Commentary on Luke (chapters 18–19)
Commentary on Luke
continued
Chapter 18
Luke 18:1
He also told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. The Apostle also says: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing." But who can always pray like this, and persist in prayer without failing or pausing, so that he neither has time for receiving food or for sleeping? Therefore, it must be said that he always prays and does not lose heart, who daily during the canonical hours according to the custom of the Church tradition does not cease to praise and beseech the Lord with psalms and customary prayers, and this is what the Psalmist said: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34). Or certainly, all that the righteous do and say according to God should be regarded as a prayer. For since the righteous constantly do what is just, they will thereby constantly pray without ceasing, nor will they ever cease from prayer unless they cease to be righteous.
Luke 18:2
There was a certain judge in a certain city, who neither feared God nor respected man. However, there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him, saying: Avenge me against my adversary. And he refused for a long time. But afterward he said to himself: Though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. The Lord places parables either according to some likeness, as in the case of a man who had two sons, the elder working in the field close to him, and the younger living luxuriously in a distant place, or he proves something from dissimilarity itself, as in this passage: If the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, God so clothes, how much more you of little faith (Matthew VI). Therefore, the former type can be joined with these words: Just as that, so this one too. The latter, however, with these words: If that, how much more this one? Or, if that, how much less this one? But these are set forth obscurely in some places, openly in others. Hence, the unjust judge here is employed not by similarity, but by dissimilarity. For indeed, that unjust judge by no means allegorically represents the person of God, but still, as the Lord wanted to infer here, how much God, who is good and just, cares about those who beseech Him, because even an unjust man cannot disregard those who pester him with persistent prayers, if only to avoid their annoyance. For this is what he said: Lest by her coming she weary me. The widow herself can indeed have the likeness of the Church, which seems desolate until the Lord comes, who, however, even now secretly takes care of it.
Luke 18:6
The Lord said: Hear what the unjust judge says. Will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly. If anyone is troubled by why God's elect pray to be avenged, as is also mentioned in the Revelation of John regarding the martyrs, although we are most clearly admonished to pray for our enemies and those who persecute us, it is to be understood that this is the vengeance of the righteous, that all the evil should perish. They perish in two ways: either by conversion to righteousness, or by losing their power through punishment, which now to some extent prevails against the good, as long as it serves the good temporarily. The end that the righteous desire to come, although they pray for their enemies, is nonetheless reasonably called the desire for vengeance.
Luke 18:8
However, when the Son of Man comes, do you think He will find faith on the earth? Although the omnipotent Creator is always ready to vindicate His chosen ones who cry out to Him, on the day of judgment, which should be held in trembling hearts, when the same Creator appears in the form of the Son of Man, there will be such a rarity of the chosen that the ruin of the entire world will have to be hastened not so much because of the cry of the faithfully unjustly condemned, but because of the torpor of those justly condemned. But the Lord says doubtfully: Do you think, will He find faith? He does not doubt, but rebukes. The word of doubt reproves infidelity, not divinity. For we also sometimes use the word of doubt reprovingly about things we are certain about, although we do not doubt in our heart. For instance, if you are indignant with your servant, you might say: You despise me, consider perhaps, I am your master. And the Apostle to some of his contemptors: I think also I have the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 7). He who says, I think, seems to doubt. But he was reproving, not doubting. Thus, the Lord, who indeed knows all things through whom all things were made, nonetheless doubtingly reproves the hearts of the faithless.
Luke 18:9
He also spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves as righteous and despised others. Because the Lord concluded the parable, in which He always taught to pray and not to lose heart, saying that when the judge comes, faith would be hard to find on earth, lest anyone should flatter themselves with useless faith, knowledge, or even confession; immediately following with another parable, He more diligently showed that from God, faith is examined not by words, but by deeds. Among which deeds, humility predominates greatly. Therefore, earlier, when He compared faith to a mustard seed, small indeed but burning with curiosity, He almost explained further: "When you have done all that you are commanded, say: We are unworthy servants" (Luke XVII). Contrary to this, the proud, while they do only a little of what is commanded, not only immediately presume their own righteousness but also despise the weak, and thus, as though devoid of faith, they are not heard when they pray.
Luke 18:10
Two men went up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The tax collector, praying humbly, belongs to those members of the mentioned widow, that is, the Church, of whom it is said above: "But will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him?" The Pharisee, however, boasting of his merits, pertains to those about whom the terrible closing statement is made: "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" [Luke 18:11] -- The Pharisee, standing, prayed thus with himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, robbers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this publican. There are four types by which all the swelling of the arrogant is demonstrated, when they either believe they have good from themselves, or if they believe it is given to them from above, they think they have received it because of their own merits, or certainly when they boast they have what they do not, or, despising others, seek to appear singularly to have what they have. The Pharisee is found to have labored under the plague of these boastings, who therefore descended from the temple without justification, because he attributed the merits of good works to himself, as though singularly, and preferred himself over the praying publican.
Luke 18:12
I fast twice on the Sabbath, I give tithes of all that I possess. The prophet Ezekiel writes about the heavenly creatures shown to him. And the whole body full of eyes, around those four. For the bodies of the creatures are described as full of eyes because the actions of the saints are circumspect from every part, desirably providing for the good, cautiously avoiding the evil. But we often, while attending to other matters, neglect others. And where we neglect, there undoubtedly we do not have an eye. For behold, the Pharisee had an eye for exhibiting abstinence, for extending mercy, for giving thanks to God, but he did not have an eye for maintaining humility. And what does it benefit if nearly the whole city is cautiously guarded against the enemy's plots, if one opening is left open, where the enemies may enter? [Luke 18:13] -- And the publican, standing afar off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying: God, be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. How confidently does he offer forgiveness to the worthily penitent, given that the publican, who fully recognized his wrongdoing, wept, confessed, and if he came unjust to the temple, he left justified from the temple. Typically, however, the Pharisee is the populace of the Jews, who extol their own merits through the justifications of the law. The publican, on the other hand, represents the Gentile, who, placed far from God, confesses his sins. One departed proud and humiliated, while the other, by lamenting, deserved to approach exalted.
Luke 18:14
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Of the aforementioned people, both the proud and the humble, it can rightly be understood, just as we read elsewhere: Before destruction the heart is exalted, and before glory, it is humbled (Prov. XVI). Therefore, from the words of the arrogant Pharisee, by which he deserved to be humbled, we can also take, conversely, the form of humility by which we may be exalted, so that as he, considering both the vices of the worse and his own virtues, was lifted up to ruin, we, seeing not only our own sloth but also the virtues of the better, may be humbled to glory, that each of us may humbly and submissively implore this before himself: Almighty God, have mercy on your suppliant, because I am not like your innumerable servants, exalted by the contempt of the world, glorious by the merit of justice, angelic in the praise of chastity, nor like many of those who, after public crimes, have deserved to be devoted to you by repenting. Who also, if by your granting grace I do any good, I do not know with what end I do it or by what strictness it should be weighed by you.
