mh_parser/vol_split/42 - Luke/Chapter 19.xml

<div2 id="Luke.xx" n="xx" next="Luke.xxi" prev="Luke.xix" progress="63.23%" title="Chapter XIX">
<h2 id="Luke.xx-p0.1">L U K E.</h2>
<h3 id="Luke.xx-p0.2">CHAP. XIX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Luke.xx-p1">In this chapter we have, I. The conversion of
Zaccheus the publican at Jericho, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.1-Luke.19.10" parsed="|Luke|19|1|19|10" passage="Lu 19:1-10">ver. 1-10</scripRef>. II. The parable of the pounds
which the king entrusted with his servants, and of his rebellious
citizens, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.11-Luke.19.27" parsed="|Luke|19|11|19|27" passage="Lu 19:11-27">ver. 11-27</scripRef>.
III. Christ's riding in triumph (such triumph as it was) into
Jerusalem; and his lamentation in prospect of the ruin of that
city, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.28-Luke.19.44" parsed="|Luke|19|28|19|44" passage="Lu 19:28-44">ver. 28-44</scripRef>. IV.
His teaching in the temple, and casting the buyers and sellers out
of it, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.45-Luke.19.48" parsed="|Luke|19|45|19|48" passage="Lu 19:45-48">ver. 45-48</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Luke.xx-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19" parsed="|Luke|19|0|0|0" passage="Lu 19" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Luke.xx-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.1-Luke.19.10" parsed="|Luke|19|1|19|10" passage="Lu 19:1-10" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Luke.19.1-Luke.19.10">
<h4 id="Luke.xx-p1.7">The Conversion of Zaccheus.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Luke.xx-p2">1 And <i>Jesus</i> entered and passed through
Jericho.   2 And, behold, <i>there was</i> a man named
Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
  3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for
the press, because he was little of stature.   4 And he ran
before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was
to pass that <i>way.</i>   5 And when Jesus came to the place,
he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchæus, make haste,
and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.   6 And
he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.   7
And when they saw <i>it,</i> they all murmured, saying, That he was
gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.   8 And Zacchæus
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 <i>him</i> fourfold.   9 And Jesus
said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch
as he also is a son of Abraham.   10 For the Son of man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p3">Many, no doubt, were converted to the faith
of Christ of whom no account is kept in the gospels; but the
conversion of some, whose case had something in it extraordinary,
is recorded, as this of Zaccheus. Christ passed through Jericho,
<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.1" parsed="|Luke|19|1|0|0" passage="Lu 19:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. This city was
build under a curse, yet Christ honoured it with his presence, for
the gospel <i>takes away the curse.</i> Though it ought not to have
been built, yet it was not therefore a sin to live in it when it
was built. Christ was now going from the other side Jordan to
Bethany near Jerusalem, to raise Lazarus to life; when he was going
to do one good work he contrived to do many by the way. He did good
both to the <i>souls</i> and to the <i>bodies</i> of people; we
have here an instance of the former. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p4">I. Who, and what, this Zaccheus was. His
name bespeaks him a Jew. <i>Zaccai</i> was a common name among the
Jews; they had a famous rabbi, much about this time, of that name.
Observe, 1. His calling, and the post he was in: <i>He was the
chief among the publicans,</i> receiver-general; other publicans
were officers under him; he was, as some think, farmer of the
customs. We often read of publicans coming to Christ; but here was
one that was <i>chief</i> of the publicans, was in authority, that
enquired after him. God has his remnant among all sorts. Christ
came to save even the <i>chief of publicans.</i> 2. His
circumstances in the world were very considerable: <i>He was
rich.</i> The inferior publicans were commonly men of broken
fortunes, and low in the world; but he that was <i>chief of the
publicans</i> had raised a good estate. Christ had lately shown how
<i>hard</i> it is for <i>rich people to enter into the kingdom of
God,</i> yet presently produces an instance on one rich man that
had been lost, and was found, and that not as the prodigal by being
reduced to want.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p5">II. How he came in Christ's way, and what
was the occasion of his acquaintance with him. 1. He had a great
<i>curiosity to see Jesus,</i> what kind of a man he was, having
heard great talk of him, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.3" parsed="|Luke|19|3|0|0" passage="Lu 19:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>. It is natural to us to come in sight, if we can, of
those whose fame has filled our ears, as being apt to imagine there
is something extraordinary in their countenances; at least, we
shall be able to say hereafter that we have seen such and such
<i>great men.</i> But the eye is <i>not satisfied with seeing.</i>
We should now <i>seek to see Jesus</i> with an eye of faith, to see
<i>who he is;</i> we should address ourselves in holy ordinances
with this in our eye, <i>We would see Jesus.</i> 2. He could not
get his curiosity gratified in this matter because he was
<i>little,</i> and the crowd was <i>great.</i> Christ did not study
to <i>show himself,</i> was not carried on men's shoulders (as the
pope is in procession), that all men might see him; neither he nor
his kingdom <i>came with observation.</i> He did not ride in an
open chariot, as princes do, but, as <i>one of us,</i> he was
<i>lost in a crowd;</i> for that was the day of his humiliation.
Zaccheus was <i>low of stature,</i> and over-topped by all about
him, so that he could not get a sight of Jesus. Many that are
little of stature have large souls, and are lively in spirit. Who
would not rather be a Zaccheus than a Saul, though he was <i>higher
by head and shoulders</i> than all about him? Let not those that
are little of stature <i>take thought</i> of adding <i>cubits</i>
to it. 3. Because he would not disappoint his curiosity he
<i>forgot his gravity,</i> as chief of the publicans, and <i>ran
before,</i> like a boy, and <i>climbed up into a sycamore-tree, to
see him.</i> Note, Those that sincerely desire a sight of Christ
will use the proper means for gaining a sight of him, and will
break through a deal of difficulty and opposition, and be willing
to take pains to see him. Those that find themselves <i>little</i>
must take all the advantages they can get to <i>raise
themselves</i> to a sight of Christ, and not be ashamed to own that
they need them, and all little enough. Let not dwarfs despair, with
good help, by aiming high to reach high.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p6">III. The notice Christ took of him, the
call he gave him to a further acquaintance (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.5" parsed="|Luke|19|5|0|0" passage="Lu 19:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), and the efficacy of that call,
<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.6" parsed="|Luke|19|6|0|0" passage="Lu 19:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. 1. Christ
<i>invited himself</i> to Zaccheus's house, not doubting of his
hearty welcome there; nay, wherever Christ comes, as he brings his
own <i>entertainment</i> along with him, so he brings his own
<i>welcome;</i> he opens the heart, and inclines it to receive him.
Christ <i>looked</i> up into the tree, and <i>saw</i> Zaccheus. He
came to look upon Christ, and resolved to take particular notice of
him, but little thought of being taken notice of by Christ. That
was an honour too great, and too far above his merit, for him to
have any thought of. See how Christ <i>prevented</i> him with the
blessings of his goodness, and <i>outdid</i> his expectations; and
see how he <i>encouraged</i> very weak beginnings, and helped them
forward. He that had a mind to know Christ shall be <i>known of
him;</i> he that only courted to see him shall be admitted to
converse with him. Note, Those that are faithful in a little shall
be entrusted with more. And sometimes those that come to hear the
word of Christ, as Zaccheus did, only for curiosity, beyond what
they thought of, have their consciences awakened, and their hearts
changed. Christ called him <i>by name, Zaccheus,</i> for he knows
his chosen <i>by name; are they not in his book?</i> He might ask,
as Nathanael did (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:John.1.48" parsed="|John|1|48|0|0" passage="Joh 1:48">John i.
