Luke 19:3 Commentary and Bible Study

‘And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.’ The Lord Jesus Christ comes along and here is this extortioner, this greedy and heartless individual. But there's something going on in his life. What made this particular man want to see Christ? Why was he so anxious to see him? Just curiosity? No, it was more than that. The evidence is that he was prepared to make a fool of himself. Although he was prepared to take advantage of his fellow citizens; although he was a man who valued his riches above all else, yet he was willing to run ahead of everybody else, and climb up a tree and behave like a small boy, and risk the contempt and the derision of the crowd. Why? Because there was something much deeper burning inside him than just curiosity. A second piece of evidence is that when the Lord Jesus Christ sees him, he calls him and he is immediately ready to respond. Nobody is like that naturally, unless there is some preparation in the heart, some need, some hunger. So here is a man who had to see the Lord Jesus Christ, probably because, in spite of his rich life, he had begun to realize his utter emptiness and his friendlessness. He had begun to be disgusted with his whole life and his lifestyle. Maybe all these things were present together. Another thing was that Zacchaeus was a man who loved money, and lovers of money and rich people expect everybody else to be the same as they are. Here he was, absolutely baffled by the Lord Jesus Christ. Why, if Zacchaeus could have worked miracles, or restored sight to the blind, or hearing to the deaf, he would have made a mint out of it. That's how he thought. If he could have done these things, he saw these things in terms of shekels and minas, that is, of pound and pence. To think of the Lord Jesus Christ – this man who had all this power, and who could command great crowds with his preaching – being a poor man! ‘What makes him do it? Is he really concerned to preach? He preaches and he doesn't take up great offerings and line his pockets. He doesn't live in a palatial mansion, up on the beautiful hills of Judea. What's he doing? Is he really concerned that these people should listen to what he's saying? Is there something in it? He heals people. He comes along the road there, and instead of healing this rich man who owns lands and estates, who would give up half his possessions if somebody could heal him, this man heals a blind beggar along the roadside. He is not in it for money.’ That really got under the skin of a man like Zacchaeus. What a testimony! This town is full of rich old ladies who would pay the earth to be healed, and he heals the beggars and the poverty-stricken people, and pours out his power everywhere, but not for gain. Zacchaeus had come to think that everybody was like him: just in it for money. He began to be disgusted at himself, and to realise that here was one, who was far above. He had a gnawing need to see him, and he went out, but of course because of his size, he couldn't see him. He couldn't see him because there was a great crowd, and he was too small, and he couldn't get through to the front. Now, if it had been just curiosity, though he would have been fascinated, he could have just left it at that.