The Wootens

Zaccheus Bradford Wooten

Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: Pure, Untainted
Pronunciation: (zah KEE uss)
Form of: Zacchaeus

For some reason, Brad and I could not agree on a boy name. Zaccheus had been mentioned long before we were thinking about having children and didn’t come back to our conversation until the day before the ultrasound. The main reason we chose this name is because of Zaccheus mentioned in the Bible.

Luke 19:1-10 (New American Standard Bible)
Zaccheus Converted

1He entered Jericho and was passing through.
2And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.
3Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.
4So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.
5When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
6And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.
7When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."
8Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."
9And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.
10"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

A few observations about these verses:
1. Jesus was just merely passing through…. implying he had no intentions of staying in Jericho. (v. 1)
2. In this context, tax collectors were looked down upon because they often cheated people for personal gain. V. 2 is very clear in stating that Zaccheus was a “chief tax collector and he was rich”. It’s fair to say that he became rich by fraud.
3. Zaccheus was curious about the Person of Christ. He wanted to see who He WAS. Not what he looked like, or if all the things he had probably heard about Jesus were true. But, Zaccheus wanted to see Jesus for himself. Unfortunately, there were circumstances that were working against Zaccheus. The size of the crowd and the fact that he was a smaller man.
4. Zaccheus did what was necessary to cultivate a surrounding where he could see Jesus. Thanks to Renee and David, I found out that the sycamore tree is a sticky fig tree and one would be very gross and dirty if they climbed it. So, no one would actually want to climb a sycamore tree. Zaccheus thought that seeing Jesus would far outweigh getting nasty dirty.
5. Verse 5 is truly amazing. Jesus not only knows that someone is in the tree, eagerly waiting to see him, but he also knows that person by name. The second thing that is amazing is that Jesus says he “must stay” at Zaccheus’ house. Remember verse 1 said that Jesus was just passing through? Jesus obviously thought that there was now reason to stay.
6. Zaccheus received Jesus GLADLY. Not begrudgingly because he now had to be a host. With gladness, Zaccheus welcomed the Living God into his home.
7. Verse 7 is the crowds’ perspective of the exchange between Zaccheus and Jesus. Their hearts are hard and they don’t understand why Jesus, a man claiming to be the sinless, perfect Son of God would want to stay with such a man.
8. Zaccheus responds to Jesus with generosity. No doubt some of the same thoughts were going through his mind as to why Jesus would choose his house to stay at. But, instead of asking why, Zaccheus responds with a grateful, giving heart. It’s clear that this man has been changed by his interaction with Jesus.
9. Jesus declares that Zaccheus is now saved; he is now adopted into Jesus’ family line. (Romans 8:14-16) It is not made explicit exactly HOW Zaccheus was saved, but, a larger view of the Bible and a little reading between the lines of these verses suggest that it was his heart. Zaccheus wanted to know Jesus so eagerly, and when Jesus proposes to stay at his house, Zaccheus responds with great generosity. How else could someone gladly give half of everything they have and right any fraud by four times unless a major heart transformation has taken place? And even more amazing is that the transformation has taken place by the mere presence of Jesus. This was such a simple exchange of words. It has to be much deeper than just words.
10. The last verse doesn’t say whether Jesus is still talking one on one with Zaccheus or is He is now addressing the crowd. If I had to guess, I’d say that He was addressing the crowd. He is yet again identifying the purpose by which He came, not just to Jericho, but also to live on the earth as a man.


I hope it’s easy to see why Brad and I love Zaccheus and his heart for Jesus. As we were considering who are son might be, it is our hope and prayer that he be as eager and generous towards Christ as this Zaccheus. We will continue to use these verses to pray for him. That salvation would be his as well. Oh, and we also LOVE the name Zac! Which, we will mostly use all the time, but I’m excited to be able to show him where his full name came from and why we chose it.