Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Luke
Chapter 19: To Seek and to Save That Which Was Lost
Luke 19 brings the long journey to Jerusalem to its climax. At Jericho the Saviour stops beneath a sycomore tree and calls a hated tax collector by name: 'Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.' Salvation transforms the man, and Jesus declares the very heart of His mission: 'For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.' To correct the crowd's expectation of an immediate kingdom, He tells the parable of the pounds, in which a nobleman goes to receive a kingdom and returns to reckon with his servants, 'Occupy till I come.' Then He rides into Jerusalem on a colt while the multitude cries, 'Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord,' and when the Pharisees object, He answers, 'if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.' Yet at the sight of the city He weeps, 'because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation,' and He cleanses the temple, 'My house is the house of prayer.' The chapter shows us the seeking Saviour, the King who comes in humility, and the solemn cost of missing the day of God's visitation.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Luke chapter 19. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Jesus saves Zacchaeus, tells the parable of the pounds, enters Jerusalem as King, weeps over the city, and cleanses the temple. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
To Seek and to Save
The Saviour calls a lost tax collector by name and saves his house.
Occupy Till I Come
The King entrusts His servants and will return to reckon.
Blessed Be the King
Jesus enters Jerusalem in humble majesty on a colt.
The Time of Thy Visitation
He weeps over the city that did not know its day.
This Day Is Salvation Come to This House (Luke 19:1-10)
The seeking Saviour calls a despised tax collector, saves him, and declares the very purpose of His coming.
The Son of Man Is Come to Seek and to Save
"And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 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. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Word Study
"salvation," Greek soteria (σωτηρία). The word means deliverance, rescue, preservation, salvation. "This day is salvation come to this house," Jesus declares over Zacchaeus. Salvation is not merely a future hope but a present reality that arrived the day Christ came to that house, transforming a grasping tax collector into a generous, restoring man. The name Zacchaeus itself means "pure" or "righteous," and on this day the man became what his name meant, not by his works but by the salvation Christ brought. And the word is bound to the title Jesus gives Himself here as the One who came "to save" (sozo): He is the Soter, the Saviour, and salvation comes wherever He is received.
Explanation
Zacchaeus, a wealthy chief tax collector despised by his own people, climbs a tree just to glimpse Jesus -- and Jesus stops and invites Himself to the outcast's house, to the crowd's disgust. The encounter transforms the man: he gives half his goods to the poor and restores fourfold what he defrauded, evidence of a heart made new. Jesus declares, "This day is salvation come to this house," and states His whole mission in a single sentence Luke has been building toward: "the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." The Saviour goes looking for the lost, and finds them up trees and behind tax tables.
Gospel Focus
Zacchaeus is everything the crowd despised: "the chief among the publicans," a collaborator grown "rich" on his own people's taxes. Yet something draws him; he "sought to see Jesus who he was," and, being short, he swallows his dignity, runs ahead, and climbs a sycomore tree. But the deeper truth is that while Zacchaeus sought to see Jesus, Jesus was seeking him. For when the Lord reaches the place, "he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus", He knew his name, "make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house." Of all the houses in Jericho, Jesus invites Himself to the home of the town's most notorious sinner. Zacchaeus "received him joyfully," but the crowd murmurs, "That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner", the same complaint the Pharisees made in chapter 15, and the same glorious truth: this is exactly what Christ came to do. The proof of genuine conversion follows at once. Zacchaeus stands and pledges, "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." Grace had reached his heart, and grace loosed his grip on money, the very thing the rich ruler could not do in the previous chapter. Where the rich ruler went away sorrowful, the rich publican gives it away with joy; salvation had come. And Jesus pronounces the verdict: "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham." A true child of Abraham is known not by blood alone but by faith that works. Then comes the golden summary of the whole Gospel, the key verse of Luke and the mission statement of the Saviour: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." He does not wait for the lost to find Him; He seeks them, calls them by name, and comes into their houses. Zacchaeus is the living picture of Luke 15 fulfilled, the lost sheep sought and found, and of the answer to the question "Who then can be saved?", for the God with whom nothing is impossible had saved a rich man that very day.
Occupy Till I Come (Luke 19:11-27)
The King goes to receive His kingdom and will return to reckon with His servants and His enemies; meanwhile His people are to trade faithfully.
Well, Thou Good Servant
"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after 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 much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith 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 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 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. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."
