Luke 19:5
When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today."
Sermons
Melted by KindnessAlexander MaclarenLuke 19:5
Zacchaeus; the Triumph of EarnestnessW. Clarkson Luke 19:1-9
A Household BlessingThe Congregational PulpitLuke 19:1-10
A Son of Abraham Found in Zacchaeus the PublicanR.M. Edgar Luke 19:1-10
Christ Seeking and Saving the LostA. J. Morris.Luke 19:1-10
Christ Seeking and Saving the LostT. Manton, D. D.Luke 19:1-10
Christ Seeking and Saving Those Who Were LostS. Lavington.Luke 19:1-10
Christ Seeks AllChristian HeraldLuke 19:1-10
Christ's Estimate of SinF. W. Robertson, M. A.Luke 19:1-10
Christ's MissionC. F. Deems, L. L. D.Luke 19:1-10
Christ's Words to ZaccheusW. Anderson.Luke 19:1-10
Conscience MoneyLuke 19:1-10
Difficulties OvercomeDr. McAuslane.Luke 19:1-10
Doing Good PromptlyH. Smith.Luke 19:1-10
Effectual CallingC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 19:1-10
Evidences of True ConversionChas. Walker.Luke 19:1-10
Gifts to the PoorT. T. Lynch.Luke 19:1-10
God Calls Men DawnT. B. Baker.Luke 19:1-10
Good News for the LostC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 19:1-10
Jesus Finds the SinnerLuke 19:1-10
LessonsJames Foote, M. A.Luke 19:1-10
Lessons from This PassageJ. Hewlett, B. D.Luke 19:1-10
Making an Effort to See JesusT. T. Lynch.Luke 19:1-10
ObstaclesT. Kelly.Luke 19:1-10
On RestitutionS. Partridge, M. A.Luke 19:1-10
Our Saviour's Visit to ZaccheusC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 19:1-10
Persistent SearchDe W. Talmage, D. D.Luke 19:1-10
RedemptionE. Hicks, M. A.Luke 19:1-10
RestitutionJ. N. Norton, D. D.Luke 19:1-10
RestitutionHenry Varley.Luke 19:1-10
RestitutionLuke 19:1-10
Restitution a Fruit of FaithLuke 19:1-10
Restitution as Proof of RepentanceFamily TreasuryLuke 19:1-10
Restitution Must be MadeDe W. Talmage, D. D.Luke 19:1-10
Restitution Necessary to PeaceD. L. Moody.Luke 19:1-10
Salvation for ZaccheusT. T. Lynch.Luke 19:1-10
Salvation in the HouseH. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.Luke 19:1-10
Saving the LostLuke 19:1-10
Seeking the LostFamily MagazineLuke 19:1-10
The Character of ZaccheusT. Kelly.Luke 19:1-10
The Christian not of the CrowdR. W Evans, B. D.Luke 19:1-10
The Conversion of ZaccheusG. R. Leavitt.Luke 19:1-10
The Conversion of ZaccheusT. Kelly.Luke 19:1-10
The Conversion of ZaccheusA. Boyd.Luke 19:1-10
The Duty of RestitutionS. K. Kolloch, M. A.Luke 19:1-10
The Lost and Sought-For SoulE. Johnson, M. A.Luke 19:1-10
The Lost are FoundT. Adams, D. D.Luke 19:1-10
The Mission of the Son of ManC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 19:1-10
The Nature of RestitutionArchbishop Tillotson.Luke 19:1-10
The Seeker SoughtJ. T. Woodhouse, M. A.Luke 19:1-10
The Seeking SaviourF. G. Davis.Luke 19:1-10
The Sinner's SaviourC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 19:1-10
Tholuck's Personal Effort for Individual SoulsLuke 19:1-10
Triumph Over HindrancesF. W. Robertson, M. A.Luke 19:1-10
Zaccheus a Type of the Christ-SeekerP. C. Croll.Luke 19:1-10
Zaccheus SavedG. Fisk, LL. B.Luke 19:1-10
Zaccheus the PublicanD. C. Hughes, M. A.Luke 19:1-10














The incident here recorded provides a very good opportunity for the imagination. We can picture the scene before us quite vividly; it is a subject for the sacred artist. But let us look at the triumph of earnestness as illustrated in the story of Zacchaeus.

I. It triumphed over THE PERIL WHICH ATTENDS WEALTH. This man was rich (ver. 2). Riches are unfavourable to religious earnestness; we have Christ's own word for it (Luke 18:24; see homily). They present a very strong inducement to their owner to forsake the fountain of living waters, and to quench his thirst in the lower streams. Far too often they lead to luxury, to indulgence, to spiritual indifference. But Zacchaeus did not suffer this calamity to befall him, this fatal injury to be wrought upon him. His spiritual solicitudes won the victory over his temporal circumstances.

