Chapter Nineteen

1–10. Zacchaeus the tax collector. – 11–27. The parable of the minas. – 28–48. Entry into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the temple.

Luke 19:1. Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. Luke 19:2. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and a wealthy man, Luke 19:3. and he sought to see Jesus, who He was; but could not for the crowd, because he was small of stature, Luke 19:4. and running ahead, he climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, because He was to pass by that way. The story of the tax collector Zacchaeus is a peculiarity of Luke’s Gospel; it is not reported by other evangelists. When the Lord, journeying to Jerusalem, was passing through Jericho (about Jericho see commentary on Matt 20:29), the chief of the local tax collectors (in Jericho considerable revenues were obtained from the production and export of balm, and therefore there were several tax collectors), a wealthy man, named Zacchaeus (from Hebrew – pure), evidently a Jew, sought to see among those passing by Jesus. “Who He was,” that is, which of those passing was Jesus. But this did not succeed for him, because he was small of stature. “Running ahead,” that is, onto the street which Christ had not yet passed, but was about to pass (by the best reading – εἰς ἔμπροσθεν, but by Textus receptus – simply ἔμπροσθεν). “Climbed up into a sycamore tree” – this tree was evidently rather tall. “By that way.” In the Greek text stands the word δί ἐκείνης, but the preposition διά here is superfluous, it is not in the best manuscripts.

Luke 19:5. And when Jesus came to that 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. Luke 19:6. And he made haste and came down and received Him with joy. Whether the Lord knew Zacchaeus before – is unknown. He could have heard the name of the tax collector from those around Him, who knew Zacchaeus and named him when they saw him in such a strange position in the tree. “Today I must stay...” The Lord points out to Zacchaeus the special importance of this day for him: Christ, according to a higher determination (cf. verse 10), must stop at Zacchaeus’s house for the night (cf. the expression μεῖναι – “to stay” with John 1:39).

Luke 19:7. And all, seeing it, began to murmur, and said that He had gone to lodge with a sinful man; “All” – a hyperbolic expression. The reference is to the Jews who accompanied Christ to Zacchaeus’s house and saw how Zacchaeus met the Lord upon His arrival. “Had gone to lodge” – more precisely: had gone in order to stay there (εἰσῆλθε καταλῦσαι).

Luke 19:8. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord: Behold, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone in anything, I will repay it fourfold. Probably the conversation that Christ had with Zacchaeus upon coming to him made a huge impression on the soul of the tax collector. In making a vow to settle accounts with the poor and the offended, he expressed this by acknowledging his own unworthiness before such great happiness as he had now received – the Messiah Himself came to him. “Cheated” (ἐσυκοφάντησα), that is, if I caused anyone injury in material terms through my denunciations. Zacchaeus could, indeed, as head of the tax collectors, play a large role in the matter of imposing fines on merchants who did not pay the required duty on goods. “Fourfold.” He regards his act as theft, and for theft, according to the law of Moses, it was necessary to pay fourfold or even fivefold the value of the stolen goods (Exod 22:1).

Luke 19:9. Jesus said to him: Today salvation has come to this household, because he also is a son of Abraham, “Said to him” – more correctly: to him, to Zacchaeus (πρός αὐτόν), addressing at the same time His disciples and those present in the house as guests. “To this household,” that is, to all the family of Zacchaeus. “And he also is a son of Abraham,” that is, despite his occupation, despised by all Jews, Zacchaeus has certain theocratic rights to salvation through the Messiah. His moral worth is not mentioned here, and the following verse confirms the thought that Zacchaeus indeed belonged to those whom not without reason they called “the lost.”

Luke 19:10. for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Here the Lord confirms the truth of what He said in verse 9. Indeed, salvation came to Zacchaeus’s household, because the Messiah came to seek out and save those who were subject to eternal ruin (cf. Matt 18:11).

Luke 19:11. Now as they listened to this, He went on and spoke a parable, because He was near to Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was about to be revealed immediately. The parable of the minas is similar to the parable of the talents presented by the evangelist Matthew (Matt 25:14-30). The evangelist Luke indicates as the occasion for telling this parable the circumstance that the Lord’s proclamation of salvation to Zacchaeus’s household (verse 9) was heard by Christ’s disciples and, probably, by those who were guests at Zacchaeus’s, who understood this proclamation in the sense that soon Christ would reveal the kingdom of God to all (the Lord was only about 150 stadia from Jerusalem). It is plain that the kingdom which they all expected was external, political. To dispel such an expectation, the Lord spoke the following parable.

