At the Bible study this morning, the point came up: was Zaccheus repentant? Giving half away, and offering to restore 4-fold (Moses' law only demanded 2-fold) would seem like good faith repentence. On the other hand, "if I have defrauded anyone of anything" seems a little conditional, compared to "where I have defrauded." Maybe he couldn't admit to it publically--that might be dangerous. Or maybe even partial repentence is a good-enough start. (Or both)
He promised to give back according to the law, not any extra generosity. Yet Jesus seems to think he did well, so maybe the recognition of what we should do is the light dawning, and enough to go forward with.
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