CHAPTER XIX.
1. Then Jesus entered Jericho and passed through it.
2. And behold, a certain named Zacchaeus, the chief of the tax collectors and a rich man,
3. sought to see Jesus who He was, but could not follow the people, because he was small in stature;
4. And running ahead, he climbed up on the fig tree to see Him, because He had to pass by it.
5. Jesus, when he came to this place, looked, saw him and said to him: Zacchaeus! Come down quickly, for today I ought to be at your house.
6. And he hurriedly went down and received Him with joy.
7. And everyone, seeing this, began to murmur and say that He had come to a sinful man.
8. Zacchaeus became and said to the Lord: Lord! half of whose property I will give to the poor, and if I have offended anyone with anything, I will repay four times.
9. Jesus said to him: Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is the son of Abraham;
10. for the Son of man came to seek and save that which was lost.
11. When they were listening to this, he added a parable: for He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the Kingdom of God would soon be revealed.
12. So he said: A certain man of a high family went to a distant country in order to receive a kingdom for himself and return;
13. And calling his ten servants, he gave them ten minutes *) and said to them: Use them in circulation until I return.
*) pounds of silver.
14. But the citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying: we do not want him to reign over us.
15. And when he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded to call to him the servants to whom he had given the silver, in order to find out who had acquired what.
16. The first came and said: Master! your mine brought ten mines.
17. And he said to him: Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a little, take ten cities into control.
18. The second came and said: Master! your mine brought five minutes.
19. He said to this one: and you be over five cities.
20. A third came and said: Master! here is your mine, which I kept wrapped in a handkerchief;
21. for I was afraid of you, because you are a cruel man: you take what you did not put in, and you reap what you did not sow.
22. Lord He said to him: With your mouth I will judge you, wicked servant: you knew that I was a cruel man, I take what I did not put down, and I reap what I did not sow;
23. Why then did you not put my silver into circulation, so that I came and received it at a profit?
24. And he said to those who stood by: Take the pound from him and give it to him who has ten pounds.
25. And they said to him: Master! he has ten minutes.
26. I tell you that to everyone who has it will be given, but from whoever does not have what he has will be taken away;
27. But those my enemies who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.
29. And when he approached Bethphage and Bethany, to the mountain called the Olives, he sent his two disciples,
30. saying: go to the opposite village; having entered it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which none of the people have ever sat; having untied him, bring him;
31. and if someone asks you: why untie? tell him this: the Lord needs him.
32. The messengers went and found as He told them.
33. When they untied the young donkey, its owners said to them: Why untie the donkey?
34. They answered: The Lord needs him.
35. And they brought him to Jesus; And they threw their garments over the colt, and set Jesus on it.
36. And as He rode, they spread their clothes on the way.
37. When He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, all the multitude of disciples began in joy to glorify God publicly for all the miracles that they had seen,
38. Saying: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! peace in heaven and glory in the highest!
39. And some Pharisees from among the people said to Him: Teacher! forbid thy disciples.
40. But He answered and said to them: I tell you that if they are silent, the stones will cry out.
41. And when he approached the city, then, looking at him, he wept about him
42. and said: oh, if only you, even on this day of yours, knew that it serves for your peace! but this is now hidden from your eyes;
43.For days will come upon you, when your enemies will lay over you with trenches, and surround you, and oppress you from everywhere,
44. And they will ruin you, and beat your children in you, and leave no stone unturned in you, because you did not know the time of your visit.
45. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and bought in it.
46. Saying to them, It is written, My house is a house of prayer; and you made it a den of robbers (Isaiah 56, 7. Jeremiah 7, 11).
47. And he taught every day in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and elders of the people sought to destroy Him,
48. And they did not find what to do with Him, because all the people obeyed Him relentlessly.
XIX.
Zacchaeus the tax collector (1-10). The parable of the mines (11-27). Entry into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the temple (28-48).
1-4. The story of Zacchaeus the publican is a feature of the gospel of Luke. Other evangelists do not report it. When the Lord, heading to Jerusalem, passed through Jericho (about Jericho, see Matt. XX, 29), then the chief of local tax collectors (in Jericho there were quite a few duties on the production and export of balsam, and therefore there were several tax collectors), rich man, by the name of Zacchaeus (from Hebrew - pure), obviously a Jew, tried to see Jesus between the passing. - ( Who is he,- that is, which of the passing is Jesus). But he did not succeed, because he was small in stature. - Running ahead- that is, into the street that Christ had not yet passed, but had to pass, (by better reading: εἰς ἔμπροσϑεν, and by T. R. just μπροσϑεν). - Climbed on a fig tree - the tree was obviously quite tall. - Past her. In Greek. the text contains the word δι᾽ἐκείνης, but the preposition διὰ is superfluous here: it is not found in the best codes.
5-6. Whether the Lord knew Zacchaeus before is unknown. He could hear the name of the publican from those around him, who knew Zacchaeus and called him by name, seeing him in a strange position on a tree - Today I must be The Lord points out to Zacchaeus the special importance of this day for him: Christ, according to higher definition(cf. v. 10), must stay with Zacchaeus for the night (cf. expression μεῖναι = to be with John. I, 39).
7. Everything - hyperbolic expression. It is about the Jews who accompanied Christ to the house of Zacchaeus and saw how Zacchaeus met the Lord at the entrance. - Stopped in - more precisely: he entered in order to stay here (εἰσῆλϑεκαταλῦσαι).
8. Probably, the conversation that Christ had with Zacchaeus, having come to him, made a huge impression on the soul of the publican. Making a vow to pay off the poor and those offended by them, he expresses by this the consciousness of his unworthiness in front of such great happiness, which he has now received: the Messiah Himself came to him. - Offended -(ἐσυκοφάντησα) - that is, if I hurt someone in materially by their denunciations. Zacchaeus could, indeed, as the head of the tax collectors, have a great value in fining merchants who did not pay the legalized duty over goods. - Four times. He regards his act as theft: for theft, according to the law of Moses, it was supposed to pay four or even five times the cost of the stolen (Ex. XXII, 1).
9. Told him - more correctly: in relation to him, Zacchaeus (πῤὸς αὐτόν), while addressing his disciples and guests who were in the house. To this house, - that is, the whole family of Zacchaeus. - And he is the son of Abraham - that is, despite his occupation despised by all Jews, Zacchaeus also has a well-known theocratic right to salvation through the Messiah. There is no question of his moral dignity here, and the next verse confirms the idea that Zacchaeus really belonged to people who were not in vain called "lost."
