Luke 19

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Jesus encounters Zacchaeus in Jericho, leading to the publican's repentance and salvation, as Jesus declares His mission to seek and save the lost. He then tells the Parable of the Pounds, illustrating accountability and the future, delayed manifestation of the kingdom. Jesus makes a Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, where He weeps over the city's impending destruction due to its spiritual blindness. Finally, He cleanses the Temple, declaring it a house of prayer, and teaches daily amidst the opposition of religious leaders.

Jesus and Zacchaeus 1–10

And he entered and was passing through Jericho.

And behold, a man called by name Zacchæus; and he was a chief publican, and he was rich.

And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the crowd, because he was little of stature.

And he ran on before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and said unto him, Zacchæus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house.

And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He is gone in to lodge with a man that is a sinner.

And Zacchæus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold.

And Jesus said unto him, To-day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

The Parable of the Ten Minas 11–27

And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear.

He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

And he called ten servants of his, and gave them ten pounds, and said unto them, Trade ye herewith till I come.

But his citizens hated him, and sent an ambassage after him, saying, We will not that this man reign over us.

And it came to pass, when he was come back again, having received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, unto whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading.

And the first came before him, saying, Lord, thy pound hath made ten pounds more.

And he said unto him, Well done, thou good servant: because thou wast found faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

And the second came, saying, Thy pound, Lord, hath made five pounds.

And he said unto him also, Be thou also over five cities.

And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I kept laid up in a napkin:

for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that which thou layedst not down, and reapest that which thou didst not sow.

He saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I am an austere man, taking up that which I laid not down, and reaping that which I did not sow;

then wherefore gavest thou not my money into the bank, and I at my coming should have required it with interest?

And he said unto them that stood by, Take away from him the pound, and give it unto him that hath the ten pounds.

And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.

I say unto you, that unto every one that hath shall be given; but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him.

But these mine enemies, that would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

The Triumphal Entry 28–40

And when he had thus spoken, he went on before, going up to Jerusalem.

And it came to pass, when he drew nigh unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,

saying, Go your way into the village over against you; in which as ye enter ye shall find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat: loose him, and bring him.

And if any one ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say, The Lord hath need of him.

And they that were sent went away, and found even as he had said unto them.

And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?

And they said, The Lord hath need of him.

And they brought him to Jesus: and they threw their garments upon the colt, and set Jesus thereon.

And as he went, they spread their garments in the way.

And as he was now drawing nigh, even at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen;

saying, Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

And some of the Pharisees from the multitude said unto him, Teacher, rebuke thy disciples.

And he answered and said, I tell you that, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.

Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem 41–44

And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it,

saying, If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast up a bank about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

and shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Cleansing the Temple Courts 45–48

And he entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold,

saying unto them, It is written, And my house shall be a house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of robbers.

And he was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him:

and they could not find what they might do; for the people all hung upon him, listening.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Luke 19

Verse 1

Jericho — This is the city whose wall 'fell down flat' to Joshua (Josh 6:20), and it is now the last town on the road before 'ascending up to Jerusalem' (v.28). Jesus comes to it from the healing of the blind man 'nigh unto Jericho' (Luke 18:35–43), and Zacchaeus is met here.

Verse 2

chief among the publicans — Architelones, a head of the tax-gatherers, a word found only here in the New Testament. He 'was rich' (plousios), as the ruler of Luke 18:23 was 'very rich'. Jesus had said, 'The things which are impossible with men are possible with God' (Luke 18:27).

Verse 5

I must abide at thy house — Dei, 'must', is Luke's word for what Jesus is bound to do: 'I must be about my Father's business' (Luke 2:49); 'I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also' (Luke 4:43). He calls Zacchaeus by name, and 'to day' (semeron) returns in v.9.

Verse 7

murmured — Diagonguzo, to complain throughout a crowd, found only here and in Luke 15:2, where the Pharisees and scribes say, 'This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them'. Here 'they all' object to his lodging with 'a man that is a sinner' (hamartolos), the pairing 'publicans and sinners' of Luke 5:30.

Verse 8

fourfold — Tetraplous, found only here in the New Testament. The law asked for the principal and 'the fifth part more' for what was taken by fraud (Lev 6:4–5), and four sheep for a stolen sheep (Ex 22:1); David's verdict was 'restore the lamb fourfold' (2 Sam 12:6). Zacchaeus also gives 'the half of my goods' to the poor.

Verse 9

a son of Abraham — 'Also' is the point: the man the crowd called a sinner (v.7) is counted among Abraham's children, as the woman bowed down was 'a daughter of Abraham' (Luke 13:16). Salvation (soteria) comes 'to this house' 'This day', the answer to 'to day I must abide' (v.5). Paul speaks of those who 'walk in the steps of that faith' (Rom 4:12).

Verse 10

to seek and to save — Zeteo and sozo, with apollymi, 'lost', the word of the lost sheep, coin and son in Luke 15 (vv.4, 8, 24). It takes up the LORD's word in Ezek 34:16, 'I will seek that which was lost'. The same verb is 'destroy' in v.47, where the leaders 'sought to destroy him'.

