Louie DePalma, played by American actor Danny DeVito, was the abrasive dispatcher in the TV show Taxi. This sitcom ran from 1978 to 1983 and had a wonderful cast of characters. While the taxi drivers lived out their less-than-satisfying lives, few of them ever admitted that driving a cab was their career. Each of them was “just doing this until something better came along.”

            But Louie DePalma constantly derided their ambitions, made fun of them and was just downright mean, sarcastic and nasty. He spent much of his time in his raised little office which was surrounded by a wire cage — probably for his protection. Louie was only five feet tall and seldom showed compassion or care. He made sport of the drivers and other employees with his cutting remarks.

            Sounds a lot like Zacchaeus, doesn’t it? Both men were small of stature, trusted by no one and despised by all. Yet by the end of this scripture, we see a profound change in both Zacchaeus and the town of Jericho, where he lived.

Zacchaeus — hated and despised

            There are a couple of details given about Zacchaeus in Luke’s account, and they don’t paint a pretty picture.

            First, he was “a chief tax collector.” That implies there were other tax collectors under his control. Being a chief tax collector today does not have any bad implications, but in Zacchaeus’ day, the position of tax collector was not a salaried position. One commentator says, “The person appointed did not receive any salary for his work; he simply collected as much money as he could, and he kept for himself what was left over after he paid the agreed sum to the Romans.”¹ So as chief tax collector, he was hated by just about everyone.

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