Luke 19:8-9

19:8 But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!” 19:9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he too is a son of Abraham!

sn Zacchaeus was a penitent man who resolved on the spot to act differently in the face of Jesus’ acceptance of him. In resolving to give half his possessions to the poor, Zacchaeus was not defending himself against the crowd’s charges and claiming to be righteous. Rather as a result of this meeting with Jesus, he was a changed individual. So Jesus could speak of salvation coming that day (v. 9) and of the lost being saved (v. 10).

tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text. It virtually confesses fraud.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative

sn This is one of the few uses of the specific term salvation in Luke (1:69, 71, 77), though the concept runs throughout the Gospel.

sn The household is not a reference to the building, but to the people who lived within it (L&N 10.8).

sn Zacchaeus was personally affirmed by Jesus as a descendant (son) of Abraham and a member of God’s family.