II. It triumphed over THE DEMORALIZING CALLING IN WHICH HE WAS ENGAGED. Our daily vocation must necessarily have a very great influence over us for good or evil; and if it be one that tends to lower and degrade a man, he is placed in the greatest possible peril. Much wisdom of mind, much resoluteness of soul, and much devoutness of spirit must be required to withstand the adverse powers. But though Zacchaeus was engaged in a pursuit that invited avarice and oppression, still he did not lose his religious earnestness.

III. It triumphed over AN EVIL REPUTATION. Few things are more degrading than a bad name. Men quickly become what they are supposed to be and what they are called. Let all his neighbours consider and call a man a rogue, and it will be strange indeed if he maintains his integrity. Yet, although Zacchaeus was denominated and dismissed as "a publican," spoken of by a term which was full of the strongest reproach, he did not descend to that level.

IV. It triumphed over THE OBSTACLES WHICH STOOD BETWEEN HIM AND CHRIST. He could not venture to solicit an interview with this holy Prophet; that he knew was completely barred by his vocation. He found it difficult to secure even a view of him as he passed along; his smallness of stature was against him. But such was his determination that he disregarded all considerations of dignity and decorum, and ran any risk of popular derision and affront, and climbed up, as if he had been a boy, into a tree to command a view of Jesus of Nazareth. So he prevailed.

V. IT WON WHOLLY UNEXPECTED GOOD.

1. The honour of entertaining this great Prophet at his own house; thus securing a standing to which he had long been a stranger.

2. The advantage of a protracted interview, an extended privilege, in which he could not only secure a few sentences from the great Teacher, but could unburden his heart to him and learn his holy will.

VI. IT LED TO NEWNESS OF LIFE. (Vers. 8, 9.) Zacchaeus from that day forth was a new man. His character was thenceforth determined: whatever selfishness or wrongness there had been, it should be renounced, and, where possible, reparation should be made. Character and life were to be cleansed and renewed; and Christ took him up into his favour and friendship. He was to be perfectly restored to the position he had lost. By his pursuit and practice he had become an alien, disinherited, no longer admitted to the services of the sanctuary. But now he was to be, in the fullest and deepest sense of the word, "a son of Abraham," a far truer son of his than many who prided themselves on their descent from the "father of the faithful." Thus earnestness of spirit completely prevailed.

1. Only earnestness will prevail. Indifference will go down to the death from which it is already not far removed. Halfheartedness will go only a very little way towards the goal; it will have to take some trouble and to suffer some pains, but it will not win the prize. Even impulsiveness, ]PGBR> which bears a considerable resemblance to earnestness, but is not the same thing, will fail before the way is trodden and the end secured. Only earnestness wins.

2. It always must. Whatever comes in the way; whatever inward or outward obstacles present themselves; whatever personal or social hindrances intervene; however victory be delayed; notwithstanding that the case may again and again seem hopeless; - still in the end earnestness will succeed. Jesus Christ will manifest himself; he will be found in the home; his presence and his grace will fill the soul with joy; he will declare sonship and heirship to his devoted and determined follower. - C.

My house is the house of prayer.
Regarding the Church as an institution, with its possessions, its laws, its days of worship, its rulers, its teachers, its outward services, we may find for ourselves a lesson in this incident. And that lesson is, that the spiritual character of the Church is everything, and that its first object is to deepen in men's hearts the sense of the Divine and the spiritual. When that great end is lost sight of, the Church has parted with her strongest claims upon the world, and it has forfeited also its privilege as a witness for God on the earth. The spiritual influence is the first and chief purpose of the Church of Christ. The lesson of this narrative comes home to us in these days, when so much time and thought are given to the outer framework of Church forms and usages; and that lesson may be needed to correct our spirit of bustling and restless energy in what is at the best only the machinery of spiritual life, and not spiritual life itself. There is no class of men who are more in danger of losing the true meaning of religion than those who are employed in its service. If I were to seek for cases in which spiritual truth had been travestied and turned to not only secular but profane purposes, I do not know that I could find them more readily than in men to whom all sacred words and acts have grown so familiar that they have ceased to express spiritual facts at all. Those who are always engaged in religious works are apt to lose the sense of their sacredness. No man more needs to be on his guard against an unspiritual life than the man who is perpetually employed in spiritual offices. He brings within the courts of God's house what ought to be left without; he forgets his high spiritual functions in the bustle and care which attend them; and it is really no absolute guarantee of a religious and spiritual life that a man's profession is the teaching of religion. Christ's words and acts read us all a lesson, then; they tell us that in the most sacred occupations of life there may be found cares and anxieties which are less religious, and which are apt to swallow up too much of a man's time and thoughts. There is another temple of a different kind, of which a word may be said. The whole Christian body is, in the words of the New Testament, a temple of God. There is a sacredness in that temple, the spiritual community of Christians, if we would only think of it, much greater than in the Temple of Jerusalem, or in any building devoted to holy uses. And just as the whole Christian community is a temple sacred to God, so each individual heart is in itself a temple where God Most High is honoured and worshipped.

