Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.
- KJV And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
- NKJV And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
- NASB And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.
- NLT Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus declares that salvation has come to Zacchaeus's house, for he too is a son of Abraham. Salvation belongs to faith, not to outward respectability.
Overview
By calling this despised tax collector a true "son of Abraham," Jesus affirms that the children of the promise are those who share Abraham's faith, not merely his bloodline. Salvation has come not because Zacchaeus gave away his goods, but his giving evidences the salvation already received. The story embodies the gospel: grace transforms the outcast and grants him a place among God's people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Gal 3:7Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham.
- Luke 13:16Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
- Rom 4:16Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
- Acts 16:30–32Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
- Gal 3:29And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
- 1 Pet 2:10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
- John 4:38–42I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the hard work, and now you have taken up their labor.”
- Luke 3:8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
- Luke 2:30For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
- Gal 3:14He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
- Rom 4:11–12And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
- 1 Cor 6:9–11Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
- Luke 13:30And indeed, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 19:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.