccheus & invited himself to Zaccheus’ house for dinner.  Together, they made their way to Zaccheus’ home while enduring the criticism of their shared opponents who accused them both unjustly.   “See how he eats with tax collectors & sinners?”   Zaccheus replies in his own defense & says that right here & now he replicates & restores to anyone whom he himself (and maybe his minions) has defrauded.   Given the chronic nature of the problem (injustices at the hands of Roman tax collectors), the accusation is probably something he heard directed at him all the time, so he may well have been repeating himself as if to say to his accusers, “Right here, right now, I replicate & restore to anyone of those whom I have defrauded,” —- (and even though the text doesn’t come right out & say it) yet again.  

Inside Zaccheus’ home, Zaccheus testified that he knew & understood — and practiced — the principle of replicating & restoring.  “ “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”    Recognizing that his profession was larded with corrupt people & practices, Zaccheus, rather than leaving his profession, remained in it, risking his reputation, and did what he could to help those who had been defrauded by others & who probably expected to be defrauded by Zaccheus, given the reputation that tax collectors, lawyers, & other professionals had in those days. 

Yeshua pronounces His judgment & peace upon Zaccheus & his house. And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

In this case, the lost aren’t just the accusers.  The lost are also people on the Narrow Way who really are doing the best with what they have but are (figuratively) short of stature & are often unseen &/or ignored or are seen & heard by those around them but are ignored by those on the Broad Path that leads to destruction if they don’t repent.  The LORD (& His Christ) is our Savior & our Vindicator. 

May God bless us all, each and every one, & “Go & sin no more.”