The Gospel of Luke
Chapter 19
Jesus has steadfastly turned His direction toward Jerusalem, but that normally would mean traveling on the eastern side of the Jordan River and then crossing westward at Jericho. It is here that He would encounter large groups traveling up to Jerusalem for the Passover. This chapter finishes the “travel section” which started in chapter 9. The events recorded here center on two locations: Jericho and then Jerusalem.
At Jericho—Luke 19:1-27
After healing the blind man at the end of chapter 18, Jesus proceeded into Jericho, a very ancient city, claiming to date from 8,000 B.C. It was at the only convenient place to cross the Jordan River and became a hub for various roads. This ensured that it would be a tax collector’s target. In Jericho lived Zacchaeus, who was a “chief tax collector,” which meant he had subcontractors working for him. He guaranteed a certain return to the government in exchange for the job; he collected enough to remand to the governor, to pay his employees and to furnish himself a profit.
Since Jesus was known to be a “friend to tax collectors” (Luke 7:34), Zacchaeus had probably heard of Him from his employees or colleagues. Now he had an opportunity to see the Lord in person, but he couldn’t get a view because of his stature. He did a very undignified and uncharacteristic thing: he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed into a sycamore-fig tree. When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and called Zacchaeus down. The man eagerly came down and “welcomed” Him. The crowd knew Zacchaeus and didn’t like him. They called him a sinner, and they used a word that meant a thoroughly bad character. Yet Zacchaeus was changed by his encounter with Jesus. He immediately gave up half of his possessions to the poor and offered to refund 400% of any amount defrauded from anybody.
In response, Jesus declared that salvation had come to this house and pointed out that Zacchaeus was also a “son of Abraham.” This phrase has two possible meanings. He may have meant that Zacchaeus also was of Hebrew blood—even if the people didn’t claim him. Or He may have meant that the tax collector showed the same sacrificial and obedient character as Abraham. Whichever He meant, the fact remained that Jesus’ purpose in coming was to seek and save the lost, and by all accounts, that description fit Zacchaeus!
Without a noticeable break, Jesus went on to tell a parable to the assembled crowd. Luke points out to us that the reason He told this parable was precisely because the people expected that the kingdom of God—the victorious and militaristically purifying conquest of the line of David—would occur here and now. The parable would have recalled to the minds of the people the history of Archelaus, son of Herod the Great. When Herod died, he willed his kingdom to his three sons and the son who was to take over Judea was Archelaus (see Matthew 2:22), who was cruel. Archelaus went to Rome to have the kingdom confirmed to him, yet the Jews sent a delegation after him to beg Caesar not to grant that power. Tiberius made him ruler anyway, yet denied him the title, “King.” This is the story that would have come to the minds of the hearers—but Jesus was speaking actually of Himself.
He was about to leave them and go to be confirmed King of Kings and Lord of Lords after His crucifixion and resurrection. He would entrust His business to His servants and expect them to be busy in His service during His absence. And it is undeniable that many of the residents wanted
nothing to do with Jesus and did not want Him to be King, but He is King, having been confirmed in His reign by God the Father. When He returns finally, all His servants will have to give account of their stewardship. Those who have done well will be given yet more authority and greater tasks while those who failed to work will be humiliated and stripped of resources. And at the end, His enemies will be punished severely for their rejection of their King.
The details of the parable are not difficult to understand. The “mina” was originally an Eastern measure of weight, but by this time it was understood to be a bar of silver equal to 100 drachmas—about four months’ pay for a laborer. The parable is very similar to the idea of the parable of the talents recorded in Matthew 25, but it is very likely that Jesus taught similar ideas in similar ways throughout His ministry.
On To Jerusalem—Luke 19:28-48
The “travel section” that began in Luke 9:51 comes to an end at 19:27. Jesus left Jericho and headed up the road to Jerusalem. This road covers about 20 miles and climbs in elevation about 3500 feet, averaging about a 4% grade. In places this would be extremely tiring to walk and to take their minds off their discomfort, pilgrims typically sang. An entire collection of Psalms, from 120-134, is composed of “song of ascents” Psalms. Scholars consider that these were the songs the pilgrims sang, and they seem well suited to such a trek.
Hours after walking up this steep and winding road, the pilgrims approached the villages of Bethany and Bethphage. Bethany is a known site; ancient writings spoke of Bethphage as a suburb of Jerusalem but its actual location is currently unknown. The Mount of Olives is the last peak to the east of Jerusalem, and the Jericho road winds up and over it. It is from the Mount of Olives that the city of Jerusalem is first seen, and the sight is glorious, with nearly the entire city in view. Dominating that view would be the Temple, the goal of the pilgrims.
Jesus sent a couple of His disciples ahead to obtain a young donkey for Him to ride. They were to provide a pre-arranged signal, “The Lord needs it,” as a password to the owners. When they did this, the animal was surrendered without further comment. They brought it to Jesus, threw cloaks over it for a pad, then lifted Jesus upon it. He began to travel toward Jerusalem and people threw their cloaks onto the road in front of Him. The symbolism of this event is based in Zechariah 9:9—the coming of the King in peace.
While He was riding down the hill toward the city, the crowd sang from Psalm 118:26 although it is not exactly as rendered in Hebrew! They inserted the word “King” and plainly meant Jesus as their subject! This inflamed some Pharisees who urged Him to rebuke the disciples, but Jesus pointed out that if they ceased, the stones themselves would cry out. This may have been a proverbial expression, but it may also have been a reference to Habakkuk 2:11 where the stones indicted the vicious and cruel tyrant!
When Jesus came toward the city, He was seized with grief for the coming destruction of that great city. He wanted to extend to it peace, “shalom,” the state of perfect harmony between God and man, but the rulers and citizens of the place would not have Him. They rejected Him and did not want Him as King, so they would have to suffer the consequences. The destruction would be breathtaking, and when the Romans leveled the city in AD 70, it truly was astonishing, and the evidence is still plain today.
Jesus came to the Temple and drove out the sacrifice sellers while pointing toward Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. On subsequent days, He was teaching in the Temple precincts, and the leaders wanted to kill Him, but they were baffled by His popularity and the size of the crowds that followed Him. Of course, they were determined to kill Him, and they would manage to find a way to do it.