Zacchaeus, the tax collector, waited for Jesus up a tree

Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector, was a short man so he climbed a tree so that he could see Jesus as He walked by. The local people did not like Zacchaeus because he worked for the Roman rulers.
Jesus stopped at his tree and said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately, I must stay at your house today.” Jesus stayed with Zacchaeus for a meal. We are not told whether it was the midday or evening meal but was the 7th of Nisan.
After the meal, Jesus left Jericho. He walked towards Jerusalem and His death in 8 days’ time.
Zacchaeus in Hebrew means: Pure One.

Background reading

Jesus and Zacchaeus

(Numbers 5:5–10)
19:1 Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was very wealthy. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.”
6 So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully. 7 And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:1-10

More Information:

Jesus sets out from Jericho, meaning in Hebrew: City of Palms, to walk to Jerusalem about 24km (15miles), approximately 4-8 hours, all uphill.
Jericho is 251 meters or 825 feet below sea level and Jerusalem is 796 meters or 2,610 feet above sea level. A total climb of 1,047 meters or 3,435 feet.
The custom was that you started early in the morning with a rest in the middle of the day.
The hill or tel of Jericho has been occupied since 800BC and is some 230 meters or 800 feet below sea level.
The Dead Sea. also called the Salt Sea, is just over 400 meters (1,300 feet) below sea level.
The Sea of Galilee, also called Lake of Tiberias, is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world, at levels between 215 meters and 209 meters below sea level.


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