Gospel of Luke Wealth Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter:Verse)

Quote #10

A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. […] Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "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." (NRSV 19:2, 8)

A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. […]And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. (KJV 19:2, 8)

Finally, we meet a rich man who does right in Luke's gospel. It may be difficult for the wealthy to enter God's kingdom, but Zacchaeus proves that with God, anything is possible (see 18:24-27).

Quote #11

He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on. (NRSV 21:1-4)

And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. (KJV 21:1-4)

We've all been there, feeling good about ourselves when we give a little chunk of change to some charity or buy a coffee from Starbucks knowing that a portion of the purchase is going to fund job-creation programs. But according to Luke's Jesus, that just won't cut it. In terms of proportion, these acts are simply not radical enough.