Word Study
"Occupy," Greek pragmateuomai (πραγματεύομαι). The word means to do business, to trade, to put money to work; from it comes our word "pragmatic." "Occupy till I come" is the King's charge to His servants, that is, be busy trading with what I have entrusted to you until I return. It is not a call to idle waiting but to active, productive labour with the Master's goods. The one pound stands for what Christ commits to each servant, the gospel, gifts, opportunities, and the whole trust of the kingdom, and the servant is to invest it for gain. The faithful servant is not the one who merely keeps the pound safe, but the one who puts it to work and multiplies it for his Lord.
Explanation
Because the crowds expect the kingdom to appear at once, Jesus tells of a nobleman who goes to receive a kingdom and returns to reckon with his servants -- a picture of His own departure and coming again. Each servant is given a pound to trade; the faithful who gained more are rewarded with cities, but the one who hid his pound in a napkin, ruled by a false picture of a "austere" master, is condemned for doing nothing. The kingdom is entrusted to be invested, not preserved, and the citizens who "would not that this man should reign over us" face judgment. Faithfulness in the interval before the King's return is the test of true allegiance.
Gospel Focus
Because the crowd "thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear" as Jesus neared Jerusalem, He tells a parable to correct them. The kingdom would not come in the way they imagined; the King must first go away and then return. A nobleman "went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return", a picture of Christ, who must ascend to heaven to receive His kingdom and will come again in glory. Before leaving he gives each of ten servants a pound with the charge, "Occupy till I come." The present age, between the Lord's departure and His return, is a time of stewardship and labour, not idle expectation. Meanwhile "his citizens hated him," and sent word, "We will not have this man to reign over us", the rejection Jesus was about to receive from His own city. When the nobleman returns "having received the kingdom," he calls the servants to account. The first has multiplied his pound tenfold; the second, fivefold; and to each the Master gives commendation and reward proportioned to faithfulness: "Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities." Faithful service now is rewarded with expanded responsibility in the kingdom to come. But a third servant returns his pound wrapped in a napkin, having done nothing, and blames the Master: "I feared thee, because thou art an austere man." His excuse condemns him, "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant", for if he truly believed the Master demanding, he should at least have put the money in the bank. His pound is taken away and given to the faithful, illustrating the principle: "unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away." What we do not use for God we lose. And the parable ends in solemn judgment on the rebel citizens: "those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." The King who is rejected now will one day return in power, and those who refused His reign will face His judgment. So the parable sets the whole present age in its true light: the King has gone to receive His kingdom; His servants are to trade faithfully with what He has entrusted; His enemies rage in vain; and at His certain return there will be reward for the faithful and judgment for the rebel. Occupy till He comes.
Blessed Be the King That Cometh (Luke 19:28-48)
Jesus enters Jerusalem as her humble King, weeps over the city that will not know its day, and cleanses His Father's house.
Thou Knewest Not the Time of Thy Visitation
"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 as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 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; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 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, 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 from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, 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. And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him."
Word Study
"visitation," Greek episkope (ἐπισκοπή). The word means a visiting, an inspection, an overseeing; it can describe God's coming either to bless or to judge. Here it is the day of gracious visitation: "thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." God Himself had come to Jerusalem in the person of His Son, offering the things that belonged to her peace, and the city did not recognize her hour of mercy. From the same root comes the word for "overseer" or "bishop" (episkopos), one who watches over. The tragedy of Jerusalem is that God visited her in Christ and she knew Him not; and the warning stands for every soul, that the day of God's gracious visiting must be recognized and received, lest it pass and judgment follow.
Explanation
Jesus rides into Jerusalem as the promised King, and the disciples praise God for His mighty works, answering the Pharisees' objection with "if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." Yet at the city's sight He weeps, for she "knewest not the time of thy visitation" and judgment is coming. Then He cleanses the temple, driving out the merchants who made "the house of prayer" a "den of thieves." The King comes to His city and His house not with triumph only but with tears and cleansing -- grief over a people who would reject the very salvation walking through their gates.
