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The Gospel of Luke Chapter 19:1-27 Seeking and Finding 19:1–4 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.
As he continued on his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Jericho. Zacchaeus was a very rich man (his name means pure), one of the chief of the tax collectors in the region; he wanted to see Jesus. No doubt he had heard many reports about him and was at least curious to see for himself if these reports were true. Indeed, it is possible that he was already more than curious, if these reports had stirred faith in his heart (Rom. 10:17) and a desire to turn back to God. Zacchaeus was determined to see Jesus, but being short could not see above the crowds. Noticing a sycamore tree he ran ahead and climbed it knowing that Jesus would soon to pass that way. The sight of an important dignitary climbing a tree like a boy might have amused the crowd, but the fact that Zacchaeus did not care about this proves the reality of his desire, and suggests that his motive was, after all, one of genuine humility. Furthermore, the fact that he would let nothing get in his way of getting to Jesus serves as an illustration of the kind of faith Jesus had told his disciples to have in Luke 18:1–8. 19:5 And 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."
When Jesus arrived at the spot he immediately looked up into the tree, for he knew that Zacchaeus was there. Calling him by name asked him to come down and receive him as a guest in his own house. 19:6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.
Zacchaeus was overjoyed to hear this, and quickly came down from the tree to welcome Jesus into his home.
19:7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.
The people in the crowd were not very pleased about this and grumbled amongst themselves because Zacchaeus, being a chief tax collector, was considered to be a notorious sinner. 19:8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."
In these verses we finally get a glimpse of why Zacchaeus was so eager to meet Jesus. He realized his own need of repentance and restoration before God. As he was in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ he was convicted of his sins, confessing them (in a roundabout way) by promising to give back four times the amount he had previously robbed from people. To further show that his repentance was genuine, he told Jesus that he would give half his accumulated wealth to the poor; he was now seeking greater treasure (18:22). In this way the story of Zacchaeus serves as the antithesis to the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18–27. 19:9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
Jesus knew all about Zacchaeus’ life prior to this day. Although a Jew, one of God’s people, yet he had not followed the God of Israel and had become alienated from the life of God and the covenant which he had made with the people. When Jesus received his confession, Zacchaeus was welcomed back into the family of God (salvation has come), not merely as a physical descendent of Abraham, but as one who had begun to follow his example of faith and faithfulness to God (Romans 4:16). 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Jesus reveals his own understanding of the purpose for his life and ministry: he, the Son of Man, came to seek out those who were lost in sin and bring them back to God (Matthew 1:21). Later, Paul understood Jesus to mean not only that he had come to preach repentance and restoration to Israel, but that he had come from heaven, into the world, to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).
Responsibility 19:11 Now 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.
As the people were still listening to what Jesus had said to Zacchaeus, he used the opportunity to teach them about the kingdom of God. He was drawing near to Jerusalem, and those who considered him to be the Messiah thought that the time had come for him to set up his kingdom in the holy city. Jesus knew that such was not the case, and so he teaches them by means of a parable. 19:12–14 Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'
The idea, which some of the crowd may have had, of Jesus coming from Galilee to Jerusalem to become king simply does not sit well with this parable. There is no way that Jerusalem was thought
of as being far off from the Jews of Galilee, let alone of it being a foreign or hostile country. Yet the noble man in the parable clearly comes from somewhere else, an indication that Jesus meant not that he had come from Galilee to Jerusalem, but that he had come down to earth from heaven (John 6:38). Humanity are depicted as residents of an alien land not because God was not their creator, but because of their sinful alienation from God. Indeed, as the Son of David Jesus came first to his own people, the Jews, and yet they rejected Him (John 1:11)—these are the citizens Jesus refers to in v. 14 who would not have Him as their king (John 19:15). However, there were clearly those among his own people who were faithful (a reference to his disciples) and to these he entrusted his money until he returned, instructing them to ‘do business’ on his behalf. In this version of the parable, each servant is given the same amount of money, illustrating that each has the same opportunity. Jesus is not only introducing here the idea of faithfulness, but also of an interval between his coronation and his return to reign. Although they had expected God’s kingdom to appear immediately, Jesus is calling them to faithfulness in the interval between his death, resurrection and exaltation on the one hand, and his return to earth to reign in glory on the other. 19:15 And 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.
After the nobleman had been made king, he returned to his own people. Summoning those servants who were responsible for managing his wealth, he demanded an account of how much they had each increased his wealth by honest trade (the word trade as used here can mean ‘to thoroughly occupy oneself’). 19:16 Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'
The first one came and reported that he had made ten times as much as had been entrusted to him. 19:17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'
This servant was highly praised and told that because he had been faithful in the little that had been given to him his reward would be to govern ten cities (Col. 3:4; 2 John 1: 8). This was a typical reward of an ancient king—faithfulness would be rewarded with further opportunities to serve the crown. 19:18–19 And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'
The second man came and told his master that he had earned five times the amount he had been given to trade with – he too was similarly rewarded with governor ship over five cities. 19:20–21 "Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'
The third servant came and returned the exact amount of silver that had been given to him wrapped up in a handkerchief (James 4:17; Proverbs 26:16). The reason the third servant gives for his inaction appears contradictory: he knew that his master was a hard man and because of this he feared what he might do to him if he had lost all the silver that had been entrusted to him. Strange then, that he
was not afraid of what his master would do to him if he failed to carry out his orders (the point of v. 22)! 19:22 And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
The master judged his servant on the strength of his own confession of irresponsibility and laziness. If he knew his master to be strict, why did he not fear to be both indolent and insolent? 19:23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'
The least he could have done with his master's money was to put it in the bank so that it might accrue interest whilst the master was away. 19:24–25 "And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.' (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')
Turning to those who were close by, the master told them to take the silver from this man and give it to the one who had most increased his money. The servants were surprised at this, for in their reckoning, surely ten minas was enough! 19:26 'For 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.
Yet Jesus said that everyone who receives a gift and uses it for God’s service shall be given more opportunity to serve, whilst those who do not use what they have to serve God will find that such a lost opportunity will be permanently lost. It is to be noted that Jesus was telling this parable to the Jews who had objected to his dealings with Zacchaeus, in particular the Pharisees and the Scribes. Although they had been entrusted with the scriptures and should have understood how sinners might be converted to God, they failed to fulfill their responsibility. Thus, as Jesus is most probably applying this parable to his own disciples, we must realize that with the great blessing of salvation we have received comes a great responsibility to pass on the good news of salvation to everyone in creation (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19–20). 19:27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.' "
In Matthew, those servants who had been unfaithful to their Lord were included among the hypocrites who were punished (Matt. 25:14–30). But here, Luke focusses on those who had rebelled against their king and did not want him to rule over them—the king commands them to be executed. Perhaps this shows that even Christians who have not denied their faith can be in danger of missing out on opportunities to serve and glorify God, and warned that there will be no excuse they can give before the Lord for their doing so. © Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett 2015 Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any form, just so long as you make no charges. Sign up today for our FREE monthly Bible study magazine “Living Word” Scriptures taken from the NET Bible www.bible.org