Luke 18:15
They were bringing children to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. And this lesson, full of the teaching of humility, shows that the innocent and simple can reach the grace of the Lord. The disciples rebuked those who were bringing them, not because they did not want the children to be blessed by the Savior's hand and voice, but because, not yet having complete faith, they thought he would be exhausted by the importunity of those presenting the children, like a human. [Luke 18:16] -- But Jesus, calling them, said: Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them. For of such is the kingdom of God. He significantly said "of such," not "of these ones," to show that it is not age that reigns, but manners, and that the reward is promised to those who have similar innocence and simplicity. The Apostle also agrees with this sentiment: Brothers, do not be children in understanding, but be infants in malice. In understanding, however, be perfect.
Luke 18:17
Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it. Just as a child does not persist in anger, does not remember being hurt, does not take delight in a beautiful woman, does not think one thing and say another, so too, unless you have such innocence and purity of mind, you will not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. Another interpretation: We are commanded to receive the kingdom of God, that is, the teaching of the Gospel, like a child, because a child neither contradicts teachers in learning, nor composes arguments and words to resist them, but faithfully accepts what is taught, and obeys and rests with respect. [Luke 18:18] -- And a certain ruler asked him, saying: Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? I believe this ruler had heard from the Lord that only those who want to be like children will enter the kingdom of God, and therefore, concerned with obtaining clear guidance, he asks to be told openly, not in parables, by what merits of works he may gain eternal life.
Luke 18:19
Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Since he had called him a good teacher and had not confessed him as God or God's Son, he learns that compared to God, no mere human being is good. Of whom it is said: 'Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good' (Psalm 106). But God alone being good is not to be understood as the Father alone, but also the Son, who says: 'I am the good Shepherd.' Also the Holy Spirit, because the Father from heaven will give the good Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11). That is, the one and individual Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is the only one and good God. Therefore, the Lord does not deny being good but indicates being God. He does not deny being a good teacher but testifies that no teacher apart from God is good.
Luke 18:20
You know the commandments: You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother. This is the chastity of childlike innocence, which is proposed to us for imitation if we wish to enter the kingdom of God. It should indeed be noted that justice of the law, kept at its proper time, not only confers the goods of the earth but also eternal life. [Luke 18:21] -- He said, "All these I have kept from my youth." Jesus, hearing this, said to him, "You still lack one thing." This prince is not to be thought a liar when he claimed he kept the commandments of the law, but he confessed simply as he had lived. Because if he were guilty of the charge of lying, the evangelist Mark would not have added, writing about him: "Jesus looking at him, loved him, and said to him, 'You lack one thing: Go, sell all that you have' (Mark 10), and so on. For the Lord loves those who keep even the lesser mandates of the law, but nonetheless shows what was lesser in the law to those who desire to be perfect.
Luke 18:22
Sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me. Whoever wishes to be perfect must sell, like Ananias and Sapphira, but sell everything; and when he has sold it, give everything to the poor, and so prepare a treasure for himself in the kingdom of heaven. And this does not suffice for perfection, unless after despising riches, he follows the Savior, that is, leaving behind evil, he does good. For it is easier to despise the purse than the will. Many, though they leave riches, do not follow the Lord. However, he follows the Lord who is his imitator, and walks in his footsteps. For whoever says he believes in Christ, ought to walk as He did. [Luke 18:23] -- Hearing this, he was sorrowful, for he was very rich. This is the sadness of the world that works death. These deceptive riches are like thorns that choke the Lord's seed.
Luke 18:24
But Jesus, seeing him become sad, said: How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! It is clear indeed that those who strive to multiply their riches here, disdain to seek the joys of another life, but there is a difference between having wealth and loving wealth. Many indeed who have do not love. Many who do not have, love. Similarly, others both have and love, while others neither have nor love the riches of this world, whose state is safer, with the Apostle saying: The world is crucified to us, and we to the world (Gal. VI). Hence Solomon does not say, Whoever has, but Whoever loves riches, will not enjoy their fruit (Eccl. V). And the Lord Himself, according to Mark, with the disciples astonished at the words of this statement, further explained: Little children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God (Mark X)! And it is to be noted that He did not say, Impossible, but Difficult, that is, it is of the greatest labor for those who have wealth, or trust in wealth, stripping off the bonds of avarice, to enter the court of the heavenly kingdom.
Luke 18:25
For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. If it is easier for a camel, which has enormous and huge limbs, to pass through the narrow eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, then no rich man will enter the kingdom of God. And how is it that both in the Gospel according to Matthew, Zacchaeus, and Joseph, as well as in the Old Testament, so many rich men of God have entered the kingdom? Unless perhaps they learned, by the Lord's inspiration, either to value riches at nothing or to leave them entirely? Did David, who sang about himself: "For I am poor and alone" (Ps. XXIV), trust in the riches of his kingdom? And he advises others: "If riches increase, do not set your heart on them" (Ps. LXI)? I believe he did not dare say "Do not accept them. Is it credible that Abraham preferred his possessions to the Lord, for whose sake he did not hesitate to strike his only heir? In a higher sense, it is easier for Christ to suffer for the lovers of the world than for the lovers of the world to be able to be converted to Christ. For by the name of the camel, He wished to be understood, because He voluntarily humbled Himself and bore the burdens of our weakness.
In what indeed is it more clearly understood than in what is written of Him: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things" (Eccli. III)? By the needle, he signifies the punctures, and by the punctures, the sufferings endured in His passion. Therefore, the eye of the needle denotes narrowness and sufferings. When it is split, He deigns somehow to mend, that is, to restore our nature’s garments, so that after the fall we may be better reformed, as we rejoice in the testimony of the Apostle, who says: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galat. III).
Luke 18:26
And those who heard it said, "And who can be saved?" What does this answer pertain to unless it is because the far greater multitude of the poor, who could be saved with the rich being lost, understood that all who love riches, even if they cannot obtain them, are reckoned among the rich? [Luke 18:27] -- He said to them: What is impossible with men is possible with God. It is not to be understood in such a way that the greedy and the proud, who are signified by the name of that rich man, will enter the kingdom of heaven with their greed and pride, but it is possible for God that through His word (as we also see has been done and is done daily) they may be converted from the desire for temporal things to the love of eternal things, and from destructive pride to most salutary humility.
Luke 18:28
But Peter said: Behold, we have left everything and followed you. Great confidence. Peter was a fisherman, he was not rich, he sought food by hand and skill, and yet he speaks confidently, We have left everything. And because it is not enough to just leave, he adds what is perfect: And followed you. We have done what you commanded, so what reward will you give us?
Luke 18:29–30
He said to them: "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or parents, or brothers, or wife, or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive much more in this time, and in the age to come, eternal life. Some, on account of this saying, build up the Jewish fable of a thousand years after the resurrection of the just, when all things which we have abandoned for God will be rendered to us with manifold interest, and eternal life will be granted in addition. Nor do the foolish see that even if in other respects the promise is worthy, in wives it appears as a scandal a hundredfold, according to other evangelists; especially as the Lord testifies that in the resurrection there will be no marriage, and according to the evangelist Mark, that what has been left will be received in this time with persecutions: which persecutions, indeed, those chiliasts dogmatize as absent from their thousand years of troubles. The sense, therefore, is this: Whoever has despised all affections for the sake of acquiring the kingdom of God, has trampled on all the delights and luxuries of the world, will receive much more in the present because, from brothers and companions of his purpose, who are bound to him with spiritual glue, he will receive much greater charity even in this life.
