3/5 From Curious to Generous

This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is March 5, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called From Curious to Generous. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.

Our readings for today are Exodus 16, Luke 19, and Job 34.

Please open your Bibles to Luke 19.

I don’t know exactly when I became a Christian, but if someone asks me, I usually tell them that it was sometime between third grade and my sophomore year of college. I know that’s a rather large window, but I also know something else: I don’t ever remember a time that I didn’t believe in Jesus, but there was a lot of that time when I didn’t act like I believed in Jesus. I lived a double life and cherished a lot of hidden sin, until I finally began to see the seriousness of my sin and I repented, confessed my sins to my dad and others, and I began to really live like a Christian. As I look back on my testimony, I can see that the proof that I had become a Christian was in that repentance. 

Theologically, I know that I was saved by grace through faith, it wasn’t the obedience that made me a Christian. But the obedience proved that I had become a Christian. The proof was in the repentance.

In today’s Scripture for Students, we’re going to read about Zacchaeus, someone else whose repentance proved that he had become a Christian. Would you please follow along with me as I read Luke 19:1–10, 

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 

2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 

3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 

4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 

5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 

6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 

7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 

8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.

There’s a good chance you know this story from your days in Children’s Ministry. When children’s Bibles tell this story, they usually focus on how short Zacchaeus was, which—to be honest—is a prominent part of the story. There are a couple important details here that help us understand this story. 

First, notice that Luke tells us what Zacchaeus does for a living. In verse 2, it says that he was a chief tax collector. Not just a tax collector; a chief tax collector. This was not a good job to have. It basically means that he worked for the Romans, financially exploiting the Jewish people—his own brothers and sisters. Jews hated tax collectors because they were seen as collaborators with the enemy. 

And it says at the end of verse 2 very matter-of-factly: “and he was rich.” How did he get rich? Well, it certainly wasn’t because the Romans paid such great wages. It was because he collected more taxes from his Jewish brothers and sisters than he had to and kept whatever the surplus was for himself. No wonder the others grumble about him and call him a sinner in verse 7. 

But there are bigger matters here for us to think about. For me, this story is like many stories in the Bible in that it raises more questions for me than it answers. I would like to know more about why Zacchaeus was so interested in Jesus in the first place. It says that he wanted to see who Jesus was. But why that? Did he want to learn from Jesus? Was his conscience bothered and he hoped for forgiveness? At any rate, he seems pretty motivated: he’s a short guy, he can’t see over the crowd, but he can tell what direction Jesus is headed, so he runs down the street and climbs this sycamore tree. Why? 

It’s very possible that he was just curious. If he was hoping to arrange an encounter with Jesus, this would not be the best way to do it. Jesus is unlikely to just bump into a little short guy in a tall tree.

Fortunately for Zacchaeus, Jesus takes an interest in him and off they go to dinner. 

The key moment comes in verse 8. In the middle of dinner, apparently, Zacchaeus stands and announces that he is making a change: He is going to give half of everything he has to the poor and if he has defrauded anyone, he’s going to pay it back fourfold. That’s a pretty amazing interest rate, by the way!

Again, more questions! What happened in this dinner to make Zacchaeus move from curious to generous? What was the dinner conversation like? What did Jesus say that so impressed Zacchaeus that he turned instantly from his greed and wanted to make things right? And is this even sincere? How do we know he isn’t just the kind of guy who gets inspired and makes empty promises? 

Well, we know his promises aren’t empty because of what comes next: Jesus renders a verdict in verse 9, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.’” Jesus is not saying Zacchaeus was saved because he was suddenly generous to the poor and trying to make right the wrongs he committed. No, he is saying that Zacchaeus’s transformation is proof that he is saved. This is the result of saving faith and the outworking of genuine repentance.

Finally, verse 10 tells us that Zacchaeus became a Christian because Jesus came in order to make him one. Zacchaeus might have climbed the sycamore tree because he was curious about Jesus, but Jesus was more than curious about Zacchaeus. Jesus was seeking him so that he could save him. Luke 19:10 would be a great verse to commit to memory: “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” 

Last thing: sometimes people read this story and wonder if this is what it takes to faithfully follow Jesus? Do I have to give away half of everything I have? The answer is: no, not necessarily. Just before this, in 18:18–30, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus and Jesus tells that guy that if he wants to inherit eternal life, he will need to sell everything he has and give it to the poor. So which is it, give everything you have or give half your possessions? 

The answer is that Jesus calls every one of us to give up anything that would keep us from loving Jesus with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. That might be a certain amount of your money, but it could also be that Jesus might ask you to give up a desire for reputation or a craving for a friendship or ungodly movies or music, or a distracting curiosity about celebrity gossip, or love for sports. This would be a great conversation to have with your parents. Ask them: what do you think there is in this world that I might be tempted to love more than Jesus? Talk about that and if necessary, repent of anything that is keeping you from Jesus! And as you do, remember that Jesus never takes without giving and the only reason he asks any of us to give something up is so that he can give us more of what matters most: himself.

That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.

This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!