And, behold, there was a man named ° Zacchaeus, which ° was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass ° that way.
And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, 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.
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
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 much every man had gained by trading.
And he said unto 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 ten pounds.) °
For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.
And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
Saying, Go ye into the village over against 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 say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.
And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.
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 works that they had seen;
And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;
And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.
 

19:2 chief among the publicans. Zacchaeus was very rich and powerful, and not many such as these are ever saved (Luke 18:24; I Corinthians 1:26). Yet this man showed his humility and his desire to know Christ (Luke 19:4), and the Lord saw a repentant, believing heart and recognized him, desiring to “sup with him” (Revelation 3:20).

19:10 to save. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Timothy 1:15). “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12), and Zacchaeus had “received Him joyfully” (Luke 19:6)!

19:12 to return. The “parable of the pounds” obviously speaks of the return of Christ to heaven (“the far country”) until the time of His second coming.

19:13 pounds. A “pound” (the Roman mina) was about one-hundredth of a “talent” (see note on Matthew 25:15).

19:13 Occupy. The servants of Christ are instructed herein to continue working at their vocations, without hesitation when they see (or think they might see) the day approaching. The Greek for “occupy” is the word from which we derive our English word “pragmatic,” and occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in II Timothy 2:4 (i.e., “affairs”).


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