This charity, which is joined among parents, children, and brothers, spouses or relatives, either by the society of marriage or the necessity of consanguinity, is known to be quite brief and fragile. In fact, sometimes it is even broken for a just cause. Only those who retain the unity of perpetual conjunction, and indiscriminately possess all things, who believe that all that is theirs is the brothers', all the brothers' things are theirs. Read the Acts of the Apostles, that the heart and soul of the multitude of believers were one, and all things were common to them, and there was not a needy person among them who left their own for the Lord. Of whom Paul also says: "As having nothing, yet possessing everything" (II Cor. 6). A much greater sweetness indeed will be received from conjugal continence than that which was previously offered to them by the mingling of sexes. Before, I possessed a wife in the lascivious passion of desire; now I possess the same in the honor of sanctification and true love of Christ. There is one woman, but the merit of chastity has grown a hundredfold. For what is said according to Mark: "He will receive a hundred times as much now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and fields, with persecutions" (Mark 10), can be understood more deeply.
Certainly, the number a hundred, transferred from left to right, although it appears to hold the same shape in the curve of the fingers, grows exceedingly in magnitude, because all who scorn temporal things for the kingdom of God’s sake, even in this life, taste the fullest joys of that same kingdom with firm faith, and in the expectation of the heavenly homeland, they enjoy most sincerely the love of all the elect together.
Luke 18:31
Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked, insulted, and spit upon. After they have scourged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again." Foreseeing that the suffering of his passion would trouble the spirits of his disciples, the Savior predicts to them long in advance both the punishment of his passion and the glory of his resurrection, so that seeing him die as it was predicted, they might not doubt that he would also rise again. He also foresaw that certain heretics would arise in the Church who would claim that Christ taught contrary to the law and the prophets, and that the God of the Old Testament was different from the God of the New Testament. He showed that the prophecies were directed to no one more than to himself and the mystery of his temporary dispensation for us, so that his passion and subsequent glory would be the fulfillment and perfect celebration of the prophecy. He also most clearly refuted the madness of the pagans who mock his cross, when he predicted the time of his imminent passion as if he were aware of the future, and approached the place of his death fearlessly.
Luke 18:34
And they understood none of these things. And this saying was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what was said. We read in the Gospel according to John, the Lord saying: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." The crowd answered and said: "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. And how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?" (John 12). Why, then, is it that the disciples, who had the mystery of the Lord’s passion repeated to them so many times, could not understand it, while the Jews, at a single word, and so obscurely put that the Evangelist deemed it worthy of explanation: "Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death He would die" (ibid.), immediately understood that the exaltation of the cross was meant, except because the disciples, whose lives especially wished to witness that, could not hear of His death? They, knowing Him not only as an innocent man but also as the true God, thought He could by no means die. And because they were accustomed to hearing Him often speak in parables, whenever He said anything about His passion, they believed it was not to be understood as it sounded, but to be referred allegorically to something else dictated by love. But the Jews, because they conspired for His death, understood whatever He spoke about His passion or cross; for He spoke what they most eagerly wished to occur and labored to bring about. Thus, in a marvelously unusual way, the same mystery of undergoing the cross, which love concealed from the faithful, envy revealed to the unfaithful.
Luke 18:35
And it came to pass, that as he was coming near Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way begging. And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. This blind man signifies, by allegory, the human race, which, expelled from the joys of paradise in the first parent, suffering the darkness of damnation, unaware of the clarity of heavenly light. But when Jesus is said to approach Jericho, the blind man is illuminated. For Jericho is interpreted as the moon. The moon, however, in sacred scripture, is used to signify the defect of the flesh, because as it decreases in its monthly phases, it signifies the defect of our mortality. Therefore, when our Creator approaches Jericho, the blind man returns to the light, because, as the Divinity takes on the defect of our flesh, the human race receives the light that it had lost. This blind man indeed is rightly described as sitting by the way and begging. For the Truth itself said: I am the way (John XIV). Thus, he who knows not the clarity of eternal light is blind; but if he already believes in the Redeemer, he sits by the way. If he already believes, but does not request to receive the eternal light, and neglects to pray, the blind man indeed sits by the way, but he does not beg. But if he both believes and prays, the blind man both sits by the way and begs.
Luke 18:38
And he cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And those who were going before rebuked him, so that he might be silent. But he cried out much more, Son of David, have mercy on me. What do those signify who precede Jesus as he comes, if not the crowds of carnal desires and the tumults of vices, which, before Jesus comes to our hearts, scatter our thoughts with their temptations and disturb the voices of the heart in prayer? For often, when we wish to turn to God after having committed sins, while we strive to pray against these same vices that we have committed, the phantasms of the sins we committed come to our heart, reverberate the focus of our mind, confound, and press down the mind and voice of our supplication. But he who is rebuked by the crowd to be silent cries out all the more, because the more heavily we are pressed by the tumult of carnal thoughts, the more ardently we should persist in prayer.
Luke 18:40
But Jesus, standing still, ordered him to be brought to him. Behold, he stands who previously was passing by, because when we still suffer the crowds of phantasms in prayer, we feel Jesus in some way passing by. But when we fervently persist in prayer, Jesus stands still and restores the light, because God is fixed in the heart, and the lost light is restored. [Luke 18:41] -- And when he approached, he questioned him saying: What do you want me to do for you? And he said, Lord, that I may see. Did He who could give light not know what the blind man wanted? But He wishes that this be asked, which He knows beforehand that we would ask and He would grant. For He urgently admonishes us to prayer, and yet He says: Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him (Matthew VI). Therefore, He requires this, that it be asked; He requires this, that the heart be stirred to prayer. Wherefore the blind man immediately adds: Lord, that I may see. Behold, the blind man does not ask gold, but light from the Lord, he reckons it insignificant to ask for anything outside of light. Because even if the blind man can possess anything, without light he cannot see what he possesses. Let us therefore imitate him whom we have heard saved both in body and in mind, let us not seek false riches, not earthly gifts, not fleeting honors from the Lord, but light: namely that light which we can see only with the holy angels, which neither beginning initiates nor end confines. To which indeed light, the way is faith. Wherefore it is rightly added while illuminating the blind man:
Luke 18:42
And Jesus said to him: Look, your faith has saved you. And immediately he saw and followed Him, glorifying God. He sees and follows, who works the good he understands. He indeed sees, but does not follow, who indeed understands good, but despises performing good works. For he who imitates follows Jesus. Hence He says: If anyone serves me, let him follow me (John XII). Let us therefore consider where He leads, that we may deserve to follow. Thus it comes about that not only does our life progress in God, but this very conversion of ours kindles others to the praise of God, whence it is added: [Luke 18:43] -- And all the people, when they saw, gave praise to God. For the people gave praise to God, not only for the granted gift of light, but also for the merit of the faith of the one asking. They gave praise to God because they saw Jesus mercifully and powerfully restore light to the one asking, and acknowledged that the cry of firm faith, which rightly sought, could immediately be accomplished. Wherefore it should be noted that the Lord, appearing in the flesh, confirmed everything He taught with words by examples. For He who commanded us: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt. V), in all things He began to do and teach (Acts I), sought not His own glory from men, but the glory of the Father (John VIII).