10. Here the Lord confirms the truth of what He said in the 9th v. Indeed, the family of Zacchaeus was saved because the Messiah came to seek out and save those who fell to eternal destruction (cf. Matt. XVIII, 11).
11. The parable of minah is similar to that given in Hebrews. Matthew in the XXI ch. Art. 14-30 the parable of the talents. Ev. Luke as an occasion for pronouncing this parable indicates the fact that the Lord's proclamation of the salvation of the house of Zacchaeus (v. 9) was heard by Christ's disciples and probably guests who were with Zacchaeus, who understood this proclamation in the sense that now Christ will soon open the Kingdom of God for all ( The Lord was only 150 stadia from Jerusalem). It is clear that the kingdom they all expected was external, political. To dispel such an expectation, the Lord spoke the following parable.
12. It may very well be that when the Lord spoke of a man who was busy with getting himself royal power, then he meant the Jewish king Archelaus, who through a trip to Rome achieved the confirmation of his royal dignity, despite the protests of his subjects (I. Flavius. Ancient. XVII, II, 1). So Christ, before learning the glorious kingdom, will have to go to a “distant country” - to heaven, to His Father, and then appear on earth in His glory. However, there is no need to make such a comparison, since the main idea in the parable, not this, but the thought of condemning the wicked slaves (vv. 26-27).
13. The man called ten of his own (ἑαυτοῦ) slaves, whom he could expect to observe His interests (cf. Matt. XXV, 14). - Min... The Jewish mine was equal to one hundred shekels, that is, 80 rubles. An Attic mine was equal to one hundred drachmas - if it was a silver mine, that is, 20 rubles. But the gold mine was equal to 1250 rubles. In ev. Matthew's account is larger - for talents, but there a person gives all his property, which is not said here about a man who went to seek his kingdom. - Use them in circulation, - that is, do not trade on them. - Under slaves of course, one must understand the disciples of Christ, and by minami - the different gifts they received from God.
14. Under citizens, those who did not want the above-mentioned person to have their king, one must understand the tribesmen of Christ, the unbelieving Jews.
15. (See Matthew XXV, 19). - Who bought what - more correctly: who did what.
16-17. See Matt. XXV, 20-21. 18-26. See Matt. XXV, 22-29.
18-26. See Matt. XXV, 22-29.
27. Here the king removes his gaze from the evil servant and remembers ο his enemies, ο which was discussed in the 14th verse. - Beat before me - an image denoting the condemnation of the enemies of Christ to eternal death. The parable thus concerns both the fate of the Jews who do not believe in Christ, and this is its main subject - the future fate of the disciples of Christ. Having given each disciple a known gift, which he should serve the Church, and if he does not use this gift properly, He will be punished by exclusion from the kingdom of the Messiah, while diligent doers of the will of Christ will receive the highest reward in this kingdom.
28-38. Here ev. Luke speaks of the entry of Christ into Jerusalem according to Heb. Mark (see Mark XI, 1-10; cf. Matt. XXI, 1-16). But at the same time he makes some additions, and sometimes reductions. - Went further - more precisely: he walked in front (ἐπορεύετο ἒμπροσϑεν) of His disciples (cf. Mark X, 32). - To the mountain called the Olives - more correctly: to the Mount of Olives (ἐλαίων - means: the olive grove. Josephus Flavius also uses the name: Mount of Olives Ancient. VII, 9, 2). - When I approached the descent from the Mount of Olives. Where there was a descent from the mountain, one could see Jerusalem in all its splendor. Therefore, the sudden explosion of enthusiastic cries of the people, accompanying Christ as their king, entering their capital, is understandable. - Students. These are the disciples in the very broad sense this word. - What they saw - of course before, when they followed Christ. - Blessed is the King. Only the disciples of the Evangelicals designate the Lord as king. Luke and John (John XII, 13). - Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! With these words (in St. Luke the exclamation: "Hosanna in the highest" (Matt. And Mark.) He divides "Hosanna" into two exclamations, so to speak. Peace in heaven that is, salvation in heaven, with God, who will now distribute salvation through the Messiah and - then - 2) glory in the highest, i.e. God will be glorified for this by the angels in the highest, on high.
39-44. Only one gospel has this department. Luke. Some Pharisees, coming out of the crowd of people in which they were, turned to Christ with a proposal to forbid their disciples to shout like that. The Lord replied to this that such an explosion of praise addressed to God cannot be stopped. At the same time, He used the saying about stones, which is also found in the Talmud. Then when He approached the city, then, looking at him, he wept - wept loudly for him (ἒκλαυσεν ὲπ᾽αὐ., Not ἐδάκρυσεν, as at the tomb of Lazarus. John XI, 35). - If you too Speech breaks off, as "happens with those who cry" (Zigaben). TO the world or, of course, faith in Christ as the promised Messiah was to serve Jerusalem's salvation (cf. XIV, 32). - And you - like My disciples. - On this day of yours, - that is, on this day, which could be the day of salvation for you. - Now that is, but in a real relationship this is not possible: God has hidden this salvation from you (ἐκρύβη - indicates God's determination cf. John XII, 37 et seq.; Rom. XI, 7 et seq.). - For days will come on you The Lord has just said that what is hidden from the Jewish people is to serve for their salvation. Now He proves this idea, referring to the punishment that is undoubtedly awaiting this people. - They will lay over you in trenches. This was fulfilled during the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, when Titus, in order to prevent the supply of food to Jerusalem, surrounded it with a rampart or palisade, which was burned by the besieged and then replaced by a wall. - Will ruin you - more precisely: they will level you to the ground (ἐδαφιοῡσι). - They will beat your children in you. The city in Holy Scripture is often represented under the image of a mother (see Joel II, 23; Is. XXXXI, 8), and therefore under children you need to understand the inhabitants of the city. - The time of your visit, that is, at a certain point in time when God showed special care for you, inviting you to receive messianic salvation through Me (τ. καιρὸν τ. ἐπισκοπῆς - cf. 1 Peter II, 12).
