He has gone to eat at the house of a sinner. This was not the first time, nor was it going to be the last time when Jesus is accused of keeping the company of people considered sinners. However, unlike the other instances, this particular one was unique because in it we find the crowd joining the religious elders in accusing Jesus of keeping the company of a sinner. This is because Zacchaeus was no ordinary sinner. As a tax collector, he was a betrayer of his people, one who colluded with the foreign Roman government to oppress his own people. His sin amounted to treason and he was irredeemable in the sight of his people. He had accepted to work for a people who were oppressing his community, and by doing so, he had in a way renounced his citizenship and found himself outside the community’s salvation ‘zone.’ Moreover, as he later confessed, he used to tax more than was mandated by the law and used the ‘surplus’ to enrich himself. In one word, he was corrupt.
The crowd’s disapproval of Jesus’ move was twofold: not only did he keep the company of Zacchaeus, a known sinner and betrayer of his people, but he also ‘joined hands’ with him at dinner. Meal times were sacred moments and only those who were at peace with one another could eat from the same table. By dining at the house of Zacchaeus, Jesus demonstrated that he had no beef with him and his lifestyle. As a matter of fact, his eating with him was a tacit approval of Zacchaeus’ ‘sinful’ lifestyle. But the crowd disagreed and they made this very clear to Jesus. Zacchaeus had committed an act of treason against his people and anyone who thought otherwise was a liar and did not have their interest at heart. In his response to the crowd’s criticism of his move, Jesus points out that he too acknowledges that Zacchaeus is a sinner. However, unlike them, he believes that all is not lost for Zacchaeus. He is still redeemable. ‘Salvation has today come to this house,’ Jesus says. 
Jesus was not offering Zacchaeus a free pass. He was not asking the crowd to simply forget the ills that Zacchaeus had perpetrated. What he was doing was offering Zacchaeus a chance to right the wrongs he had done. At least he deserved that much, for he too was a descendant of Abraham. Zacchaeus accepted the offer of Jesus. He acknowledged his sinfulness and agreed to begin his repentance by giving back what he had wrongfully acquired. And as Jesus does in other occasions, he joyfully welcomes Zacchaeus’ act of contrition for he (Jesus) knew that he had accomplished his mission. 
Jesus’ mission is that of bringing about reconciliation, that is, making into one that which had disintegrated. Through his sinful actions, Zacchaeus had drifted off and had broken away from the community. By sinning, he had broken the bonds that existed between him and God, and between him and his fellow brothers and sisters. By sinning, he had cut ties with his people and put himself ‘outside’ salvation. His salvation (as well as his destiny) was tied to that of his community. This was why it was important for Jesus that this man too was offered the opportunity to repent and come back to the community. ‘The Son of Man came to seek and to bring back into the fold those who have lost their ways.’