Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 19:4-7

"And he ran on before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He is gone in to lodge with a man that is a sinner." — Luke 19:4-7 (ASV)

And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at your house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured,–

There is a great contrast between this verse and the last one in the previous chapter: All the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Here it is, When they saw it, they murmured. Yet, very likely, many of them were the same people; certainly, they were the same sort of people that we hear of every now and then: When they saw it, they all murmured. There are far too many of that kind still about; we do not quite know who they are, nor where they are, they have a sort of nondescript, mysterious existence that finds expression in the words, "They say so-and-so and so-and-so."

They have been saying something about the minister, something about the Sunday school, something about the Bible class, something about your work and mine. You see, there always were such people about, and they always would talk, and their talk often took the form of complaining: When they saw it, they all murmured,