45-48. On the cleansing of the temple of ev. Luke speaks in accordance with Mark (Mark. XI, 15-17) and partly with Matthew (Matt. XXI, 12-13). - And he taught every day in the temple. Ev. Luke notes the fact of Christ's daily appearance in the temple as a teacher in order to make the transition to the subject of the next chapter. This "teaching" is alluded to by E. Mark (XI, 18). - I listened relentlessly. The attention with which the people listened to Christ was an obstacle for the enemies of Christ in their designs against Him.
Zacchaeus
On the way to Jerusalem "Jesus entered Jericho and passed through it." The city was located west of the Jordan on the edge of a valley that turns into a plain, surrounded by tropical greenery of indescribable beauty. Palm trees and lush gardens, irrigated with spring water, gave it the appearance of a shining emerald, framed by white limestone hills and desolate gorges between Jerusalem and this city.
Many caravans went through Jericho on their way to the festival. Their appearance always meant the beginning of the holiday, but this time the people were interested in something much more important. It became known that the Galilee Teacher, who had recently brought Lazarus back to life, was walking in the crowd. And although there were rumors of priests' conspiracies against Him, the people strove to show their respect to Him.
Jericho was one of the cities where priests lived predominantly from ancient times, and the rest of the population was striking in its diversity. Jericho was located at the intersection of busy roads, so here you could meet Roman officials, soldiers, and newcomers from the most different countries light, and the need to collect duties made the city a haven for many tax collectors.
The chief of the tax collectors, Zacchaeus, was a Jew, but his compatriots hated him. He rose to high position and wealth by performing a service that the Jews abhorred and which was synonymous with dishonesty and extortion. But this rich official was by no means as inveterate sinner as it seemed. Outward devotion to worldly goods and pride hid the heart, receptive to divine influence. Zacchaeus heard about Jesus. The news of the Man, who was kind and courteous to the outcast, spread far around. In this chief of the publicans, a desire was awakened for better life... About two hours' walk from Jericho near Jordan, John the Baptist was preaching recently, and Zacchaeus heard his call to repentance. It seemed that the admonition given to the publicans: “Demand nothing more definite to you” (Luke 3:13), was ignored, but in reality it amazed him. He knew the Scriptures and was convinced that he was doing wrong. Now, having heard the words of the Great Teacher, he felt like a sinner before God. But what he heard about Jesus awakened hope in him. Repentance, the renewal of life, it turns out, is possible even for him! Wasn't one of Jesus' closest disciples a tax collector? And, following the impulse that seized him, Zacchaeus immediately began to act and compensate those to whom he had done harm.
He had already begun to correct his mistakes when the news spread through Jericho: Jesus is coming to the city. And Zacchaeus decided to see Him. He began to understand how bitter are the fruits of sin and how difficult it is to turn from a vicious path. It turned out to be difficult to endure the lack of understanding, to face suspicion and mistrust of the efforts to improve. The chief of the tax collectors longed to look at the One, Whose words had instilled hope in his heart.
The streets were crowded with people, and Zacchaeus was small in stature and could not see anything in the crowd of people. Nobody wanted to let him pass, and then he ran ahead to the fig tree, the branches of which hung over the street. And now the rich tax collector climbed onto the fig tree and from there looked at the people passing below. The crowd is approaching. People are already marching right under him, and Zacchaeus is trying to recognize the One Who is so eager to see.
The unspoken desire of the chief of the tax collectors was heard in the heart of Jesus, it sounded louder than the murmurs of the priests and rabbis, louder than the cheers of the crowd. Suddenly, right under the fig tree, the crowd freezes, the people walking in front and behind stop, and He gazes upward, as if reading the chief of the tax collectors in his soul. In disbelief, the man on the fig tree hears: “Zacchaeus! come down quickly, for today I ought to be at your house ”.
The crowd parted, and Zacchaeus, as in a dream, leads the great Guest to his home, and the rabbis gloomily look after them. Always dissatisfied, they grumble contemptuously: "He went to a sinful man."
Zacchaeus was shocked and surprised. He was speechless from such love and attention of Christ, who descended to him, an unworthy person. But love and a sense of devotion to the new Mentor induce him to open his mouth. He wants to repent before everyone and confess sin.
In the presence of many people, “Zacchaeus ... becoming, said to the Lord: Lord! I will give half of my property to the poor, and if I have offended anyone with anything, I will repay four times. ”
Jesus said to him: "Now salvation has come to this house, because he also is the son of Abraham."
When a rich young ruler turned his back on Jesus, Christ's disciples marveled at His words: “How difficult it is for those who hope in riches to enter the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24, 26). The disciples asked each other: "Who can be saved?" And so they became convinced that what Christ said is true: “What is impossible for men is possible for God” (Luke 18:27). They saw how, by the grace of God, a rich man can enter His kingdom.
Before Zacchaeus saw Christ, he had already begun to do what testified to his genuine repentance. Before people condemned him, he himself confessed his sin. He obeyed the influence of the Holy Spirit and began to follow the words intended both for ancient Israel and for us. In ancient times the Lord said: “If your brother becomes poor and falls into decay with you, then support him, whether he is a stranger or a settler, so that he may live with you; take no growth or profit from him, and fear your God; so that your brother may live with you, do not give your money to him for growth, and do not give your bread to him for profit ... Do not offend one another; fear your God ”(Lev. 25:17, 35–37). These words were spoken by Christ Himself when He revealed Himself in a pillar of cloud. And the very first response of Zacchaeus to the love of Christ was manifested in compassion for the poor and the weak.
The publicans conspired to oppress the people, and supported each other in fraud. By engaging in extortion, they did what has become almost commonplace. Even the priests and rabbis who despised them were guilty of dishonest enrichment under the guise of a sacred calling. But as soon as Zacchaeus succumbed to the influence of the Holy Spirit, he rejected everything that was dishonorable.
Repentance is not true if it does not change personality. The righteousness of Christ is not a veil to hide unconfessed and unrequited sins. The righteousness of Christ is a life principle that transforms a person and governs his behavior. Holiness is complete devotion to God, it is complete submission of the heart and life to the laws of Heaven.
