The Bible — World English Bible
Luke 19
In brief
Luke 19 strings together four scenes on the way to Jerusalem. In Jericho, Jesus invites himself to the house of Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who changes his life. Jesus then tells the parable of the minas, and enters Jerusalem on a colt, acclaimed by his disciples, while he weeps over the city that does not recognize the time of God's visit. Finally he drives the merchants out of the temple. The chapter sums up the mission of Jesus: to seek and to save that which was lost.
The chapter in 5 parts
1He entered and was passing through Jericho.
2There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
3He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn’t because of the crowd, because he was short.
4He ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way.
5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
6He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully.
7When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner.”
8Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
9Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.
10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
11As they heard these things, he went on and told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that God’s Kingdom would be revealed immediately.
12He said therefore, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13He called ten servants of his and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, ‘Conduct business until I come.’
14But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’
15“When he had come back again, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business.
16The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’
17“He said to him, ‘Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
18“The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.’
19“So he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
20Another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,
21for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn’t lay down, and reap that which you didn’t sow.’
22“He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn’t lay down, and reaping that which I didn’t sow.
23Then why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?’
24He said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to him who has the ten minas.’
25“They said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’
26‘For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.
27But bring those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.’ ”
28Having said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29When he came near to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples,
30saying, “Go your way into the village on the other side, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, which no man had ever sat upon. Untie it and bring it.
31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say to him: ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
32Those who were sent went away, and found things just as he had told them.
33As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34They said, “The Lord needs it.”
35Then they brought it to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the colt, and sat Jesus on them.
36As he went, they spread their cloaks on the road.
37As he was now getting near, 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 which they had seen,
38saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
39Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40He answered them, “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out.”
41When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it,
42saying, “If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes.
43For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,
44and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn’t know the time of your visitation.”
45He entered into the temple, and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,
46saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’!”
47He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests, the scribes, and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.
48They couldn’t find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said.
Key verses
When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
Jesus looks up and calls Zacchaeus by name, without any sermon first. The initiative is his: he wants to stay in the house of the man everyone avoids.
Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
Zacchaeus' answer is concrete: give half of his goods to the poor and repay four times what he took wrongly. The text presents it as the fruit of the encounter, not as the condition for being welcomed.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
This verse sums up the gospel of Luke: the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. No one is too far away to be sought.
He called ten servants of his and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, ‘Conduct business until I come.’
The master entrusts a mina to each servant with an instruction: “Conduct business until I come.” The parable is about faithfulness while waiting, not a recipe for getting rich.
When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes.
At the very moment the crowd cheers, Jesus weeps. He sees that the city does not know what would bring it peace, and his sorrow reveals his love for it.
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Frequently asked questions about Luke 19
What is the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19?
Zacchaeus, a very rich chief tax collector, wants to see Jesus but he is short and climbs a sycamore tree. Jesus calls him and invites himself to his house, which stirs up grumbling. Zacchaeus then promises to give to the poor and to make up for his wrongs, and Jesus declares that salvation has come to his house.
What does the parable of the minas in Luke 19 mean?
A nobleman entrusts a sum of money to ten servants before leaving to receive a kingdom. When he returns, he judges their faithfulness. The servant who buried his mina out of fear is rebuked. Christians see in it a call to serve faithfully while waiting for the return of Christ.
Why does Jesus weep over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41?
Jesus weeps because the city does not recognize the moment when God visits it and does not know what would bring it peace. He also announces troubles to come. His tears show his compassion even toward those who reject him.
What is the main message of Luke 19?
Jesus comes to seek those who are lost, starting with Zacchaeus, and he calls his disciples to stay faithful to him until his return. The chapter invites us to receive him as he is, a humble king on a colt, and not as we would like him to be.
Articles quoting Luke 19
World English Bible translation — public domain.