Luke 19 - Introduction
CHAPTER 19. ZACCHAEUS. PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 19. ZACCHAEUS. PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.... [ Continue Reading ]
διήρχετο : the incident occurred when Jesus was passing through Jericho, precisely where, not indicated. ὀνόματι καλούμενος, called by name, as in Luke 1:61; a Hebraism, ὀνόματι superfluous. Ζακ., ἀρχιτ., πλούσιος : name, occupation, social standing. Zacchaeus = the pure one, but not so intended; ch... [ Continue Reading ]
_The story of Zacchaeus_, in Lk. only, apparently derived from an Aramaic source note the abundant use of καὶ to connect clauses but bearing traces of editorial revision in the style (καθότι, Luke 19:9).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐζήτει : imperfect, implying continuous effort, for a while unsuccessful, because of (ἀπὸ) the crowd, too dense to penetrate, and not to be seen over by _him_, being short of stature (ἡλικίᾳ as in Matthew 6:27). ἰδεῖν τὸν Ἰ. τίς ἐστι = ἰδεῖν τίς ἐστιν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, to see who Jesus is = _de facie cognos... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν, in front of the crowd, to make sure; stationed at any point opposite the crowd he might miss his chance. συκομοραίαν, a fig mulberry tree, as many think = συκάμινος in Luke 17:6; but why then not use the same word in both places, the only two places in N.T. where they occur, both u... [ Continue Reading ]
Ζακχαῖε : Jesus knows his name, how not indicated. σπεύσας, etc., uttered in cordial tone as if He were speaking to a familiar friend whom He is glad to see and with whom He means to stay that day. What a delightful surprise that salutation, and how irresistible its friendly frankness, Luke 19:6 sho... [ Continue Reading ]
ἅπαντες : general muttered dissent (not even the Twelve excepted), which Jesus anticipated and disregarded. Note His courage, and how much prejudice the uncommon in conduct has to reckon with. ἁμαρτωλῷ : no reason to think with some ancient and modern commentators that Zacchaeus was a Gentile, a son... [ Continue Reading ]
σταθεὶς : like the Pharisees (Luke 18:11) but in a different spirit in self-defence, not self-laudation. J. Weiss thinks the word indicates the solemn attitude of a man about to make a vow (Meyer). μ. τ. ὑπαρχόντων, the half of my _goods_, earnings, not of my income (οἱ πρόσοδοι) as Godet suggests.... [ Continue Reading ]
πρὸς αὐτὸν, to him or with reference to him; probably both; the words meant for the ears of Zacchaeus and all who might be there to hear, or perhaps spoken half as a soliloquy. καθότι, inasmuch as; a word of Lk.'s; in his writings only in N.T. υἱὸς Ἀ., a son of Abraham in the natural sense, a Jew; a... [ Continue Reading ]
A great key-word to Christ's idea of His own mission a Saviour. τὸ ἀπολωλός, the lost, a pathetic name for the objects of Christ's quest; its shades of meaning to be learned from the parables in Luke 15 : lost as a sheep, a coin, a foolish son may be lost. Here the term points to the social degradat... [ Continue Reading ]
_The introduction_. ταῦτα naturally suggests the words spoken to Zacchaeus by Jesus about salvation, as what was heard. προσθεὶς εἶπε imitates the Hebrew construction = He added and said, _cf._ Genesis 38:5, προσθεῖσα ἔτεκεν. ἐγγὺς : about fifteen miles off. παραχρῆμα : a natural expectation for fri... [ Continue Reading ]
_Parable of the pounds, or of the nobleman who goes to find a kingdom_ (_cf._ Matthew 25:14-30). Into the vexed question of the connection between this parable and that of the talents in Mt. I cannot here go. That there is a resemblance between them is obvious, and the hypothesis that the one has gr... [ Continue Reading ]
_The parable_. εὐγενὴς, wellborn, noble; of such rank and social position that he might legitimately aspire to a kingdom. The Herod family might quite well be in view. Herod the Great and his son Archelaus had actually gone _from Jericho_ on this errand, and Archelaus had had the experience describe... [ Continue Reading ]
δέκα δ., ten, a considerable number, pointing to an extensive household establishment. δέκα μνᾶς, ten pounds, not to each but among them (Luke 19:16). A Greek pound = about £3 or £4; a Hebrew = nearly double; in either case a small sum compared with the amounts in Matthew 15. The purpose in the two... [ Continue Reading ]
πολῖται = συμπολῖται, fellow-citizens of the aspirant to kingship while a private citizen (as in Genesis 23:11, Sept [151], Hebrews 8:11, W.H [152]). ἐμίσουν, hated habitually, showing something far wrong in him, or in _them_. πρεσβείαν : this actually happened in the case of Archelaus, _on just gro... [ Continue Reading ]
