29 And he said unto them, Verily, I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, 30 for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. 35 31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, 33 and spitefully entreated, and spitted on; and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. 34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, 36 a certain blind man sat by the way-side begging; and hearing 37 the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told 38 him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, 39 Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. 40 And Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought unto him: 41 and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may 42 receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: 43 thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. CHAPTER XIX. Of Zaccheus the Publican, the Parable of the Ten Pounds, and Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. AND Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus 3 who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore- 4 tree to see him; for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus 5 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. And he made haste, and came down, and 6 received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, 7 saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, 8 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. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come 9 not to shake their veracity and au- city which make us feel at once that thenticity. CHAPTER XIX. 1. Passed through Jericho. See chap. xviii. 35. 2. The chief among the publicans. Or, a chief publican. There were two classes of these officers -the farmers-general of the revenue, and the lower officials employed in collecting it. Zaccheus belonged to the former. It is said to have been in the neighborhood of Jericho, that the precious balm was collected, which constituted the principal article of exportation. Hence the demand for services, like those of Zaccheus, to levy the duties upon this article of merchandise. 3, 4. The gospel narratives are characterized, as in these verses, by individual touches of natural simpli they are transcripts of actual events, This was one of the timber-trees of 5-7. Our Lord's superiority to popular prejudices is strikingly manifested in his thus choosing the house of a despised publican, with the customary freedom of oriental hospitality, for his transient resting-place. 8. The half of my goods 1 give. i. e. It is my usual practice. He is not saying, what he is resolved, but what he is accustomed to do. Two points are stated- his benevolence to the poor, and his justice to the injured. His forwardness in mentioning these things, was apparently caused by the provocation of the murmuring crowd, who had upbraided him with being a sinner.—I restore him fourfold. Ex. xxii. 1. Restitution is the first duty 10 to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 11 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that 12 the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for him- – 13 self a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I 14 come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after 15 him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 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 16 much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, 17 saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been 18 faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five the wrong-doer owes to the wronged. All repentance is hollow and unavailing without it. 9, 10. Jesus first addresses Zaccheus with the encouragement, that the salvation of the gospel had come to his dwelling, and that for his ready faith he was to be deemed a true son of the father of the faithful, notwithstanding his odious employment. He then justifies his own conduct to the multitude, by assuring them, that the very object of his mission was to save sinners, so that, instead of reproaching him, they should view him as in the performance of his express duty, when he mingled with that class. 11-28. Compare Mat. xxv. 1430, and Mark xiii. 34. 11. Because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought, &c. These are the reasons assigned for the following parable: Jesus was approaching Jerusalem, and, as many supposed, was about to establish his temporal kingdom. But he teaches an altogether different lesson of the nature of his coming, and intimates, not obscurely, ver. 14, 27, that he should meet with opposition. He endeavors to correct their false ideas of his reign, and, as in the parable of the judgment, Mat. xxv. 31–46, to remind them of their responsibleness. 12. A certain nobleman, &c. Le Clerc observed, that an allusion was here made to historical events. The sons of Herod, as well as that prince himself, went to Italy, a far country, to procure the royalty of Palestine, or some one of its provinces. They were also hated by some of their countrymen at home, who sent messages after them to the imperial power at Rome, and who were ready to revolt from their reign. 13. Pounds. The Attic mina, here called pound, is reckoned at about sixteen dollars, by Boeckh, though it varied in different countries. pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five 19 cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold here is thy 20 pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared thee, 21 because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith 22 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: wherefore 23 then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto 24 them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath 25 ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which 26 hath, shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, 27 which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. And when he had thus spoken, he went 28 before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage 29 and Bethany, at the mount called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Go ye into the village over against 30 you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat; loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye 31 say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they 32 that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners there- 33 of said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The 34 22. Thou knewest, &c. This is better expressed in the interrogatory or exclamatory form: "Thou knew est this, didst thou? Wherefore then gavest thou not," &c. 23. The bank. Or, the table, i. e. of the exchanger, where it would gain interest. Usury means here, lawful and fair interest. 27. Besides teaching the solemn truth, that he would hereafter call his servants to an account for the use of their talents and privileges, Jesus also announces, that his enemies would not escape unpunished, but be overwhelmed in the destruction of Jerusalem. 28. He went before, i. e. before his disciples. See on chap. xviii. 31. 29-44. Refer to notes on Mat. xxi. 1-16, and Mark xi. 1-11. 29. At the mount called the Mount of Olives. As Luke was writing for foreigners, this was designed for their information. 35 Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus there36 on. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37 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 38 works that they had seen; saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: Peace in heaven, and glory in 39 the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the mul40 titude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you, that if these should hold 41 their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 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 43 from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, 44 and keep thee in on every side, 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. 45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that 46 sold therein, and them that bought, saying unto them, It is writ 39, 40. Rebuke. Chide. The stones, &c. A bold figure, to express the importance of the occasion, and the propriety of a lively joy and popular enthusiasm. 41. Wept over it. Jesus had not the forced and unnatural insensibility of the Stoic, who thought it unmanly to weep. But his tears were not for himself, but for others. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and now he weeps over the holy city, as it bursts upon his view, in all its magnificence, from Mount Olivet. He weeps over the city whose inhabitants were soon to crucify him. He weeps for their coming woes, not for his own dreadful lot of pain and death. More strangely still, he weeps in the midst of sounding hosannas, 14 VOL. II. and the tokens of joy and praise, because he "looks above and beyond the hour." The shouts of applause remind him, by contrast, of the cries, so soon to resound through the same city, "Crucify him, crucify him." The popular enthusiasm betokens only the more sensibly and surely the ruin, which similar outbursts of feeling would produce, by awakening the formidable hostility of Rome. See Preface, vol. i. p. vii. 42. If thou hadst known, &c. O that thou hadst known! 43. Cast a trench about thee. Or, rampart. This was literally done, according to Josephus, by Titus, the Roman general, in the last great siege. See notes on Mat. xxiv. 44. Visitation. Here used in a |