(A. Watson, D. D.)

1. Abuses are apt to creep into the Church. Let us be on our guard against their first introduction.

2. The Church is much indebted, under God, to those who have had the courage to stand forward as real reformers. Hezekiah; Josiah; the English reformers. They are indeed the benefactors of the Church who successfully exert themselves to correct doctrinal and practical errors, and to promote the scriptural administration of ordinances, discipline, and government. Thus, the progress of corruption is arrested, the beauty of Christianity is restored, and the glory of God, and the religious, and even civil, interests of men are promoted.

3. It is the duty of us all, according to our several places and stations, to do what we can to reform whatever abuses may exist in the Church in our own times.

4. Let this purification of the temple lead us to seek the purification of our own hearts.

5. In all we attempt for the benefit of others, or of ourselves, let us imitate the zeal which our Master displayed on this occasion. To be useful to man, or acceptable to God, we must be deeply in earnest — we must have the Spirit of Christ in this respect. Neither fear, nor shame, nor sinful inclination should restrain us in such cases.

(James Foote, M. A.)

In contemplating this action we are at first sight startled by its peremptoriness. "Is this," we say to ourselves — "is this He who is called the Lamb of God? He of whom prophecy said that He should neither strive nor cry; He who said of Himself, "Come to Me; I am meek and lowly of heart"? Is there not some incongruity between that meek and gentle character and those vehement acts and words. No, my brethren, there is no incongruity. As the anger which is divorced from meekness is but unsanctified passion, so the false meekness which can never kindle at the sight of wrong into indignation, is closely allied, depend upon it, to moral collapse. One of the worst things that the inspired Psalmist can find it in his heart to say of a man is, "Neither doth he abhor anything that is evil." Bishop Butler has shown that anger, being a part of our natural constitution is intended by our Maker to be excited, to be exercised upon certain legitimate objects; and the reason why anger is as a matter of fact generally sinful is, because it is generally wielded, not by our sense of absolute right and truth, but by our self-love, and, therefore, on wrong and needless occasions. Our Lord's swift indignation was just as much a part of His perfect sanctity as was His silent meekness in the hour of His passion. We may dare to say it, that He could not, being Himself, have been silent m that temple court, for that which met His eye was an offence first against the eighth commandment of the Decalogue. The money brokers were habitually fraudulent. But then this does not explain His treatment of the sellers of the doves, which shows that He saw in the whole transaction an offence against the first and second commandments. All irreverence is really, when we get to the bottom of it, unbelief. The first great truth that we know is the solitary supremacy of the Eternal God; the second, which is its consequence, the exacting character of His love. God is said, in the second commandment, to be a "jealous God."

(Canon Liddon.)

What He might have done! He might have said, "Well, this temple will one day, and that day not far distant, be thrown down. I shall not interfere with this abuse now, because in the natural order of things it will be overturned along with this structure." Jesus Christ did not know what it was to trifle so. I don't know that Jesus Christ knew the meaning of the word expediency, as we sometimes prostitute it. He saw wrong. If that wrong would in five minutes work itself out, that was no consideration to Him. Meanwhile, to Him five minutes was eternity!

(J. Parker, D. D.)

I shall endeavour to call your attention to one or two of the most marked features. And in the first place, I would bid you notice our blessed Lord's zeal, that zeal of which the Psalmist said, speaking prophetically, "the zeal of Thine house hath even eaten me" (Psalm 69:9).

2. But again, the conduct of our Lord shows us the reverence that is due to God's house. The Jewish temple was emphatically a "house of prayer," it was a place where God had promised His special presence to those who came to worship. And there are some things which, like oxen and sheep, are things not clean enough to be brought into the temple of God; all evil feelings, and pride, and unkindness, and envy, and self-conceit, and other wicked emotions may not be brought into God's temple; they must be driven out with scourges, they must not be tolerated. Then also there are some things which, like the doves, though pure in themselves, have no business in the temple of God; the cares of this world, things necessarily engaging our attention at other times, may not enter these doors: God's church is intended to be as it were a little enclosed spot where worldly things may not enter. But again, the tables of moneychangers must not be here; this is no place for thoughts of gain, it is a profanation of God's temple to bring them here. And, lastly, Christian brethren, we cannot but be reminded, by our Lord's cleansing of the temple in the days of His flesh, of that awful cleansing of His temple which will one day take place, when all that is vile and offensive shall be cast out of His temple, and everything that maketh a lie cast into the lake of brimstone.