ff. _After the return_. ἐν τῷ ἐπανελθεῖν : ἐν with the aorist infinitive, usually with present, but frequently with aorist in Lk. = on his return, he takes action at once (_vide_ Burton, _M. and T._, § 109). εἶπε φωνηθῆναι = commanded (_jussit_, Vulgate) to be called; εἶπε with infinitive, instead o... [ Continue Reading ]
ἡ μνᾶ σου, thy pound, modestly, as if he had no hand or merit in the gain (Grotius). δέκα : a considerable increase, implying proportional length of time, the kingdom not _near_.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀγαθὲ without πιστέ, as in Mt., but πιστὸς in next clause = noble, devoted. ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ, in a very little. ἐπὶ ὀλίγα in Mt. ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων, over ten cities, or a _Decapolis_ (Holtzmann, H. C.). This is what the king has had in view all along to get capable and trusty governors. A new king needs t... [ Continue Reading ]
πέντε, five, half as much, implying less capacity, diligence, conscientiousness, or _luck_ which, however, is not taken into account.... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ σὺ : this man also deemed trustworthy, but of less capacity, therefore appointed to a governorship, but of less extent. Also, note, there is _no praise_. He was honest, but might have done better. The new king is thankful to have honesty even with respectable, though not admirable administrative... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν σουδαρίῳ, in a handkerchief; ἐν τῇ γῇ in Mt.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The useless servant_. If in any part the parable has borrowed from the parable in Mt., it is here. The story might well have wound up with a statement as to what was to be done with the disaffected.... [ Continue Reading ]
αὐστηρὸς (here only in N.T.), harsh in flavour, then in disposition. αἴρεις, etc., you lift what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow; accusing the master of an exorbitant demand for profit. He despaired of pleasing him in that respect, therefore did nothing a pretext of course.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπὶ τράπεζαν = τοῖς τραπεζίταις in Mt. ἔπραξα = ἐκομισάμην in Mt.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἄρατε, etc.: the pound given to him that had ten could only have the significance of a present, and a petty one, for he was no longer to be a trader but a ruler, therefore not an important illustration of the principle stated in Luke 19:26, a sign that in this section of the parable Lk. is secondary... [ Continue Reading ]
Possibly an utterance from the crowd interested in the parable, the “Lord” being Jesus, or an addition by Lk., or not genuine (wanting in D).... [ Continue Reading ]
Deprivation the only penalty here, no casting out into outer darkness as in Mt.; merciless severity reserved for the enemies of the king.... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet this feature is not inapposite, for there were likely to be three classes of people to be dealt with by the king: the honest and capable, the incapable and useless, and the disaffected. The chief objection to the part refening to the second class is that it gives the parable a too didactic aspec... [ Continue Reading ]
_On the way to Jerusalem_ The Jericho incidents disposed of, the next centre of interest is the Holy City. Lk. connects the two parts of his narrative by a brief notice of the ascent from the smaller city at the foot of the pass to the larger and more famous at the top. εἰπὼν ταῦτα refers naturally... [ Continue Reading ]
_The triumphal entry into Jerusalem_ (Matthew 20:1-11; Mark 11:1-11). Βηθφαγὴ. Following Lightfoot and Renan, Godet regards this as the name not of a village but of a suburban district included for passover purposes in the holy city, pilgrims to the feast finding quarters in it. The reference to the... [ Continue Reading ]
The sending of two disciples for the colt is related as in Mt. and Mk., but with a little more of Greek in the style. The remark about the owners sending it (Mt.) or Jesus returning it (Mk.) is omitted. On the other hand, Lk. alone states that the two disciples found matters as the Master had said ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπιρρίψαντες : the participle is used to relieve the monotony of the paratactic construction (καὶ, καὶ, καὶ in Mt. and Mk.); the word occurs here only and in 1 Peter 5:7, _q.v._ ἐπεβίβασαν, helped to mount, as in Luke 10:34; Acts 23:24; a technical term, possibly used here to add pomp to the scene.... [ Continue Reading ]
