Reconciliation Requires Restitution

Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”
–Luke 19:8

What does it take to reconcile with a person who has wronged you? Reconciliation requires not only repentance but also restitution. Restitution is the payment somebody makes for their sin against another person. It’s very important not to confuse revenge with restitution. Revenge is the payment we demand from our offender, but restitution is the payment our offender volunteers to us. See the difference?

Restitution is perhaps best illustrated in the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19. In those days, certain people were allowed to collect taxes on behalf of the Roman government. The tax collectors could charge whatever they wanted, send the right amount to Rome, and keep the rest for themselves. So if a Jewish citizen owed $2,000 to Rome, the tax collector could charge him $10,000, send $2,000 to Rome, and keep $8,000 for himself. You can imagine how much the Jewish people hated Jewish tax collectors–not only were they supporting the oppressive Roman government, but they were also cheating their own people in the process.

Zaccheus was a Jewish tax collector. Even though materially Zaccheus was wealthy, spiritually he was bankrupt. When Jesus came to town, Zaccheus wanted to see who He was. Zaccheus couldn’t see through the crowd, so he scurried up a tree to get a better view. As Jesus walked by, He looked up and said, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5). Luke didn’t give any details of the conversation between Jesus and Zaccheus, but it must have been a revolutionary conversation. Zaccheus declared, “‘Half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house’” (vv. 8–9).

Was Jesus saying that Zaccheus had bought his salvation? No, Zaccheus couldn’t buy his way into heaven. His plan to pay back the people he had defrauded didn’t erase the fact that he had wronged them. But Zaccheus’ willingness to make restitution was a sign that his repentance was genuine. Genuine reconciliation requires not only repentance but also restitution.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Forgiving People You Never Want to Eat Lunch with Again,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2015.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.