Zacchaeus was a tax collector of the city Jericho and learned that Jesus the prophet was passing through the city. Since Zacchaeus was "short in stature," he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up into a sycamore tree to have a better view of Jesus. When Jesus arrived, he noticed Zacchaeus in the tree and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." This made Zacchaeus very joyful but the crowd "grumbled," or murmured in a complaint that Jesus "has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."