Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-10
“The story of Zacchaeus provides evidence that through actions that caused harm, through fraud, and through the thefts connected to his profession, he damaged and in fact made impossible the life of dignity for many people. The relationship with Jesus brought Zacchaeus back to his origins, restoring justice.
The fourfold return in the case of the theft of means of production or of products, as an act that took place during the collection, was foreseen in Exodus 22:1 (see also Numbers 5:6-7). The purpose of the return as part of the Jewish tradition of Jubilee, is the opportunity for impoverished people to be rehabilitated, so that they can return to having their own independent means to produce and to live, free of processes of indebtedness! Thus, the damages can be, if not compensated, at least alleviated, and the persons who were deprived can once again have at their disposal the capital that was taken from them by fraud. They can reorganize their lives.
Moreover, Zacchaeus reclaimed a tradition of his people, namely, returning fourfold more to persons he had robbed and giving over half his goods to persons who had entered into a process of impoverishment, perhaps even precisely because of those fraudulent actions. Zacchaeus practiced the forgiveness of debts in its full and profound sense. With that, old Jubilee traditions were revived that had been proclaimed and longed for by the suffering people.
The grace of Jesus in relation to Zacchaeus is converted into relationships of grace and commitment in social and communal life of the people. Only in this way do rich people have a space in the ministry of Jesus and in the communities of Luke.”
Ironi Richter Reimer in “The Forgiveness of Debts in Matthew and Luke” in God’s Economy: Biblical Studies in Latin America, edited by Ross and Gloria Kinsler (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2005) 166-167.
Jubilee helps us interpret the odd transactions that take place in the Zacchaeus story. Jesus launches His earthly ministry with a Jubilee proclamation (Luke 4:14-21) which, as we have explored in Deuteronomy, calls for justice and righteousness. In response, Zacchaeus does both, so “salvation” comes to the house of this sinner. His first act reflects justice. He shares half of his possessions.
This act, however, must not be misconstrued as giving rich people license to hold back half their wealth for themselves. Such an interpretation cannot be possible as it would cause Jesus to contradict Himself. The general instructions of Jesus tell everyone not to store up treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19-21), and His explicit command to the rich man says to sell all He has and give it to the poor (Mark 10:17-31).
So, the sharing of half of his possessions was his act of justice, which would be half of what Jubilee required, and his payback amounting to four times his theft represented an act of righteousness or making things right. What remained? The text does not say so we cannot say with certainty, but as ancient sources widely report theft as common among tax collectors, fourfold payback of his theft would likely would have consumed the other half.
But don’t miss the big prize that this short soul received which was better than all the money deployed in restitution. He gained fellowship with Jesus. Salvation came to his house. Jesus had declared Jubilee and, in response, Zacchaeus counted the cost and paid the price. He cherished justice and righteous more than money. Thus, this text with its calculated transactions relates not to generosity, but in biblical terms, to Jubilee restitution.
We are blind guides who lead people astray if we say this text affirms that rich people hold back for themselves half or any portion of wealth on earth. Again, that would present our Lord Jesus Christ as an inconsistent teacher. Instead, we must tell those with riches to follow Jesus’ clear instructions because He promises that the obedient will receive one hundredfold gain with persecutions in this life as well as eternal life with treasures safely stored up in heaven.