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Scripture Reading: Luke 19:1-27
In this message we shall consider 19:1-27. This portion of Luke covers two matters: the saving of Zaccheus in Jericho (Luke 19:1-10) and the Lord’s teaching about faithfulness (Luke 19:11-27).
Luke 19:1-2 say, “And He entered and was passing through Jericho. And behold, there was a man whose name was called Zaccheus; and he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.” As a chief tax collector, Zaccheus was a chief sinner, a leading sinner. He became rich through his sinfulness as a tax collector.
In his confession to the Lord related to restitution and clearing of the past, Zaccheus said to Him, “Behold, the half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusations, I restore four times as much” (v. 8). We may regard the words “if I have taken anything” as a euphemism, a nice way of referring to extortion. Tax collectors put a higher value on property or increased the tax of those unable to pay and then charged high interest. This was the way they extorted others. As Zaccheus was seeking to make restitution, he referred to his extortion. What Zaccheus did in restoring four times the amount he extorted was very honest. Nevertheless, he still referred to his acts of extortion in a euphemistic way. A man who had become rich by being sinful, Zaccheus now wanted to make full restitution in order to clear up his sinful past.
Luke 19:3-4 say, “And he was seeking to see Jesus, who He is; and he could not because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. And he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree that he might see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.” Although Zaccheus climbed up in the tree to see the Lord Jesus, we are told not that he saw the Lord but that the Lord saw him: “And as He came to the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, Zaccheus, hurry and come down; for today I must stay in your house” (v. 5). The seeing was not on Zaccheus’ side; it was on the Savior’s side. Once again we see the Man-Savior’s high standard of morality in saving sinners. Nothing was done by the sinner; rather, everything was done by the Savior, even the seeing. In verse 6 we are told that Zaccheus “hurried and came down, and welcomed Him, rejoicing.”
Zaccheus certainly was an isolated person. He was despised to the uttermost by the Jewish community and was even more isolated than a leper. Especially the Pharisees, the high ranking hypocrites in the Jewish religion, did not care for him. In their sight he was more unclean than someone with leprosy. Nevertheless, in front of a large crowd the Savior told Zaccheus, “Today I must stay in your house.” What a great surprise that was to Zaccheus and to everyone in the crowd! The entire city of Jericho must have been shaken by it. Verse 7 says, “And seeing it, they all grumbled, saying, He has gone in to lodge with a sinful man.”
In verses 1 through 7 we are not told that the Lord said much to Zaccheus. Zaccheus, however, responded in a very strong way, recognizing the Savior as his Lord. “And Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, the half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor” (v. 8). Zaccheus could utter such a word even though he had not heard the Man-Savior’s teaching concerning material possessions.
On the way from Galilee to Jerusalem, the Savior spoke about material possessions a number of times. The first was in chapter twelve. When someone out of the crowd asked Him to tell his brother to divide the inheritance, He said to them, “Take heed and guard yourselves from all covetousness; for no one’s life is in the abundance of his possessions” (12:15). Then in 14:33 the Savior went on to say, “Everyone of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be My disciple.” In chapter sixteen He spoke to His disciples concerning the mammon of unrighteousness and then issued a warning to the rich. In chapter seventeen He spoke about material possessions in relation to the rapture of the overcomers: “In that day, he who shall be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and he who is in the field, likewise, let him not turn back to the things behind” (v. 31). Following this, in 18:22 He said to the rich ruler, “All things, whatever you have, sell and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in the heavens; and come, follow Me.” From all these instances we see that the Man-Savior spoke repeatedly concerning material possessions. Zaccheus, of course, did not hear any of this. Nevertheless, in responding to the Savior’s word, he said that half of his possessions he gives to the poor.
We have seen that in verse 8 Zaccheus went on to say to the Lord, “If I have taken anything from anyone by false accusations, I restore four times as much.” What Zaccheus did here was according to the requirements of the law for restoration (Exo. 22:1; 2 Sam. 12:6). This was the spontaneous issue of the dynamic power of the Lord’s salvation.
In the case of the saving of Zaccheus in Jericho, we see that the Lord’s salvation is actually the Lord Himself. In verse 5 He says, “Today I must stay in your house.” But in verse 9 He says to Zaccheus, “Today salvation has come to this house.” When we put these verses together, we see that “I” in verse 5 is equal to “salvation” in verse 9. This indicates that salvation is actually the Lord Himself. When He comes, salvation comes. Wherever He stays, there salvation stays.
