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Luke 19:1. Then Jesus entered Jericho and passed through it. Luke 19:2. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief of tax collectors and a rich man, Luke 19:3. I sought to see Jesus, who He was, but could not follow the people, because He was small in stature, Luke 19:4. and, running ahead, he climbed up a fig tree to see Him, because He had to pass by it. Luke 19:5. When Jesus came to this place, he looked, saw him and said to him: Zacchaeus! come down quickly, for today I need to be in your house. The Lord steals the strongest vessels from the devil and destroys his cities. For look how He not only made the publicans His disciples, but also captured the eldest among the tax collectors, Zacchaeus, for salvation. And that the tax collector is a low creature, and the eldest among tax collectors, as one who rules in malice, is even more vile, no one doubts that. For publicans acquire their means of living only from the tears of the poor. However, this elder among the tax collectors is not left in contempt, but shows hospitality and receives salvation as a reward. For when he wished to see Jesus and for this purpose climbed a fig tree, the Lord saw him before he himself saw Him. So God precedes us everywhere, as soon as he sees our readiness. Luke 19:6. And he hastened down and received Him with joy. Luke 19:7. And everyone, seeing this, began to murmur and said that He had come to a sinful man; Jesus, seeing him, commands him to get down quickly, since He is about to be in his house. Zacchaeus did not hesitate, for one should not shirk when Christ commands something, but he got down and “accepted... with joy,” although many grumbled. Let us see what fruits it bears on the occasion of Christ’s visit. Luke 19:8. Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord: Lord! I will give half of my property to the poor, and if I have offended anyone in any way, I will repay him fourfold. “Half of my property,... Lord,” he says, “I will give to the poor.” Do you see the heat? He began to sow without mercy and gave not just a little, but his entire life. For the very thing that he withheld, he withheld in order to be able to give to the offended. This also teaches us that there is no benefit if someone, having unrighteous wealth, shows mercy to others, but ignores the offended. Look how he acts in this case too. “If he has offended anyone in any way,” he returns “fourfold,” thereby compensating for the loss caused to the offended person. For true mercy not only returns a loss, but also with an addition, in accordance with the Law. For the Law forced the one who stole to pay fourfold (Ex. 22:1). Even if we look at it precisely, we will see that he has absolutely nothing left of his estate. For he gives half of his property to the poor, and he only has half left. From this remaining half he again returns fourfold to those whom he has offended. Therefore, if the life of this elder publican consisted of lies, and he returns fourfold for everything that he acquired through falsehood, then look how he lost everything. In this regard, he turns out to be wise above the Law, a disciple of the Gospel, since he loved his neighbor more than himself, and this is not only in promise, but also in reality. For he did not say: I will give half, I will return fourfold, but: here I “give”, “return.” He knows Solomon’s instruction: “Do not say...: “Go and come again, and tomorrow I will give” (Proverbs 3:28). Luke 19:9. Jesus said to him, “Now salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham, Christ preaches salvation to him. “Now,” he says, “you give, now you are saved.” For the words “to this house” undoubtedly indicate Zacchaeus receiving salvation. By house we mean Zacchaeus, because the Lord would not call a soulless building the son of Abraham, but obviously called the animated owner of the house that way. He called him the son of Abraham, perhaps because he believed and was justified by faith, and perhaps because he generously despised wealth and loved the poor like this patriarch. Note: The Lord called Zacchaeus the son of Abraham now that he saw in him the similarity in lifestyle. He did not say: because this son of Abraham was, but now is. For before, being an elder of tax collectors and a tax collector, and not having any resemblance to the righteous man, he was not his son. Luke 19:10. for the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. Since some grumbled that the Lord went into the house of a sinful husband, then, in order to stop their mouths, He says: “The Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.” This is the literal meaning. But it is convenient to explain this in another way, in favor of morality. Anyone who is older than many in wickedness is small in spiritual stature, for flesh and spirit are opposite to each other, and therefore cannot see Jesus behind the people; that is, confused by passions and worldly affairs, he cannot see Jesus acting, moving and walking. For such a person does not feel any action befitting a Christian. And the walk of Jesus means that Christ works something in us. Such a person, who has never seen Jesus walking and has not experienced any action befitting Christ, often comes to consciousness out of repentance and climbs a fig tree, that is, he despises and tramples on all pleasure and pleasantness that are signified by the fig tree, and thus, having risen above himself and putting ascension in his heart, he is seen by Jesus, and he himself sees Him. Then the Lord says to him: “come down quickly,” that is, through repentance you came to a higher life, but come down through humility so that arrogance does not deceive you. Humble yourself quickly, because if you humble