Luke 19

In this chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus' long journey toward Jerusalem comes to an end, and he enters the city. After healing a blind man near Jericho at the close of Luke 18, Jesus passes through Jericho in this chapter and arrives at Jerusalem.

Outline

• Verses 1–10: Zacchaeus, a rich man and chief tax collector in Jericho, climbs a sycamore tree because he is short. When Jesus says he will stay at his house, the people murmur. Zacchaeus declares that he will give half of his goods to the poor and that if he has taken anything from anyone wrongfully, he will restore it fourfold.
• Verses 11–27: To those who think the kingdom of God is about to appear immediately, Jesus tells the parable of the minas. A nobleman who goes to a far country to receive a kingdom entrusts one mina each to ten servants. The servants who gain ten minas and five minas are given authority over cities, while the servant who kept his mina wrapped in a napkin has even that one mina taken from him.
• Verses 28–40: Near Bethphage and Bethany, Jesus sends two disciples to bring a colt, and riding on it he enters Jerusalem. When the disciples praise God, the Pharisees demand that he rebuke them, and Jesus replies that the stones would cry out.
• Verses 41–44: Seeing Jerusalem, Jesus weeps and foretells that the city will be besieged by its enemies and destroyed.
• Verses 45–48: Jesus drives out those who sold in the temple and teaches there daily. The chief priests and the scribes seek to kill him, but they cannot act because the people hang on his words.

Key Verses

• Luke 19:10: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." This saying is often cited as a summary of the theme of the entire Gospel of Luke.
• Luke 19:38: "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord." This praise in the entry scene recalls Psalm 118:26.
• Luke 19:46: "My house is the house of prayer." Drawing together Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, this verse expresses the true purpose of the temple.

People and Places

• Jesus, Zacchaeus
• Tax collectors: people who collected taxes on behalf of Rome and were regarded as sinners in Jewish society.
• Pharisees, chief priests, scribes
• Jericho, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, Bethany, Temple in Jerusalem
• Bethphage: a village near the Mount of Olives, close to Jerusalem.

Points for Reflection

• The tree that the Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Hangeul) renders as "mulberry tree" is today identified as the sycamore fig, and translations such as the New Korean Standard Version (Saebeonyeok) render it accordingly.
• Zacchaeus's statement (verse 8) is usually read as a resolution born of repentance. However, some interpreters, appealing to the tense in the original text, take it as a description of what he had already been doing habitually.
• The parable of the minas resembles the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Some regard the two as different versions of the same parable, while others see them as distinct parables told on different occasions. The nobleman's departure and return are often read as an allusion to Jesus' ascension and Second Coming.
• Luke's account of the entry into Jerusalem does not mention palm branches or the cry of "Hosanna." These details appear in Matthew 21, Mark 11, and John 12.
• The Gospel of John places the cleansing of the temple early in Jesus' ministry (John 2), and opinions differ as to whether the accounts describe the same event or whether the cleansing took place twice.

In the Korean Church

• The story of Zacchaeus is frequently taught in Sunday school, and children's songs based on it are widely sung.
• The entry passage (verses 28–40) is often used as a sermon text for Palm Sunday and Holy Week.