We have pointed out that Zaccheus responded to the Man-Savior in the way he did because of the dynamic power of His salvation. With the Man-Savior there is dynamic power, and this power is the Holy Spirit. He ministered the jubilee by the Holy Spirit. In chapter four He declared that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him because He had been anointed to proclaim release to the captives. The Lord had been appointed and anointed to proclaim the jubilee to all those who were oppressed.
In the sight of the religious people, especially the Pharisees, Zaccheus was a leading sinner, for he was a chief tax collector. But in the sight of the Man-Savior he was a captive under oppression. Before he climbed up the tree to see the Savior, Zaccheus may have given much consideration to how to be released from his sinful condition. As a Jew, he must have been condemned in his conscience for working as a tax collector to gather taxes for the Roman imperialists. Hence, he was condemned by his own conscience as a traitor to his country. Therefore, he may have tried to get out of his sinful condition, but he was unable to do so, for he was a captive and was oppressed.
Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.” Here we see that Zaccheus was not only a sinner; he was also lost. The Savior came to Jericho purposely to seek and to save such a lost one.
The Lord’s seeking Zaccheus in Luke 19 may be compared to His seeking the Samaritan woman in John 4. The Savior told Zaccheus, “I must stay in your house,” and John 4:4 says of Him, “He had to pass through Samaria.” It was necessary for Him to go through Samaria in order to meet a lost Samaritan woman. The Lord went there to seek her and save her. The same kind of thing happened in Luke 19. The Lord had to stay in Zaccheus’ house in order to save this lost person.
In 19:1-10 we see that wherever the Man-Savior is there salvation is also, for He Himself is salvation. Furthermore, when this salvation is present, the kingdom of God is also present, and the kingdom of God is the jubilee. Therefore, when the Lord came into the house of Zaccheus, that was a jubilee not only for an individual but for the entire household. When the Lord came into his house, salvation came to that house.
We may say that the case of the healing of the blind man near Jericho and the case of the saving of Zaccheus in Jericho are one. In the first case the blind man receives sight from the Savior, and in the second case Zaccheus receives the Savior as dynamic salvation. This indicates that first we receive sight from the Savior, and then we receive the Savior Himself. This Savior is salvation, and salvation is the kingdom of God as the jubilee. Now we can realize that in 19:1-10 a leading sinner is brought into the jubilee of grace. Now he can enjoy the Savior and the kingdom of God, for now he is in the kingdom of God and enjoying this kingdom as his jubilee.
Luke 19:11 says, “Now as they heard these things, He spoke further a parable, because He was near to Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was about to instantly appear.” This further parable is spiritually a continuation of the former case of salvation. This parable depicts how the saved ones should serve the Lord so that they may inherit the coming kingdom.
Verse 12 continues, “He said therefore, A certain man of noble birth went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.” This certain man of noble birth signifies the Savior with the highest status, the status of the God-man. The word “went” signifies the Savior’s going to heaven after His death and resurrection (24:51; 1 Pet. 3:22), and “return” signifies the Savior’s coming back with the kingdom (Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 11:15; 2 Tim. 4:1).
In verse 13 the parable continues, “And having called ten of his own slaves, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, Do business until I come.” In the parable in Matthew 25:14-30 the slaves are given a varying number of talents according to their individual ability. Here the parable emphasizes the common portion given equally to each slave based upon the common salvation. However, the point of both parables is the same: the faithfulness of the slaves will determine their portion in the coming kingdom as their reward.
According to verse 13, the man of noble birth gave the slaves ten minas. This is a sum of money equal to a hundred drachmas, or a hundred days’ wages.
Verse 14 says, “But his citizens hated him and sent an envoy after him, saying, We do not want this man to reign over us.” The citizens signify the unbelieving Jews. Their declaring that they did not want the Lord to reign over them was fulfilled in Acts chapters two through nine.
Verses 15 through 17 continue, “And it came about that when he came back, having received the kingdom, he said that those slaves to whom he had given the money should be called to him, that he might know what they had gained doing business. And the first came up, saying, Lord, your mina has gained ten minas. And he said to him, Well done, good slave; because you became faithful in the least, have authority over ten cities.” Having authority over ten cities signifies the overcomers’ reigning over the nations (Rev. 2:26; 20:4, 6).
Verses 18 and 19 say, “And the second came, saying, Your mina, lord, has made five minas. And he said also to this one, And you, be over five cities.” This indicates that the overcoming saints’ reigning in the coming kingdom as a reward will differ in extent.
