1 And he entered and passed through Jericho.
2 And behold, [there was] a man by name called Zacchaeus, and he was chief tax-gatherer, and he was rich.
3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was: and he could not for the crowd, because he was little in stature.
4 And running on before, he got up into a sycamore that he might see him, for he was going to pass that [way].
5 And when he came up to the place, Jesus looked up and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for to-day I must remain in thy house.
6 And he made haste and came down, and received him with joy.
7 And all murmured when they saw [it], saying, He has turned in to lodge with a sinful man.
8 But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I return [him] fourfold.
9 And Jesus said to him, To-day salvation is come to this house, inasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham;
10 for the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.
11 But as they were listening to these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was about to be immediately manifested.
12 He said therefore, A certain high-born man went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and return.
13 And having called his own ten bondmen, he gave to them ten minas, and said to them, Trade while I am coming.
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy after him, saying, We will not that this [man] should reign over us.
15 And it came to pass on his arrival back again, having received the kingdom, that he desired these bondmen to whom he gave the money to be called to him, in order that he might know what every one had gained by trading.
16 And the first came up, saying, [My] Lord, thy mina has produced ten minas.
17 And he said to him, Well [done], thou good bondman; because thou hast been faithful in that which is least, be thou in authority over ten cities.
18 And the second came, saying, [My] Lord, thy mina has made five minas.
19 And he said also to this one, And *thou*, be over five cities.
20 And another came, saying, [My] Lord, lo, [there is] thy mina, which I have kept laid up in a towel.
21 For I feared thee because thou art a harsh man: thou takest up what thou hast not laid down, and thou reapest what thou hast not sowed.
22 He says to him, Out of thy mouth will I judge thee, wicked bondman: thou knewest that *I* am a harsh man, taking up what I have not laid down and reaping what I have not sowed.
23 And why didst thou not give my money to [the] bank; and *I* should have received it, at my coming, with interest?
24 And he said to those that stood by, Take from him the mina and give [it] to him who has the ten minas.
25 And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minas.
26 For I say unto you, that to every one that has shall be given; but from him that has not, that even which he has shall be taken from him.
27 Moreover those mine enemies, who would not [have] me to reign over them, bring them here and slay [them] before me.
28 And having said these things, he went on before, going up to Jerusalem.
29 And it came to pass as he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called [the mount] of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
30 saying, Go into the village over against [you], in which ye will find, on entering it, a colt tied up, on which no [child] of man ever sat at any time: loose it and lead it [here].
31 And if any one ask you, Why do ye loose [it]? thus shall ye say to him, Because the Lord has need of it.
32 And they that were sent, having gone their way, found as he had said to them.
33 And as they were loosing the colt, its masters said to them, Why loose ye the colt?
34 And they said, Because the Lord has need of it.
35 And they led it to Jesus; and having cast their own garments on the colt, they put Jesus on [it].
36 And as he went, they strewed their clothes in the way.
37 And as he drew near, already at the descent of the mount of Olives, all the multitude of the disciples began, rejoicing, to praise God with a loud voice for all the works of power which they had seen,
38 saying, Blessed the King that comes in the name of [the] Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
39 And some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke thy disciples.
40 And he answering said to them, I say unto you, If these shall be silent, the stones will cry out.
41 And as he drew near, seeing the city, he wept over it,
42 saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, even at least in this thy day, the things that are for thy peace: but now they are hid from thine eyes;
43 for days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall make a palisaded mound about thee, and shall close thee around, and keep thee in on every side,
44 and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children in thee; and shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because thou knewest not the season of thy visitation.
45 And entering into the temple, he began to cast out those that sold and bought in it,
46 saying to them, It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but *ye* have made it a den of robbers.
47 And he was teaching day by day in the temple: and the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,
48 and did not find what they could do, for all the people hung on him to hear.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Luke 19
Commentary on Luke 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
Lu 19:1-10. Zaccheus the Publican.
The name is Jewish.
2-4. chief among the publicans—farming a considerable district, with others under him.
rich—Ill-gotten riches some of it certainly was. (See on Lu 19:8.)
3. who he was—what sort of person. Curiosity then was his only motive, though his determination not to be baulked was overruled for more than he sought.
4. sycamore—the Egyptian fig, with leaves like the mulberry.
5, 6. looked up,—in the full knowledge of who was in the tree, and preparatory to addressing him.
Zaccheus—whom he had never seen in the flesh, nor probably heard of. "He calleth His own sheep by name and leadeth them out" (Joh 10:3).
make haste, and come down—to which he literally responded—"he made haste and came down."
for to-day, &c.—Our Lord invites Himself, and in "royal" style, which waits not for invitations, but as the honor is done to the subject, not the sovereign, announces the purpose of royalty to partake of the subject's hospitalities. Manifestly our Lord speaks as knowing how the privilege would be appreciated.
to-day … abide—(Compare Joh 1:39), probably over night.
6. joyfully—Whence this so sudden "joy" in the cold bosom of an avaricious publican? The internal revolution was as perfect as instantaneous. "He spake and it was done." "Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing" (Isa 35:6).
7. to be guest—or lodge: something more than "eating with" such (Lu 15:2).
a sinner—that was one but a minute ago, but now is not. This mighty change, however, was all unknown to them. But they shall know it presently. "Sinner" would refer both to his office, vile in the eyes of a Jew, and to his character, which it is evident was not good.
8-10. stood—before all.
said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord—Mark how frequently Luke uses this title, and always where lordly authority, dignity, or power is intended.
if I have—that is, "so far as I have," for evidently the "if" is so used (as in Php 4:8).
taken by false accusation—defrauded, overcharged (Lu 3:12, 13).
fourfold—The Roman law required this; the Jewish law, but the principal and a fifth more (Nu 5:7). There was no demand made for either; but, as if to revenge himself on his hitherto reigning sin (see on Joh 20:28), and to testify the change he had experienced, besides surrendering the half of his fair gains to the poor, he voluntarily determines to give up all that was ill-gotten, quadrupled. He gratefully addressed this to the "Lord," to whom he owed the wonderful change.