Chapter 19
Luke 19:1–4
And entering, he was passing through Jericho; and behold, a man named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he was seeking to see Jesus, who he was, and he could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. And running ahead, he climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, because he was to pass that way. What is impossible with men is possible with God (Luke XVIII). Behold, a camel, having laid down its hump load, passes through the eye of a needle (Matthew XIX), that is, a rich man and a tax collector, having left the burden of riches, having despised the sense of frauds, ascends the narrow gate and the difficult way that leads to life (Matthew VII). With an extraordinary devotion of faith to see the Savior, what was lacking in nature, he supplied by climbing the tree, and thus justly, although he did not dare to ask, he received the blessing of the Lord’s visitation, which he desired. Mystically, Zacchaeus, who is interpreted as "justified," signifies a believing people from the Gentiles. The more occupied he was with worldly cares, the more he was made humble by the oppressive devices. But he was washed, he was sanctified, he was justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God, who was seeking to see the Savior passing through Jericho but could not because of the crowd.
Because he desired to partake of the grace of faith which the Savior brought to the world, but the ingrained habit of vices obstructed him from reaching his desire. The same crowd of harmful habits that rebuked the blind man crying out so that he might not seek the light, also delays the tax collector looking upward so that he might not see Jesus. But just as the blind man overcame the voices of the crowds by crying out more and more, so the short man must overcome the obstacle of the harmful crowd by seeking higher things, leaving earthly things behind, ascending the tree of the cross. The sycamore tree, which is a tree with leaves similar to the mulberry, but excelling in height, and is therefore called lofty by the Latins, is called the foolish fig. And the same is the Lord’s cross, which nourishes believers like a fig, but is ridiculed by unbelievers as foolishness. For we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness. But to those who are called, Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians I). This very tree Zacchaeus of short stature climbs in order to be exalted, when anyone humble and aware of his own weakness, trusting in the Lord, proclaims: But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians VI).
Having climbed the sycamore, he sees the Lord passing by, because through this commendable foolishness, even if not yet solidly, yet already fleetingly, and as if in passing, he gazes upon the light of heavenly wisdom.
Luke 19:5
And when He came to that place, looking up, Jesus saw him. Traversing Jericho, the Savior came to the place where Zacchaeus, having run ahead, had climbed a sycamore tree, because, having sent His heralds of the word through the world, in whom He Himself certainly both spoke and went, He came to the people of the nations, who, already exalted by faith in His passion, were also longing to be blessed, having recognized His divinity. Looking up, He saw him, because through the grace of faith, elevated from earthly desires and standing out among the unbelieving crowds, He chose him. To see God is indeed to choose or to love. Hence, it is: The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous (Psalm 34). For we also desire to see what we love, and we hasten to turn our gaze away from what we abhor. Therefore, Jesus saw the one seeing Him, because He chose the one choosing Him, and He loved the one loving Him. This indeed is the order of progressing, that is, coming to the knowledge of Divinity through faith in the Lord's incarnation, symbolized by climbing the sycamore tree to behold Jesus' face, as an excellent teacher indicated when he said: For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2). And reproaching others similarly, he said: You have become such as need milk, not solid food (Hebrews 5), calling the milk the weak details of the temporal dispensation, and solid food the profound truths of eternal majesty.
Luke 19:5
And he says to him: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down, and received him joyfully. The Lord sometimes stayed in the house of the chief of the Pharisees, that is, he taught in the synagogue of the Jews; but because they reproached him with a venomous tongue for healing on the Sabbath without being baptized before the meal, for receiving publicans and sinners, for arguing against avarice, and for performing other deeds worthy of God, weary of their crimes, he departed and fled saying: “Your house will be left desolate to you” (Matt. 23). But today he must stay in the house of the little Zacchaeus, that is, in the heart of the humble nations of believers where the grace of the new light shines. Moreover, the fact that Zacchaeus is ordered to come down from the sycamore and thus prepare a dwelling for Christ in his house, signifies what the Apostle says: “For although we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer” (II Cor. 5). For even though he died in weakness, he lives by the power of God.
Luke 19:7
And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying that he had turned aside to a sinner's house. It is evident that the Jews always hated the salvation of the nations, for it is written: “On the following Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. And they began to contradict what was spoken by Paul” (Acts 13). And elsewhere: “Even the faithful brothers disputed against the chief of the apostles, saying: Why did you go in to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” (Acts 11).
Luke 19:8
But Zacchaeus, standing, said to the Lord: “Behold, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore fourfold.” While others were slandering the man as a sinner, Zacchaeus himself, standing, that is, persisting in the truth of the faith he had begun, proves not only to have been converted from a sinner, but also to have lived among the perfect. For as the Lord says: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell all that you have and give to the poor” (Matthew XIX), anyone who lived innocently before conversion can give everything to the poor after being converted. But whoever has taken anything by fraud must first return these things according to the law, then give what remains to the poor. And thus he himself, because he keeps nothing for himself, disperses all his possessions, gives them to the poor, and his justice remains forever (Psalm CXI). And this is that wise foolishness, which the publican had gathered from the sycamore tree, as it were the fruit of life, namely to restore what was taken, to leave behind one’s own property, to despise visible things, to desire even to die for unseen things, to deny oneself, and to long to follow in the footsteps of the Lord, who is not yet seen.
Luke 19:9
Jesus said to him: "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham." Zacchaeus is called a son of Abraham, not because he was born of his lineage, but because he imitated his faith. Just as Abraham left his land, kin, and father's house, at the Lord's command, for the hope of future inheritance, so he also, to acquire treasure in heaven, left his goods to be shared with the poor. And he beautifully says, "And he too," to declare that not only those who persist in righteousness, but also those who repent of unrighteousness, belong to the sons of the promise. Alternatively: Salvation, which once filled the house of the Jews, today has shone upon the people of the nations, because this people too is a son of Abraham by believing in him. The Apostle says: "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed" (Gal. III). And, as he says elsewhere, Abraham is the father of circumcision, not only to those who are of the circumcision but also to those who follow the footsteps of the faith that is in the uncircumcision of our father Abraham (Rom. IV).
Luke 19:10
Indeed, the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. This is what he says elsewhere: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt. IX). The merciful Teacher certainly does not disdain to explain his mysteries to the murmuring crowds, showing clearly that the repentance of sinners is not to be despised, as the Son of God himself was sent to earth especially for this reason. To remind us of his compassionate governance, he frequently calls himself the Son of Man, diligently reinforcing to us that he became benignly for us. [Luke 19:11] -- Hearing these things, he added a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God would appear immediately. It is the custom of the Lord to confirm the preceding discourse with subsequent parables. Therefore, having received and commended the penance of the publican more than the righteousness of the proud, he added a parable to teach that penance of sinners pleases him more than the justice of the proud, and that he would more widely reign among humble Gentiles who were ignorant of the law, than among Jews who are proud of the justice from the law. And because the disciples, hearing about the passion of the Lord above, or the resurrection to be fulfilled in Jerusalem, did not understand what was being said, thinking that the kingdom of God was coming immediately, he illuminated their ignorance, showing that he would first spread the faith of his kingdom over the whole world, and thus at the end of the world would come as judge and king of all ages.
