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Luke 19

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And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

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And, behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

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

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

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

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

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And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

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And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

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

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

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

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

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And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

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But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

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And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

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Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.

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

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And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.

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

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

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

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

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Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

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

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

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

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

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

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And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,

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Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.

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And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.

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

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

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And they said, The Lord hath need of him.

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

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

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And when he was come nigh, even now 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 that they had seen;

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

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

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And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

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And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

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

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

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And shall lay thee even with 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.

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And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;

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Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.

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And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,

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And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

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Luke 19

Zacchaeus — chief tax collector, wealthy, too short to see over the crowd, running ahead and climbing a tree — receives Jesus' I must stay at your house today and responds with half-my-possessions-to-the-poor and fourfold restitution. Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. The Minas parable (addressing the expectation that the kingdom would appear immediately) establishes the principle of faithful stewardship during the master's absence, with the unfaithful servant's mina redistributed to the most productive one. The triumphal entry — colt requisitioned, cloaks spread, disciples praising God for all the miracles — is greeted with the Psalm 118:26 acclamation, but with the key word king added. The Pharisees demand silence; Jesus answers that if the disciples are silent the stones will cry out. The Jerusalem lament (weeping over the city, predicting the 70 CE siege with remarkable precision) is the entry's emotional counterweight: if you had only known on this day what would bring you peace. The temple cleansing drives out the sellers and establishes the daily teaching that will characterize the final week, while the Sanhedrin conspires and the people hang on his words.

Luke 19:1

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through — the entering and passing through Jericho is the transitional note before the Zacchaeus encounter. The passing through communicates that Jesus does not intend to stop — yet the encounter with Zacchaeus will cause him to stop.

Luke 19:2

A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy — chief tax collector (architelōnēs): the head of the tax collection system in the Jericho region — a major trade route city. Chief tax collector makes Zacchaeus the most despised person in the region — the one who managed and benefited from the entire Roman tax system.

Luke 19:3

He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd — the motivation and the obstacle: wanting to see Jesus but too short to see over the crowd. The physical shortness communicates both the literal problem and the social position — the chief tax collector who towers over others financially is too short to see over ordinary people.

Luke 19:4

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way — ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree: the undignified response of a wealthy official — running and tree-climbing were not the behaviors of prosperous men. The detail communicates the desperation of his desire to see Jesus.

Luke 19:5

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today — looked up: Jesus saw the man in the tree before the man had any means of introducing himself. Zacchaeus — the personal address communicates that Jesus knew him. Come down immediately; I must stay at your house today: the initiative is entirely Jesus'. I must (dei) stay: the divine necessity of the encounter.

Luke 19:6

So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly — at once (speusas, hurrying) and gladly (chairōn, rejoicing): Zacchaeus's response to the divine initiative is immediate and joyful. The welcoming is the reception of the king's visit — Zacchaeus becomes the host of the kingdom's representative.

Luke 19:7

All the people saw this and began to mutter, he has gone to be the guest of a sinner — the muttering (diegongyzon) echoes the Pharisees' muttering about Jesus eating with sinners (15:2). He has gone to be the guest of a sinner: the chief tax collector is categorized as sinner — the community's collective judgment.

Luke 19:8

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount — stood up (statheis, taking a stand) and said: the public declaration before the community. Half of my possessions to the poor and fourfold restitution for any cheating: the voluntary generosity and the generous legal restitution (the Torah required 20% over and above what was taken; Zacchaeus volunteers 300%). The present-tense verbs (I give, I will pay back) communicate immediate, current action.

Luke 19:9

Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham — today salvation has come to this house: the same today (sēmeron) as the Nazareth sermon (4:21) — the eschatological present of the kingdom's arrival. Salvation has come to the house: the house becomes the location of the salvation's arrival, exactly as Jesus promised he must stay there. Because this man, too, is a son of Abraham: the covenant identification — despite being a tax collector, Zacchaeus is claimed as a son of Abraham.

Luke 19:10

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost — the mission statement of the Son of Man: to seek and to save the lost (to apolōlos, the lost one, the perishing one). The Zacchaeus story is the enacted parable of the lost coin and the lost sheep — the Son of Man as the seeker who goes after the lost rather than waiting for them to come.

