Zacchaeus

Zacchaeus was a greedy tax collector in Bible times who handled money as though it belonged to him. In a story about God's ownership, he pocketed a rare gold stater from the temple courtyard. The coin refused to remain his. It passed into a soldier's fee, became a boy's lucky charm, and was swallowed by a fish before appearing where Jesus needed it for the temple tax. Zacchaeus's brief part begins a much larger journey that no human character can control. His attempt to keep the stater illustrates how quickly possessions slip from one person's grasp and serve another purpose. Clever and grasping, he stands at the start of a chain showing that every coin ultimately belongs to God.