yourself, then “I... need... to be in your house." “I,” he says, “need to be in the house of the humble.” For “to whom will I look: to him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and to him who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66:2). Such a person gives half of his property to the poor, that is, to demons. We have two kinds of possessions, that is, physical and mental. The righteous man surrenders everything bodily to the demons, who are truly poor and deprived of all good, but he does not give up his spiritual possessions. As you know, the Lord also says about Job: “Only save his soul” (Job 2:6). If he offends anyone in any way, he pays fourfold. This hints at the fact that anyone who, through repentance, switches to a path contrary to previous evil, heals all previous sins with four virtues and thus receives salvation. He is called the son of Abraham, since, like Abraham, he came out of his land and from the affinity of his former malice, settled outside his father’s house, that is, outside himself, and denied himself (for he was the house of his father the devil (John 8:44), and thus, becoming outside himself and alienated, receives salvation. Luke 19:11. When they heard this, he added a parable: for He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the Kingdom of God would soon open. It seems to me that these people, hearing about the Kingdom of God, understood this feeling about God’s favor for the liberation of the Jewish people, and therefore they assumed that Jesus, ascending to Jerusalem, would accept this kingdom. Luke 19:12. So he said: a certain man of high birth went to a distant country in order to receive a kingdom for himself and return; But the Lord, in order to show them that they are reasoning unreasonably, for His Kingdom is not sensual, but at the same time to express the fact that He, as God, knows their thoughts, speaks a real parable, introducing Himself in the person of a man of “high birth.” For although He became a man, He did not retreat from the height and nobility of the Divinity. Having completed the Sacrament of the Economy in the flesh, he again went “to a distant country,” that is, to sit with the flesh according to humanity “at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 8:1). For as God, He always sat with the Father, and as a man, He sat down when He ascended, waiting until His enemies were placed under His feet (Heb. 10:12-13). And this will be at the end of the world, when everyone, even those who do not want to, will submit to Him, believing that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:11). Luke 19:13. Having called ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas and said to them: use them until I return. Luke 19:14. But the citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying: we don’t want him to reign over us. His “citizens” are Jews who hate Him. “And they saw,” He says, “and they hated both Me and My Father” (John 15:24). They did not want Him to reign over them. Therefore, renouncing His kingdom, they said to Pilate: “We have no king,” and again, “Do not write: King of the Jews” (John 19:15, 21). However, Zechariah cries out: “Rejoice with joy, O daughter of Zion...: behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and saving” (Zechariah 9:9); and Isaiah: “Behold, the King will reign in righteousness” (Is. 32:1); and David: “I have anointed My King over Zion” (Ps. 2:6). The Jews hated the Lord, but He gave ten minas to His servants. His servants are those who are entrusted with ministries in the Church. It is said that there are “ten” of them, due to the perfection of church leadership. For the order in the Church has a perfect arrangement of primates, and there was no need for them either more or less. For example, we see in the Church the following three actions: purification, enlightenment and completion, three and degrees between which these actions are divided. Deacons purify by catechumenate and teaching, presbyters enlighten by baptism, bishops ordain and perform sacred degrees, that is, ordain. Do you see that degrees are commensurate with actions, and the degrees of primates are neither more nor less? The Lord distributes “ten minas” to these slaves, that is, gifts that are given to everyone for the benefit (1 Cor. 12:7). For everyone who is entrusted with primacy, even if unworthy, has the gift from the anointing itself, and this is truly the great Sacrament of love for mankind and the Economy of God. Luke 19:15. And when he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered to call to himself the slaves of those to whom he had given the silver, in order to find out who had acquired what. Luke 19:16. The first one came and said: Master! your mine brought ten mines. Luke 19:17. And he said to him: Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in small things, take control of ten cities. Luke 19:18. The second one came and said: Master! your mine brought five mines. Luke 19:19. He also said to this one: you too be over five cities. “When Christ returns, noble both in humanity (for the Lord came from the royal family) and in Divinity, at His second coming, when He appears with the apostles as the King coming in the glory of the Father, and when every knee bows before Him, then He will definitely demand an account from the slaves who have received gifts. It is revealed that one brought benefit to many and multiplied the talent tenfold; the other also benefited, but to a smaller number; and the third was absolutely not useful to anyone, but spent his time in idleness. Therefore, the one who multiplied what he accepted tenfold is appointed over ten cities, that is, receives power over ten cities, and therefore is rewarded many times over. The