Verse 11

the kingdom of God should immediately appear — The parable answers an expectation held 'because he was nigh to Jerusalem' (the city ahead, v.28). Anaphaino is to be shown, to appear. The disciples still asked after the resurrection, 'Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?' (Acts 1:6).

Verse 12

to receive for himself a kingdom — A nobleman (eugenes, well born) goes away to receive a kingdom 'and to return'. Dan 7:13–14 shows the Son of man brought to the Ancient of days, where 'there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom'; Acts 1:11 says of the ascended Jesus that he 'shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven'.

Verse 13

Occupy till I come — Pragmateuomai, to trade or do business, found only here in the New Testament; 'occupy' meant to employ in trade. Each of the ten servants receives one pound (mna), where in Matthew's parable the sums differ: 'unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one' (Matt 25:15).

Verse 21

an austere man — Austeros, harsh, rough, found in the New Testament only in this parable (vv.21–22). The master takes the servant's picture of him and turns it round: 'Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee… Thou knewest that I was an austere man' (v.22). Matt 25:24 has the like complaint, 'an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown'.

Verse 26

unto every one which hath shall be given — This is the answer to 'Lord, he hath ten pounds' (v.25), and the pound taken from the servant who hid it goes to the one who traded with it (v.24). Jesus says the same elsewhere (Matt 25:29), and in Luke 8:18 sets it after 'Take heed therefore how ye hear'.

Verse 27

mine enemies — The 'citizens' of v.14, who 'sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us'. Basileuo, 'reign', is theirs in v.14 and his here. Katasphazo, 'slay', is found only here in the New Testament. The sentence falls on those who refused his reign, not on the servants of vv.13–26.

Verse 28

ascending up to Jerusalem — Anabaino, to go up, the verb of Luke 18:31, 'Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished'. Luke 9:51 had marked the start of the road: 'he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem'. Jesus 'went before' the company.

Verse 30

whereon yet never man sat — This is an animal not yet used. In the law, the red heifer was one 'upon which never came yoke' (Num 19:2), and the kine that bore the ark had 'no yoke' on them (1 Sam 6:7). Matt 21:5 ties the colt to Zech 9:9, 'riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass'. Luke names no prophecy here and gives only the instruction.

Verse 38

Blessed be the King — Ps 118:26 has 'Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD'; Luke's crowd names him 'the King', as John 12:13 does ('the King of Israel'), where Matt 21:9 and Mark 11:9 do not. 'Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest' answers the angels of Luke 2:14, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace'.

Verse 40

the stones would immediately cry out — Hab 2:11 has the picture: 'the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it'. Luke uses the word for stone (lithos) again in v.44, where not 'one stone upon another' will be left in the city.

Verse 41

wept over it — Klaio, to wail aloud, where dakruo, to weep silently, is the verb of John 11:35, 'Jesus wept'. He had said of the city, 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets' (Luke 13:34). The word is used again in Luke 23:28 of the women who followed him to the cross.

Verse 42

the things which belong unto thy peace — Eirene, peace, the word the crowd sang in v.38 ('peace in heaven'). The city has not known 'this thy day', and the things of its peace 'are hid' (krupto) from its eyes. Luke 1:79 had spoken of the light 'to guide our feet into the way of peace'.

Verse 43

cast a trench about thee — Charax, a stake, and so a palisade or rampart for a siege, found only here in the New Testament. The siege words repeat in Luke 21:20, 'Jerusalem compassed with armies', and recall the LORD's word in Isa 29:3, 'I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount'.

Verse 44

the time of thy visitation — Episkope, a looking upon, from the verb of Zacharias' song, 'he hath visited and redeemed his people' (Luke 1:68), and 'the dayspring from on high hath visited us' (1:78). The city did not know the day of that visit. Luke 21:6 repeats the sentence: 'not… one stone upon another'.

Verse 45

cast out them that sold — Luke's report is brief: it names the selling and the buying, where Matt 21:12 adds 'the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves'. 'Began' marks the start of the act. Mal 3:1 says the Lord 'shall suddenly come to his temple'.

Verse 46

den of thieves — Two prophets are joined: Isa 56:7, 'mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people', and Jer 7:11, 'Is this house… become a den of robbers in your eyes?' Jeremiah's charge is against those who steal and then 'come and stand before me in this house' (Jer 7:9–10).

Verse 47

sought to destroy him — Apollymi, the verb rendered 'lost' in v.10: the Son of man came to save that which was lost, and the chief priests, scribes and chief of the people sought to destroy him. He 'taught daily in the temple'; v.48 records that they could not find what to do, 'for all the people were very attentive to hear him'.

Luke 19

Jesus and Zacchaeus 1–10

The Parable of the Ten Minas 11–27

The Triumphal Entry 28–40

Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem 41–44

Cleansing the Temple Courts 45–48

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