Luke 19:12
Therefore, he said: A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. That nobleman is he, to whom the blind man above cried out: Son of David, have mercy on me (Luke XVIII). And coming to Jerusalem, they sang together: Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel (Matthew XXI). The far country is the church from the Gentiles. Concerning which the same nobleman, who speaks: But I have been established as king by him (Psalm II); is told by the Father: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession (Ibid.). This inheritance and possession is called a far country for a twofold reason, either because it cries out to the Lord from the ends of the earth, or because salvation is far from sinners (Psalm CCXVIII). And although God is present everywhere, yet he is far from the sense of those who worship idols, the true God is absent. But those who were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians II).
Luke 19:13
But calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas. The number ten pertains to the law, because of the Decalogue. Therefore the head of the household calls ten servants, because he chooses disciples steeped in the letter of the law. He gives them ten minas, because he reveals the words of the law to be understood spiritually. After his passion and resurrection, he indeed opened their minds to understand the scriptures. For a mina, which the Greeks call "mna," amounts to a hundred drachmas. And the discourse of all scripture, because it suggests the perfection of heavenly life, sparkles with the weight of the number one hundred. [Luke 19:13] -- And he said to them: Trade until I come. He says, offer the words of the law and the prophets to the people through mystical interpretation, and receive from them the confession of faith and the integrity of morals. Just as the Psalmist commands his listeners, saying: Take up the psalm, and give the timbrel (Psalm 80). That is, perceive the praise of preaching with the intention of the heart, and return the devotion of work in the chastisement of the flesh. For the timbrel is a skin stretched on wood. Indeed, the skin stretched on wood is our flesh afflicted after the example of the Lord’s cross.
Luke 19:14
But his citizens hated him. And they sent a delegation after him, saying: We do not want him to reign over us. By citizens, he means the impious Jews. Of whom he elsewhere protests: But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father (John 15). Who not only hated him present even unto the death of the cross, but also after his resurrection sent persecution to the apostles and spurned the preaching of the heavenly kingdom. [Luke 19:15] -- And it happened that he returned, having received the kingdom. It signifies the time when he will come in the most manifest and most eminent clarity, he who appeared to them humble, when he said: My kingdom is not of this world (John 18). [Luke 19:15] -- And he ordered the servants to be called to whom he had given the money, that he might know what each had gained by trading. To know, he said, not that anything should be hidden from him, to whom it is truly said: "Lord, you know all things." But to know, he says, is to make everyone know. For then the works and thoughts of all shall be plainly shown to everyone. As in Deuteronomy: He tests you, he says, the Lord your God, that he might know if you love him (Deut. XIII), that is, to make it known. Let no one think indeed that only those to whom the grace of preaching is given, but not also those to whom it is preached, shall be called to judgment then. For they themselves are the money which the good servants gained by trading. Furthermore, know that those also who have never been preached to shall be there to be condemned, about whom we shall speak below.
Luke 19:16
But the first came, saying: Lord, your mina has gained ten minas. The first servant is the order of teachers sent to the circumcision, who received one mina to trade with, because they were commanded to preach one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. But this same mina gained ten minas, because the people under the law came to be united to him through teaching. [Luke 19:17] -- And he said to him: Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities. The servant is faithful in a very little, who does not adulterate the word of God, but speaks in Christ as from God, in the presence of God (II Cor. II). For whatever we receive of gifts at present is in comparison to the future very little and small, for we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall be done away (I Cor. XIII). The ten cities, however, are the souls coming to the grace of the Gospel through the word of the law. To whom he who has worthily given the money of the word to God shall then be rightly glorified. Hence, a certain excellent merchant, addressing the cities over which he presided, that is, the souls he had received to govern, says: What is our hope or joy or crown of glory? Is it not even you before our Lord Jesus (I Thess. II)?
Luke 19:18
And another came, saying, "Lord, your mina has made five minas." This servant is of the group that was sent to evangelize the uncircumcised, to whom the Lord had granted one mina, that is, the same faith which was also entrusted to the circumcision, but this one made five minas, because he converted the Gentiles, who were previously enslaved by the senses of the body, to the grace of the evangelical faith.
Luke 19:19
And to him he said, "And you be over five cities." This means, from the faith and conversion of the souls whom he had instructed, shine forth as great and exalted. Concerning which Isaiah mystically says: "In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt, speaking the language of Canaan" (Isaiah 19). For the five cities in the land of Egypt are the five senses of the body, which we use in this world, namely sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. And, "whoever looks at a woman to lust after her" (Matthew 5); who "turns his ear away from hearing the poor" (Proverbs 21); who "gets drunk with wine, in which is dissipation" (Ephesians 5); who "enjoys crowning himself with roses before they wither" (Wisdom 2); whose "hands are full of blood, and his right hand is filled with bribes" (Psalm 26), the five senses of this person speak the language of Egypt, that is, all the senses perform works of darkness. For Egypt signifies darkness. But he who "stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil" (Isaiah 33), who "tastes and sees that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34), who "disciplines his body and brings it into subjection" (1 Corinthians 9), who can say with the Apostle, "We are to God the fragrance of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2), the cities of this person speak with a changed language, which is interpreted as Canaan. And the one who had taught them away from the darkness rightly is remembered as being over five cities, because he is honored not only for his own progress but also for the progress of his listeners, whom he called to the light.
Luke 19:20
And another came, saying: Lord, behold thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee, because thou art a stern man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. The servant who, being ordered to trade, hid the master's money in a napkin, shows those who, although fit to preach, refuse either to take up the office of preaching, by command of the Lord through the Church, or at least to carry it out worthily once taken up. For to tie money in a napkin is to hide the received gifts in the idleness of sluggish inactivity. There are indeed men flattering themselves with this perverse reasoning, so as to say: It is enough that each one renders an account concerning himself. What need is there to preach to others, so that each one may be obliged to render an account also concerning them, since even those are inexcusable before the Lord to whom the law was not given, and who have slumbered without hearing the Gospel, because they were able to know the creator through creation? For this is, as it were, to reap where he has not sown, that is, also to hold them guilty of impiety to whom the word of the law or the Gospel has not been ministered. However, avoiding this sort of peril of judgment, they rest in lazy languor away from the ministry of the word, and this is, as it were, tying what they have received in a napkin.