(H. Goodwin, M. A.)

I. Our first inquiry is — WHAT IS OUR LORD'S VIEW AS TO THE PURPOSE AND END WHICH HE DESIGNS HIS EARTHLY TEMPLES TO SERVE? And this is the answer — "My house is the house of prayer." He calls us here to pray. The work to which He sets us in the sanctuary is mainly devotional.

1. As first, that common or united prayer is needful for man. Prayer itself is almost an instinct of nature. Man must worship. And he must worship in company; he must pray with others.

2. Another observation which the Divine idea in regard to the earthly sanctuary suggests is, that common or united prayer is acceptable to God.

3. Common or united prayer is efficacious to obtain Divine gifts. Otherwise, God would not assign to it so foremost a position in the worship of the sanctuary.

II. MAN'S DEPARTURE FROM THIS DIVINE IDEA ABOUT THE HOUSE OF GOD ON EARTH. "Ye have made it a den of thieves." There is man's perversion of God's design. You know, of course, what the particular sin was which these words of our Lord were intended to reprove. It was the appropriation on the part of these Jews of a portion of the temple enclosure to purposes of worldly barter. This was the way in which the Jewish people lost sight of the Divine idea in regard to their temple. And though it is not possible for men now to commit precisely the same offence, I fear it would not be difficult to trace a corresponding sin, even in the present altered condition of the church. It is possible now to desecrate sacred places and offices to purposes of worldly gain. It is possible to make a traffic of spiritual functions and emoluments. But, my friends, these are not the only things in which a departure from God's idea about His sanctuary may be marked now. There are others, of another complexion and character, it is true, but not the less to be reprehended. It is to these that I would more especially call your attention.

1. Let me say, then, that some pervert God's idea by making the house of prayer a house of preaching. With them the sermon is almost everything. They are impatient of all else to get to that. Prayers, and lessons, and psalms, and creeds, are all just to be endured as a sort of preliminary to that.

2. I remark again, that some depart from God's intention with respect to the sanctuary by making the house of prayer "a house of mere Sunday resort." They must pass the day somewhere; they must get through it somehow, and so, as it is customary, and seemly, and respectable, they will go to church. They are as well there, they think, as anywhere else; but, alas! this is all.

3. I remark, in the next place, that some pervert this design by making the house of prayer "a house of formal service." Their service is no more than lip service.

(G. M. Merry.)

Nor are there wanting examples, in all succeeding ages, of the conscientious and religious regularity with which the faithful ever attended the public means of grace. Thus, for example, "Zacharias and Elizabeth walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." The just and devout Simeon "waited for the consolation of Israel, and came by the Spirit into the temple of the Lord." These, so striking examples of such excellent men, and the uniform and continuous practice of the faithful in all ages, show that the public worship of God is an institution of Divine authority. That there is a God is the first suggestion of unassisted reason, and that God ought to be worshipped is the foundation and first principle of all religion. Accordingly, we have reason to believe, that public worship began with the beginning of the world, and that it has been continued and maintained in all countries and in all times, and under every form of religion that man has devised or God instituted. The ancient Jews for example, dedicated a seventh part of their time to the service and worship of God. We may also remark, that, from the earliest ages, not only particular times, but also particular places, were set apart and consecrated to these sacred services. In the darkest times of heathen idolatry, when there were "gods many, and lords many," magnificent temples were built, stately altars erected, costly sacrifices offered, solemn rites celebrated, and the elegant arts of painting and sculpture, poesy and music, were called into the service of dumb idols. In after times, when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and had no fixed nor settled abode, the tabernacle was erected by God's special command, and richly endowed with sacred utensils and ornaments for His solemn worship.

I. PUBLIC WORSHIP IS CALCULATED TO DISPLAY THE GLORY OF GOD. As the court of an earthly monarch derives its dignity from the splendour and number of its attendants, so the church, "the court of the Lord," shows forth the majesty of the Most High by its multitudes of humble worshippers.

II. PUBLIC WORSHIP IS ALSO CALCULATED TO PROMOTE AND PERPETUATE THE PRACTICE OF PURE AND UNDEFILED RELIGION. Prayer kindles and keeps up the spirit of piety in the soul. And if the "house of prayer "be thus holy, how great should be the purity of those who frequent it? Here, again, let the royal Psalmist be our director, "Praise is comely for the upright."

(A. McEwen.)

