On the Road to Jerusalem: Restitution

"And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.’" —Luke 19:8

Near Jerusalem, Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through when He saw Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and a very wealthy man. Being a tax collector meant he was hated. Tax collectors were considered to be the lowest of the low. They were Jews who worked for Romans, exacting money from their fellow countrymen. And to be a chief tax collector meant that he was hated even more. Not to mention that he was rich, with wealth acquired through defrauding his own people.

Luke tells us that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but couldn’t because he was so short. So, in an effort to see Him, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus as He passed by. Jesus had a divine appointment with this little chief tax collector in a tree, and when He came near it, He stopped and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today”—Luke 19:8. Zacchaeus hurried down from the tree and received Jesus joyfully, much to the consternation of the local religious officials who grumbled and said, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner”—Luke 19:7.

Once in the house, Zacchaeus made an announcement: “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." Jesus replied, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost”—Luke 19:9-10.

Zacchaeus was saved that day. And one can see the reality of his salvation by his response to Jesus’ presence in his home. He gave half his goods to the poor, and then paid back those whom he defrauded fourfold. He practiced restitution—a biblical concept of paying back or restoring to its owner something he had fraudulently taken.

Following Christ means setting aside everything for His sake, which means doing anything to be restored to Him in right relationship. If we know that we have lied, stolen, or defrauded someone, we will not rest until we have made it right.

Is there someone whom you need to see right now? Do you need to make restitution for something you have done? Don’t wait, go to them now and make restitution for the glory of God’s great and holy name. Amen.