Luke 19


Luke 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records Jesus' arrival in Jericho and his meeting with Zacchaeus, the parable of the minas and Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
  • Papyrus 75
  • Codex Vaticanus
  • Codex Sinaiticus
  • Codex Bezae
  • Codex Washingtonianus
  • Codex Alexandrinus
  • Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus.
This chapter is divided into 48 verses.

Old Testament references

of Jericho was wealthy, a chief tax collector, mentioned only in the Gospel of Luke. A descendant of Abraham, Zacchaeus is the epitome of someone meeting Jesus' in his earthly mission to bring salvation to the lost. Tax collectors were despised as traitors, and as being corrupt. This encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus "is a story of divine grace and the call to holiness". A Methodist/Roman Catholic ecumenical document reflects that

Parable of the minas (verses 11–27)

The journey which Jesus had embarked on "steadfastly" in is drawing towards its climax. Hugo Grotius held that "they" refers to the disciples. Heinrich Meyer argues that "they" were the murmurers of verse 7.
Meyer also notes some uncertainty regarding the chronology of events: verse 5 has Jesus planning to stay with Zacchaeus overnight, whereas verse 28 suggests a more immediate departure for Jerusalem after the telling of the parable.

Jesus' approach to Jerusalem (verses 28–44)

In verse 29, Jesus instructs two of his disciples to take possession of a colt for him to ride. They place their cloaks or "upper garments" on the colt to use as a cushion, and accompany Jesus on his way. Those who throw their cloaks on the road ahead of him are presumably the crowd of his disciples, whose presence is indicated in verses 37-38.
On the downward slope of the Mount of Olives, there is a scene of great rejoicing:
The Hebrew word "Hosanna", which appears in the parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark, is not used by Luke. Meyer suggests that Luke's version might reflect a tradition which has avoided using this word.
As he drew near to the city, Jesus wept, anticipating the destruction of the Temple, an occasion known as Flevit super illam in Latin. Another occasion when Jesus wept is recorded in John's gospel following the death of his friend Lazarus. In his lament, Jesus states:
Lutheran biblical scholar Johann Bengel contrasts Jesus' reaction with the immediately preceding scene of rejoicing:
The Jerusalem Bible suggests that "your peace" is a reference to "the peace of the messianic age".

Verse 28

In many translations, Jesus went on "ahead", i.e. "in front of" his disciples. Erasmus, Kypke, Kuinoel, Heinrich Ewald and others translate as "He went forwards", i.e. he pursued his journey, cf. the God's Word to the Nations translation, "he continued on his way".

Verses 41–44

As with Luke's earlier text at, Jesus contemplates the significance and fate of Jerusalem, the holy city. This passage is rich in Old Testament allusions.

Jesus in the Temple (verses 45–48)

Verse 46

In expelling the dealers from the Temple, Jesus' words draw from both Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. Matthew 21:13 and Mark 11:17 have the same quotations.

Verse 47

Luke reiterates at and that Jesus taught in the Temple on a daily basis. Anglican churchman Henry Alford suggests that this "general description" of Jesus' engagement in the temple is fittingly located at the end of the chapter which concludes his "last journey to Jerusalem". Alexander Maclaren refers to his "calm courage" in continuously teaching there.

Verse 48

Literally, the people “were hanging from him”, i.e. hung on His lips. The Jerusalem Bible translates this as "the people as a whole hung on his words".