Luke 19:1-48
CHAPTER 19 VER. 1. _And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho._ S. Luke continues the account of the journey to Jerusalem. I have spoken of this in the preceding chapter, verse 35.... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 19 VER. 1. _And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho._ S. Luke continues the account of the journey to Jerusalem. I have spoken of this in the preceding chapter, verse 35.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans._ Christ gave sight to the blind man near Jericho; soon after, in Jericho itself, He converted Zacchæus, for no place, no road, no moment of time was idle to Christ, but all were made notable by divine mercies, bene... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he sought to see._ He took pains to see Jesus in person as he had heard of His reputation, from the fame of His virtues and miracles. For we wish to see great men and to know them in person. But Zacchæus, beside his natural wish, was impelled by one above nature, the inspiration of the Holy Spi... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he ran._ Mystically, the sycamore is the cross of Christ and His doctrine, which to the Gentiles and men of this world is mere folly, but to Zacchæus and the faithful is the wisdom of God, and the power of God. 1 Cor. i. 24. S. Gregory, _lib._ xxvii. _Moral_.: in fine, "Let us leave the wisdom... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when Jesus came to the place._ Christ compensates the zeal of Zacchæus to see Him by His full Exhibition and Presence. Christ inspired Zacchæus with this ardour that He might perfect him by entering his house. Christ indeed went thither that He might arouse this feeling, and by it be received b... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when they saw it, they all murmured._ ("All" the Pharisees, and the Jews their parasites, who hated the publicans.) They murmured, _saying that he was gone_, &c. The publicans were held by the Jews to be impious, unjust, wicked, and they often were such. Some think that "sinner" here means that... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Jesus said unto him._ In answer to his words, but so that he might, appear to direct His face and voice not so much to him, as to the disciples and the multitude who stood by. There is a like enallage in Romans 10:2; Psalms 3:3, and elsewhere. _This day is salvation come to this house._ "Condem... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save._ It is not wonderful that Christ converted and saved Zacchæus, and publicans and sinners, for, to this He had been sent by the Father, and to this He Himself had come into the world. As, then, the skill of the physician is shown in healing inveterate,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And as they heard these things._ Christ had made frequent mention of His kingdom, and had promised it to His followers. The Apostles hoped, therefore, that it would be brought to pass now, as He was going to Jerusalem, and that they as His friends would share in it, and reign with Him among the fir... [ Continue Reading ]
_He said therefore, A certain nobleman._ Syriac, "The son of a great stock." This nobleman is Christ in His human nature. For as S. Basil says in the _Catena_, Christ is noble not only in His Godhead, but also in His human nature, for He is of the seed of David, according to that which Daniel saw an... [ Continue Reading ]
_But his citizens hated him, and sent._ The Syriac, "The sons of his state:" The scribes and Jews, that is, hated Jesus, because He taxed them with their vices, and they sent an embassage after Him, saying, "we will not have this man (Jesus, who was poor, of small account, and the son of a carpenter... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it came to pass._ The Syriac and Arabic, "And when He had received the kingdom and returned." "This part of the parable," says Euthymius, "is about the second advent, when He shall return with great power and glory, and sit upon the throne of His glory, for He shall then take account and render... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy pound hath_, &c. As one seed of wheat sown in a field, by its power sucks up juice from the earth, and converts it into itself, and produces ten, nay, thirty and sixty seeds and grains of wheat. The Arabic has, "Thy mna has gained ten." He did not say, "I have gained," but, "thy mna," because,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he said unto him, Well._ That is, for one mna thou shalt receive a thousand and a thousand, nay the government of one Province or Decapolis, ten cities or more. That is, for a little labour and care on earth thou shalt receive great, nay, the very greatest, ineffable rewards in heaven, and shal... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the second came, saying._ Here is shown the use of free will, and how much is effected by its strenuous co-operation with grace. For the first servant by this means gained ten mnas from one, but this one, by less diligence and labour from one, gained only five. VER. 19. _And he said_, &c. "Acc... [ Continue Reading ]
_But_ _those mine enemies_ (the Jews, His citizens, who would not have Him to reign over them) _bring them hither_ to my Tribunal, in the valley of Jehosaphat and Jerusalem _and_ _kill them before Me_." In the Greek, "Kill them before my face." Our Lord alludes to those victorious kings who slew and... [ Continue Reading ]
_To praise God with aloud voice_ (saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, Mat 21:9) _for all the mighty works they had seen._ Chiefly the resurrection to life of Lazarus, for it was because of this that the multitude came to meet Him. John xii. 18. So Bede.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord._ That is, our King, the Messiah or Christ, who was sent by God to save us and give us His blessing. _Peace in heaven._ That through Christ we may have peace with God and the angels, who are offended at our sins, and therefore glory on... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when He_, &c. To show the bowels of His love to it. How dear to Him was the salvation of the Jews, for to this had He been sent by the Father as the Messiah and Saviour. He wept therefore among all the joys of His triumph, and amidst the happy declamations of those who congratulated Him and sho... [ Continue Reading ]
_If thou hadst known_. "As I know," says S. Gregory (_hom._ 39), Bede and others. Because I am come to thee as thy Messiah, for thy salvation, to save thee, and bring thee everlasting blessing, according to the words of Zech. ix. If thou hadst known what is for thy good, salvation, and happiness, na... [ Continue Reading ]
_And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another._ That is, shall destroy thee utterly; spoken in hyperbole, for the Romans were not so laborious or so idle, as to leave no stone upon another. S. Greg., _hom._ xxxix. The... [ Continue Reading ]