Zacchaeus Material
Closely associated with the healing of the blind beggar (Luke 18:35–43) is one of Jesus’ most famous pronouncement stories—the story of Zacchaeus. Found only in Luke, it, along with the healing of the blind and lepers, illustrates the reception of the good news of the gospel by the outcasts (cf. 4:18; 7:22; 15:1–32).
Its conclusion (19:10) functions as a summary of Jesus’ ministry in the travel narrative. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. And, despite the difficulty (18:24), he can save even a rich man (19:9).
The latter interpretation fits the context best for several reasons: (1) if the two verbs in 19:8 are not interpreted as futuristic presents, they then tend to portray Zacchaeus as boasting (cf. 18:11–12; 15:29; note also 18:21). (2) “My goods” (tōn hyparchontōn) is better interpreted “what I have had all along”306 rather than “my income.” (3) “I pay back” is best understood as “I shall restore” than “I have always been restoring what I have been defrauding.” (4) What wealthy man in Luke was not lost and in need of salvation when he met Jesus?307 (5) The statement “Today, salvation has come to this house” when taken at face value suggests that something had just happened to Zacchaeus that had brought him salvation that day. If the verbs are futuristic presents, they serve as signs of Zacchaeus’s repentance and conversion. If they are customary presents, there is no reason to understand why “today” salvation had come
19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree. Such undignified behavior, according to that culture, indicates that more than curiosity was at play here
Here and now I give. “Here and now” is not found in the Greek text. The verbs “give” and “pay back” in this verse are in the present tense in Greek and may be translated “I am in the habit of giving” or “I shall now give.” The latter is far more likely (see “Context”), but the NIV is somewhat misleading here in that it gives the impression that “here and now” is part of the Greek text. The RSV (“behold”) is a more literal translation at this point.
As the head administrator of the region, he got a cut of everyone’s tax profits (contrast Matthew, a local tax collector