48</scripRef>), <i>Whence knowest thou me?</i> But before he
climbed the sycamore-tree Christ saw him, and knew him. He bade him
<i>make haste, and come down.</i> Those that Christ calls must
<i>come down,</i> must humble themselves, and not think to climb to
heaven by any righteousness of their own; and they must <i>make
haste</i> and come down, for delays are dangerous. Zaccheus must
not hesitate, but hasten; he knows it is not a matter that needs
consideration whether he should welcome such a guest to his house.
He must <i>come down,</i> for Christ intends this day to <i>bait at
his house,</i> and stay an hour or two with him. <i>Behold, he
stands at the door and knocks.</i> 2. Zaccheus was <i>overjoyed</i>
to have such an honour put upon his house (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.6" parsed="|Luke|19|6|0|0" passage="Lu 19:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): <i>He made haste, and came down,
and received him joyfully;</i> and his receiving him <i>into his
house</i> was an indication and token of his receiving him <i>into
his heart.</i> Note, When Christ <i>calls</i> to us we must <i>make
haste</i> to answer his calls; and when he <i>comes to us</i> we
must <i>receive him joyfully. Lift up your heads, O ye gates.</i>
We may well <i>receive him joyfully</i> who brings all good along
with him, and, when he takes possession of the soul, opens springs
of joy there which shall flow to eternity. How often has Christ
said to us, <i>Open to me,</i> when we have, with the spouse, made
excuses! <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.2-Song.5.3" parsed="|Song|5|2|5|3" passage="So 5:2,3">Cant. v. 2, 3</scripRef>.
Zaccheus's forwardness to receive Christ will shame us. We have not
now Christ to entertain in our houses, but we have his disciples,
and what is done to them he takes as done to himself.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p7">IV. The offence which the people took at
this <i>kind greeting</i> between Christ and Zaccheus. Those
narrow-souled censorious Jews <i>murmured,</i> saying that he was
<i>gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner,</i> <b><i>para
hamartolo andri</i></b>—<i>with a sinful man;</i> and were not
they themselves sinful men? Was it not Christ's errand into the
world to seek and save <i>men</i> that are <i>sinners?</i> But
Zaccheus they think to be a sinner above all men that dwelt in
Jericho, such a sinner as was not fit to be conversed with. Now
this was very unjust to blame Christ for going <i>to his house;</i>
for, 1. Though he was a <i>publican,</i> and many of the publicans
were <i>bad men,</i> it did not therefore follow that they were
<i>all so.</i> We must take heed of condemning men in the lump, or
by common fame, for at God's bar every man will be judged as he is.
2. Though he <i>had been a sinner,</i> it did not therefore follow
that he was now as bad as he had been; though they knew his past
life to be bad, Christ might know his present frame to be good. God
allows room for repentance, and so must we. 3. Though he was <i>now
a sinner,</i> they ought not to blame Christ for going to him,
because he was in <i>no danger</i> of getting hurt by a sinner, but
in <i>great hopes</i> of doing good to a sinner; whither should the
physician go but to the sick? Yet see how that which is <i>well
done</i> may be <i>ill construed.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p8">V. The proofs which Zaccheus gave publicly
that, though he had been a <i>sinner,</i> he was now a
<i>penitent,</i> and a true <i>convert,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.8" parsed="|Luke|19|8|0|0" passage="Lu 19:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. He does not expect to be
justified by his works as the Pharisee who boasted of what he had
done, but by his <i>good works</i> he will, through the grace of
God, evidence the <i>sincerity</i> of his <i>faith</i> and
<i>repentance;</i> and here he declares what his determination was.
He made this declaration <i>standing,</i> that he might be seen and
heard by those who murmured at Christ for coming to his house;
<i>with the mouth confession is made</i> of repentance as well as
faith. He <i>stood,</i> which denotes his saying it deliberately
and with solemnity, in the nature of a vow to God. He addressed
himself to Christ in it, not to the people (they were not to be his
judges), but to the Lord, and he <i>stood</i> as it were at his
bar. What we do that is good we must do <i>as unto him;</i> we must
appeal to him, and approve ourselves to him, in our integrity, in
all our good purposes and resolutions. He makes it appear that
there is a change <i>in his heart</i> (and that is repentance), for
there is a change in his way. His resolutions are of second-table
duties; for Christ, upon all occasions, laid great stress on them:
and they are such as are suited to his condition and character; for
in them will best appear the truth of our repentance.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p9">1. Zaccheus had a good estate, and, whereas
he had been in it hitherto laying up treasure for himself, and
doing hurt to himself, now he resolves that for the future he will
be all towards God, and do good to others with it: <i>Behold, Lord,
the half of my goods I give to the poor.</i> Not, "I <i>will</i>
give it by my will when I die," but, "I <i>do</i> give it now."
Probably he had heard of the command of trial which Christ gave to
another rich man to sell what he had, and give to the poor
(<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.19.21" parsed="|Matt|19|21|0|0" passage="Mt 19:21">Matt. xix. 21</scripRef>), and how he
broke with Christ upon it. "But so will not I," saith Zaccheus; "I
agree to it at the first word; though hitherto I have been
uncharitable to the poor, now I will relieve them, and give so much
the more for having neglected the duty so long, even the <i>half of
my goods.</i>" This is a very large proportion to be set apart for
works of piety and charity. The Jews used to say that a fifth part
of a man's income yearly was very fair to be given to pious uses,
and about that share the law directed; but Zaccheus would go much
further, and give one moiety to the poor, which would oblige him to
retrench all his extravagant expenses, as his retrenching these
would enable him to relieve many with his superfluities. If we were
but more temperate and self-denying, we should be more charitable;
and, were we content with less ourselves, we should have the more
to give to them that need. This he mentions here as a fruit of his
repentance. Note, It well becomes converts to God to be charitable
to the poor.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p10">2. Zaccheus was conscious to himself that
he had not gotten all he had honestly and fairly, but some by
indirect and unlawful means, and of what he had gotten by such
means he promises to make restitution: "If <i>I have taken any
thing from any man by false accusation,</i> or if I have wronged
any man in the way of my business as a <i>publican,</i> exacting
more than was appointed, I promise to restore him
<i>four-fold.</i>" This was the restitution that a thief was to
make, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.22.1" parsed="|Exod|22|1|0|0" passage="Ex 22:1">Exod. xxii. 1</scripRef>. (1.) He
seems plainly to own that he had <i>done wrong;</i> his office, as
a publican, gave him opportunity to do wrong, imposing upon the
merchants to curry favour with the government. True penitents will
own themselves not only in general guilty before God, but will
particularly reflect upon that which has been their own iniquity,
and which, by reason of their business and employment in the world,
has most easily beset them. (2.) That he had done wrong <i>by false
accusation;</i> this was the temptation of the publicans, which
John Baptist had warned them of particularly, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.3.14" parsed="|Luke|3|14|0|0" passage="Lu 3:14"><i>ch.</i> iii. 14</scripRef>. They had the ear of the
government, and every thing would be stretched in favour of the
revenue, which gave them an opportunity of gratifying their revenge
if they bore a man an ill will. (3.) He promises to restore
<i>four-fold,</i> as far as he could recollect or find by his books
that he had <i>wronged any man.</i> He does not say, "If I be sued,
and compelled to it, I will make restitution" (some are
<i>honest</i> when they cannot help it); but he will do it
<i>voluntarily:</i> It shall be <i>my own act and deed.</i> Note,
Those who are convinced of having done wrong cannot evidence the
sincerity of their repentance but by <i>making restitution.</i>
Observe, He does not think that his giving half his estate to the
poor will atone for the wrong he has done. God <i>hates robbery for
burnt-offerings,</i> and we must first <i>do justly</i> and then
<i>love mercy.</i> It is no charity, but hypocrisy, to give that
which is <i>none of our own;</i> and we are not to reckon that our
own which we have not come honestly by, nor that our own which is
not so when all our debts are paid, and restitution made for wrong
done.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p11">VI. Christ's <i>approbation</i> and
<i>acceptance</i> of Zaccheus's conversion, by which also he