Luke 19:12. So He said: “A certain man of noble birth went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return; It is very possible that when the Lord spoke of a man who busied himself with obtaining royal power for himself, He had in mind the Jewish king Archelaus, who through a journey to Rome achieved his confirmation in royal dignity, despite the protests of his subjects (Josephus, “Jewish Antiquities,” XVII, 11, 1). So Christ, before receiving a glorious kingdom, would have to depart to a “distant country” – to heaven, to His Father, and then appear on earth in His glory. However, it is not necessary to make such a comparison, for the main thought in the parable is not this, but the thought of the condemnation of wicked servants (verses 26–27).

Luke 19:13. And he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas, saying to them: “Do business with this while I am away. The man called ten of his own (ἑαυτοῦ) servants, from whom he could expect that they would look after His interests (cf. Matt 25:14). “Minas.” A Hebrew mina equaled one hundred shekels – that is, eighty and twenty-three kopecks. An Attic mina equaled one hundred drachmas – if this was a silver mina, that is, twenty and twenty-four kopecks. But a gold mina equaled one thousand two hundred fifty kopecks. In Matthew’s Gospel the account is conducted on a larger scale – in talents, but there the man distributes all his property, which is not said here about the man who went out to seek a kingdom for himself. “Do business with this” – that is, establish trade on it. By “servants,” of course, one should understand the disciples of Christ, and by “minas” – the various gifts received by them from God.

Luke 19:14. But the citizens of that country hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, “We do not want this man to reign over us. By “citizens” who did not wish the aforementioned man to be their king, one should understand the fellow tribesmen of Christ, the unbelieving Jews.

Luke 19:15. And when he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had accomplished. (See Matt 25:19). “What they had accomplished” – more correctly: “what they had undertaken” (περιεποίησεν).

Luke 19:16. The first came and said, “Master, your mina has earned ten minas. Luke 19:17. And he said to him, “Well done, good servant! Because you were faithful in a very little thing, take authority over ten cities. (See Matt 25:20-21).

Luke 19:18. The second came and said, “Master, your mina has earned five minas. Luke 19:19. And he said to him, “And you also rule over five cities. Luke 19:20. Another came and said, “Master, here is your mina, which I kept laid up in a napkin; Luke 19:21. for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man: you take what you did not deposit, and you reap what you did not sow. Luke 19:22. He said to him, “By your own words I will judge you, wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking what I did not deposit, and reaping what I did not sow; Luke 19:23. why then did you not put my money in the bank, so that on my arrival I could have collected it with interest? Luke 19:24. And he said to those standing by, “Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas. Luke 19:25. And they said to him, “Master, he has ten minas. Luke 19:26. “I tell you that to everyone who has will be given more, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away; (See Matt 25:22-29).

Luke 19:27. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me. Here the king turns his gaze away from the wicked servant and remembers his enemies, of whom the account was given in verse 14. “Slay them before me” – a figure denoting the condemnation of Christ’s enemies to eternal death. The parable, thus, concerns both the fate of the unbelieving Jews in Christ, and – and this is its main subject – the future fate of the disciples of Christ. Each disciple is given a certain gift by which he must serve the Church, and if he does not use this gift as he should, he will be punished with exclusion from the kingdom of the Messiah, whereas the diligent fulfillment of the will of Christ will receive the highest rewards in this kingdom.

Luke 19:28. Having said this, He continued on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Luke 19:29. And when He had come near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the hill called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, Luke 19:30. saying, “Go into the village opposite, and as you enter it you will find a young ass tied, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. Luke 19:31. And if anyone asks you why you are untying it, you shall say to him thus: He has need of it. Luke 19:32. So those who were sent went and found it just as He had told them. Luke 19:33. As they were untying the young ass, the owners said to them, “Why are you untying the ass? Luke 19:34. They said, “He has need of it. Luke 19:35. And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their garments on the ass, they set Jesus upon it. Luke 19:36. And as He went, they spread their garments on the road. Luke 19:37. When He drew near to the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God with a loud voice joyfully for all the mighty works which they had seen, Luke 19:38. saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! Here the evangelist Luke speaks about the entry of Christ into Jerusalem in accordance with the evangelist Mark (Mark 11:1-10; cf. Matt 21:1-16). But in doing so, he makes certain additions, and in places – and some abbreviations. “He continued on ahead” (verse 28) – more precisely: “He was journeying ahead (ἐπορεύετο ἔμπροσθεν) of His disciples” (cf. Mark 10:32). “At the hill called the Mount of Olives” (verse 29) – more correctly: “to the Mount of Olives” (ἐλαιῶν – olive grove; Josephus also uses the name “Mount of Olives” (“Josephus,” “Jewish Antiquities,” VII, 9, 2). “When He drew near to the descent of the Mount of Olives” (verse 37). Where the descent was, one could see Jerusalem in all its magnificence. Therefore it is understandable the sudden outburst of enthusiastic cries from the people accompanying Christ as their king, entering into His capital. “Disciples.” These are disciples in the broadest sense of the word. “Which they had seen” – of course, earlier, when they followed Christ. “Blessed is the King” (verse 38). By “King” the disciples designate the Lord only in the gospels of Luke and John (John 12:13). “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” By these words in Luke’s Gospel the exclamation “Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew and Mark) is replaced. He, so to speak, divides “Hosanna” into two exclamations: “Peace in heaven,” that is, salvation in heaven, from God, Who will now distribute this salvation through the Messiah, and then “glory in the highest,” that is, God will be glorified for this by the Angels in the highest, on high.

