Citation: Luke 19:1-10 Theological pairing: Zacchaeus's encounter follows the rich young ruler's (Luke 18:18-30). Both are wealthy. Same Jesus and same wealth-issue and different outcome. Luke deliberately juxtaposes them.
The narrative
Jesus enters Jericho. Zacchaeus is a chief tax collector and rich and short. Wants to see Jesus; can't because of the crowd; runs ahead and climbs a sycamore tree along Jesus's route.
Jesus comes to the spot, looks up: "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." Zacchaeus comes down and receives him joyfully.
Crowd grumbles: "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner."
Zacchaeus stands and says to the Lord: "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much."
Jesus: "Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost."
Theological framing
Wealth and salvation reconciled, Where the rich young ruler went away sad keeping his wealth, Zacchaeus voluntarily gives half and restores fourfold for any defrauding. He doesn't have to be told to sell ALL, his willingness exceeds Torah-restoration-law (which required only adding 1/5, Leviticus 6:5; Numbers 5:7; or up to 4-fold for theft of livestock, Exodus 22:1). His wealth response shows real repentance and ongoing material commitment.
Jesus's initiative, Zacchaeus seeks Jesus only to see; Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus's house. The salvation-coming is Jesus-initiated; Zacchaeus responds.
"Son of Abraham" identification, Despite being a tax collector (hated Roman-collaborator) and thus often considered religiously beyond-the-pale, Jesus restores Zacchaeus's Jewish covenant identity ("son of Abraham") and uses him to demonstrate the gospel's reach.
"Son of Man came to seek and to save" mission statement, v.10 is among the clearest one-line summaries of Jesus's purpose. Cross-link to.
Counterpoint to rich-young-ruler, Luke's two-back-to-back rich-encounters make the same point with opposite outcomes: salvation is "impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27); Zacchaeus is precisely the example of God's possibility working in a rich man's life.
Repentance reading
Some readings argue that Zacchaeus's "half of my goods I give to the poor" and "I restore four times as much" should be translated present-continuous habitual, giving "I am giving" and "I am restoring", claiming he was already doing this and Jesus's "today salvation has come" recognizes already-present righteousness. Most translations and commentators take it as repentance-on-the-spot. The linguistic option is noted here.