Business Christians should behave in this world as our Lord would in their place. Every deed of a person must testify that God is his teacher. “Shrine to the Lord” (Ex. 39:30) - should be written on journals and accounting books, on acts, receipts and bills. Those who call themselves followers of Christ, and themselves are doing unjust, give false testimony of God, holy, just and merciful. Every converted person, like Zacchaeus, will testify to the reign of Christ in his heart by forsaking all the evil deeds he has done. Like the chief of the tax collectors, he will prove his sincerity by reimbursing the victims. The Lord says: “If this wicked person returns the bail, pays for the stolen property, walks according to the laws of life, doing nothing wrong ... not one of his sins, which he has committed, will be remembered to him ... he will live” (Ezek. 33:15, 16).
If we have harmed someone by a dishonest deal, if we have cheated in a trade, if we have cheated, although not formally breaking the law, we must confess our sin and make up for the loss as best we can. It will be right if we reimburse not only what we took, but also the profit that this person, using his money correctly and wisely, could receive during the time they were at our disposal.
The Savior said to Zacchaeus: "Today salvation has come to this house." The blessing was received not only by Zacchaeus, but also by all his household. Christ came to his house to give him lessons of the truth and to tell his household about the Kingdom of Heaven. Despised by rabbis and lay people, this family was expelled from synagogues. But now she was given the greatest honor in all Jericho - to gather around the Divine Teacher and listen to the words of life addressed to them personally.
Salvation comes to a person precisely when he accepts Christ as his personal Savior. Zacchaeus received Jesus not only as a temporary guest in his home, but as the One who will live in the temple of his heart. The scribes and Pharisees accused him of sins. They murmured that Christ had come to his house. But the Lord recognized him as the son of Abraham, because “believers are the sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3: 7).
Whoever wants to see Christ must rise high above nature in spirit, for Christ is above nature. High mountain easier to see from the hill than from the plain. Zacchaeus was small in stature, but, embraced by the desire to see Christ, climbed onto tall tree.Whoever wants to meet Christ must be cleansed, for he meets with the Holy of Holies. Zacchaeus was stained with love of money and hardheartedness, but, having met Christ, he hastened to purify himself by repentance and deeds of mercy.
Repentance is the abandonment of all the ways of debauchery, which walked the feet of a person, his thoughts and desires, and turning to new way, the path of Christ. But how can a sinful person repent when he has not yet met God in his heart and is not ashamed of himself? Before the little Zacchaeus saw Christ with his eyes, he met him in his heart and was ashamed of all his ways.
Repentance is the pain of self-deception, with which a sinful person lulls himself for a long time, for a long, long time, namely, until the moment when he feels the pain of self-deception. But this very pain leads to despair and suicide, if shame and fear of God are not associated with it. Only then is this pain from self-deception not fatal, but healing. Blessed Augustine first felt the fatal pain of self-deception, which would have killed both his soul and body, if shame and fear of God had not quickly caught up with her.
Repentance is an unexpected vision of your leprosy and a cry for medicine and a doctor. When a dark-haired person does not look at himself in the mirror for a long time, then suddenly he will stand in front of him - and he is all gray! The unrepentant sinner thinks for a long time and claims that his soul is healthy and sinless, until one day his spiritual vision is suddenly cut through and he sees that his soul is all in leprosy. But how to see your spiritual leprosy without looking in the mirror? Christ is the mirror in which everyone sees himself as he is. This is the only mirror and is given to humanity so that all people look into it and see what they are. For in Christ, as in the purest mirror, everyone sees himself sick and ugly, and he still sees his beautiful original image, what he was and what he should be again. And the sinful Zacchaeus, healthy and visible from the outside, having learned about our Lord Jesus Christ, discovered in himself a terrible leper and terrible pain, for which there was no doctor on earth except Jesus.
Repentance is the beginning of a cure for self-will, the beginning of subjugating oneself to God's will. Living of his own free will, a person quickly slides from his royal dignity into a cattle barn and into an animal hole. Never a single person on earth could act of his own free will and remain human. A person's name does not mean self-will; the name of a person, a true person, means complete obedience to the higher will, the shrewd and infallible will of God.
In the houses of madness and crying dwell the self-willed, in the houses of pitch darkness and gnashing of teeth. Their bodies are darkness and gnashing of teeth; their soul is weeping and gnashing of teeth Self-will opens the gates for the undying worm, which sharpens the sinner's soul and body. Repentance is the discovery of a worm in oneself. Alas for me, when so many worms had time to breed in me! Alas for me, who will free me from so many disgusting worms that dwell in me! Thus cries out a horrified sinner when his eyes are opened and he sees what lives in him.
Today's Gospel reading describes one of the repentant sinners, the small stature of Zacchaeus, who ascended to the height to see Christ the Highest; who was purified by repentance in order to meet Christ the Most Pure; and who was healed of the spiritual leprosy of love of money and hard-heartedness by the power of Christ the Almighty. The Lord turned many sinners to repentance, found and saved many who were lost; he called many who were lost and returned to the true path. But Providence wanted only a few examples of repentance to be recorded in the Gospel, those of them that are typical and instructive for all human generations. The example of the Apostle Peter shows the fall repeated because of the fear of people and the repentance repeated because of the love of God. The example of a sinner woman shows the leprosy of fornication and healing from this leprosy. The example of Zacchaeus shows the leprosy of love of money and healing from this leprosy. The example of a robber who repented on the cross shows the power and salvation of repentance of the most inveterate criminals, even in the hour of death. These are all encouraging examples of repentance leading to life. These are all examples of repentance shown to us, so that we can choose the path and method of our own salvation, corresponding to our sinful state. But there is also repentance, disastrous and deadly, hopeless and suicidal. Such was the repentance of Judas the traitor. I have sinned by betraying innocent blood, - he said, went out, went and hanged himself(Matthew 27: 4-5). Such repentance, leading to despair and suicide, is not a blessed Christian repentance, but satanic anger towards oneself, towards the world and life; Satanic oppression of oneself, the world and life. Let us dwell, however, today on the wondrous example of the saving repentance of the little Zacchaeus, which is described in today's Gospel.