cleared himself from any imputation in going to be a guest with
him, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.9-Luke.19.10" parsed="|Luke|19|9|19|10" passage="Lu 19:9,10"><i>v.</i> 9, 10</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p12">1. Zaccheus is declared to be now a
<i>happy man.</i> Now he is turned from sin to God; now he has
bidden Christ welcome to his house, and is become an honest,
charitable, good man: <i>This day is salvation come to this
house.</i> Now that he is <i>converted</i> he is in effect
<i>saved,</i> saved from his sins, from the guilt of them, from the
power of them; all the benefits of salvation are his. Christ is
come <i>to his house,</i> and, where Christ comes, he brings
salvation along with him. He is, and will be, the <i>Author of
eternal salvation</i> to all that own him as Zaccheus did. Yet this
is not all. Salvation this day <i>comes to his house.</i> (1.) When
Zaccheus becomes a convert, he will be, more than he had been, a
<i>blessing to his house.</i> He will bring the means of grace and
salvation to his house, for he is a <i>son of Abraham</i> indeed
now, and therefore, like Abraham, will teach his household to
<i>keep the way of the Lord. He that is greedy of gain troubles his
own house,</i> and brings a curse upon it (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Hab.2.9" parsed="|Hab|2|9|0|0" passage="Hab 2:9">Hab. ii. 9</scripRef>), but he that is charitable to the
poor does a kindness to his own house, and brings a blessing upon
it and salvation to it, temporal at least, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.3" parsed="|Ps|112|3|0|0" passage="Ps 112:3">Ps. cxii. 3</scripRef>. (2.) When Zaccheus is brought to
Christ himself his <i>family</i> also become related to Christ, and
his children are admitted members of his church, and so
<i>salvation comes to his house,</i> for that he is <i>a son of
Abraham,</i> and therefore interested in God's covenant with
Abraham, that <i>blessing</i> of Abraham which comes upon the
publicans, <i>upon the Gentiles,</i> through faith, that God will
be a God <i>to them and to their children;</i> and therefore, when
he believes, <i>salvation comes</i> to his house, as the gaoler's
to whom it was said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, <i>and thou
shalt be saved, and thy house,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.16.31" parsed="|Acts|16|31|0|0" passage="Ac 16:31">Acts xvi. 31</scripRef>. Zaccheus is by birth a son of
Abraham, but, being a publican, he was deemed a heathen; they are
put upon a level, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Matt.18.17" parsed="|Matt|18|17|0|0" passage="Mt 18:17">Matt. xviii.
17</scripRef>. And as such the Jews were shy of conversing with
him, and expected Christ should be so; but he shows that, being a
true penitent, he is become <i>rectus in curia—upright in
court,</i> as good a son of Abraham as if he had never been an
publican, which therefore ought not to be mentioned against
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p13">2. What Christ had done to make him, in
particular, a happy man, was consonant to the great design and
intention of his coming into the world, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.10" parsed="|Luke|19|10|0|0" passage="Lu 19:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. With the same argument he had
before justified his conversing with publicans, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.9.13" parsed="|Matt|9|13|0|0" passage="Mt 9:13">Matt. ix. 13</scripRef>. There he pleaded that he came to
<i>call sinners to repentance;</i> now that he came to <i>seek and
save that which was lost,</i> <b><i>to apololos</i></b>—<i>the
lost thing.</i> Observe, (1.) The <i>deplorable case</i> of the
<i>sons of men:</i> they were <i>lost;</i> and here the whole race
of mankind is spoken of as <i>one body.</i> Note, The whole world
of mankind, by the fall, is become a <i>lost world:</i> lost as a
city is lost when it has revolted to the rebels, as a traveller is
lost when he has missed his way in a wilderness, as a sick man is
lost when his disease is incurable, or as a prisoner is lost when
sentence is passed upon him. (2.) The <i>gracious design</i> of the
<i>Son of God:</i> he came to <i>seek and save,</i> to seek in
order to saving. He came from heaven to earth (a long journey), to
<i>seek</i> that which was <i>lost</i> (which had <i>wandered and
gone astray</i>), and to bring it back (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.18.11-Matt.18.12" parsed="|Matt|18|11|18|12" passage="Mt 18:11,12">Matt. xviii. 11, 12</scripRef>), and to <i>save</i>
that which was lost, which was perishing, and in a manner destroyed
and cut off. Christ undertook the cause when it was given up for
<i>lost:</i> undertook to bring those to themselves that were
<i>lost</i> to God and all goodness. Observe, Christ <i>came</i>
into this lost world to seek and save it. His design was to
<i>save,</i> when <i>there was not salvation in any other.</i> In
prosecution of that design, he <i>sought,</i> took all probable
means to effect that salvation. He seeks those that were not worth
seeking to; he seeks those that sought him not, and asked not for
him, as Zaccheus here.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Luke.xx-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.11-Luke.19.27" parsed="|Luke|19|11|19|27" passage="Lu 19:11-27" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Luke.19.11-Luke.19.27">
<h4 id="Luke.xx-p13.5">The Nobleman and His
Servants.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Luke.xx-p14">11 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.  
12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to
receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.   13 And he
called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said
unto them, Occupy till I come.   14 But his citizens hated
him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this
<i>man</i> to reign over us.   15 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.   16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound
hath gained ten pounds.   17 And he said unto him, Well, thou
good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little,
have thou authority over ten cities.   18 And the second came,
saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.   19 And he
said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.   20 And
another came, saying, Lord, behold, <i>here is</i> thy pound, which
I have kept laid up in a napkin:   21 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.   22 And he
saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee,
<i>thou</i> wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man,
taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
  23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank,
that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?  
24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound,
and give <i>it</i> to him that hath ten pounds.   25 (And they
said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)   26 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.
  27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should
reign over them, bring hither, and slay <i>them</i> before me.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p15">Our Lord Jesus is now upon his way to
Jerusalem, to his last passover, when he was to suffer and die; now
here we are told,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p16">I. How the expectations of his friends were
<i>raised</i> upon this occasion: <i>They thought that the kingdom
of God would immediately appear,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.11" parsed="|Luke|19|11|0|0" passage="Lu 19:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. The Pharisees expected it about
this time (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.17.20" parsed="|Luke|17|20|0|0" passage="Lu 17:20"><i>ch.</i> xvii.
20</scripRef>), and, it seems, so did Christ's own disciples; but
they both had a mistaken notion of it. The Pharisees thought that
it must be introduced by some other temporal prince or potentate.
The disciples thought that their Master would introduce it, but
with temporal pomp and power, which, with the power he had to work
miracles, they knew he could clothe himself with in a short time,
whenever he pleased. Jerusalem, they concluded, must be the seat of
his kingdom, and therefore, now that he is going directly thither,
they doubt not but in a little time to see him upon the throne
there. Note, Even good men are subject to mistakes concerning the
kingdom of Christ, and to form wrong notions of it, and are ready
to think that will <i>immediately</i> appear which is reserved for
hereafter.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p17">II. How their expectations were
<i>checked,</i> and the mistakes <i>rectified</i> upon which they
were founded; and this he does in three things:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p18">1. They expected that he should appear in
his glory now <i>presently,</i> but he tells them that he must not
be publicly installed in his kingdom for a great while yet. He is
like <i>a certain nobleman</i> <b><i>anthropos tis
eugenes</i></b>—<i>a certain man of high birth</i> (so Dr.
