Expositor's Bible Commentary 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)

The implication of Jesus’ question is clear: Jesus refuses to give more light to those who refuse to accept the light they have (v.8) and make a decision concerning it (vv.5–7). They choose to stay on a worldly level of thinking. The word “heaven” (GK 4041) is a surrogate for God in vv.3, 5.

Zacchaeus’s announcement sounds abrupt and is probably intended to seem so. After all, Luke (following Jesus) stresses the use of possessions as a major indicator of one’s spiritual condition (cf. 14:33; 18:22). Restoring stolen funds “four times the amount” was far more than what the OT specified for restitution (Leviticus 5:16; Numbers 5:7). His offer was unusually generous and was the sort of “fruit in keeping with repentance” earlier sought by John the Baptist (3:8).