Luke 19:11

While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once — the Minas parable is introduced with its occasion: the nearness to Jerusalem and the expectation that the kingdom would appear immediately. The parable corrects the imminent-arrival expectation while addressing the disciples' responsibility during the delay.

Luke 19:12

He said: a man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return — the man of noble birth going to have himself appointed king: the political background of the parable reflects the actual practice of Herodian rulers going to Rome to receive their appointment from Caesar. The going to a distant country communicates the delay — the kingdom is not immediately appearing.

Luke 19:13

So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. Put this money to work, he said, until I come back — ten servants, ten minas (a mina = about three months' wages): the investment of resources with each servant. Put this money to work until I come back: the kingdom work during the period of the master's absence.

Luke 19:14

But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, we don't want this man to be our king — the hostile subjects who send a delegation to refuse his kingship: the Jerusalem crowds who will reject Jesus' kingship. The political drama of the parable is the narrative of the entry, passion, and rejection.

Luke 19:15

He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it — he was made king, however: despite the rejection, the appointment stands. The return produces the accounting — each servant called to give account of what they did with the entrusted mina.

Luke 19:16

The first one came and said, sir, your mina has earned ten more — ten more minas: the tenfold return. The investment that multiplied the original trust a hundredfold communicates extraordinary faithfulness and fruitfulness.

Luke 19:17

Well done, my good servant! his master replied. Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities — well done, my good servant: the commendation. Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter: the mina is a small trust. Take charge of ten cities: the expanded stewardship proportionate to the faithfulness. The kingdom's reward is greater responsibility.

Luke 19:18

The second came and said, sir, your mina has earned five more — five more minas: the fivefold return, less than the first but still multiplied.

Luke 19:19

His master answered, you take charge of five cities — five cities: the reward proportionate to the return — five cities for five minas. The kingdom reward is calibrated to the faithfulness.

Luke 19:20

Then another servant came and said, sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth — the third servant kept the mina in a cloth (soudarion, handkerchief): the complete inaction, the hiding rather than investing.

Luke 19:21

I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow — afraid of you because you are a hard man: the fear-based rationalization. You take out what you did not put in: the accusation of the servant who understands the master's character as exploitative. The fear of the master's character produces the inaction that brings judgment.

Luke 19:22

His master replied, I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? — I will judge you by your own words: the master accepts the servant's characterization and applies its logic. If you knew I was hard and demanding, your response should have been more fruitful, not less.

Luke 19:23

Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest? — the minimum: if you were afraid to invest directly, you could have put it in the bank for interest. The minimum possible return is the measure of the servant's failure to do even the least.

Luke 19:24

Then he said to those standing by, take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas — take his mina from him and give it to the ten-mina servant: the transfer of the unproductive mina to the most productive servant. The kingdom's resources go where they produce fruit.

Luke 19:25

Sir, they said, he already has ten — the objection: he already has ten minas; why give him more? The objection voices what seems like a fairness concern — the unequal distribution of the transferred mina.

Luke 19:26

He replied, I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away — the kingdom principle: to everyone who has, more will be given; from the one who has nothing, what they have will be taken. The principle sounds harsh but is the consistent pattern — the faithful investment of what is received produces more; the hoarding of what is received produces loss.

Luke 19:27

But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king — bring them here and kill them in front of me — bring those enemies and kill them: the judgment of the hostile subjects who sent the delegation refusing his kingship. The political drama of the parable reaches its conclusion in the judgment of those who rejected the king's authority.

Luke 19:28

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem — he went on ahead: the resumption of the journey to Jerusalem, immediately after the parable that has described the purpose and the coming judgment.

Luke 19:29

As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them — the Mount of Olives approach is the staging point for the triumphal entry. The two disciples sent ahead is the deliberate preparation of the entry.

Luke 19:30

Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here — you will find a colt: the foreknowledge (or prior arrangement) that communicates Jesus' control of the entry's details. Which no one has ever ridden: the new colt appropriate for sacred purposes.