"My house is the house of prayer." This is as true of that portion of the holy body which we call the Church visible or militant as it is of the rest. The object of the visible Church is not solely philanthropic, although the Church's duty is to do good unto all men, specially to them that are of the household of faith. It is not solely the moral perfection of its members, although the purification to Himself of a peculiar people zealous of good works was certainly a main object of its founder; still less is it the prosecution of inquiry or speculation, however interesting about God, because we already know all that we ever really shall know in this state about Him. We have on our lips and in our hearts the faith that was once delivered to the saints. This temple, visible and invisible, is thus organized by its Divine founder throughout earth and heaven to be a whole of ceaseless communion with God; and as its heavenly members never, never for one moment cease in their blessed work, so by prayers, broken though they be and interrupted — by prayers and intercessions, by thanksgiving and praise, private and public, mental and vocal, the holy Church throughout the world doth acknowledge Him who is the common centre of light and love to all its members, whether on this side the veil or beyond it. Into this temple also there sometimes intrudes that which moves the anger of the Son of Man, for this spiritual society has its place among men. It is in the world, although not of it, and it thus sometimes admits within its courts that which cannot bear the glance of the All-Holy. And especially is this apt to be the case when the Church of Christ has been for many ages bound up with the life and history of a great nation, and is, what we call in modern language, established — that is to say, recognized by the State, and secured in its property and position by legal enactments. I am far from denying that this state of things is or may be a very great blessing, that it secures to religion a prominence and a consideration among the people at large, which would else be wanting to it, that it visibly asserts before men the true place of God as the ruler and guide of national destiny; but it is also undeniable that such a state of things may bring with it danger from which less favoured churches escape. To be forewarned, let us trust, is to be forearmed; but whenever it happens to a great Church, or to its guiding minds, to think more of the secular side of its position than they think of the spiritual — more, it may be, of a seat in the Senate and of high social rank than of the work of God among the people; if, in order to save income and position in times of real or supposed peril, there is any willingness to barter away the safeguards of the faith, or to silence the pleadings of generosity and justice in deference to some uninstructed clamour, then be sure that, unless history is at fault as well as Scripture, we may listen for the footfalls of the Son of Man on the outer threshold of the temple, and we shall not long listen in vain. Churches are disestablished and disendowed to the eye of sense, through the action of political parties; to the eye of faith by His interference who ordereth all things both in heaven and in earth, and who rules at this moment on the same principles as those which of old led Him to cleanse His Father's temple in Jerusalem.

(Canon Liddon.)

"My house shall be called the house of prayer." Here is a law for the furniture and equipment; here is a definition of the object and purpose of a material Christian church. There are great differences, no doubt, between the Jewish Temple and a building dedicated to Christian worship; but over the portals of each there might be traced with equal propriety the words, "My house shall be called the house of prayer." No well-instructed, no really spiritual Christian thinks of his parish church mainly or chiefly as a place for hearing sermons. Sermons are of great service, especially when people are making their first acquaintance with practical Christianity, and they occupy so great a place in the Acts of the Apostles, because they were of necessity the instrument with which the first teachers of Christianity made their way among unconverted Jews and heathens. Nay, more, since amid the importunities of this world of sense and time the soul of man is constantly tending to close its eyes to the unseen, to the dangers which so on every side beset it, to the pre-eminent claims of its Redeemer and its God, sermons which repeat with unwearying earnestness the same solemn certainties about God and man, about the person, and work, and gifts of Christ, about life and death, about the fleeting present and the endless future, are a vital feature in the activity of every Christian Church, a means of calling the unbelieving and the careless to the foot of the cross, a means of strengthening and edifying the faithful. Still, if a comparison is to be instituted between prayers and sermons, there ought not to be a moment's doubt as to the decision; for it is not said, "My house shall be called a house of preaching," but "My house shall be called the house of prayer." Surely it is a much more responsible act, and, let me add, it is a much greater privilege, to speak to God, whether in prayer or praise, than to listen to what a fellow-sinner can tell you about Him; and when a great congregation is really joining in worship, when there is a deep spiritual, as it were an electric, current of sympathy traversing a vast multitude of souls as they make one combined advance to the foot of the eternal throne, then, if we could look at these things for a moment with angels' eyes, we should see something infinitely greater, according to all the rules of a true spiritual measurement, than the effect of the most eloquent and the most persuasive of sermons. "My house shall be called the house of prayer" is a maxim for all time, and if this be so, then all that meets the eye, all that falls upon the ear within the sacred walls, should be in harmony with this high intention, should be valued and used only with a view to promoting it. Architecture, painting, mural decoration, and the like, are only in place when they lift the soul upwards towards the invisible, when they conduct it swiftly and surely to the gate of the world of spirits, and then themselves retire from thought and from view. Music the most pathetic, the most suggestive, is only welcome in the temples of Christ, when it gives wings to spiritualized thought and feeling, when it promotes the ascent of the soul to God. If these beautiful arts detain men on their own account, to wonder at their own intrinsic charms, down among the things of sense; if we are thinking more of music than of Him whose glory it heralds, more of the beauty of form and colour than of Him whose Temple it adorns, then be sure we are robbing God of His glory, we are turning His Temple into a den of thieves. No error is without its element of truth, and jealousy on this point was the strength of Puritanism, which made it a power notwithstanding its violence, notwithstanding its falsehood. And as for purely secular conversations within these walls, how unworthy are they in view of our Redeemer's words! Time was, under the first two Stuarts, when the nave of the old St. Paul's was a rendezvous for business, for pleasure, for public gossiping, so that Evelyn the diarist, lamenting the deplorable state to which the great church was reduced, says that it was already named a den of thieves. Is it too much to say that the Redeemer was not long in punishing the desecration of His Temple? First there came the axes and hammers of the rebellion, and then there came the swift tongues of fire in 1660, and the finest cathedral that England ever saw went its way. Would that in better times we were less constantly unmindful of the truth that its successor is neither a museum of sculpture nor yet a concert-room, and that He whose house it is will not be robbed of His rights with permanent impunity.