one who follows him also receives a corresponding reward. And the one that did not bring any profit is condemned. Luke 19:20. A third came and said: Master! here is your mine, which I kept wrapped in a scarf, Let's see what he says: “Mister! here is your mine,” take it; “I kept it wrapped in a scarf.” A cloth was placed on the head of the deceased Lord (John 20:7), and the face of Lazarus in the tomb was tied with a cloth (John 11:44). Therefore, this negligent person rightly says that he wrapped the talent in a scarf. For, having made it dead and inactive, he made no use of it and brought no profit. Luke 19:21. for I was afraid of you, because you are a cruel man: you take what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow. “For I was afraid of you,” he says, “because... you take what you did not put in.” Many respond with this pretext. Not wanting to be useful to anyone, they say: where God did not sow talent and ability, there do not seek the harvest. He did not create such and such as gifted and capable of learning: why should I demand benefit from me? Luke 19:22. The master said to him: with your mouth I will judge you, wicked servant! You knew that I am a cruel man, I take what I did not put in, and I reap what I did not sow; Luke 19:23. Why didn’t you give my silver into circulation, so that when I came, I would receive it at a profit? Therefore, the Lord says: teach and give My silver to the workers, that is, to all the people appointed to benefit. For every person is appointed by God as a tradesman, so that he can make progress in the great work of this world. And “so that when I come, I receive it at a profit,” that is, I would demand it back at a profit. We must do our part, and God will judge those who do not want to take advantage of what follows. Luke 19:24. And he said to those present: take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas. Luke 19:25. And they said to him: Master! he has ten minutes. Luke 19:26. I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away; The gift is taken away and given to a good worker. Although he has it, it is for this reason that it is useful for him to receive more. “To him who has, more will be given,” that is, whoever has accumulated rich funds through good transactions, more will be given to him. For if he increased the little tenfold, then, obviously, by tenfolding the greater, he will bring even more profit to the master. But from the careless and lazy, and who has not tried to increase what he has accepted, even what he has will be taken, so that the master’s property does not lie useless, when it can be given to another and increased many times over. We understand this not only about the word and teaching, but also about moral virtues. For in them too God gave us gifts: to one - fasting, to another - almsgiving, to another - meekness, to another - humility. And if we watch, we will increase these gifts; if we are careless and die voluntarily, then later we will lay the blame on God, as we usually say: what should I do? if such and such is holy, it will be because God favors him and he is holy; but I am not favored, and I am not holy; and one was Peter, the other Paul. Mad man! The very mine (given to you) makes you Peter and Paul. Do as much as you can and bring something to Him who gave, if not as much as Peter and Paul: for they each received a mina, and you a mina. And then, without being at all moved to do good, you blame God! Therefore, finding ourselves unworthy of gifts, we are deprived of them. Luke 19:27. Bring my enemies, those who did not want me to reign over them, here and kill them before me. Luke 19:28. Having said this, He went further, ascending to Jerusalem. “But my enemies,” he says, “those who did not want me to reign over them, bring here and kill them before me,” that is, the Jews whom He will betray to destruction, sending them into eternal fire. Yes, the unfortunate ones here, that is, in this world, they were beaten by Roman troops, and they are still being and will be kept for beating there. Luke 19:29. And when he approached Bethphage and Bethany, to the mount called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples, Luke 19:30. saying: go to the opposite village; entering it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has ever sat; having untied him, bring him; Luke 19:31. and if anyone asks you: why are you untying? tell him this: the Lord needs him. Luke 19:32. Those who were sent went and found as He had told them. Luke 19:33. When they untied the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” Luke 19:34. They answered: the Lord needs him. Luke 19:35. And they brought him to Jesus, and throwing their clothes over the colt, they set Jesus on it. The Lord sits on a donkey for two purposes at the same time: firstly, to fulfill the prophecy that says: “Behold, your King comes,” riding on the colt (Zechariah 9:9); and secondly, to figuratively let us know that He will subdue to Himself a new, unrefined and unbridled people of the Gentiles. Judging by the distance of the journey, the Lord, without a doubt, did not need a yoke. For, having walked all of Galilee and Judea on foot, how did He find the need for a colt when moving from Bethany to Jerusalem, where the distance, as everyone knows, is insignificant? So He does this, as I said, with a mysterious meaning. The colt was tied and had many owners, but it was untied by those sent, that is, by the apostles. This has the following meaning: Bethany, according to interpretation, means the house of obedience, and Bethphage means the house of jaws, a place suitable for priests. For the priests were given jaws, as prescribed in the Law (Deut. 18:3). The jaws denote the teacher's word, which is ground and refined by the