τὰ ἱμάτια, their garments, but no mention of branches in Lk., possibly from a feeling that they would be an encumbrance.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐγγίζοντος : Lk. is thinking of Jerusalem = when He was nearing the city. The next clause, πρὸς τῇ καταβάσει, is added to define more precisely the point reached = at the descent of the mount. They had got over the ridge to the western slope. καταβάσει, here only in N.T. ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος : Mt. and Mk.... [ Continue Reading ]
A free reproduction of the popular acclaim as reported by Mt. and Mk., not without variations even between them. The Hebrew Hosanna is omitted and translated into equivalents which recall the _gloria in excelsis_ (Luke 2:14), “already become a church hymn” (Holtz., H. C.). Lk.'s version runs: Bless... [ Continue Reading ]
_Pharisces murmur and Jesus weeps_, peculiar to Lk. ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄχλου, from within the crowd, or on account of the crowd and what they had been saying = _prae turba_ as in Luke 19:3. Loesner cites from Philo instances of the use of ἀπὸ in this sense (but in reference to Luke 19:3).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐὰν σιωπήσουσιν : ἐὰν with future indicative instead of subjunctive as in classic Greek, one of the divergent ways in which the N.T. expresses a future supposition with some probability (_vide_ Burton, _M. and T._, §§ 250 256). οἱ λίθοι κράξουσιν, the stones will cry out; possibly there is a referen... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jesus weeps at sight of the city and laments its doom_. ὡς = when, as in many places in Lk. ἔκλαυσεν ἐπʼ α., He wept aloud, like Peter (Mark 14:72). δακρύειν = to shed tears silently; for a group of synonyms with their distinctive meanings _vide_ under κλαίω in Thayer's Grimm.... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰ ἔγνως : εἰ with the aorist indicative in a supposition contrary to fact, the apodosis being omitted by an impressive aposiopesis. ἐν τ. ἡμέρα τ., in this (late) day, not too late yet. καὶ σὺ, thou too, as well as my disciples: their insight will save _them_, but not you and the nation; you must k... [ Continue Reading ]
ὅτι, for, because, introducing a prophetic picture of coming ruin, either to explain the εἰ ἔγνως = what you would have escaped had you but known; or to substantiate the assertion of judicial blindness = no hope of your seeing now; your fate sealed; judgment days will surely come (ἥξουσιν ἡμέραι). T... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐδαφιοῦσι : this verb (here only in N.T., Sept [155] several times) has both σε and τὰ τέκνα σ. for its objects and must have a meaning assigned to it suitable to each: (1) to raze to the ground in reference to the city, (2) to dash to the ground in reference to the children or population of the cit... [ Continue Reading ]
τοὺς πωλοῦντας, the sellers, no mention of the buyers in the true text (W.H [158] after [159] [160] [161]). [158] Westcott and Hort. [159] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862. [160] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), pub... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jesus in the temple_ (Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19). We have here two tableaux: Jesus reforming temple abuses (Luke 19:45-46), and Jesus teaching in the temple to the delight of the people and the chagrin of their religious and social superiors. Of the former we have but a slight and colourless... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ἔσται : the καὶ, a well-attested reading, does not occur in the text quoted (Isaiah 56:7). The words πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, which do occur, are strangely omitted by Lk., the Gentile evangelist, perhaps to sharpen the contrast between the ideal _a house of prayer_, and the reality _a den of robbers_... [ Continue Reading ]
τὸ καθʼ ἡμέραν, daily, as in Luke 11:3. ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ γραμματεῖς, priests and scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees, lax and strict, united against the Man who had nothing in common with either. καὶ οἱ πρῶτοι : added as a kind of afterthought = the socially important people who, though laymen, agreed wit... [ Continue Reading ]
τὸ τί ποιήσωσιν, “the what to do”; the will to kill there, but the way dark (_cf._ Luke 1:62; Luke 22:24). ὁ λαὸς, the people, the common mass, with their inconvenient liking for a true, outspoken, brave, heroic man. ἐξεκρέμετο α., hung upon Him (hearing), an expressive phrase, and classical; exampl... [ Continue Reading ]