During it Jesus entered Jericho and passed through it. And so, someone named Zacchaeus, the chief of the tax collectors and a rich man, sought to see Jesus who He was, but he could not follow the people, because he was small in stature, and, running ahead, climbed onto the fig tree to see Him, because He had to walk past her. This was at the time when the Lord performed another miracle in Jericho, namely, when He restored sight to the blind Bartimaeus. For what the Lord did with Zacchaeus is a miracle, hardly less than the healing of a blind man. He opened bodily eyes to Bartimaeus, but to this Zacchaeus - spiritual. He healed Bartimaeus from the blindness of his eyes, and Zacchaeus from the blindness of his soul. He opened the windows to Bartimaeus so that he could see the miracles of God in the material world, and to Zacchaeus he opened the window to the miracles of God in the heavenly, the spiritual world... The miracle over Zacchaeus is interpreted as a miracle over Bartimaeus. The acquisition of bodily sight should serve the acquisition of spiritual sight. Every miracle created by our Lord Jesus Christ had, first of all, a spiritual goal, which consists mainly in giving spiritual sight to blinded mankind, so that it can see the presence of God, the power of God and the mercy of God. This goal was partially achieved, for example, in the healing of ten lepers; for only one of them, being healed in body, was healed in soul and returned to thank the Lord (Luke 17: 12-20). But in the case of the blind Bartimaeus, as in most others, this goal was fully achieved. Having seen through bodily eyes according to the word of the Lord, Bartimaeus immediately received his sight and in his spirit, for immediately he knew the presence of God, the omnipotence of God and the mercy of God - and he immediately received his sight and followed Him, glorifying God(Luke 18:43). And not only the blind Bartimaeus received his sight, but, seeing the miracle created by the Lord over the blind Bartimaeus, many others also received their sight in spirit; for it is said: and all the people, seeing this, gave praise to God. Probably, this miracle also influenced the publican Zacchaeus, opening his spiritual eyes. Undoubtedly, he should have heard a lot about the wondrous deeds and the wondrous person of our Lord Jesus Christ before, since such an irresistible desire to see Him arose in him that in order to realize it, Zacchaeus had to push forward through a crowd of people who were taller than him. and even climb a tree. The tax collectors were considered to be very sinful and unclean people, since, while collecting the state tax from the people, they mercilessly engaged in extortion in their favor. Therefore, the publicans were equated with the Gentiles (Matthew 18:17). And if the publicans in general enjoyed such a bad reputation, then what reputation did one of their bosses have? And one of these notorious chiefs of tax collectors was this little Zacchaeus. He was the chief of the tax collectors and was a rich man, that is, he was despised and envied. Contempt and envy are always the essence of two closely spaced walls between which the soul of a rich sinner squeezes in this life. But in the sinner Zacchaeus the man Zacchaeus awakened, who rebelled against the sinner in himself and with all his might rushed forward and upward to see Christ, to see a Man without sin, to see his spotless, pure type. So, the man Zacchaeus climbed a tall, branchy and gnarled fig tree near the road along which the Lord was supposed to pass.
Jesus, when he came to this place, looked, saw him and said to him: Zacchaeus! Come down quickly, for today I ought to be at your house. And he hurriedly went down and received Him with joy. From these words it is clear that it was not Zacchaeus who first saw the Lord, but the Lord Zacchaeus. Savior, looking, saw him and called. With His spiritual vision, the Lord saw Zacchaeus much earlier, and with His bodily eyes he saw him, when did you come to this place... And although the little Zacchaeus got out of the crowd of people and climbed onto the fig tree, the Lord nevertheless noticed him from the ground and from the crowd of people before he came to the Lord from the height of the tree. Oh, how discerning the Lord our God is! He sees us even when we don't even know about it. While we seek Him, making every possible effort to find Him and see Him, He stands by our side and looks at us. He always sees us before we see him. If we fixed our mind's eye on Him, seeking Him, only desiring Him, then He would appear to us and call us by name, so that we too would descend from the high and dangerous rocks of fleshly wisdom and descend into our hearts - descend with a prayerful mind into your heart - to your true home. Then the Lord would have said to each of us: today I need to be in your house... For when the human mind descends into the heart and, having washed in the heart with tears, reaches out to the Living God, then the heart becomes a place where God meets man. Is it internal, or spiritual meaning this event.
And he hurriedly went down and received Him with joy. How not to rush to the voice that revives the dead and forbids the winds, heals the demon-possessed and dissolves the petrified hearts of sinners with tears? How not to accept the One Whom he wished to see at least from afar? And how not to experience unspeakable joy, seeing Him in your house, into which no one dared to set foot but the feet of inveterate sinners? But so the Lord has mercy when he has mercy. This is how the Lord bestows when he bestows. Desperate fishermen are so overwhelmed by the net that it breaks through; it feeds thousands of hungry people in a desolate place so abundantly that many baskets of pieces remain; to the sick, asking for help, bestows health not only bodily, but also spiritual; he forgives sinners and sinners not individual sins, leaving others on them, but forgives them everything. Royal gestures, royal mercy and royal generosity of gifts are everywhere! So in this case: Zacchaeus only wants to see Him, and He does not just let him see Himself, but hurries to be the first to turn to Zacchaeus, and even enters under the roof of his house. This is what the Lord does. And this is what ordinary sinful people, self-righteous and self-styled "righteous" do:
And everyone, seeing that, began to murmur, and said that He had come to a sinful man. Oh, unspeakable human misfortune - language ahead of the mind! Embittered in soul and relaxed in mind, these people scream, mock and murmur before pondering the intention of our Lord Jesus Christ and the possible change in the heart of the sinful Zacchaeus. According to their short thoughts, our Lord Jesus Christ enters the house of Zacchaeus because of ignorance about the sins of this man. So the Pharisees judged so short-sightedly when the Lord allowed the sinful woman to wash His feet - if He were a prophet, He would know who and what woman is touching Him, for she is a sinner(Luke 7:39). So they judged and so are judged today, all those people who think with the carnal mind and evaluate others by their appearance, not knowing the depths of either God's mercy or the human heart. Christ more than once said that He came into this world for the sake of sinners, and above all for the sake of the greatest sinners. And just as the doctor hurries to visit not the healthy, but the sick, so the Lord hastened to visit not the healthy with righteousness, but the sick with sin. The Gospel does not say that the Lord in in this case went into the house of some righteous Jericho, but He hastened to turn into the house of the sinful Zacchaeus. Doesn't every sensible doctor do the same when he enters a hospital? Does he not rush first to the beds of the most serious patients? The whole earth is a huge hospital, overflowing with the sick infected with sin. All people are sick in comparison with the health of Christ; all are weak in comparison with the omnipotence of Christ; all are ugly in comparison with Christ's beauty. But among people there are sick, more and less hard there are more and less weak, more and less ugly. The former are called righteous, the latter are called sinners. And the Heavenly Physician, having come down to earth not to have fun, but to urgently treat and save the plague, first of all rushed to the aid of the most seriously ill. Therefore He ate and drank with sinners; therefore He allowed sinners to weep at His feet; and therefore He entered under the roof of the sinful Zacchaeus. But, incidentally, this Zacchaeus, at the moment when he met Christ, was far from the most plague man in Jericho. His heart suddenly changed, and at that moment he truly became a much healthier, stronger and more beautiful righteous man than all these murmurs and mockers. For he repented of all his sins, and his heart suddenly changed. And that his heart had changed is shown by the following:
Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord: Lord! I will give half of my property to the poor, and if I have offended anyone in any way, I will repay four times. Who demanded this of him? No one. Who accused him of kidnapping a stranger? No one. The very presence of the most pure and sinless Lord Zacchaeus felt as an accusation to himself, and this very presence, without words, confession and explanations, prompted him to take such a step. A repentant heart without words understands God. God quickly reveals to the repentant what to do next. As soon as a person warmly repent of his sin, God immediately by His power prompts him to create the fruits of repentance. Even Saint John the Baptist showed people a whole method of true repentance. First, he called people to repentance: repent... And right after that: create fruit worthy of repentance(Matthew 3: 2-8)! And here is a sinner who has rapidly studied this technique and applied it! Only when he heard about our Lord Jesus Christ, Zacchaeus rebelled against himself, seeing Him, he sincerely abhorred his sinfulness; and now, when the All-Good Physician has shown him such attention and entered his house, he bears the fruits of repentance. He knows his main disease and, behold, he immediately applies the main medicine for this disease. Zacchaeus' disease is a love of money; the cure for it is mercy. Even in ancient times it was said: He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver(Eccl. 5: 9). Zacchaeus loved silver and spent all past life accumulating it in all ways, mostly sinful. This is a disease that irrevocably pulls a person into the abyss. This is a fire, the more it kindles, the more wealth multiplies. There is no amount of money that could saturate the lover of money. As fire cannot say: "Don't put more wood in me, that's enough for me!" - so the passion of avarice cannot utter the words: "Enough!" A person cannot be saved from this passion by himself, by his own strength. It can only be extinguished by the presence of God, which instills shame and fear in the human heart, and besides shame and fear - also the knowledge that there is more than silver and gold. Without the presence of Christ, Zacchaeus would have lived his sinful age, like all other publicans, he would have died despised and condemned - and would have been forgotten. His name would never fit into the Gospel on earth and the Book of the Living in heaven. But the presence of the Living God revived his soul, so mortified by the passion of love of money, and made him a new man, revived and raised from the dead. This is an immortal lesson to all people, teaching that no mortal can be saved from his sinful disease without the help of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But look at the way Zacchaeus confesses his sin. He does not say: "Lord, I am a sinful man!" and does not say: "My illness is the love of money!" No, but, bearing the fruits of repentance, he himself confesses both his sin and his illness. I will give half of my property to the poor. Is this not a clear confession of his passion for covetousness? And if I offended anyone, I will repay four times. And this is not a clear confession that his wealth was acquired in sinful ways? He did not say to the Lord before this: "I have sinned and I repent!" He silently confessed this to the Lord in his heart, and the Lord silently accepted his confession and his repentance. It is more important for the Lord that a person with his heart, and not with his tongue, recognizes and confesses his illness and cries out for help. For the tongue can lie, but the heart does not lie. Look now how Zacchaeus atone for his sin and what efforts he makes on his part to come out into the light from the shadow cast by the cursed passion of love of money! He immediately promises to give half of his estate to the poor - he admired every coin he received and hid it away from human eyes; he who never knew the bliss of giving! But that's not all. He tries with all his might to correct and atone for the wrongs inflicted on people and invites four times to repay everyone from whom he took something unrighteous. The Law of Moses deals with sinners much softer than this Zacchaeus did with himself. The Law of Moses says: If a man or woman commits any sin against a man, and through this commits a crime against the Lord, and that soul is guilty, then let them confess their sin that they have committed, and return in full what they are guilty of, and add to it the fifth part and will give to the one against whom they have sinned(Num. 5: 6-7). This was prescribed for those who confessed their sin. Zacchaeus, confessing his sin, thus, should have, according to the law, returned to everyone offended by him, as much as he took away, and on top of that, another fifth of this amount. But Zacchaeus treats himself harsher than the law; he wants to apply to himself the provision of the law, which concerned thieves and swindlers, not confessing their sins, but caught in the act; he wants to repay those he offended fourfold (Ex. 22:10). Thus, anyone who truly repent becomes merciful to others and unmerciful to himself.
Jesus said to him: Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is the son of Abraham. This was the answer of our Lord Jesus Christ to the little Zacchaeus to his heartfelt repentance, to his spiritual joy and to the shown fruits of repentance. The next and final words: for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost- were the answer of Christ to the short-sighted sages and murmurs, who blamed the Lord for the fact that He went into the house of a sinful person. While walking down the street to the house of Zacchaeus; while they grumbled and resented this obscene visit, the Savior remained silent and waited. What was He waiting for? He waited for the hearts of inhuman grumblers and the heart of the repentant Zacchaeus to be fully opened; allowed the demon of their malice to reach the peak of exultation, so that his defeat would be clearer and more obvious to all. This is the tactics of God's victory. God never hurries at the first meeting with evil to show its weakness and His strength, but waits until it ascends in its arrogance to the clouds, in order then to destroy evil with just the breath of His lips. Evil is so insignificant in comparison with the power of God that if God did not allow evil to grow, how much it can grow in order to then interfere with His power, people would never realize the greatness of the power of God. Having given freedom to both hellish and earthly forces on Calvary, the Almighty immediately showed both hell and earth his unheard-of power through the Resurrection. The Lord uses the same method in this case with Zacchaeus. He quietly goes to the house of Zacchaeus; the screamers scream, the grumblers grumble, the scoffers mock, but He is silent and goes. He enters the house of Zacchaeus; self-proclaimed "righteous" remain outside the threshold of a house belonging to a sinner for fear of getting dirty; and again the screamers continue to shout even louder, the grumblers grumble and the mockers scoff. So the triumph of malice reaches its extreme point... All who cry, grumble and mock are already convinced that they are absolutely right, and Christ is wrong; that they know the sinner Zacchaeus well, but Christ does not know him; that they firmly follow the law, and Christ broke the law by crossing the threshold of the house of the sinner; that they do not allow themselves to be deceived, but Christ was deceived! Hence the logical conclusion for them that Christ is not a true teacher, prophet or Messiah; for if He were all this, or even any of that, He would know who Zacchaeus is and would not have entered under his roof. And it means: "We, Jericho, today caught Jesus Christ in a trap, and now we will save the world from great self-deception, as if He is the Messiah and the Son of God!" Here is their triumph. Here is their victory. Here is the rise of evil to the clouds. And at the same time, Zacchaeus grows, becoming an increasingly kind and newer person. And the Lord, looking less at the hypocritical and evil crowd than at the renewal of Zacchaeus' heart, stands calmly and waits until everything is done, and then the time will come for Him to say. And when malice ascends to the clouds, when all the hard mold falls from the old heart of the sinner, then Zacchaeus opens his mouth and utters words in front of everyone, for everyone except Christ, unexpected: I will give half of my property to the poor... Isn't it thunder that suddenly dispersed the haughty cloud? Why are you suddenly silent now, Jericho? Why don't you scream, murmur, and mock anymore? Why did the words get stuck in your throat? Who was deceived: Christ or you? Who knew Zacchaeus better: you or Christ? Who is the greater righteous now: you or Zacchaeus?