Gospel Focus
Now the King comes to His city, but not as the crowd's warrior-messiah. He sends for "a colt... whereon yet never man sat," and rides into Jerusalem in deliberate fulfillment of prophecy, the humble King coming lowly, riding upon a colt, as Zechariah foretold. The disciples spread their garments in the way, and "the whole multitude" bursts into praise, "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest." For one shining moment the King is openly hailed. When the Pharisees demand He silence the crowd, Jesus answers with words that reveal how fitting this praise is: "if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." Creation itself must acknowledge its King; the worship of the Creator will not be silenced. Yet at the very height of the acclaim, as He sees the city spread before Him, Jesus does not exult but weeps: "he beheld the city, and wept over it." These are the tears of God over a people who would not come. "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!" The Prince of Peace had come, but the city cheering Him would within days cry "Crucify him," and "now they are hid from thine eyes." He foretells her coming destruction, the siege, the razing, "they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another", and gives the heartbreaking reason: "because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." God had visited His people in Christ, and they did not know their day. Then the King enters the temple, His Father's house, and finds it made a market. He drives out the traders, declaring, "It is written, My house is the house of prayer", the word given through Isaiah, "but ye have made it a den of thieves", echoing Jeremiah's ancient rebuke of a temple turned into a robbers' den. The house meant for prayer and for the nations had been corrupted, and the King purges it. Then, undaunted by the priests and scribes who "sought to destroy him," He "taught daily in the temple," and the people hung on His words. So the section shows the majesty and the sorrow of the King's coming: worshipped by the crowds yet weeping over the city, hailed as He enters yet rejected as He cleanses, the Lord who visited His people in grace and was not received. Know the time of your visitation; receive the King while it is yet your day.
Chapter 19 in Review
Luke 19 gathers the seeking Saviour, the returning King, and the coming judgment into one climactic chapter. At Jericho Jesus calls Zacchaeus down from the sycomore, dines with the town's chief sinner, and transforms him, declaring, "This day is salvation come to this house," and summing up His whole mission: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." The parable of the pounds corrects the dream of an instant kingdom: the King must go to receive His kingdom and return, and meanwhile His servants must "Occupy till I come," to be rewarded or judged at His coming, while His rebel enemies face His wrath. Then Jesus rides into Jerusalem as her humble King to shouts of "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord," weeps over the city "because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation," and cleanses the temple, "My house is the house of prayer."
For the Apostolic reader the chapter is rich with the person and work of Christ. He is the Saviour who seeks the lost, coming into the house of a despised publican and doing what was impossible with men, loosing a rich man's grip on his money by the power of grace; salvation is His to bring, and it comes wherever He is received in faith that works. He is the King who has gone into the far country to receive His kingdom, and who will surely return to reckon with every servant's stewardship and every enemy's rebellion, so we labour faithfully with what He entrusts, occupying till He comes. And He is God visiting His people, riding into Jerusalem in humble majesty, worthy of a praise that even the stones would render, yet weeping over a city that missed her day of mercy. The tears of Christ over Jerusalem are the tears of God over every soul that will not know the time of its visitation. So come down like Zacchaeus and receive Him joyfully; trade faithfully with what He gives; and above all, know your day and receive your King, for the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
- Christ seeks the lost by name and brings salvation to the house that receives Him (19:5, 9).
- The mission of Christ: "to seek and to save that which was lost" (19:10).
- True conversion loosens the grip on money and makes restitution (19:8).
- The King has gone to receive His kingdom; "Occupy till I come" (19:13).
- He will return to reward the faithful and judge the rebel (19:17, 27).
- Know the time of your visitation, lest the day of mercy pass (19:42-44).
Questions for Reflection
- Have you received Christ joyfully, as Zacchaeus did, and let go of what held your heart?
- Are you trading faithfully with what the Lord has entrusted to you?
- Do you recognize the day of God's gracious visitation in your own life?
- Is there anything in the temple of your heart that the King would cleanse?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. The seeking Saviour: Ezekiel 34:16; Luke 15:1-10; 1 Timothy 1:15. Salvation and true repentance in action: Exodus 22:1; James 2:17-18. The parable of the pounds and stewardship: Matthew 25:14-30; 1 Corinthians 4:2. The King on the colt: Zechariah 9:9; Psalm 118:26; John 12:12-16. Weeping over Jerusalem and her fall: Luke 13:34-35; 21:20-24. The temple cleansed, house of prayer: Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11; Malachi 3:1-3. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Zacchaeus and the seeking Saviour: Luke 19:1-10; Ezekiel 34:16; 1 Timothy 1:15.
- The parable of the pounds: Luke 19:11-27; Matthew 25:14-30.
- The triumphal entry, the tears, and the temple: Luke 19:28-48; Zechariah 9:9; Isaiah 56:7.