Zacchaeus in Fausset's Bible Dictionary

(See ZACCHAI.) Luke 19:1-10. The Lord Jesus had received Bartimaeus' application on the day of His entry into Jericho. (See BARTIMAEUS; JERICHO . Later in His progress, when He had passed through Jericho and had healed the blind, He met Zacchaeus, chief among the publicans or tax gatherers, i.e. superintendent of customs and tribute in the district of Jericho famed for its balsam, and so rich. The Lord had shortly before encountered the rich young ruler, so loveable, yet lacking one thing, the will to part with his earthly treasure and to take the heavenly as his portion. He had said then, "how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God;" yet to show us that "the things impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke 18:18-27), and that riches are not an insuperable barrier against entrance into heaven, the case of the rich yet saved Zacchaeus follows. Holding his commission from his Roman principal contractor to the state (publicanus, manceps) to collect the dues imposed by Rome on the Jews, Zacchaeus had subordinate publicans under him. The palm groves of Jericho and its balsam gardens (now no longer existing) were so valuable that Antony gave them as a source of revenue to Cleopatra, and Herod the Great redeemed them for his benefit. Zacchaeus "sought to see Jesus who He was." Evidently, Zacchaeus had not seen Jesus in person before, but had heard of His teachings and miracles. So, his desire was not merely from curiosity; as in the case of the young ruler, desire for "eternal life" entered into his wish to see the Saviour, but unlike the rich young ruler he had no self-complacent thought, "all the commandments I have kept from my youth up"; sense of sin and need on the contrary were uppermost in his mind, as the sequel shows...