How merciful and meek the Lord is! Like a gentle lamb, and this time He stands among people embittered by invisible wolves. And how calm and confident He is in His victory, now, as always! How calmly He waits for His hour! And when His time comes, He first turns to the sick person, for whose sake he turned from the road to his house: now salvation has come to this house... With these words, the Heavenly Physician gives the patient a certificate that he has recovered and is ready to join healthy people... Blindness has disappeared from his soul, as well as from the eyes of Bartimaeus, and now he can freely walk the path of truth and mercy. But in order to make this information clearer for everyone standing around, the Lord also adds: because he is also the son of Abraham... A real son of Abraham, in spirit and truth, and not only in name and blood, like others, who boasted of their origin from Abraham only in name and blood! Abraham was human-loving, strange-loving, non-covetous, meek and full of the fear of God, faith and joy in the Holy Spirit. This is how the little Zacchaeus became. Abraham, for his high virtues, was honored to become the spiritual founder of all the righteous. That is why Zacchaeus, through repentance, becomes his true descendant, his son in spirit. The Lord announces this, to Zacchaeus for consolation, and to his accusers for reflection. And He also announces as the last: for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost... That is: to exact precisely those sinners whom no one is looking for, but everyone repels, and to save precisely those whom the world and they themselves consider perished. For the Great Hero came down from heaven in order to save not so much those with a cold, as the lepers and the blind, the possessed and the paralytic, and to resurrect the dead who are in the graves. Elsewhere the Lord says: I came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance(Matthew 9:13; 1 Tim 1:15). O brethren, did you know that this word also applies to us? Do you know that we, too, are sinners, for whose sake the Lord the Hero came down to earth? Inexpressible love for us brought Him from heaven to earth, to seek out the lost and save sinners. Oh, look at little Zacchaeus, whom his desire to see the Lord made great. Behold, even now Christ is approaching us, as he once did to Zacchaeus, surrounded by the masses of the people, innumerable masses of both the righteous and the murmurs. All human history, consisting of a two-thousand-year roar behind Him and around Him, bends over us. Can't you hear the hubbub and hum? This entire past rushes towards you and next to you. And in the center of the crowd of millions is the humble Lord and Savior. Hurry up, climb the heights to see the Lord. Everything else, past and present, is not so worthy of a look. Climb over the muddy road which you have walked up to now, climb a tall tree: He will certainly pass by. Oh, blessed is he who will be called by the sweetest voice, the sweetness of which even the angels revel in!
Indeed, repentance is the first step of the ladder leading to the Kingdom of God. No one has ever been able to step on the second step without first stepping on this first. In the emptiness of life, this repentance is the first and only sure knock on the heavenly door. You can bang your fists on the walls of a house as much as you like: no one will hear you and no one will open. But knock on the door and it will be opened for you. Repentance is not a knock on the wall, but on the true door leading to light and salvation. Whoever sincerely repented and wished to enter the house of his Heavenly Father, he has already knocked on the only gate through which one can enter this house.
The love of money blinds, only Christ gives sight to the blind. The love of money makes a person lonely and fetters him with the chains of slavery; Christ brings the lonely one out of his loneliness and brings the angels into the congregation and unbinds the slave and makes him free. And to all those who repented, who ascended to see Him, He reveals Himself; and to whom He appears, for this purpose all the secrets of Heaven and earth and all the innumerable and enduring treasures that God from the creation of the world prepared for those who love Him are revealed and made manifest. For this, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ deserves honor and glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit - Consubstantial and Inseparable Trinity, now and forever, at all times and forever and ever. Amen.
Our trip to Jericho was certainly not limited to visiting just one. The program was very eventful and began in the now Greek monastery of the prophet Elisha. Here is the version number one (aha, there will be a second) of one of the Christian shrines. But as usual, first things first ...
First, let's see who Elisha was. And he was an interesting and controversial person. The prophet Elisha, whose name means “God is salvation,” was the son of a wealthy farmer from Abel Meholah in the Jordan Valley. Once, when he was plowing with twelve pairs of bulls, the prophet Elijah came up and threw him his mantle. And this meant that the prophet accepts Elisha as a disciple and promises to give him a prophetic gift. Elisha killed a couple of oxen and, using their harness, made a burnt offering to the Lord. Refusing all property and not saying goodbye to his family, he followed Elijah and became his devoted disciple.
When Elijah completed his ministry, Elisha received the prophet's permission to follow him to the very place of his ascension into Heaven. Thus, he became the only eyewitness to the ascension of Elijah to heaven. Elisha asked to be granted the double power of prophecy. When the chariot of fire appeared, Elijah in a whirlwind ascended to heaven in it, throwing down his mantle to the ground. Elisha lifted her up and walked to the bank of the Jordan. He struck the water with a mantle, calling on the God of Elijah, and the waters parted in different sides letting him cross the river on dry land. Then all the prophets who saw this bowed to him to the ground, saying: "The spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha!"