Hammond), for he is the Lord from heaven, and is entitled by birth
to the kingdom; but he <i>goes into a far country, to receive for
himself a kingdom.</i> Christ must go to heaven, to sit down at the
right hand of the Father there, and to receive from him <i>honour
and glory,</i> before the Spirit was poured out by which his
kingdom was to be set up on earth, and before a church was to be
set up for him in the Gentile world. He must receive the kingdom,
and then <i>return.</i> Christ returned when the Spirit was poured
out, when Jerusalem was destroyed, by which time that generation,
both of friends and enemies, which he had personally conversed
with, was wholly worn off by death, and gone to give up their
account. But his chief return here meant is that at the great day,
of which we are yet in expectation. That which they thought would
<i>immediately appear,</i> Christ tells them will not appear till
this same Jesus who is taken into heaven shall <i>in like manner
come again;</i> see <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.1.11" parsed="|Acts|1|11|0|0" passage="Ac 1:11">Acts i.
11</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p19">2. They expected that his apostles and
immediate attendants should be advanced to dignity and honour, that
they should all be made princes and peers, privy-counsellors and
judges, and have all the pomp and preferments of the court and of
the town. But Christ here tells them that, instead of this, he
designed them to be <i>men of business;</i> they must expect no
other preferment in this world than that of the trading end of the
town; he would set them up with a stock under their hands, that
they might employ it themselves, in serving him and the interest of
his kingdom among men. That is the true honour of a Christian and a
minister which, if we be as we ought to be truly ambitious of it,
will enable us to look upon all temporal honours with a holy
contempt. The apostles had dreamed of <i>sitting on his right hand
and on his left in his kingdom,</i> enjoying ease after their
present toil and honour after the present contempt put upon them,
and were pleasing themselves with this dream; but Christ tells them
that which, if they understood it aright, would fill them with
care, and concern, and serious thoughts, instead of those
<i>aspiring</i> ones with which they filled their heads.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p20">(1.) They have a <i>great work</i> to do
now. Their Master leaves them, to receive his kingdom, and, at
parting, he gives each of them a <i>pound,</i> which the margin of
our common bibles tells us amounts in our money to <i>three
pounds</i> and <i>half a crown;</i> this signifies the same thing
with the talents in the parable that is parallel to this (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.25.1-Matt.25.46" parsed="|Matt|25|1|25|46" passage="Mt 25:1-46">Matt. xxv.</scripRef>), all the gifts with
which Christ's apostles were endued, and the advantages and
capacities which they had of serving the interests of Christ in the
world, and others, both ministers and Christians, like them in a
lower degree. But perhaps it is in the parable thus represented to
make them the more humble; their honour in this world is only that
of <i>traders,</i> and that not of first-rate merchants, who have
vast stocks to begin upon, but that of poor traders, who must take
a great deal of care and pains to make any thing of what they have.
He gave these pounds to his servants, not to buy rich liveries,
much less robes, and a splendid equipage, for themselves to appear
in, as they expected, but with this charge: <i>Occupy till I
come.</i> Or, as it might much better be translated, <i>Trade till
I come,</i> <b><i>Pragmateusasthe</i></b>—<i>Be busy.</i> So the
word properly signifies. "You are sent forth to preach the gospel,
to set up a church for Christ in the world, to bring the nations to
the obedience of faith, and to build them up in it. <i>You shall
receive power to do this,</i> for you shall be filled with the
<i>Holy Ghost,</i>" <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.1.8" parsed="|Acts|1|8|0|0" passage="Ac 1:8">Acts i.
8</scripRef>. When Christ <i>breathed on</i> the eleven disciples,
saying, <i>Receive ye the Holy Ghost,</i> then he delivered them
<i>ten pounds.</i> "Now," saith he, "mind your business, and make a
business of it; set about it in good earnest, and stick to it. Lay
out yourselves to do all the good you can to the souls of men, and
to gather them in to Christ." Note, [1.] All Christians have
<i>business</i> to do for Christ in this world, and ministers
especially; the former were not <i>baptized,</i> nor the latter
<i>ordained,</i> to be <i>idle.</i> [2.] Those that are called to
business for Christ he furnishes with gifts necessary for their
business; and, on the other hand, from those to whom he gives power
he expects service. He delivers the <i>pounds</i> with this charge,
Go work, go trade. <i>The manifestation of the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.12.7" parsed="|1Cor|12|7|0|0" passage="1Co 12:7">1 Cor.
xii. 7</scripRef>. And <i>as every one has received the gift,</i>
so let him <i>minister the same,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.4.10" parsed="|1Pet|4|10|0|0" passage="1Pe 4:10">1
Pet. iv. 10</scripRef>. [3.] We must continue to mind our business
<i>till our Master comes,</i> whatever difficulties or oppositions
we may meet with in it; those only that <i>endure to the end</i>
shall <i>be saved.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p21">(2.) They have a <i>great account</i> to
make shortly. These servants are <i>called to him,</i> to show what
use they made of the gifts they were dignified with, what service
they had done for Christ, and what good to the souls of men,
<i>that he might know what every man had gained by trading.</i>
Note,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p22">[1.] They that trade diligently and
faithfully in the service of Christ shall be <i>gainers.</i> We
cannot say so of the business of the world; many a labouring
tradesman has been a loser; but those that trade for Christ shall
be <i>gainers;</i> though <i>Israel be not gathered,</i> yet they
<i>will be glorious.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p23">[2.] The conversion of souls is the
<i>winning</i> of them; every true convert is clear gain to Jesus
Christ. Ministers are but factors for him, and to him they must
give account what fish they have enclosed in the gospel-net, what
guests they have prevailed with to come to the wedding-supper; that
is, what they have <i>gained by trading.</i> Now observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p24"><i>First,</i> The <i>good account</i> which
was given by <i>some</i> of the servants, and the master's
approbation of them. Two such are instanced, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.16 Bible:Luke.19.19" parsed="|Luke|19|16|0|0;|Luke|19|19|0|0" passage="Lu 19:16,19"><i>v.</i> 16, 19</scripRef>. 1. They had both made
considerable improvements, but not both <i>alike;</i> one had
gained <i>ten pounds</i> by his trading, and another <i>five.</i>
Those that are diligent and faithful in serving Christ are commonly
blessed in being made blessings to the places where they live. They
shall <i>see the travail of their soul,</i> and not <i>labour in
vain.</i> And yet all that are alike <i>faithful</i> are not alike
<i>successful.</i> And perhaps, though they were both faithful, it
is intimated that one of them took more pains, and applied himself
more closely to his business, than the other, and sped accordingly.
Blessed Paul was surely this servant that gained <i>ten pounds,</i>
double to what any of the rest did, for he <i>laboured more
abundantly than they all,</i> and <i>fully preached the gospel of
Christ.</i> 2. They both acknowledged their obligations to their
Master for entrusting them with these abilities and opportunities
to do him service: Lord, it is not <i>my</i> industry, but
<i>thy</i> pound, that has gained <i>ten pounds.</i> Note, God must
have all the glory of all our gains; <i>not unto us,</i> but unto
him, must be <i>the praise,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.115.1" parsed="|Ps|115|1|0|0" passage="Ps 115:1">Ps.
cxv. 1</scripRef>. Paul, who gained the <i>ten pounds,</i>
acknowledges, "<i>I laboured, yet not I. By the grace of God, I am
what I am,</i> and do what I do; and <i>his grace was not in
vain,</i>" <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.15.10" parsed="|1Cor|15|10|0|0" passage="1Co 15:10">1 Cor. xv. 10</scripRef>.