(Canon Liddon.)

"My house shall be called the house of prayer." This is true of every regenerate soul. When it is in a state of grace the soul of man is a temple of the Divine presence. "If any man love Me, and will keep My words, My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him." Christ's throne within the soul enlightens the understanding, and kindles the affections, and braces the will, and while He thus from His presence-chamber in this His spiritual palace, issues His orders hour by hour to its thinking and acting powers, He receives in return the homage of faith and love, a sacrifice which they delight to present to Him. So it is with God's true servants, but alas! my brethren, if you and I compare notes, what shall we say? Even when we desire to pray we find ourselves in the outer court of the soul surrounded all at once with the tables of the money-changers, and with the seats of the men who sell the doves. Our business, with all its details, follows us in the churches, follows us into our private chambers, follows us everywhere into the presence of our God. Our preparations for religious service, the accidents of our service, occupy the attention which is due to the service itself. Sometimes, alas! we do not even try to make the very first steps towards real prayer, and steps which ordinary natural reverence would suggest; we lounge, we look about us, just as though nothing in the world were of less importance than to address the Infinite and Eternal God. But sometimes, alas! we do close the eyes, we do bend the knee, we try to put force upon the soul's powers and faculties, and to lead them forth one by one, and then collectively to the footstool of the King of kings; when, lo! they linger over this memory or that, they are burdened with this or that load of care, utterly foreign to the work in hand. They bend, it is true, in an awkward sort of way in the sacred presence beneath, not their sense of its majesty, not their sense of the love and the beauty of God, but the vast and incongruous weight of worldliness which prevents their realizing it. And when a soul is thus at its best moments fatally troubled and burdened about many things, God in His mercy bides His time; He cleanses the courts of a Temple which He has predestined to be His for ever, He cleanses it in His own time and way; He sends some sharp sorrow which sweeps from the soul all thoughts save one, the nothingness, the vanity of all that is here below; and so He forces that soul to turn by one mighty, all-comprehending act to Himself, who alone can satisfy it; or He lays a man upon a bed of sickness, leaving the mind with all its powers intact, but stripping from the body all the faculties of speech and motion, and then through the long, weary hours the man is turned in upon himself; and if there is any hope for him at all, if at that critical moment he is at all alive.to the tender pleadings of the All-merciful, he will with his own hands cleanse the temple; he sees the paltriness of the trifles that have kept him back from his chiefest, from his only good; he expels first one and then another unworthy intruder upon the sacred ground. The scourge is sharp, the resistance it may be persevering; the hours are long, and they are weary, but the work is done at last.

(Canon Liddon.)

When Walter Hook (afterwards Dean of Chichester) was Vicar of Coventry, he was once presiding at a vestry meeting which was so largely attended as to necessitate an adjournment to the church. Several persons kept their hats on. The vicar requested them to take them off, but they refused. "Very well, gentlemen," He replied, "but remember that in this house the insult is not done to me, but to your God." The hats were immediately taken off.

People
Jesus, Zacchaeus
Places
Bethany, Bethphage, Jericho, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, Olivet
Topics
Abide, Behoveth, Haste, Hastened, Hurry, Immediately, Quick, Quickly, Spot, Stay, To-day, Zacchaeus, Zacchae'us, Zaccheus
Outline
1. Of Zacchaeus a tax collector.
11. The ten minas.
28. Jesus rides into Jerusalem with triumph;
41. weeps over it;
45. drives the buyers and sellers out of the temple;
47. Teaching daily in it. The rulers seek to destroy him, but fear the people.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 19:5

     2045   Christ, knowledge of

Luke 19:1-9

     5576   tax collectors

Luke 19:1-10

     5503   rich, the
     6029   sin, forgiveness

Luke 19:5-6

     4926   delay, human

Luke 19:5-7

     8447   hospitality, examples

Luke 19:5-10

     6025   sin, and God's character
     6040   sinners

Library
August 31 Evening
Occupy till I come.--LUKE 19:13. The Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.--Unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.--Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?--Leaving
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