Luke 19:31

If anyone asks you, why are you untying it? say, the Lord needs it — the Lord needs it: the password. The Lord (ho kyrios, the same title used for Yahweh throughout the Septuagint) needs it: the divine claim on the animal. The answer is both identification and authorization.

Luke 19:32

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them — found it just as he had told them: the verification of the foreknowledge. The disciples' finding what Jesus described exactly is the evidence of the divine superintendence of the entry.

Luke 19:33

As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, why are you untying the colt? — the owners' question is the expected challenge: why are you taking the colt? The question sets up the answer.

Luke 19:34

They replied, the Lord needs it — the Lord needs it: the password communicates everything needed. The owners' response (not recorded) is compliance — the password is sufficient.

Luke 19:35

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it — threw their cloaks on the colt: the improvised saddle of honor. Put Jesus on it: the enthronement of the king on the requisitioned colt, fulfilling Zechariah 9:9.

Luke 19:36

As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road — spread their cloaks on the road: the ancient honor paid to a king (2 Kings 9:13 for Jehu; the same gesture). The people's spontaneous honor of the king traveling to Jerusalem.

Luke 19:37

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen — the whole crowd of disciples praising God in loud voices for all the miracles: the entry's praise is not for the abstract messianic arrival but for the specific miracles witnessed. The eyewitness memory of the miracles produces the praise.

Luke 19:38

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest — the Psalm 118:26 acclamation with the key addition: the king (ho basileus) who comes in the name of the Lord. The messianic king identification makes the entry the explicit claiming of kingship. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest echoes the angelic song at the birth (2:14) — the entry is the completion of what the nativity began.

Luke 19:39

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, teacher, rebuke your disciples — the Pharisees' demand that Jesus silence his disciples communicates the political and theological alarm at the kingship acclamation. The rebuke would be the denial of the claim.

Luke 19:40

I tell you, he replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out — if the disciples are silent, the stones will cry out: the cosmic witness to the entry that cannot be suppressed. The stones are the last resort of the divine proclamation — if humanity refuses to acknowledge the king's entry, creation itself will speak.

Luke 19:41

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it — he wept (eklausen, wept, sobbed) over it: the only weeping of Jesus recorded in Luke. He wept over it: the city as the object of grief. The weeping is the sign of the chapter's most profound emotion — the anguish of the Messiah for the city that is about to reject him.

Luke 19:42

And said, if you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes — if you had only known on this day: the lament over the missed moment. What would bring you peace (ta pros eirēnēn, the things toward peace): the peace — the shalom — that Jesus offered and that Jerusalem will refuse. Now it is hidden from your eyes: the judicial hiding of the revelation from those who have persistently rejected it.

Luke 19:43

The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side — the prediction of the 70 CE siege is remarkably precise: embankment built (the Roman circumvallation that surrounded Jerusalem), encircled, hemmed in on every side. The specific military tactics of Titus's siege are described in terms that match the historical record.

Luke 19:44

They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's visitation — because you did not recognize the time of God's visitation (ton kairon tēs episkopēs sou, the season of your visitation): the episkopē is the divine visit — the same word as in the Benedictus (1:68) and the widow of Nain response (7:16). The failure to recognize the divine visitation is the cause of the judgment.

Luke 19:45

When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling — the temple cleansing follows the weeping over Jerusalem. Jesus enters the temple courts and drives out those who were selling — the commercial apparatus that has replaced the prayer.

Luke 19:46

It is written, he said, my house will be a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers — my house will be a house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7) but you have made it a den of robbers (Jeremiah 7:11): the two citations frame the cleansing. The house of prayer for all nations that Isaiah envisioned has been converted into the Jeremiah-condemned den of robbers.

Luke 19:47

Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him — every day he was teaching at the temple: the daily presence in the temple for the final week's teaching. The chief priests, teachers of the law, and the leaders were trying to kill him: the conspiracy of the Sanhedrin elements.

Luke 19:48

Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words — they could not find any way because all the people hung on his words (exekremmato autou akouōn, were hanging from him listening): the crowd's passionate attention to Jesus' teaching made the arrest impossible without provoking popular unrest. The protection of Jesus during the temple week is the people's enthusiasm for his teaching.