Luke 19:39. But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said to Him, “Teacher! rebuke Your disciples. Luke 19:40. But He answered and said to them, “I tell you, if these remain silent, the stones will cry out. Luke 19:41. When He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it, Luke 19:42. saying, “If only you knew, even you, on this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes, Luke 19:43. for the days will come upon you when your enemies will surround you with a rampart and encircle you and hem you in from every side, Luke 19:44. and level you to the ground and your children within you, and will not leave one stone on another within you, because you did not know the time of your visitation. This section is found only in Luke’s Gospel. Some of the Pharisees, coming out from the crowd in which they had been, turned to Christ with a proposal to forbid His disciples from crying out this way. The Lord answered to this that such an outburst of praise addressed to God could not be stopped. In this He used a saying about stones, which also occurs in the Talmud. Then, when He drew near to the city, He looked at it and wept – wept over it loudly (ἔκλαυσεν ἐπ´ αὐτήν, and not ἐδάκρυσεν, as at the grave of Lazarus, John 11:35). “If only you knew...” (verse 42). The speech breaks off, as “happens with those who are weeping” (Euthymius Zigabenus). To peace or to the salvation of Jerusalem should have served, of course, faith in Christ as the promised Messiah (cf. Luke 14:32). “You also” – in the manner of My disciples. “On this your day,” that is, on this day, which could have been for you a day of salvation. “But now...” That is, but under the present circumstances this is impossible, by God’s determination it has been hidden from you, this salvation (ἐκρύβη points to God’s determination, cf. John 12:37 and following; Rom 11:7 and following). “For the days will come upon you...” (verse 43). The Lord has just said that it was hidden from the Jewish people what serves for its salvation. Now He proves this thought, referring to the punishment that, without doubt, awaits this people. “Surround you with a rampart.” This was fulfilled at the time of the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, when Titus, in order to prevent the bringing of provisions into Jerusalem, surrounded it with a rampart or palisade, which was burned by the besieged and then replaced with a wall. “Level you to the ground” (verse 44) – more precisely: “raze you to the ground” (ἐδαφιοῦσι). “Your children within you.” A city in Sacred Scripture is often represented under the image of a mother (see Joel 2:23; Isa 31:8), and therefore by children one should understand the inhabitants of the city. “The time of your visitation,” that is, the appointed moment in time when God manifested special care for you, offering you to receive through Me messianic salvation (τόν καιρόν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς – cf. 1 Pet 2:12).

Luke 19:45. And entering the temple, He began to drive out those who were selling, Luke 19:46. saying to them, “It is written: My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers. Luke 19:47. And He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the teachers of the law and the elders of the people sought to kill Him, Luke 19:48. but they could not find what they might do, because all the people clung to Him listening. Concerning the cleansing of the temple, the evangelist Luke speaks in accordance with Mark (Mark 11:15-17) and in part – with Matthew (Matt 21:12-13). “And He taught daily in the temple.” The evangelist Luke notes the fact of Christ’s daily appearance in the temple as a teacher so as to make the transition to the subject of the next chapter. The evangelist Mark also hints at this “teaching” (Mark 11:17). “Clung to Him listening.” The attention with which the people listened to Christ was an obstacle to the enemies of the Savior in their plans against Him. * * * That is, 1.6 kg in silver equivalent. – Editor’s note. 400 grams of silver. – Editor’s note. corresponding to the price of approximately 1.4 kg of gold. – Editor’s note.