Luke 19:22
He saith unto him: Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. He is called a wicked servant, because he is both lazy and idle in conducting business, and insolent and proud in accusing the judgment of the Lord. [Luke 19:22] -- You knew that I am a harsh man, taking what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow, and why did you not give my money to the table? What he had thought to say as an excuse turns into his own fault. If, he says, you knew I was harsh and cruel, and seeking what belongs to others and reaping where I have not sown, why did such thinking not instill fear in you, so that you would know that I would seek my own more diligently and give my money or silver to the table? For the Greek word ἀργυρίῳ signifies both. The words of the Lord, he says, are pure words, silver tried in a furnace (Psalm XI). Therefore, money and silver are the preaching of the Gospel, and the divine word, which ought to have been given to the table, that is, to be planted in the ready and prepared hearts of the faithful. In particular, to this table, that is, to the mind of the hearers, should no other money than the Lord's be presented, so that every word of the teacher follows the meaning of Scripture. For in this place the Lord says that not just any money, but His own, must be entrusted to the bankers, as the Apostle explains, saying: If anyone speaks, let him speak as the words of God (1 Peter IV).
Luke 19:23
And I coming, would have certainly demanded it with interest. He who receives the money of the word from the teacher, and acquires it by believing, must necessarily repay it with interest by working, so that what he has learned by hearing, he may carry out in action. Indeed, through interest, money even not given is received. Or certainly, he repays the interest on the received money of the word, who from what he hears also strives to understand other things, which he has not yet learned from the mouth of the preacher. [Luke 19:24] -- And to those standing by, he says: Take away the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas. And they said to him: Lord, he has ten minas. Rightly does he lose the bestowed grace, which by preaching to others he neglected to share, so that it may be increased to him who labored for it. According to what is said to the angel of the Church of Ephesus: And I will move your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent (Rev. II). And while the royal anointing, which Saul lost through pride, David earned by obedience: The Spirit of the Lord, it says, departed from Saul, and was directed to David from that day forward. But indeed the mina taken from the wicked servant being commanded to be given to him who had ten minas mystically indicates, as I believe, that upon the fullness of the Gentiles entering all Israel will be saved (Rom. XI), and then the abundance of spiritual grace, which we now suddenly exercise, will be bestowed upon the teachers of that people.
Luke 19:26
But I say to you that to everyone who has, it will be given. But from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. This saying refers to the previous teachings, showing that even he who has the gift of God can lose it if he does not use it, and it will be increased in him who has it and uses it well. This transformation of graces, because it usually happens in this life, should be noted from the testing of the Lord's return, which is now partially celebrated but will then be universally fulfilled. For every day He returns with the kingdom received from the Father because He observes the state of the Church, which sojourns on earth. Every day He gives money to be traded by this large number of faithful servants, and in each examines the measure of their completed work, rewarding one who works faithfully and wisely with a greater gift of grace, and depriving another who follows idle pleasures and softness in luxury of what had been given to him. Truly, regarding the universal judgment manifest to all, which is terrible even to speak of, many who seemed apt to teach will be counted among the ignorant because of their negligence. But other simpler brothers and those entirely ignorant of the basics but devoted in excellent conduct will receive the highest rewards among the apostolic teachers. For he who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward (Matt. X).
Luke 19:27
Nevertheless, bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me. This signifies the impiety of the Jews or all the reprobates unwilling to turn to Christ, to be punished on the day of judgment. Through the two faithful servants, representing the teachers of both peoples, through the ten and five minas, the same peoples believing, through the wicked servant, evil Catholics, through the enemies who did not want Him to reign over them, indicating the impiety of those who either never heard the word of faith or preferred to corrupt it by misinterpretation, through the unsewn field, indicating even those who never had the opportunity to hear the word of God, the examination is signaled. Through these five personas is expressed the entirety of the human race, which will be on the day of judgment. [Luke 19:28] -- And having said these things, he advanced, going up to Jerusalem. The parable being finished, he went up to Jerusalem, to show that the parable had been particularly about the outcome of this very city, which not long after would both kill him and, owing to the hatred of his reign, be destroyed by hostile calamity.
Luke 19:29
And it came to pass, when he approached Bethphage and Bethany, to the mountain called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying: Go into the village opposite you. Bethphage was a village of priests on the Mount of Olives. Bethany was also a small town or city on the side of the same mountain, about fifteen stadia from Jerusalem, as the evangelist John reveals, where Lazarus was raised from the dead. Whose tomb a church now built there shows. Bethphage means house of the mouth, Bethany means house of obedience. The Savior, about to arrive in Jerusalem, exalted these places with the dignity of his presence, because before his passion he filled many with the gifts of pious confession and spiritual obedience by teaching them. These beautiful cities situated on the Mount of Olives refer to, that is, the very Lord, who refreshes us with anointing of spiritual graces and the light of knowledge and piety. Hence, when he said elsewhere: A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew V), he immediately added: Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket (Ibid.), because the same Mount of Olives, that is, the chief distributor of spiritual graces, who exalts his city to stand out, also anoints it with the oil of gladness so that it can shine. And because the same light did not wish to be put under a basket, he sent the disciples to the village opposite them, that is, he took care to send teachers to penetrate the uneducated and barbaric coasts of the whole world, as though they were the walls of a village placed opposite. And so rightly two are sent, either for the knowledge of truth, and purity of work, or for the sacrament of the twin love, namely of God and neighbor, to be preached throughout the whole world.
Luke 19:30
Entering there, you will find a colt tied, on which no man has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. And if anyone asks you why you are untying it, you shall say this to him: Because the Lord has need of it. Entering the world, the preachers found the people of the nations entangled in the bonds of perfidy. For each one was constrained by the cords of their sins, not only of the nations, but also of the Jews. For all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God (Rom. III). Hence it is fittingly noted in Matthew that a donkey is also found tied with the colt. Indeed, the donkey, which was domesticated and had borne the yoke of the law, signifies the synagogue: the unruly and free colt of the donkey represents the people of the nations. On whom no man has ever sat, that is, no rational teacher had ever imposed the restraints of correction, by which either their tongue could be kept from evil or they could be forced onto the narrow path of life; none had contributed the garments of salvation by useful teaching, by which they could be spiritually warmed. A man would have sat upon it if anyone using reason had corrected its foolishness by repression.
Hence two disciples are fittingly delegated to present the animals to the Lord, just as in the example of the previous parable, the two orders of preachers, one directed to the nations, the other to the circumcision, can be understood. And it should be noted that the three evangelists who wrote in Greek only mention the colt; but Matthew alone, who wrote his Gospel to the Hebrews and in the Hebrew language, also reports the donkey being untied and brought to the Lord, to show that the salvation of the Hebrew nation should not be despaired of if it repents. Untie, he says, and bring. For whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matt. XVIII).
Luke 19:32
But they who were sent went away and found the colt standing, as he had told them. Mark writes that the colt was found tied at the door outside, in the street. Now the door itself is He who says: I am the door of the sheep; by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John X). From which pastures of life this colt, that is, the people of the Gentiles, was lacking when it still stood tied outside this door in the street. And rightly in the street, because it did not hold to a certain way of life and faith, but followed many uncertain paths of heresies in error. To which it is appropriately added: [Luke 19:33] -- And as they were loosing the colt, its owners said to them: Why are you loosing the colt? For it had many owners, being not devoted to one doctrine and superstition, but wretchedly carried off to various and diverse errors of idols at the whim of unclean spirits, proceeding as it was led. Finally, it is said to be common by a certain vernacular Scripture custom that which is unclean, as also a voice from heaven says to Peter: What God has cleansed, you must not call common (Acts XI). Because he who is holy is God's alone and is shared with no one else. But he who is sinful and unclean belongs to many. For many demons possess him, and therefore he is called common.