He will not speak of what he had done, but of what God <i>had done
by him,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p24.4" osisRef="Bible:Rom.15.18" parsed="|Rom|15|18|0|0" passage="Ro 15:18">Rom. xv. 18</scripRef>. 3.
They were both commended for their fidelity and industry: <i>Well
done, thou good servant,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p24.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.17" parsed="|Luke|19|17|0|0" passage="Lu 19:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>. And to the other he <i>said likewise,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p24.6" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.19" parsed="|Luke|19|19|0|0" passage="Lu 19:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. Note, They who do that
which is good shall have <i>praise of the same. Do well,</i> and
Christ will say to thee, <i>Well done:</i> and, if he says <i>Well
done,</i> the matter is not great who says otherwise. See <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p24.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.4.7" parsed="|Gen|4|7|0|0" passage="Ge 4:7">Gen. iv. 7</scripRef>. 4. They were
<i>preferred</i> in proportion to the improvement they had made:
"<i>Because thou hast been faithful in a very little,</i> and didst
not say, 'As good sit still as go to trade with one pound, what can
one do with so small a stock?' but didst humbly and honestly apply
thyself to the improvement of that, <i>have thou authority over ten
cities.</i>" Note, Those are in a fair way to rise who are content
to begin low. <i>He that has used the office of a deacon well
purchaseth to himself a good degree,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p24.8" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.3.13" parsed="|1Tim|3|13|0|0" passage="1Ti 3:13">1 Tim. iii. 13</scripRef>. Two things are hereby
promised the apostles:—(1.) That when they have taken pains to
<i>plant</i> many churches they shall have the satisfaction and
honour of presiding in them, and governing among them; they shall
have great respect paid them, and have a great interest in the love
and esteem of good Christians. <i>He that keepeth the fig-tree
shall eat the fruit thereof;</i> and he that <i>laboureth in the
word and doctrine</i> shall be <i>counted worthy of double
honour.</i> (2.) That, when they have served their generation,
according to the will of Christ, though they pass through this
world despised and trampled upon, and perhaps pass out of it under
disgrace and persecution as the apostles did, yet in the other
world they shall reign as kings with Christ, shall sit with him on
his throne, shall have <i>power over the nations,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p24.9" osisRef="Bible:Rev.2.26" parsed="|Rev|2|26|0|0" passage="Re 2:26">Rev. ii. 26</scripRef>. The happiness of heaven
will be a much greater advancement to a good minister or Christian
than it would be to a poor tradesman, that with much ado had
cleared ten pounds, to be made governor of ten cities. He that had
gained but <i>five pounds</i> had dominion over <i>five cities.</i>
This intimates that there are <i>degrees of glory</i> in heaven;
every vessel will be alike <i>full,</i> but not alike <i>large.</i>
And the degrees of glory there will be according to the degrees of
usefulness here.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p25"><i>Secondly,</i> The <i>bad account</i>
that was given by <i>one</i> of them, and the sentence passed upon
him for his slothfulness and unfaithfulness, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.20" parsed="|Luke|19|20|0|0" passage="Lu 19:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>, &amp;c. 1. He owned that he had
not <i>traded</i> with the pound with which he had been entrusted
(<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.20" parsed="|Luke|19|20|0|0" passage="Lu 19:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>): "<i>Lord,
behold, here is thy pound;</i> it is true, I have not made it
<i>more,</i> but withal I have not made it <i>less;</i> I have kept
it safely <i>laid up in a napkin.</i>" This represents the
carelessness of those who have gifts, but never lay out themselves
to do good with them. It is all one to them whether the interests
of Christ's kingdom sink or swim, go backward or forward; for their
parts, they will take no care about it, no pains, be at no
expenses, run no hazard. Those are the servants that lay up their
pound <i>in a napkin</i> who think it enough to say that they have
done no hurt in the world, but <i>did no good.</i> 2. He justified
himself in his omission, with a plea that made the matter worse and
not better (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.21" parsed="|Luke|19|21|0|0" passage="Lu 19:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>):
<i>I feared thee, because thou art an austere man,</i> rigid and
severe, <b><i>anthropos austeros ei</i></b>. <i>Austere</i> is the
Greed word itself: a <i>sharp</i> man: <i>Thou takest up that which
thou laidst not down.</i> He thought that his master put a hardship
upon his servants when he required and expected the improvement of
their pounds, and that it was <i>reaping where he did not sow;</i>
whereas really it was reaping where he <i>had sown,</i> and, as the
husbandman, expecting in proportion to what he had sown. He had no
reason to <i>fear</i> his master's austerity, nor blame his
expectations, but this was a mere sham, a frivolous groundless
excuse for his idleness, which there was no manner of colour for.
Note, The pleas of slothful professors, when they come to be
examined, will be found more to their <i>shame</i> than in their
<i>justification.</i> 3. His excuse is turned upon him: <i>Out of
thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant,</i>
<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.22" parsed="|Luke|19|22|0|0" passage="Lu 19:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. He will be
<i>condemned</i> by his crime, but <i>self-condemned</i> by his
plea. "If thou didst look upon it as hard that I should expect the
profit of thy trading, which would have been the greater profit,
yet, if thou hadst had any regard to my interest, thou mightest
have put my money <i>into the bank,</i> into some of the funds,
that I might have had, not only <i>my own,</i> but my own <i>with
usury,</i> which, though a <i>less</i> advantage, would have been
<i>some.</i>" If he durst not <i>trade</i> for fear of
<i>losing</i> the principal, and so being made accountable to his
lord for it though it was lost, which he pretends, yet that would
be no excuse for his not setting it out to interest, where it would
be sure. Note, Whatever may be the pretences of slothful
professors, in excuse of their slothfulness, the true reason of it
is a reigning indifference to the interests of Christ and his
kingdom, and their coldness therein. They care not whether religion
gets around or loses ground, so they can but live at ease. 4. His
pound is taken from him, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p25.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.24" parsed="|Luke|19|24|0|0" passage="Lu 19:24"><i>v.</i>
24</scripRef>. It is fit that those should <i>lose</i> their gifts
who will not <i>use</i> them, and that those who have dealt falsely
should be no longer trusted. Those who will not serve their Master
with what he bestows upon them, why should they be suffered to
serve themselves with it? <i>Take from him the pound.</i> 5. It is
given to him that had the <i>ten pounds.</i> When this was objected
against by the standers-by, because he had so much already
(<i>Lord, he has ten pounds,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p25.6" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.25" parsed="|Luke|19|25|0|0" passage="Lu 19:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>), it is answered (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p25.7" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.26" parsed="|Luke|19|26|0|0" passage="Lu 19:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>), <i>Unto every one that
hath shall be given.</i> It is the rule of justice, (1.) That those
should be most encouraged who have been most industrious, and that
those who have laid out themselves most to do good should have
their opportunities of doing good <i>enlarged,</i> and be put into
a higher and more extensive sphere of usefulness. To him that hath
gotten shall more be given, that he may be in a capacity to get
more. (2.) That those who have their gifts, as if they had them
not, who have them to no purpose, who do no good with them, should
be deprived of them. To those who endeavour to increase the grace
they have, God will impart more; those who neglect it, and suffer
it to decline, can expect no other than that God should do so too.
