I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.
A Misunderstood Little Man?
Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Luke 19:9-10 (NRSV)
Luke 19:9-10 (NRSV)
You invite us in
Doesn't matter who we've been
Your arms are open wide
Pulling us to Your side
Doesn't matter who we've been
Your arms are open wide
Pulling us to Your side
From "You Invite Me In" by Meredith Andrews
When I was a child, I always loved to hear the story of Zacchaeus, the "wee little man" who climbed a tree in order to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Perhaps I appreciated that the story highlights Jesus' love for "vertically challenged" people like myself. Truth be told, I probably just loved the story because of the cute song about Zacchaeus I learned at church.
In the Gospel of Luke, we read that one day Jesus arrives in the city of Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector in the city, tries to see Him, but he cannot see due to the crowd. His problem is not so much that he is too short to see around the townspeople but rather that they hate him so much that they won't let him see Jesus. Desperate, Zacchaeus runs ahead of Jesus and His entourage and climbs a tree. When Jesus reaches the tree, He stops, looks up at Zacchaeus, and asks him if He might stay at his house that evening. The townspeople are appalled that Jesus would stay at the house of such a "sinner."1
What Zacchaeus says then will differ depending on the translation of the Bible you happen to be reading.
According to the New Revised Standard Version, Zacchaeus says to Jesus, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."2 Zacchaeus speaks as if he is turning over a new leaf because of his encounter with Jesus. He is leaving behind a life of greed and extortion and is starting a new life of honesty and generosity, and he is committing to pay back with a lot interest all of the people he has cheated in the past.
What Zacchaeus says in the Common English Bible is a bit more ambiguous. He says to Jesus, "Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much."3 Zacchaeus is speaking in the present tense as opposed to the future tense, so he might be telling Jesus not what he has decided to do but rather what he already does. Maybe Zacchaeus already makes it a habit to give to people who are in need, and maybe he already goes above and beyond what is necessary to make restitution to anyone he has accidentally overcharged.
Ancient languages have ambiguities that require translators to make judgments regarding how to best translate a text. I do not think the differences between these two translations necessarily reflect an agenda on the part of any of the translators. In other words, I don't think anyone was trying to "rewrite the Bible."
Is it possible that we have been misreading the story of Zacchaeus? It is easy to assume that all rich people gained their wealth through dishonest or exploitative means, and it is easy to assume that all tax collectors are crooks. What if neither is true about Zacchaeus? Names and their meanings are very important in the Bible, so it is worth noting that the name Zacchaeus means "innocent" or "pure."4
Maybe Zacchaeus gained his wealth through honest means. Maybe he already realizes that he has been blessed so that he may be a blessing to people who are less fortunate. Maybe Zacchaeus only took a job as a tax collector because he knew that someone else might take the job to overcharge people and make a profit. Maybe he has done his best to charge people no more than what they are required to pay. Maybe he regularly double-checks his records so that he can make restitution to anyone he accidentally overcharged. Maybe he holds the tax collectors who report to him to the same rigorous standards.
Maybe Zacchaeus is fed up with the townspeople's constantly assuming the worst of him.
Jesus says that salvation has come to Zacchaeus's household.5 Typically we assume that Zacchaeus needed to be saved from his own greed and dishonesty. Maybe he needed to be saved from the unfair assumptions of the townspeople and their hatred of him. Maybe he just needed someone like Jesus to befriend him and vouch for him. I would like to suggest that we don't really need to know which translation is correct, because we can learn from both. Sometimes we need to be saved from our own worst impulses, and sometimes we need to be saved from other people's mistreatment of us.
One thing that is not ambiguous about the story of Zacchaeus is the character of Jesus. Jesus sees Zacchaeus in the tree, knows who he is, and cares about him, regardless of what he may or may not have done. Jesus also sees and knows each of us. He sees our struggles, and He knows our faults, and He loves us in the midst of it all.
Notes:
In the Gospel of Luke, we read that one day Jesus arrives in the city of Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector in the city, tries to see Him, but he cannot see due to the crowd. His problem is not so much that he is too short to see around the townspeople but rather that they hate him so much that they won't let him see Jesus. Desperate, Zacchaeus runs ahead of Jesus and His entourage and climbs a tree. When Jesus reaches the tree, He stops, looks up at Zacchaeus, and asks him if He might stay at his house that evening. The townspeople are appalled that Jesus would stay at the house of such a "sinner."1
What Zacchaeus says then will differ depending on the translation of the Bible you happen to be reading.
According to the New Revised Standard Version, Zacchaeus says to Jesus, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."2 Zacchaeus speaks as if he is turning over a new leaf because of his encounter with Jesus. He is leaving behind a life of greed and extortion and is starting a new life of honesty and generosity, and he is committing to pay back with a lot interest all of the people he has cheated in the past.
What Zacchaeus says in the Common English Bible is a bit more ambiguous. He says to Jesus, "Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much."3 Zacchaeus is speaking in the present tense as opposed to the future tense, so he might be telling Jesus not what he has decided to do but rather what he already does. Maybe Zacchaeus already makes it a habit to give to people who are in need, and maybe he already goes above and beyond what is necessary to make restitution to anyone he has accidentally overcharged.
Ancient languages have ambiguities that require translators to make judgments regarding how to best translate a text. I do not think the differences between these two translations necessarily reflect an agenda on the part of any of the translators. In other words, I don't think anyone was trying to "rewrite the Bible."
Is it possible that we have been misreading the story of Zacchaeus? It is easy to assume that all rich people gained their wealth through dishonest or exploitative means, and it is easy to assume that all tax collectors are crooks. What if neither is true about Zacchaeus? Names and their meanings are very important in the Bible, so it is worth noting that the name Zacchaeus means "innocent" or "pure."4
Maybe Zacchaeus gained his wealth through honest means. Maybe he already realizes that he has been blessed so that he may be a blessing to people who are less fortunate. Maybe Zacchaeus only took a job as a tax collector because he knew that someone else might take the job to overcharge people and make a profit. Maybe he has done his best to charge people no more than what they are required to pay. Maybe he regularly double-checks his records so that he can make restitution to anyone he accidentally overcharged. Maybe he holds the tax collectors who report to him to the same rigorous standards.
Maybe Zacchaeus is fed up with the townspeople's constantly assuming the worst of him.
Jesus says that salvation has come to Zacchaeus's household.5 Typically we assume that Zacchaeus needed to be saved from his own greed and dishonesty. Maybe he needed to be saved from the unfair assumptions of the townspeople and their hatred of him. Maybe he just needed someone like Jesus to befriend him and vouch for him. I would like to suggest that we don't really need to know which translation is correct, because we can learn from both. Sometimes we need to be saved from our own worst impulses, and sometimes we need to be saved from other people's mistreatment of us.
One thing that is not ambiguous about the story of Zacchaeus is the character of Jesus. Jesus sees Zacchaeus in the tree, knows who he is, and cares about him, regardless of what he may or may not have done. Jesus also sees and knows each of us. He sees our struggles, and He knows our faults, and He loves us in the midst of it all.
Notes:
- Luke 19:1-7
- Luke 19:8 (NRSV)
- Luke 19:8 (CEB)
- Blue Letter Bible: "zakchaios"
- Luke 19:9
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