Luke 19:34
But they said: Because the Lord has need of him. And they brought him to Jesus. Those who had resisted the loosing of the colt, upon hearing the name of the Lord, became quiet, for the masters of errors who opposed the teachers of the salvation to the Gentiles, defended their darkness until the power of the true possessor and Lord shone through with miracles to back it up. But after the power of the dominical faith appeared, with the complaints of the adversaries giving way all over, the liberated congregation of believers, carrying God in their heart, is brought forward. [Luke 19:35] -- And throwing their garments on the colt, they set Jesus upon it. The garments of the apostles, or the doctrine of virtues, or the exposition of Scriptures, or certainly the various dogmas of the ecclesiastical understanding, with which they cover human hearts, formerly bare and cold, so that they may become worthy for Christ as rider.
Luke 19:36
And as he went, they spread their garments in the way. As the Lord is carried by the donkey, the disciples lay their garments in the path, because by stripping away their own bodily attire, they prepare the way for the simpler servants of God with their own blood, so that they may walk with an undisturbed step of the mind towards Jerusalem, where Jesus leads. For Jesus, sitting on the donkey, heads towards Jerusalem when, governing the soul of each faithful one, He leads His donkey to the vision of inner peace, or also when He presides universally over the holy Church and kindles in it the desire for the peace of heaven. But because according to other evangelists, not only disciples but also many from the crowd spread their garments on the road, those may be understood as well who, following the examples of the martyrs, discipline their bodies through abstinence, to prepare a path for the Lord towards the mind, or offer good examples for those who might follow.
Luke 19:37
And as he was now approaching the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice. As the Lord descends from the Mount of Olives, the rejoicing and praising multitudes also descend, because with the author of mercy humbling himself by his own will, it is necessary for those who are most in need of mercy to imitate, as far as they can, the footsteps of His humility. It is necessary, I say, for us to look at how Jesus descended from the Mount of Olives, that is, how He, being in the form of God, humbled Himself, became obedient unto death, even death on a cross, we also should humble ourselves under His mighty hand, so that we may be exalted in the time of visitation.
Luke 19:38
Above all the virtues they had seen, they said: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. They had indeed seen many virtues of the Lord, but they were especially astonished at the resurrection of Lazarus, which had recently taken place, with the crowd bearing witness who had been with Him when He called him out of the tomb and raised him from the dead. For the prophet also came to meet him and the crowd, because they heard he had performed this sign. It should be noted, for the Savior was not coming from Galilee now for the first time, that is, five days before Passover. He had previously visited Jerusalem, as John records, during the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month of the previous year, and from there for six continuous months, that is, until the day of Passover when He suffered. At times, He worked signs and taught in Jerusalem; at times, He ascended the Mount of Olives; at times, expelled from Judea, He went beyond the Jordan; at times, He stayed in a city of the wilderness called Ephraim with the disciples, but never during that time did He return to Galilee. Therefore, above all the virtues they had seen Him perform over such a time, the crowds praised God, saying:
Luke 19:38
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest. But blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord is rather to be understood as in the name of the Lord, in the name of God the Father, although it can also be understood in His own name, because He Himself is the Lord. Hence, it is written elsewhere: The Lord rained from the Lord. But His words direct our understanding better, who said: I have come in the name of my Father, and you did not receive me; another will come in his own name, him you will receive (John 5). For Christ is the teacher of humility, who humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death (Philippians 2). Thus, He does not lose divinity when He teaches us humility. However, Christ is not the King of Israel to demand tribute or to arm an army with iron and to conquer visible enemies, but the King of Israel because He rules minds, because He cares for eternity, because He leads believers, hopers, and lovers into the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, the Son of God, equal to the Father, the Word by which all things were made, who wished to be the King of Israel, is a matter of condescension, not promotion, a sign of compassion, not an increase in power. For He who was called King of the Jews on earth is the Lord of the angels in heaven.
But because Christ in the flesh has shone as the propitiation of the whole world, namely, of men and angels, it is fitting that heavenly and earthly things mutually sing of His praise together in His dispensation. Thus, at His birth, the armies of heavenly powers sang, praising God: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men (Luke 2), and at His triumph over the prince of this world, and His imminent return to heaven, mortals reciprocate praise: Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
Luke 19:39
And some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him: Teacher, rebuke Your disciples. The dementia of the envious is remarkable, who do not doubt to call Him Teacher because they knew He taught the truth; yet, they think His disciples should be rebuked, as if they were better taught, and they advise Him to correct those He instructed, whom they see manifest as God by His approving signs. [Luke 19:40] -- To whom He Himself says: I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would cry out. All His acquaintances stood at a distance when the Lord was crucified, fearing to confess God whom they saw fixed to the wood, but while these were silent, the stones and rocks with a great voice proclaimed the King who comes in the name of the Lord. For when He gave up the spirit, behold, the earth shook, and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened: what humans hesitate to confess either out of fear or treachery, even the hardest elements of creation openly proclaim as the God and Lord of the world. Truly, in a higher mystery, He indicates the unbelieving and hard-hearted nations of the Gentiles under the name of stones, to whom, having removed the heart of stone, He gave a heart of flesh (Ezek. XI), that is, sensible and human, by which they could believe in, praise, and see their God and Creator. Therefore, even if the crowds of men should keep silent, the stones will cry out, because blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and thus all Israel shall be saved (Rom. III).
Luke 19:41–42
And as He drew near, seeing the city, He wept over it, saying: If you had known, even you. Because it is written that the Lord wept at this destruction of Jerusalem which was undertaken by the Roman princes Vespasian and Titus, no one who reads the history of its overthrow can be unaware. But one must first inquire what is meant by: Seeing the city, He wept over it, saying: If you had known, even you. The merciful Redeemer indeed wept over the ruin of the faithless city, which the city itself did not know was coming. To which it is rightly said by the Lord weeping: If you had known, even you, meaning: you would have wept over what you now exult over, because you do not know what is coming. Hence it is also added: [Luke 19:42] -- And indeed in this your day, what is to your peace. For when it was giving itself to carnal pleasures, it did not foresee the evils about to come, it had, in its day, what could have been for its peace. Why it would have present goods for peace is made clear when it is added:
Luke 19:42
But now they are hidden from your eyes. For if the evils that were impending had not been hidden from the eyes of his heart, he would not have rejoiced in present prosperity. Moreover, the punishment that was imminent from the Roman leaders, as I predicted, was added, when it is said: [Luke 19:43] -- Because the days will come upon you, and your enemies will build an embankment around you. And they will surround you and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground, you and your children within you. This is also added: And they will not leave one stone upon another in you. The very migration of that city now testifies to this, since, whereas now it is built in that place where the Lord was crucified outside the gate, that former Jerusalem was utterly overthrown. The reason for its overthrow that brought its due punishment is added:
Luke 19:44
Because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. For the Creator of all things deigned to visit this city through the mystery of the Incarnation, but it did not remember His fear and love. Hence, through the prophet, the birds of the sky are brought as witnesses against the hardness of the human heart, when it is said: The stork in the sky knows its appointed time, the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane keep the time of their coming, but my people do not know the judgment of the Lord (Jerem. VIII). [Luke 19:46] -- And having entered the temple, He began to cast out those who sold and bought in it, saying to them: It is written, My house is a house of prayer. He who announced the evils to come and immediately entered the temple to cast out those who sold and bought in it, surely showed that the ruin of the people was chiefly due to the fault of the priests. Describing the overthrow and striking those who sold and bought in the temple, He showed in the very act of His work from where the root of destruction originated.