October 28. "Thou Good Servant, Because Thou Hast Been Faithful in a Very Little, have Thou Authority Over Ten Cities" (Luke xix. 17).
"Thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities" (Luke xix. 17). It is not our success in service that counts, but our fidelity. Caleb and Joshua were faithful and God remembered it when the day of visitation came. It was a very difficult and unpopular position, and all of us are called in the crisis of our lives to stand alone and in this very matter of trusting God for victory over sin and our full inheritance in Christ we have all to be
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Kingdom of Christ
LUKE xix. 41. And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it. Let us think awhile what was meant by our Lord's weeping over Jerusalem. We ought to learn thereby somewhat more of our Lord's character, and of our Lord's government. Why did he weep over that city whose people would, in a few days, mock him, scourge him, crucify him, and so fill up the measure of their own iniquity? Had Jesus been like too many, who since his time have fancied themselves saints and prophets, would
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

Melted by Kindness
'And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house.' --LUKE xix. 5. It is characteristic of Luke that only he tells the story of Zacchaeus. He always dwells with special interest on incidents bringing out the character of Christ as the Friend of outcasts. His is eminently the Gospel of forgiveness. For example, we owe to Him the three supreme parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The Trading Servants
'Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.... And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.' --LUKE xix.16, 18. The Evangelist, contrary to his usual practice, tells us what was the occasion of this parable. It was spoken at Jericho, on our Lord's last journey to Jerusalem, Bethany was but a day's march distant; Calvary but a week ahead. An unusual tension of spirit marked our Lord's demeanour, and was noticed by the disciples with awe. It infected
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The Rewards of the Trading Servants
'Because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities... Be thou also over five cities.'--LUKE xix. 17, 19. The relation between this parable of the pounds and the other of the talents has often been misunderstood, and is very noteworthy. They are not two editions of one parable variously manipulated by the Evangelists, but they are two parables presenting two kindred and yet diverse aspects of one truth. They are neither identical, as some have supposed, nor contradictory,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

A New Kind of King
'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 be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 38. 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
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

December the Eighteenth the Sinner's Guest
"He is gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner." --LUKE xix. 1-10. It was hurled as an accusation; it has been treasured as a garland. It was first said in contempt; it is repeated in adoration. It was thought to reveal His earthliness; it is now seen to unveil His glory. Our Saviour seeks the home of the sinner. The Best desires to be the guest of the worst. He spreads His kindnesses for the outcasts, and He offers His friendship to the exile on the loneliest road. He waits to befriend the
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

August the Twenty-Sixth Missing the Lord
"Thou knowest not the time of thy visitation." --LUKE xix. 37-44. Yes, that has been my sad experience. I have wasted some of my wealthiest seasons. I have treated the hour as common and worthless, and the priceless opportunity has passed. There have been times when my Lord has come to me, and I have turned Him away from my door. He so often journeys "incognito," and if I am thoughtless I dismiss Him, and so lose the privilege of heavenly communion and benediction. He knocks at my door as a Carpenter,
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Effectual Calling
1. Now, first, effectual calling is a very gracious truth. You may guess this from the fact that Zaccheus was a character whom we should suppose the last to be saved. He belonged to a bad city--Jericho--a city which had been cursed, and no one would suspect that any one would come out of Jericho to be saved. It was near Jericho that the man fell among thieves; we trust Zaccheus had no hand in it; but there are some who, while they are publicans, can be thieves also. We might as well expect converts
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

The Mission of the Son of Man
Our text announces as a declaration of our Saviour, that he, the Son of Man, is come to seek and to save that which was lost. In addressing you this morning, I shall simply divide my discourse thus:--First, I shall lay it down as a selfevident truth, that whatever was the intention of Christ in his coming into the world that intention most certainly shall never be frustrated. We shall then in the second place, look into the intention of Christ, as announced in the text, viz., "to seek and to save
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

A Day to be Remembered
"And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house."--Luke 19:9. OBSERVE, DEAR FRIENDS, that our Lord spoke this sentence to Zacchaeus. Some of us may have fancied that he said it to the objecting people, but he did not. They may have heard it, and their objection may have been answered by it, but the main purpose of our blessed Lord, in uttering those words, was not to answer objectors, but to comfort one who might feel dispirited by their murmuring remark. Therefore, "Jesus said
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 46: 1900

