1And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house. 6So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7But when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner. 8And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor; and whatever I have taken from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold. 9And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. 11Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12Therefore He said: A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, Do business till I come. 14But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, We do not desire to have this man reign over us. 15And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16Then came the first, saying, Master, your mina has earned ten minas. 17And he said to him, Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities. 18And the second came, saying, Master, your mina has earned five minas. 19Likewise he said to him, You also be over five cities. 20Then another came, saying, Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21For I feared you, because you are a harsh man. You take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow. 22And he said to him, Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was a harsh man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow. 23Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest? 24And he said to those who stood by, Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas. 25But they said to him, Master, he has ten minas. 26For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me. 28When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29And it came to pass, when He came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30saying, Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31And if anyone asks you, Why are you loosing it? you shall say to him, Because the Lord has need of it. 32So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33And as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, Why are you loosing the colt? 34And they said, The Lord has need of him. 35Then they led it to Jesus. And they threw their clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on it. 36And as He went, they spread their clothes on the road. 37And as He was now drawing near 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 they had seen, 38saying: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest! 39And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, Teacher, rebuke Your disciples. 40But He answered and said to them, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. 41And as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42saying, If you had known, even you, at least in this your day, the things that make for your peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and besiege you on every side, 44and tear you down, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation. 45And He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, 46saying to them, It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. 47And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the chief of the people sought to destroy Him, 48and were unable to figure out anything to do; for all the people hung on to hear Him.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 ZACCHEUS THE PUBLICAN. (
Luke 19:1-
Luke 19:10)
chief among the publicans--farming a considerable district, with others under him.
rich--Ill-gotten riches some of it certainly was. (See on
Luke 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 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" (
John 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
John 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 (
Luke 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 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
Phil 4:8).
taken by false accusation--defrauded, overcharged (
Luke 3:12-
Luke 3:13).
fourfold--The Roman law required this; the Jewish law, but the principal and a fifth more (
Num 5:7). There was no demand made for either; but, as if to revenge himself on his hitherto reigning sin (see on
John 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;
Acts 16:15-
Acts 16:16,
Acts 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
Luke 15:32.) What encouragement is there in this narrative to hope for unexpected conversions?
12 PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. (Luke 19:11-27)
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 Cćsar" (
John 19:15). In Christendom, these correspond to infidel rejecters of Christianity, as distinguished from professed Christians.
15 (See on
Matt 25:19-
Matt 25:29.)
ten . . . five cities--different degrees of future gracious reward, proportioned to the measure of present fidelity.
27 bring hither, &c.--(Compare
1Sam 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.
29 CHRIST'S TRIUMPHANT ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM AND TEARS OVER IT. (Luke 19:28-44)
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
John 19:41).
31 the Lord hath need, &c.--He both knew all and had the key of the human heart. (See on
Luke 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 (
Mark 11:9-
Mark 11:10) 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
Luke 2:13-
Luke 2:14).
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 when beheld . . . wept--Compare
Lam 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
Matt 23:37.)
42 at least in this, &c.--even at this moving moment. (See on
Luke 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.
45 SECOND CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE AND SUBSEQUENT TEACHING. (
Luke 19:45-
Luke 19:48)
As the first cleansing was on His first visit to Jerusalem (
John 2:13-
John 2:22), 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.