soul's jaws. So, where is the house of the teacher's word and obedience to this word, the disciples of the Lord are sent there and liberate people bound by sinful nets and many worldly worries, and from the slaves of many masters and gods they make them worshipers of one Lord Jesus and one God the Father. And where there is neither a house of obedience, nor the teacher’s word is accepted, nothing like this happens there, and the colt is not untied. Two sent. This means that two orders, prophets and apostles, serve to bring the pagans to Christ and submit to Him. They bring a donkey from a certain “village” (village) so that we know that the pagan people were in great simplicity and ignorance. For he never submitted to either the Mosaic teaching or the prophetic teaching, but he was an untrained colt. If, as another evangelist said (Matthew 21:15), the children also cried out: “Hosanna to the Son of David,” then they too can mean the same new people who, believing in Jesus, who appeared in the flesh from the seed of David, sent glory to God, according to what is written: “the generation to come will praise the Lord” (Ps. 101:19). Luke 19:36. And as He rode, they spread their clothes along the road. The laying out of garments seems to mean that those worthy of praising Jesus, putting off the old man, lay it down and subordinate it to Jesus, so that, having stepped on it, he would sanctify it and so that the flesh would not rebel against the spirit, so that they themselves could say: “Submit yourself to the Lord and trust in Him” (Ps. 36:7). Luke 19:37. And when He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God loudly with joy for all the miracles that they saw, Luke 19:38. saying: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! peace in heaven and glory in the highest! Saying that “the whole multitude of disciples” praised God, Luke calls all the followers of Jesus disciples, not just twelve and not seventy, but all the people who, either in need of miracles, or at times carried away by teaching, followed Jesus. Naturally, children were also noticed, as other evangelists report (Matthew 21:15). Moved by God, the children confess Jesus as the King coming “in the name of the Lord,” that is, God, and say: “peace in heaven.” Otherwise: the former enmity that we had with God has ceased. For there was no God-King on earth. And now, when God comes upon the earth, there is truly peace in heaven, and therefore “glory in the highest,” as the Angels glorify the unanimity and reconciliation that the King and God riding on a donkey gave us. For the very fact that the true God appears on earth and walks in our country, the country of His enemies, shows that reconciliation has been concluded between Him and us. Luke 19:39. And some Pharisees from among the people said to Him: Teacher! rebuke your disciples. Luke 19:40. But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if they remain silent, the stones will cry out.” The Pharisees complained that the people called Jesus King and praised Him as God; for (in their opinion) the solemn assimilation of the name of King to Him was a sign of indignation and blasphemy against the Lord. But Jesus said: “if they remain silent,... the stones will cry out.” Or: people say this not to please Me, but they pronounce this praise because they are convinced to this and are prompted by all the signs and powers that they have seen. Luke 19:41. And when he approached the city, he looked at it and cried for it. The Lord, as a lover of mankind, weeps for the city; for he did not want the inhabitants of it to perish for their daring act against Him. So, by crying He reveals a compassionate heart. And that He pitied them and not only before the crucifixion, but also after the crucifixion, longed for their conversion, this is evident from the fact that He handed them over to the Romans after so many years, for thirty-five years had passed. Without a doubt, He delayed the punishment for no other reason than because of the strong desire for their conversion. Luke 19:42. and said: Oh, if only you, even on this day of yours, knew what serves for your peace! But it is now hidden from your eyes, Luke 19:43. for the days will come upon you when your enemies will surround you with trenches and surround you and press you in on every side, Luke 19:44. and they will ruin you, and beat your children within you, and leave not one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation. So, He weeps about the insensitivity of Jerusalem and says: “Oh, if only you, even in this day of yours, knew what serves for your peace.” That is, if only you knew now what serves your benefit and leads to peace and tranquility, namely: that you need to believe in Me and move away from evil intentions against Me! And now it is hidden from your eyes that unbearable calamities will come to you for your rejection of Me and that you will suffer this and that because you did not understand the “time of your visit,” that is, My appearance, when I came to visit you and save you. So, you should have learned what serves your well-being, that is, believe in Me, and you would be safe from the Romans and free from any damage. For all those who believed in Christ remained free from captivity, so that if everyone had believed, then no one would have been taken captive. Luke 19:45. And he entered the church and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in it, Luke 19:46. saying to them, “It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” Luke 19:47. And he taught every day in the church. The chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people sought to destroy Him, Luke 19:48. and they did not find anything to do with Him; because all the people continually listened to Him.