The Honoured Guest
ARE you prepared, like Zaccheus, to give the Lord Jesus Christ a glad and grateful welcome? If we would obtain the full benefit of his devoted life, his atoning death, and his triumphant resurrection, we must receive him into our hearts by simple faith, and entertain him with tender love. Outside the door of our heart Jesus is a stranger; he is no Saviour to us; but inside the heart which has been opened, by divine grace, to admit him, his power is displayed, his worth is known, and his goodness
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 61: 1915

The Tears of Christ.
(Tenth Sunday after Trinity.) S. LUKE xix. 41. "He beheld the city, and wept over it." The saddest sight, save one, in the history of the world is that pictured in the text--the Son of God weeping over the city which God had chosen to put His Name there. Let us, in fancy, to-day look upon the scene on which our Saviour looked, and recall the history of that city which had lost sight of the things concerning her peace. No other city in the world, not even Rome, has such a wonderful story as Jerusalem.
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

The Consequences of Sin.
10th Sunday after Trinity. S. Luke xix, 42. "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." INTRODUCTION.--I spoke to you the other day about the measure of sin, and showed you that there was a certain limit allotted to every man, beyond which he could not go and still expect forgiveness, a point in the downward course at which the Holy Spirit will cease to strive to hold him back. We see in this day's Gospel
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

Ciii. Zacchæus. Parable of the Pounds. Journey to Jerusalem.
(Jericho.) ^C Luke XIX. 1-28. ^c 1 And he entered and was passing through Jericho. [This was about one week before the crucifixion. Jericho is about seven miles from the Jordan and about seventeen and a half from Jerusalem.] 2 And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus; and he was a chief publican, and he was rich. [See p. 76. It is probable that Zacchæus was a sub-contractor under some Roman knight who had bought the privilege of collecting taxes at Jericho, or perhaps the privilege of all
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

In Jericho and at Bethany - Jericho - a Guest with Zacchæus - the Healing of Blind Bartimæus - the Plot at Jerusalem - at Bethany,
ONCE more, and now for the last time, were the fords of Jordan passed, and Christ was on the soil of Judæa proper. Behind Him were Peræa and Galilee; behind Him the Ministry of the Gospel by Word and Deed; before Him the final Act of His Life, towards which all had consciously tended. Rejected as the Messiah of His people, not only in His Person but as regarded the Kingdom of God, which, in fulfilment of prophecy and of the merciful Counsel of God, He had come to establish, He was of
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Last Week of Jesus.
Jesus did in fact set out with his disciples to see once more, and for the last time, the unbelieving city. The hopes of his companions were more and more exalted. All believed, in going up to Jerusalem, that the kingdom of God was about to be realized there.[1] The impiety of men being at its height, was regarded as a great sign that the consummation was at hand. The persuasion in this respect was such, that they already disputed for precedence in the kingdom.[2] This was, it is said, the moment
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Servants and the Pounds.
"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. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

General Principles of Interpretation. 1 Since the Bible Addresses Men in Human Language...
CHAPTER XXXIV. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION. 1. Since the Bible addresses men in human language, and according to human modes of thinking and speaking, the interpreter's first work is to ascertain the meaning of the terms employed. Here he must proceed as in the case of other writings, seeking by the aid of grammars, lexicons, cognate languages, ancient versions, ancient interpreters, and whatever other outward helps are available, to gain a thorough knowledge of the language employed by
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Monday in Passion Week. And when He was Come Near, He Beheld the City and Wept Over It.
And when He was come near, He beheld the city and wept over it. Du weinest für Jerusalem [76]Heermann. 1630. trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1855 Thou weepest o'er Jerusalem, Lord Jesus, bitter tears; But deepest comfort lies in them For us, whose sins have filled our soul with tears: Since they that tell, When sinners turn to Thee Thou lov'st it well, And surely wilt efface, of Thy unbounded grace, All the misdeeds that on our conscience dwell. When God's just wrath and anger burn Against
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year

Epistle Xlvii. To Dominicus, Bishop.
To Dominicus, Bishop. Gregory to Dominicus, Bishop of Carthage [1454] . We have received with the utmost gratification the letters of your Fraternity, which have reached us somewhat late by the hands of Donatus and Quodvultdeus, our most reverend brethren and fellow-bishops, and also Victor the deacon with Agilegius the notary. And though we thought that we had suffered loss from the tardiness of their coming, yet we find gain from their more abundant charity; seeing that from this delay in point
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle xii. To Conon, Abbot of Lirinus (Lerins).
To Conon, Abbot of Lirinus (Lerins). Gregory to Conon, Abbot of the Monastery of Lirinus [126] . The carefulness of persons in authority is the safeguard of subjects, since one who watches over what is entrusted to him avoids the snares of the enemy. But how skilful thou art in ruling the brethren, and how earnestly watchful in keeping guard over them, we have learnt from the report of our most reverend brother and fellow-bishop Mennas [127] . And as our hearing of the unwary remissness of thy predecessor
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

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