Elisha became a zealous follower of his teacher, the prophet Elijah. He prophesied for over 65 years, under the six kings of Israel (from Ahaz to Joash), and fearlessly spoke the truth to them, denouncing their wickedness and inclination to idolatry. Elisha's authority was recognized by the king of Judah, who consulted with the prophet on the eve of the campaign against the Moabite king Mesha.
Many miracles are associated with the name of Elisha - from the miraculous crossing of the Jordan to the healing of the sick and the resurrection of the son of a hospitable Shunammite wife. His famous miracles also include: the multiplication of oil at the request of a poor widow, the multiplication of grain firstfruits, the healing of the Syrian commander Naaman.
In all the stories about Elisha, he is depicted as a deeply perspicacious man, strong in spirit and faith. His time includes higher development a long-standing institution known as the "prophetic hosts" or schools - a kind of mobile religious and educational communities in which young people were brought up under the guidance of already experienced and well-known prophets.
However, with all this, Elisha had a cruel disposition. Example? Yes please ... even two
He cursed little children just because they made fun of him " ... he went from there to Bethel. As he walked along the road, little children came out of the city and mocked him and said to him: “Go, bald one! Go bald! "He looked back and saw them and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the forest and tore forty-two of them to pieces.”(4 Kings, 23-24)
Or here's another: Once Elisha's servant Gehazi wanted to take gifts from Naaman, which he sent to the prophet as a sign of gratitude and which Elisha refused. Gehazi hid the gifts in his house and lied to the teacher, but could not escape his all-pervading gaze - and was struck by leprosy.
These two examples can be interpreted to mean that sometimes the grace of God worked through him to punish sin. By the way, there is a whole discussion about why Elisha killed children with bears. One answer made me think, "The Holy Prophet Elisha needs no excuses."
The Holy Prophet Elisha died at a very old age, at the age of about 100 years. Before his death, he predicted a victory over the Syrians to the king of Israel, who came to the house of the prophet to mourn his death. In the same year, during the attack of the Moabites, the body of a dead man was thrown into Elisha's grave - the man came back to life and got to his feet. Therefore, the wise Sirach glorifies the prophet Elisha, saying: “And after his sleep, his body prophesied. And during his life he performed miracles, and after death his works were marvelous ”... The tomb of the great prophet was highly revered by the Jews. Julian the Apostate ordered to desecrate her, but particles of Elisha's relics were preserved and transferred to Alexandria and Constantinople in the temple of his name.
Well, now let's move on to the main shrine of the Elisha Monastery in Jericho.
One of the most famous gospel stories in Jericho refers, of course, to the tax collector Zacchaeus.
... And now, someone named Zacchaeus, the chief of the tax collectors and a rich man, sought to see Jesus, who He is, but could not follow the people, because he was small in stature, and, running ahead, climbed onto the fig tree to see Him ...
According to the Gospel tradition, the tax collector Zacchaeus, in modern understanding tax inspector, levied taxes in favor of the Roman enslavers of the Jewish state, and even more than that, which did not fit with his name, which translates as "mercy, goodness." A man who unrighteously acquired wealth, despised, short in stature, he did not hope to make his way through the crowd to the Savior, and therefore climbed a tree in the hope that he could at least from a distance see the Teacher performing miracles. Imagine the surprise of the sinful publican and the indignation of the crowd when Jesus not only stopped under the fig tree and turned to Zacchaeus, but also expressed a desire to come to his house. This event turned the consciousness of Zacchaeus, he opened his heart to Christ and repented for his life.
Rising from the table, at which the guests were reclining according to the Eastern custom, he turned publicly to Christ: “Lord! I will give half of my property to the poor, and if I have offended anyone with anything, I will repay four times. " In response, the Lord said: "Now salvation has come to this house, because he is also the son of Abraham, for the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost." After this meeting, Zacchaeus never parted with Christ, and after the Resurrection of Christ the Savior and His glorious Ascension, the former tax collector was ordained bishop by the apostles and devoted his whole life to serving the Lord.
In connection with the memory of the prophet Elisha and the evangelical event of the repentance of the publican Zacchaeus in Jericho in 1886, at the expense of Russian philanthropists - A.D. Bogdanova and a member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society Maria Mikhailovna Kiseleva from Penza Orthodox church in the name of the prophet Elisha.
Greek is here now Orthodox monastery the prophet Elisha in which many Russian icons have been preserved, donated at different periods.
Jesus and His disciples walked along the road to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Jesus knew this was His last journey. Other pilgrims joined them near the beautiful city of Jericho. Dry desert and deserted lands stretched all around. But Jericho, thanks to the multitude of cool springs, was a flourishing city, adorned with lush trees that exuded a sweet scent, and richly fruiting date palms.
Tax collectors in this city were well off. Their boss, Zacchaeus, was the richest. But despite his wealth, Zacchaeus was not happy. Everyone despised and blasphemed him. People knew that he stuffed their pockets with hard-earned money and sent the rest to the hated Roman authorities.
Zacchaeus heard about Jesus, the amazing Teacher who changed the lives of people. He really wanted to see Jesus, but along the streets of Jericho a crowd was already stretched out, and, trying to get ahead, Zacchaeus received several jabs and blows. He understood that if he did not manage to get ahead, he would not see anything, because he was so small in stature.
Zacchaeus glanced at the fig tree on the side of the road and knew what to do. A few minutes later, when Jesus entered the city with His disciples, he could see everything, comfortably sitting on a thick branch of a tree.
And then Jesus raised his eyes, looked towards Zacchaeus' hiding place and called out to him:
Zacchaeus, get off! Today I will have supper at your house.
Zacchaeus swiftly went downstairs. He tried to shake off the leaves and twigs that adhered to his clothes, and hesitantly approached Jesus. The indignant murmur of the crowd reached his ears: "Why is Jesus going to visit his house? Everyone knows that he is a dishonest and sinful man!"
But Jesus put his hand on Zacchaeus's shoulder, and together they walked to the sumptuous dwelling of the publican.
No one knows what Jesus said to Zacchaeus during the meal, but when they left the house, the people waiting for them saw that Zacchaeus was completely transformed.
He stepped forward firmly and spoke.
