“Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham’” (Luke 19:8-9).
Earlier (verse 6), Zacchaeus “was happy to welcome” Jesus into his home. But the joy of being seen and summoned into a new relationship was not Zacchaeus’ only response to Jesus; there were also acts confession and repentance.
Note that Jesus has required neither faith nor repentance from Zacchaeus. Nevertheless, Jesus’ love for him moves Zacchaeus to change. He not only gratefully gives in to Jesus’ overwhelming love for him, but also acknowledges his sin and offers to make amends by giving back to those whom he has cheated. What’s more, he offers to give away half of his possessions and give back four times as much as he has swindled from those who are poor. His remorse seems to evoke a generosity of spirit.
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “Just love” by Christa Compton and Gladys Moore in the July/August 2020 Gather magazine.
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