Zacchaeus

The Weight of the Sycamore

By: Israel Diamond

Narrated by: Bob McCoy

He owned the city, but he was a prisoner of his own gold.

In the sweltering heat of 1st-century Jericho, Zacchaeus is the most powerful man at the gates—and the most hated. As a Chief Publican, he has climbed over the backs of his own people to serve the Roman Eagle, building a fortress of silver to mask the small, hollow man beneath the purple robes. To the religious elite, he is a "moser"—a traitor beyond redemption. To the Roman occupiers, he is a useful tool. To himself, he is a man dying of thirst in the middle of a balsam grove.

But the winds are shifting. Rumors of a radical Rabbi from Nazareth are sweeping through the Judean wilderness—a man who heals the blind and speaks of a Kingdom where the first shall be last.

When the "Son of David" finally enters the city of palms, Zacchaeus finds himself trapped behind a wall of shoulders, unable to see the man who might be his only hope. Driven by a desperation that transcends his dignity, he does the unthinkable: he abandons his post and climbs a common sycamore tree.

What follows is a social scandal that rocks the foundations of Jericho. With a single gaze and a call by name, the Rabbi dismantles a lifetime of cynicism.

©2026 Israel Diamond (P)2026 Israel Diamond