Verses 20 and 21 say, “And the other came, saying, Lord, behold your mina, which I have held, laid away in a handkerchief; for I feared you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.” The word “held” in verse 20 signifies how the unfaithful believers keep their salvation in an idle way instead of using it productively. The word “feared” in verse 21 is negative. We should be positive and aggressive in using the Lord’s gift.
Verses 22 and 23 continue, “He says to him, Out of your mouth I will judge you, wicked slave! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow. Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and when I came, I would have collected it with interest?” Apparently the Lord’s work always begins from zero. He seemingly demands us to work for Him with nothing, taking up what He did not lay down and reaping what He did not sow. This should not be an excuse for us to neglect the use of our gift. Rather, this should force us to exercise our faith to use our gift to the uttermost.
Putting the money in the bank signifies using the Lord’s gift to save people and minister His riches to them. “Interest” in verse 23 signifies the profitable result we gain for the Lord’s work by using His gifts.
Verses 24 through 26 continue, “And to those standing by he said, Take the mina away from him, and give it to the one who has ten minas. And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minas! I tell you that to everyone who has shall be given, but from him who does not have, even what he has shall be taken away.” The taking away of the mina signifies that the Lord’s gift will be taken away from slothful believers in the coming kingdom. Giving the minas to the one who has ten minas signifies that the gift of faithful believers will be increased. To everyone who gains profit in the church age, more gift will be given in the coming kingdom age. But from him who has not gained profit in the church age, even the gift he has will be taken away from him in the coming kingdom age.
In verse 27 the parable concludes, “However, these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.” This signifies that all the unbelieving Jews who reject the Savior will perish.
We need to understand why the further parable in 19:11-27 follows the case of Zaccheus. The reason is that after we have been saved we need to serve the Lord faithfully. We see the same matter in chapter ten, where the case of Martha and Mary follows the parable of the good Samaritan. This indicates that after salvation we need to serve. The same thought occurs in chapters fourteen, sixteen, and seventeen. Now once again in chapter nineteen we see that after salvation we need to take care of the Lord’s service.
As we have seen, this parable opens with a word concerning “a certain man of noble birth.” No doubt, this man is the God-man. He certainly had a noble birth. I like the expression “noble birth.” None of us had a noble birth. The Lord Jesus is the only One whose birth was noble because His birth was the birth of a God-man.
The parable in 19:11-27 resembles that in Matthew 25:14-30. However, in Matthew 25 the Lord gave talents to His slaves according to each one’s ability (Matt. 25:14-15). But in Luke 19:11-27 the gifts, the minas, are given equally, since this parable emphasizes the common portion given equally to each slave based upon the common salvation. Nevertheless, each parable makes the point that after we are saved we need to serve faithfully. We need to use what has been given to us. We have received the divine life with its attributes and the Holy Spirit with His gifts. As those who have received the gifts of the divine life and the Holy Spirit, we need to use these gifts as the “capital” to “do business” and gain “profit” for the Lord.
According to 19:16-19, those who make a profit receive a reward. The one who gains ten minas will have authority over ten cities, and the one who gains five minas will be over five cities. This is a strong indication that the overcoming saints will be rewarded with ruling power in the coming kingdom. That reward will be a great part of their enjoyment of the lost inheritance as their jubilee. Ruling over ten cities or five cities is part of the enjoyment of the jubilee, part of the enjoyment of the recovered birthright.
As we have pointed out, the jubilee today is a foretaste, and the jubilee in the next age will be a fuller enjoyment. In the coming age the overcomers will enjoy the earth, inheriting it as the Lord says in Matthew 5:5. Inheriting the earth and ruling over cities will be our enjoyment of the kingdom of God, Christ, and the jubilee.
This parable also indicates that some will miss the reward. This means that some of the genuinely saved ones will have no participation in the coming jubilee. In the kingdom age they will not rule over the earth.
The teaching among Christians today ignores the fact that certain of the saved ones will not participate in the jubilee in the coming age of the kingdom. Luke, however, emphasizes this again and again, in chapters fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and once more in nineteen. The Gospel of Luke clearly reveals that the saved ones need to be faithful in serving the Lord. Otherwise, they will miss the reward in the coming kingdom. Some of those who are saved will lose the enjoyment of the jubilee in the kingdom age. This should be a warning to us, and it should cause us to be careful in serving the Lord.
