Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 19:8

"And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold." — Luke 19:8 (ASV)

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor;

There was not one among those self-righteous people who would have done a tenth as much as Zacchaeus declared that he would do.

And if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

There was not one among the murmurers who would have dared to say as much as that. There are a great many people who are quick to condemn those who are a hundred times better than themselves. I wonder whether there are any people of that sort here; I should not wonder if there are.

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor;

That was a grand proof that the conversion of Zacchaeus was genuine. I would like to see the same kind of proof in many professing Christians whom I know: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.

I remember one who was converted in this place. He at once gave £50 to some good object, and I said to his brother, "I think your brother is converted." His brother answered, "I hope he is, but he is a dreadful skinflint." "But," I replied, "Only yesterday, he gave £50 to such-and-such a work." "Ah, then!" said the brother, "I am sure he is converted, for nothing but the grace of God would make him do such a thing as that."

Now Zacchaeus was, no doubt, a man of that kind, one who loved his money and kept it to himself as long as he possibly could; but now that he is converted, he says, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor;—

And if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

He acts in charity and justice, for he is determined to do the right thing with his substance. You see, he was a rich man, so his money was a source of trouble.

The blind beggar had no such difficulty, for he had no money that he must distribute when he was converted. But this rich man—this camel, as our Savior called such men—went through the eye of a needle by the grace of God, and thus the Lord proved the reality of his conversion.

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor;

"From now on, one half of my income shall go to almsgiving."

And if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

"I will not give to the poor or to God what is not lawfully mine. I will not steal a sheep and give the feet to the poor; but I will give back, four times over, anything I may have taken wrongfully, and still, half of my future income will go to the poor."

And Zacchaeus stood,—

And he did not talk at all like a sinner—

And said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor;

Some of those saints, as they reckoned themselves, had not done anything like as much as that: the half of my goods I give to the poor;

And if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

This restitution was an act of justice; and when charity and justice go hand in hand, what more can we expect of people?