9. Jesus said unto him—but also before all.
This day, &c.—memorable saying! Salvation already come, but not a day old.
to this house—so expressed probably to meet the taunt, "He is gone to be guest," &c. The house is no longer polluted; it is now fit to receive Me. But salvation to a house is an exceedingly precious idea, expressing the new air that would henceforth breathe in it, and the new impulses from its head which would reach its members (Ps 118:15; Ac 16:15, 16, 31).
son of Abraham—He was that by birth, but here it means a partaker of his faith, being mentioned as the sufficient explanation of salvation having come to him.
10. lost—and such "lost" ones as this Zaccheus. (See on Lu 15:32.) What encouragement is there in this narrative to hope for unexpected conversions?
Lu 19:11-27. Parable of the Pounds.
A different parable from that of the Talents (Mt 25:14-30). For, (1) This parable was spoken "when He was nigh to Jerusalem" (Lu 19:11); that one, some days after entering it, and from the Mount of Olives. (2) This parable was spoken to the promiscuous crowd; that, to the Twelve alone. Accordingly, (3) Besides the "servants" in this parable, who profess subjection to Him, there is a class of "citizens" who refuse to own Him, and who are treated differently, whereas in the parable of the talents, spoken to the former class alone, this latter class is omitted. (4) In the Talents, each servant receives a different number of them (five, two, one); in the Pounds all receive the same one pound, which is but about the sixtieth part of a talent; also, in the talents, each shows the same fidelity by doubling what he received (the five are made ten; the two, four); in the Pounds, each receiving the same, render a different return (one making his pound ten, another five). Plainly, therefore, the intended lesson is different; the one illustrating equal fidelity with different degrees of advantage; the other, different degrees of improvement of the same opportunities; yet with all this difference, the parables are remarkably similar.
12. a far country—said to put down the notion that He was just on His way to set up His kingdom, and to inaugurate it by His personal presence.
to receive … a kingdom—be invested with royalty; as when Herod went to Rome and was there made king; a striking expression of what our Lord went away for and received, "sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."
to return—at His second coming.
13. Occupy—"negotiate," "do business," with the resources entrusted.
14. his citizens—His proper subjects; meaning the Jews, who expressly repudiating our Lord's claims said, "We have no king but Cæsar" (Joh 19:15). In Christendom, these correspond to infidel rejecters of Christianity, as distinguished from professed Christians.
15-26. (See on Mt 25:19-29.)
ten … five cities—different degrees of future gracious reward, proportioned to the measure of present fidelity.
27. bring hither, &c.—(Compare 1Sa 15:32, 33). Referring to the awful destruction of Jerusalem, but pointing to the final destruction of all that are found in open rebellion against Christ.
Lu 19:28-44. Christ's Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem and Tears over It.
(See on Mt 21:1-11.)
29-38. Bethphage—"house of figs," a village which with Bethany lay along the further side of Mount Olivet, east of Jerusalem.
30. whereon, &c.—(See on Joh 19:41).
31. the Lord hath need, &c.—He both knew all and had the key of the human heart. (See on Lu 19:5.) Perhaps the owner was a disciple.
35. set Jesus on—He allowing this, as befitting the state He was for the first and only time assuming.
37. whole multitude, &c.—The language here is very grand, intended to express a burst of admiration far wider and deeper than ever had been witnessed before.
38. Blessed be the King, &c.—Mark (Mr 11:9, 10) more fully, "Hosanna," that is, "Save now," the words of Ps 118:25, which were understood to refer to Messiah; and so they add, "to the Son of David, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord (Ps 118:26), Hosanna in the highest." This was the very loftiest style in which He could be saluted as the promised Deliverer.
peace, &c.—(See on Lu 2:13, 14).
40. the stones, &c.—Hitherto the Lord had discouraged all demonstrations in His favor; latterly He had begun an opposite course; on this one occasion He seems to yield His whole soul to the wide and deep acclaim with a mysterious satisfaction, regarding it as so necessary a part of the regal dignity in which as Messiah He for this last time entered the city, that if not offered by the vast multitude, it would have been wrung out of the stones rather than be withheld (Hab 2:11).
41-44. when beheld … wept—Compare La 3:51, "Mine eye affecteth mine heart"; the heart again affecting the eye. Under this sympathetic law of the relation of mind and body, Jesus, in His beautiful, tender humanity, was constituted even as we. What a contrast to the immediately preceding profound joy! He yielded Himself alike freely to both. (See on Mt 23:37.)
42. at least in this, &c.—even at this moving moment. (See on Lu 13:9.)
thy peace—thinking perhaps of the name of the city. (Heb 7:2) [Webster and Wilkinson]. How much is included in this word!
now … hid—It was His among His last open efforts to "gather them," but their eyes were judicially closed.
43. a trench—a rampart; first of wood, and when this was burnt, a built wall, four miles in circuit, built in three days—so determined were they. This "cut off all hope of escape," and consigned the city to unparalleled horrors. (See Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 6.2; 12.3,4.) All here predicted was with dreadful literally fulfilled.
Lu 19:45-48. Second Cleansing of the Temple and Subsequent Teaching.
45, 46. As the first cleansing was on His first visit to Jerusalem (Joh 2:13-22), so this second cleansing was on His last.
den of thieves—banded together for plunder, reckless of principle. The mild term "house of merchandise," used on the former occasion, was now unsuitable.
47. sought—continued seeking, that is, daily, as He taught.
48. were very attentive to hear him—hung upon His words.