This needful warning Christ gives to his disciples, lest, while
they were gaping for honours on earth, they should neglect their
business, and so come short of their happiness in heaven.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p26">3. Another thing they expected was, that,
when the kingdom of God should appear, the body of the Jewish
nation would immediately fall in with it, and submit to it, and all
their aversions to Christ and his gospel would immediately vanish;
but Christ tells them that, after his departure, the generality of
them would persist in their obstinacy and rebellion, and it would
be their ruin. This is shown here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p27">(1.) In the message which his citizens sent
after him, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.14" parsed="|Luke|19|14|0|0" passage="Lu 19:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>.
They not only opposed him, while he was in obscurity; but, when he
was gone into glory, to be invested in his kingdom, then they
continued their enmity to him, protested against his dominion, and
said, <i>We will not have this man to reign over us.</i> [1.] This
was fulfilled in the prevailing infidelity of the Jews after the
ascension of Christ, and the setting up of the gospel kingdom. They
would not submit their necks to his yoke, nor touch the top of his
golden sceptre. They said, <i>Let us break his bands in sunder,</i>
<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.1-Ps.2.3 Bible:Acts.4.26" parsed="|Ps|2|1|2|3;|Acts|4|26|0|0" passage="Ps 2:1-3,Ac 4:26">Ps. ii. 1-3; Acts iv.
26</scripRef>. [2.] It speaks the language of all unbelievers; they
could be content that Christ should <i>save them,</i> but they will
not have him to <i>reign over them;</i> whereas Christ is a Saviour
to those only to whom he is a prince, and who are willing to obey
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p28">(2.) In the sentence passed upon them at
his return: <i>Those mine enemies bring hither,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.27" parsed="|Luke|19|27|0|0" passage="Lu 19:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>. When his faithful
subjects are preferred and rewarded, then he will take vengeance on
his enemies, and particularly on the Jewish nation, the doom of
which is here read. When Christ had set up his gospel kingdom, and
thereby put reputation upon the gospel ministry, then he comes to
<i>reckon with</i> the Jews; then it is remembered against them
that they had particularly disclaimed and protested against his
kingly office, when they said, <i>We have no king but Cæsar,</i>
nor would own him for their king. They appealed to Cæsar, and to
Cæsar they shall go; Cæsar shall be their ruin. Then the <i>kingdom
of God appeared</i> when vengeance was taken on those
irreconcileable enemies to Christ and his government; they were
<i>brought forth and slain before him.</i> Never was so much
slaughter made in any war as in the wars of the Jews. That nation
lived to see Christianity victorious in the Gentile world, in spite
of their enmity and opposition to it, and then it was <i>taken away
as dross.</i> The wrath of Christ came upon them to the uttermost
(<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:1Thess.2.15-1Thess.2.16" parsed="|1Thess|2|15|2|16" passage="1Th 2:15,16">1 Thess. ii. 15, 16</scripRef>),
and their destruction redounded very much to the honour of Christ
and the peace of the church. But this is applicable to all others
who <i>persist</i> in their infidelity, and will undoubtedly perish
in it. Note, [1.] Utter ruin will certainly be the portion of all
Christ's enemies; in the day of vengeance they shall all be brought
<i>forth,</i> and <i>slain before him. Bring them hither,</i> to be
made a spectacle to saints and angels; see <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:Josh.10.22 Bible:Josh.10.24" parsed="|Josh|10|22|0|0;|Josh|10|24|0|0" passage="Jos 10:22,24">Josh. x. 22, 24</scripRef>. <i>Bring them
hither,</i> that they may see the glory and happiness of Christ and
his followers, whom they hated and persecuted. <i>Bring them
hither,</i> to have their frivolous pleas overruled, and to receive
sentence according to their merits. Bring them, and <i>slay them
before me,</i> as Agag before Samuel. The Saviour whom they have
slighted will stand by and see them slain, and not interpose on
their behalf. [2.] Those that <i>will not have Christ to reign over
them</i> shall be reputed and dealt with as his enemies. We are
ready to think that none are Christ's enemies but persecutors of
Christianity, or scoffers at least; but you see that those will be
accounted so that dislike the terms of salvation, will not submit
to Christ's yoke, but will be their own masters. Note, Whoever will
not be <i>ruled</i> by the grace of Christ will inevitably be
ruined by the wrath of Christ.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Luke.xx-p28.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.28-Luke.19.40" parsed="|Luke|19|28|19|40" passage="Lu 19:28-40" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Luke.19.28-Luke.19.40">
<h4 id="Luke.xx-p28.5">Christ's Entry into
Jerusalem.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Luke.xx-p29">28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before,
ascending up to Jerusalem.   29 And it came to pass, when he
was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called <i>the
mount</i> of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,   30
Saying, Go ye into the village over against <i>you;</i> in the
which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never
man sat: loose him, and bring <i>him hither.</i>   31 And if
any man ask you, Why do ye loose <i>him?</i> thus shall ye say unto
him, Because the Lord hath need of him.   32 And they that
were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.
  33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof
said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?   34 And they said, The
Lord hath need of him.   35 And they brought him to Jesus: and
they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.
  36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.
  37 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;   38 Saying, Blessed <i>be</i> the King
that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in
the highest.   39 And some of the Pharisees from among the
multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.   40
And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these
should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p30">We have here the same account of Christ's
riding in some sort of triumph (such as it was) into Jerusalem
which we had before in Matthew and Mark; let us therefore here only
observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p31">I. Jesus Christ was forward and willing to
suffer and die for us. He went forward, <i>bound in the spirit, to
Jerusalem,</i> knowing very well the <i>things</i> that should
<i>befal him there,</i> and yet <i>he went before, ascending up to
Jerusalem,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.28" parsed="|Luke|19|28|0|0" passage="Lu 19:28"><i>v.</i>
28</scripRef>. He was the foremost of the company, as if he longed
to be upon the spot, longed to engage, to take the field, and to
enter upon action. Was he so forward to suffer and die for us, and
shall we draw back from any service we are capable of doing for
him?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p32">II. It was no ways inconsistent either with
Christ's humility or with his present state of humiliation to make
a <i>public entry</i> into Jerusalem a little before he died. Thus
he made himself to be the more taken notice of, that the ignominy
of his death might appear the greater.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p33">III. Christ is entitled to a dominion over
all the creatures, and may use them when and as he pleases. No man
has a property in his estate against Christ, but that <i>his</i>
title is prior and superior. Christ sent to fetch an <i>ass</i> and
her <i>colt</i> from their <i>owner's</i> and <i>master's crib,</i>
when he had occasion for their service, and might do so, for all
the <i>beasts of the forest are his,</i> and the tame beasts
too.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p34">IV. Christ has all men's hearts both under
his eye and in his hand. He could influence those to whom the ass
and the colt belonged to consent to their taking them away, as soon
as they were told that the Lord had occasion for them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p35">V. Those that go on Christ's errands are
sure to speed (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p35.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.32" parsed="|Luke|19|32|0|0" passage="Lu 19:32"><i>v.</i>
32</scripRef>): <i>They that were sent found</i> what he told them
they should find, and the owners willing to part with them. It is a
comfort to Christ's messengers that they shall bring what they are
sent for, if indeed the Lord has occasion for it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p36">VI. The disciples of Christ, who fetch that
for him from others which he has occasion for, and which they have
not, should not think that enough, but, whatever they have
themselves wherewith he may be served and honoured, they should be
ready to serve him with it. Many can be willing to attend Christ at
other people's expense who care not to be at any charge upon him
themselves; but those disciples not only fetched the ass's colt for
him, but <i>cast their</i> own <i>garments upon the colt,</i> and
were willing that they should be used for his trappings.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p37">VII. Christ's triumphs are the matter of
his disciples' praises. When Christ came nigh to Jerusalem, God put
it of a sudden into the hearts of the <i>whole multitude of the
disciples,</i> not of the twelve only, but abundance more, that
were disciples at large, <i>to rejoice and praise God</i>
(<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p37.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.37" parsed="|Luke|19|37|0|0" passage="Lu 19:37"><i>v.</i> 37</scripRef>), and the
<i>spreading of their clothes in the way</i> (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p37.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.36" parsed="|Luke|19|36|0|0" passage="Lu 19:36"><i>v.</i> 36</scripRef>) was a common expression of joy,
as at the feast of tabernacles. Observe, 1. What was the matter or
occasion of their joy and praise. They praised God <i>for all the
mighty works they had seen,</i> all the miracles Christ had
wrought, especially the <i>raising of Lazarus,</i> which is
particularly mentioned, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p37.3" osisRef="Bible:John.12.17-John.12.18" parsed="|John|12|17|12|18" passage="Joh 12:17,18">John xii.
