The story of Zacchaeus has stood out for many, which is an interesting way for me to put it given he was short in stature.
The fact that he was a tax collector, that he was disliked by the crowd, that he climbed a tree, and that he repented on the spot! There are many other points.
But the small, possibly controversial assertion I wish to make is that I suspect Zacchaeus was not a cheat. I suspect he took his tax collecting seriously in terms of being accurate in his calculations.
Yes, he was wealthy, and that can stand in the way of following Jesus, as we see in the story of the rich young man who at the time was unable to let go of his wealth.
Zacchaeus made a bold assertion when Jesus called him down from the tree. He said he would give half his wealth to the poor as well as pay back four-fold if he had cheated anyone.
That little word “if” is not insignificant.
Being a tax collector, he would have been good at math, and he would easily have known what was within his ability to repay.
It does not matter much, whether I am correct in my assertion, but I want to paint a picture of a man who was already God fearing and trying to do a bad job honestly. I am suggesting the reason he wanted to see Jesus, was that he already believed God was good, and somehow in his heart, he knew Jesus was a true prophet, and people who love God are drawn to Jesus.
The fact that he was disliked was something he had to live with, and something God knew as well.
Yes, Zacchaeus repented that day. He repented by showing that he wanted to follow Jesus whole-heartedly, which I am sure he did from then on. And I suspect there were few and possibly none that needed quadruple pay, because he was not in the habit of cheating, being someone who already feared God.
Please feel free to disagree with me.
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