Luke 19:2

Zacchaeus. Gr. Zakchaios, from the Heb. Zakkai, meaning “pure.” A person bearing the name Zakkai is mentioned in the OT (see Ezra 2:9; Neh. 7:14). There is no basis for considering the story of Zacchaeus another version of the story of the call of Matthew, as some modern expositors do, especially since Luke records the latter incident also (see ch. 5:27-32). Zacchaeus was obviously a Jew (see ch. 19:9); thus the bystanders protested Jesus’ association with him on the basis that he was “a sinner,” not that he was a Gentile (see on v. 7). See on Mark 2:14, 15.

Chief among the publicans. Gr. architelones, a compound word meaning “chief tax collector.” Compare archiereus, “chief priest” (see Mark 2:26). Today we might speak of Zacchaeus as a tax commissioner, or as a collector of revenue. Evidently he was a wealthy customs officer in charge of collections at the important Judean frontier city of Jericho, which was the port of entry for all traffic crossing the river Jordan from the east. The ford to the east of Jericho is said to have been one of the three important points between the Lake of Galilee and the Dead Sea at which that river could be crossed, even in springtime. The evangelist Luke frequently mentions tax collectors (see chs. 3:12; 5:27; 7:29; 15:1; 18:10), and in each instance he speaks of these social outcasts in a favorable way, in harmony with his characteristic emphasis on Jesus as a friend of the poor, the oppressed, and the outcasts of society.

He was rich. With the power of Rome back of them, tax collectors generally collected from the people more than the law called for (see p. 66; see on ch. 3:12).