17, 18</scripRef>. That brought others to mind, for fresh miracles
and mercies should revive the remembrance of the former. 2. How
they expressed their joy and praise (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p37.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.38" parsed="|Luke|19|38|0|0" passage="Lu 19:38"><i>v.</i> 38</scripRef>): <i>Blessed be the king that
cometh in the name of the Lord.</i> Christ is <i>the king;</i> he
<i>comes in the name of the Lord,</i> clothed with a divine
authority, commissioned from heaven to <i>give law</i> and treat of
<i>peace. Blessed be he.</i> Let us <i>praise him,</i> let God
<i>prosper him.</i> He is <i>blessed</i> for ever, and we will
speak well of him. <i>Peace in heaven.</i> Let the God of heaven
send peace and success to his undertaking, and then there will be
<i>glory in the highest.</i> It will redound to the glory of the
most high God; and the angels, the glorious inhabitants of the
upper world, will give him the glory of it. Compare this song of
the saints on earth with that of the angels, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p37.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.14" parsed="|Luke|2|14|0|0" passage="Lu 2:14"><i>ch.</i> ii. 14</scripRef>. They both agree to give
glory to God in the highest. There the praises of both centre; the
angels say, <i>On earth peace,</i> rejoicing in the benefit which
men on earth have by Christ; the saints say, <i>Peace in
heaven,</i> rejoicing in the benefit which the angels have by
Christ. Such is the communion we have with the holy angels that, as
<i>they</i> rejoice in the <i>peace on earth,</i> so <i>we</i>
rejoice in the <i>peace in heaven,</i> the <i>peace</i> God
<i>makes in his high places</i> (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p37.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.25.2" parsed="|Job|25|2|0|0" passage="Job 25:2">Job
xxv. 2</scripRef>), and both in Christ, who hath reconciled all
things to himself, whether <i>things on earth or things in
heaven.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p38">VIII. Christ's triumph's, and his
disciples' joyful praises of them, are the vexation of proud
Pharisees, that are enemies to him and his kingdom. There were some
Pharisees among <i>the multitude</i> who were so far from joining
with them that they were enraged at them, and, Christ being a
famous example of humility, they thought that he would not admit
such acclamations as these, and therefore expected that he should
<i>rebuke his disciples,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p38.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.39" parsed="|Luke|19|39|0|0" passage="Lu 19:39"><i>v.</i>
39</scripRef>. But it is the honour of Christ that, as he despises
the contempt of the proud, so he accepts the praises of the
humble.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p39">IX. Whether men praise Christ or no he
will, and shall, and must be praised (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p39.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.40" parsed="|Luke|19|40|0|0" passage="Lu 19:40"><i>v.</i> 40</scripRef>): <i>If these should hold their
peace,</i> and not speak the praises of the Messiah's kingdom,
<i>the stones would immediately cry out,</i> rather than that
Christ should not be praised. This was, in effect, literally
fulfilled, when, upon men's reviling Christ upon the cross, instead
of praising him, and his own disciples' sinking into a profound
silence, the <i>earth did quake and the rocks rent.</i> Pharisees
would silence the praises of Christ, but they cannot gain their
point; for as God can <i>out of stones raise up children unto
Abraham,</i> so he can out of the mouths of those children perfect
praise.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Luke.xx-p39.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.41-Luke.19.48" parsed="|Luke|19|41|19|48" passage="Lu 19:41-48" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Luke.19.41-Luke.19.48">
<h4 id="Luke.xx-p39.3">The Doom of Jerusalem Lamented; The Doom of
Jerusalem Foretold.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Luke.xx-p40">41 And when he was come near, he beheld the
city, and wept over it,   42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even
thou, at least in this thy day, the things <i>which belong</i> unto
thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.   43 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,
  44 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.
  45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them
that sold therein, and them that bought;   46 Saying unto
them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have
made it a den of thieves.   47 And he taught daily in the
temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the
people sought to destroy him,   48 And could not find what
they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p41">The great Ambassador from heaven is here
making his public entry into Jerusalem, not to be <i>respected</i>
there, but to be <i>rejected;</i> he knew what a nest of vipers he
was throwing himself into, and yet see here two instances of his
love to that place and his concern for it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p42">I. The <i>tears he shed</i> for the
<i>approaching ruin</i> of the <i>city</i> (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p42.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.41" parsed="|Luke|19|41|0|0" passage="Lu 19:41"><i>v.</i> 41</scripRef>): <i>When he was come near, he
beheld the city, and wept over it.</i> Probably, it was when he was
coming down the descent of the hill from the <i>mount of
Olives,</i> where he had a full view of the city, the large extent
of it, and the many stately structures in it, and his eye affected
his heart, and his heart his eye again. See here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p43">1. What a tender spirit Christ was of; we
never read that he laughed, but we often find him in tears. In this
very place his father David wept, and those that were with him,
though he and they were <i>men of war.</i> There are cases in which
it is no disparagement to the stoutest of men to melt into
tears.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p44">2. That Jesus Christ <i>wept</i> in the
midst of his triumphs, <i>wept</i> when all about him were
<i>rejoicing,</i> to show how little he was elevated with the
applause and acclamation of the people. Thus he would teach us to
<i>rejoice with trembling,</i> and <i>as though we rejoiced
not.</i> If Providence do not stain the beauty of our triumphs, we
may ourselves see cause to sully it with our sorrows.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p45">3. That he <i>wept over Jerusalem.</i>
Note, There are cities to be wept over, and none to be more
lamented than Jerusalem, that had been the holy city, and the joy
of the whole earth, if it be degenerated. But why did Christ weep
at the sight of Jerusalem? Was it because "Yonder is the city in
which I must be betrayed and bound, scourged and spit upon,
condemned and crucified?" No, he himself gives us the reason of his
tears.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p46">(1.) Jerusalem has not improved the day of
her opportunities. He wept, and said, <i>If thou hadst known, even
thou at least in this thy day,</i> if thou wouldst but yet know,
while the gospel is preached to thee, and salvation offered thee by
it; if thou wouldest at length bethink thyself, and understand
<i>the things that belong to thy peace,</i> the making of thy peace
with God, and the securing of thine own spiritual and eternal
welfare—but thou <i>dost not know the day of thy visitation,</i>
<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p46.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.44" parsed="|Luke|19|44|0|0" passage="Lu 19:44"><i>v.</i> 44</scripRef>. The manner of
speaking is abrupt: <i>If thou hadst known! O that thou hadst,</i>
so some take it; like that <i>O that my people had hearkened unto
me,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p46.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.81.13 Bible:Isa.48.18" parsed="|Ps|81|13|0|0;|Isa|48|18|0|0" passage="Ps 81:13,Isa 48:18">Ps. lxxxi. 13; Isa.
xlviii. 18</scripRef>. Or, <i>If thou hadst known, well;</i> like
that of the <i>fig-tree,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p46.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.13.9" parsed="|Luke|13|9|0|0" passage="Lu 13:9"><i>ch.</i>
xiii. 9</scripRef>. How happy had it been for thee! Or, "If thou
hadst known, thou wouldest have wept for thyself, and I should have
no occasion to weep for thee, but should have rejoiced rather."
