Luke 19:4-10

19:4 So ¹  he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree ²  to see him, because Jesus ³  was going to pass that way. 19:5 And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up ⁴  and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, ⁵  because I must ⁶  stay at your house today.” ⁷  19:6 So he came down quickly ⁸  and welcomed Jesus ⁹  joyfully. ¹⁰  19:7 And when the people ¹¹  saw it, they all complained, ¹²  “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ¹³  19:8 But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give ¹⁴  to the poor, and if ¹⁵  I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!” 19:9 Then ¹⁶  Jesus said to him, “Today salvation ¹⁷  has come to this household, ¹⁸  because he too is a son of Abraham! ¹⁹  19:10 For the Son of Man came ²⁰  to seek and to save the lost.”

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¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Zacchaeus not being able to see over the crowd.

² sn A sycamore tree would have large branches near the ground like an oak tree and would be fairly easy to climb. These trees reach a height of some 50 ft (about 15 m).

³ tn Grk “that one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tc Most mss (A [D] W [Ψ] ˹³ 33^vid Ï latt) read “Jesus looking up, saw him and said.” The words “saw him and” are not in א B L T Θ Ë¹ 579 1241 2542 pc co. Both the testimony for the omission and the natural tendency toward scribal expansion argue for the shorter reading here.

⁵ tn Grk “hastening, come down.” σπεύσας (speusa") has been translated as a participle of manner.

⁶ sn I must stay. Jesus revealed the necessity of his associating with people like Zacchaeus (5:31-32). This act of fellowship indicated acceptance.

⁷ sn On today here and in v. 9, see the note on today in 2:11.

⁸ tn Grk “hastening, he came down.” σπεύσας (speusas) has been translated as a participle of manner.

⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn The participle χαίρων (cairwn) has been taken as indicating manner.

sn Zacchaeus responded joyfully. Luke likes to mention joy as a response to what God was doing (1:14; 2:10; 10:20; 13:17; 15:5, 32; 19:37; 24:41, 52).

¹¹ tn Grk “they”; the referent is unspecified but is probably the crowd in general, who would have no great love for a man like Zacchaeus who had enriched himself many times over at their expense.

¹² tn This term is used only twice in the NT, both times in Luke (here and 15:2) and has negative connotations both times (BDAG 227 s.v. διαγογγύζω). The participle λέγοντες (legonte") is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹³ sn Being the guest of a man who is a sinner was a common complaint about Jesus: Luke 5:31-32; 7:37-50; 15:1-2.

¹⁴ 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).

¹⁵ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text. It virtually confesses fraud.

¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative

¹⁷ 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.

¹⁸ sn The household is not a reference to the building, but to the people who lived within it (L&N 10.8).

¹⁹ sn Zacchaeus was personally affirmed by Jesus as a descendant (son) of Abraham and a member of God’s family.

²⁰ sn The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost is Jesus’ mission succinctly defined. See Luke 15:1-32.