Reading Zacchaeus Anew: Disability, Stature, and Inclusion ... some initial thoughts.

This Sunday's gospel reading was Luke 19:1-10, the story of Zacchaeus, a short man who climbs a sycamore tree to see Jesus. This story is often interpreted as simply a wealthy sinner who repents. Zacchaeus is presented in a way that assumes that he is corrupt; after all, we are told the crowd asks why Jesus would go and stay with this sinner.

In this morning's sermon, it was suggested Zacchaeus repented and promised to repay anyone he had cheated because, for the first time ever, he felt ashamed of what he had done. This interpretation made me highly uncomfortable. But this discomfort caused me to take a closer look at this story, only to discover a more nuanced way of reading this, which I believe fits better within the wider narrative of Luke - especially regarding his (Zacchaeus’s) role as a tax collector and the question of corruption. This is only an overview of my thinking so far, and I intend to write something a little more in-depth on this in the future.

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, a position widely viewed with suspicion. Tax collectors worked for the Roman Empire, collecting money from their own people, often leading to resentment and moral judgment from the community. While this role associated him with exploitation in the public imagination, the text does not explicitly accuse him of personal corruption. His wealth alone may have reinforced assumptions of wrongdoing, even if he had acted honestly within a system that was itself exploitative.

He was also described as short in stature, which may have made him physically noticeable and socially vulnerable in a culture that linked bodily normality with social and religious status. These overlapping factors - occupation, wealth, and physical difference - meant that Zacchaeus was marginalized both socially and religiously. His close contact with foreigners meant that he would be considered ritually unclean and excluded from full participation in Temple and synagogue life and treated as someone outside the covenant community.

Traditionally, Zacchaeus has been portrayed as a morally crooked man whose wealth was ill-gotten and who repents dramatically upon encountering Jesus. This reading simplifies the story into a moralistic lesson about greed and sin. It is hardly surprising, as I have done the same thing myself, automatically assuming that anyone who is a merchant banker (or similar profession) is automatically corrupt. The reading offered here highlights that Zacchaeus’s perceived corruption may have been more about public perception and systemic suspicion than confirmed personal wrongdoing. His response, “If I have defrauded anyone,” acknowledges possible harm and his commitment to restitution. This emphasises a relational and restorative justice rather than a display of guilt.

When Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’s home, the crowd protested, seeing him as a sinner. Zacchaeus responded by offering to give half his possessions to the poor and make amends to anyone he may have wronged.  Zacchaeus’s “if” is not an evasion of guilt but an act of social tact and moral responsibility. He offers restitution that goes beyond the law’s requirements (cf. Exod. 22:1; Num. 5:7). The focus shifts from guilt to transformation.

Repentance here is not confession but restorative action, and Jesus responds not with moral approval but with relational restoration: “Today salvation has come to this house.”

Jesus’s act of looking up, calling Zacchaeus by name, and entering his home reverses the pattern of exclusion. The man who was physically small, socially marginalized, and publicly judged is now seen, named, and included. Luke presents a consistent theme: God’s salvation often works through recognizing and restoring those whom society excludes, highlighting the relational and communal dimensions of redemption.

For me, this reading also better aligns with Luke's wider narrative, where Jesus consistently engages with those marginalized by social, economic, or physical status, such as the blind, the bent-over woman, and lepers.