What he says lays all the blame of Jerusalem's impending ruin upon
herself. Note, [1.] There are things which <i>belong to our
peace,</i> which we are all concerned to <i>know</i> and
<i>understand;</i> the way how peace is made, the offers made of
peace, the terms on which we may have the benefit of peace. The
things that belong to our peace are those things that relate to our
present and future welfare; these we must know with application.
[2.] There is a <i>time of visitation</i> when those things which
<i>belong to our peace</i> may be <i>known by us,</i> and known to
good purpose. When we enjoy the means of grace in great plenty, and
have the word of God powerfully preached to us—when the Spirit
strives with us, and our own consciences are startled and
awakened—then is the <i>time of visitation,</i> which we are
concerned to improve. [3.] With those that have long neglected the
time of their visitation, if at length, if at last, in this their
day, their eyes be opened, and they bethink themselves, all will be
well yet. Those shall not be refused that come into the vineyard
<i>at the eleventh hour.</i> [4.] It is the amazing folly of
multitudes that enjoy the means of grace, and it will be of fatal
consequence to them, that they do not improve the day of their
opportunities. The <i>things of their peace</i> are revealed to
them, but are not minded or regarded by them; they <i>hide their
eyes</i> from them, as if they were not worth taking notice of.
They are not aware of the <i>accepted time</i> and the <i>day of
salvation,</i> and to let it slip and perish through mere
carelessness. None are so <i>blind</i> as those that will not
<i>see;</i> nor have any the things of their peace more certainly
hidden from their eyes than those that turn their back upon them.
[5.] The sin and folly of those that persist in a contempt of
gospel grace are a great grief to the Lord Jesus, and should be so
to us. He looks with weeping eyes upon lost souls, that continue
impenitent, and run headlong upon their own ruin; he had rather
that they would <i>turn and live</i> than <i>go on and die,</i> for
he is not willing that any should perish.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p47">(2.) Jerusalem cannot escape the day of her
desolation. The <i>things of her peace</i> are now in a manner
hidden from her eyes; they will be shortly. Not but that after this
the gospel was preached to them by the apostles; <i>all the house
of Israel</i> were called to <i>know assuredly</i> that Christ was
their <i>peace</i> (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p47.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.36" parsed="|Acts|2|36|0|0" passage="Ac 2:36">Acts ii.
36</scripRef>), and multitudes were convinced and converted. But as
to the body of the nation, and the leading part of it, they were
sealed up under unbelief; God had <i>given them the spirit of
slumber,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p47.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.8" parsed="|Rom|11|8|0|0" passage="Ro 11:8">Rom. xi. 8</scripRef>.
They were so prejudiced and enraged against the gospel, and those
few that did embrace it then, that nothing less than a miracle of
divine grace (like that which converted Paul) would work upon them;
and it could not be expected that such a miracle should be wrought,
and so they were justly given up to <i>judicial</i> blindness and
hardness. The <i>peaceful things</i> are not <i>hidden from the
eyes</i> of particular persons; but it is too late to think now of
the nation of the Jews, <i>as such,</i> becoming a Christian
nation, by embracing Christ. And therefore they are marked for
ruin, which Christ here foresees and foretels, as the certain
consequence of their rejecting Christ. Note, Neglecting the great
salvation of ten brings temporal judgments upon a people; it did so
upon Jerusalem in less than forty years after this, when all that
Christ here foretold was exactly fulfilled. [1.] The Romans
besieged the city, <i>cast a trench about it, compassed it
round,</i> and <i>kept their</i> inhabitants in <i>on every
side.</i> Josephus relates that Titus ran up a wall in a very short
time, which surrounded the city, and cut off all hopes of escaping.
[2.] They <i>laid it even with the ground.</i> Titus commanded his
soldiers to <i>dig up the city,</i> and the whole compass of it was
levelled, except three towers; see Josephus's history of the wars
of the Jews, 5. 356-360; 7. 1. Not only the city, but the citizens
were laid even with the ground (<i>thy children within thee),</i>
by the cruel slaughters that were made of them: and there was
scarcely one stone <i>left upon another.</i> This was for their
crucifying Christ; this was because they <i>knew not the day of
their visitation.</i> Let other cities and nations take
warning.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p48">II. The <i>zeal he showed</i> for the
<i>present purification of the temple.</i> Though it must be
destroyed ere long, it does not therefore follow that no care must
be taken of it in the mean time.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p49">1. Christ cleared it of those who profaned
it. He went straight to the temple, and <i>began to cast out the
buyers and sellers,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p49.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.45" parsed="|Luke|19|45|0|0" passage="Lu 19:45"><i>v.</i>
45</scripRef>. Hereby (though he was represented as an enemy to the
temple, and that was the crime laid to his charge before the high
priest) he made it to appear that he had a truer love for the
temple than they had who had such a veneration for its corban, its
treasury, as a sacred thing; for its purity was more its glory than
its wealth was. Christ gave reason for his dislodging the
temple-merchants, <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p49.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.46" parsed="|Luke|19|46|0|0" passage="Lu 19:46"><i>v.</i>
46</scripRef>. The temple is a <i>house of prayer,</i> set apart
for communion with God: the <i>buyers</i> and <i>sellers</i> made
it a <i>den of thieves</i> by the fraudulent bargains they made
there, which was by no means to be suffered, for it would be a
distraction to those who came there to pray.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Luke.xx-p50">2. He put it to the best use that ever it
was put to, for he <i>taught daily in the temple,</i> <scripRef id="Luke.xx-p50.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.47" parsed="|Luke|19|47|0|0" passage="Lu 19:47"><i>v.</i> 47</scripRef>. Note, It is not enough
that the corruptions of a church be purged out, but the preaching
of the gospel must be encouraged. Now, when Christ preached in the
temple, observe here, (1.) How spiteful the church-rulers were
against him; how industrious to seek an <i>opportunity, or
pretence</i> rather, to do him a mischief (<scripRef id="Luke.xx-p50.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.19.47" parsed="|Luke|19|47|0|0" passage="Lu 19:47"><i>v.</i> 47</scripRef>): <i>The chief priests and
scribes, and the chief of the people,</i> the great sanhedrim, that
should have attended him, and summoned the people too to attend
him, <i>sought to destroy him,</i> and put him to death. (2.) How
respectful the common people were to him. They were <i>very
attentive to hear him.</i> He spent most of his time in the
country, and did not then preach in the temple, but, when he did,
the people paid him great respect, attended on his preaching with
diligence, and let no opportunity slip of hearing him, attended to
it with care, and would not lose a word. Some read it, <i>All the
people as they heard him, took his part;</i> and so it comes in
very properly as a reason why his enemies <i>could not find what
they might</i> do against him; they saw the people ready to fly in
their faces if they offered him any violence. Till his hour was
come his interest in the common people protected him; but, when his
hour was come, the chief priests' influence upon the common people
delivered him up.</p>
</div></div2>