Luke 19:46
But you have made it a den of robbers. Those who sat in the temple to receive gifts, indeed, for it was not doubtful that they would seek injuries from those not giving gifts. Therefore the house of prayer had been made into a den of robbers, because they had accustomed themselves to stand in the temple for this reason: either to physically persecute those not giving gifts, or spiritually to kill those giving. Yet because our Redeemer does not withhold the words of preaching from the unworthy and ungrateful, after He held the rigor of discipline by casting out the perverse, He immediately showed the gift of grace; for it is added:
Luke 19:47
And he was teaching daily in the temple. We briefly run through these things according to history, now let us repeat the same to be discussed with moral understanding. Seeing the city, he wept over it, saying: Because if you also had known. This he did once when he announced that the city was destined to perish. This our Redeemer in no way ceases to do daily through his chosen ones, when he considers that some have gone from a good life to reprobate morals. For he weeps for those who do not know why they are wept for, since according to the words of Solomon, they rejoice to do evil, and exult in wicked things (Proverbs II). For if they knew the damnation that threatens them, they would weep for their sins with tears. Truly, in this your day, which is for your peace. The perverse soul has its day here, which rejoices in a fleeting time. To whom the present things are for peace, because while it rejoices in temporal things, while it is exalted by honors, while it is dissolved in the will of the flesh, while it is not terrified by the fear of future punishment, it has peace in its day, which will have the grievous scandal of its damnation on another day. For there it is to be afflicted where the just will rejoice. But now they are hidden from your eyes.
The perverse soul, given to present things, dissolved in earthly pleasures, hides from itself the evils that will follow, because it refuses to foresee the future, which disturbs present joy. And while it forsakes itself in the delight of this present life, what else does it do but go to fire with closed eyes? Because days will come upon you, and your enemies will encircle you with a palisade. Who are greater enemies to the human soul than evil spirits? who besiege it when it leaves the body, which they nurture with deceptive delights placed in the love of the flesh. They encircle it with a palisade, because recalling its iniquities, which it has committed, before its mind's eyes, they constrict it, dragging it to the society of their damnation. And they will encircle you, and press you in on every side. Evil spirits press the soul on every side, when they not only repeat the iniquities of deeds, but also of speech and moreover of thoughts, so that the soul, which previously expanded itself greatly in wickedness, in the end may be distressed about all in retribution. And they will dash you to the ground, and your children within you. Then the soul is dashed to the ground by the recognition of its guilt, when the flesh which it believed to be its life, is urged to return to dust. Then they fall at the death of his son, when illicit thoughts that now proceed from her are dispersed in the ultimate vengeance of life, as it is written:
On that day all their thoughts will perish. These hard thoughts, indeed, can also be understood by the symbolism of stones. For it follows: And they will not leave a stone upon a stone in you. For when a perverse mind adds perversion to perverse thought, what else does it do but place stone upon stone? But in a destroyed city no stone is left upon a stone because when the soul is led to its vengeance, all the construction of its thoughts is scattered. Because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. Omnipotent God also habitually visits a perverse soul in many ways. For he constantly visits it with a precept, sometimes with a scourge, sometimes indeed with a miracle, so that it may both hear the truths it did not know and, while still proud and disdainful, either return compuncted by pain or be ashamed of the evil it has done, conquered by benefits. But because it does not recognize the time of its visitation, at the end of life it is handed over to those enemies with whom it is bound in the society of eternal judgement of its own damnation. And entering the temple, he began to drive out those who were selling in it and those who were buying. Just as the temple of God is in the city, so in the faithful people is the life of the religious.
And often some assume the habit of religion, but while they perceive the place of sacred orders, they attribute the duty of holy religion to the commerce of earthly negotiations. For those who are selling in the temple are those who grant to some as a reward what is rightfully theirs. Indeed, to sell justice is to keep it for the sake of receiving a reward. But those who are buying in the temple are those who, while unwilling to render to their neighbor what is just, and while scorning to do what is rightfully due, buy sin by giving a reward to patrons. To whom it is rightly said: My house is a house of prayer. But you have made it a den of thieves. Because when sometimes perverse men hold a place of religion, they kill with the swords of their malice where they ought to have revitalized their neighbors by the intercession of their prayer. The mind and conscience of the faithful is also the temple and house of God, which, if it brings forth perverse thoughts in harming the neighbor, is like a den where thieves reside and they kill those who walk simply when they strike with the swords of harm against those innocent in any way. For the mind of the faithful is no longer a house of prayer but a den of thieves when, leaving behind innocence and the simplicity of holiness, it strives to do that from which it can harm its neighbors.
But because we are endlessly instructed against all these perverse things by the words of our Redeemer through the sacred pages, now this is happening which is said to have been done, when it is said:
Luke 19:47
And he was teaching daily in the temple. For when he skillfully instructs the minds of the faithful to guard against evil, Truth teaches daily in the temple. [Luke 19:47] -- But the chief priests, and the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy him, and they did not find what they might do to him. Either because he taught daily in the temple, or because he had cast out the thieves from the temple, or because when he came as King and Lord, he received the praise of a heavenly hymn from such a great throng of believers, the envious leaders sought to destroy him.
Luke 19:48
For all the people were hanging on to hear him. This can be understood in two ways: either the people feared a tumult and did not find what they might do to Jesus whom they had determined to destroy; or they sought to destroy Jesus because, neglecting their teaching, they saw so many flock to hear him. Meanwhile, it is pleasing to consider briefly how beautifully the legal shadow of Passover corresponds, not only in mystery but also in the measure of time, with our true Passover in which Christ was sacrificed. He says, "On the tenth day of the first month, let each one take a lamb according to their families of their household. According to this rite, you will take a kid, and you will keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month (Exod. XII). For on the tenth day of the first month, that is, five days before Passover, as the evangelist John testifies, all the people went out to the Mount of Olives and took the Lord from there. Who is the lamb, because he came to take away sins, and there is no sin in him; he is the kid, because he was accused of sin. They brought the lamb into the house, singing joyfully, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord"; the kid, they said out of envy, "Master, rebuke your disciples"; the lamb, the entire people were hanging on to hear him; the kid, the leaders who sought to destroy him.
And five days before Passover, that is, from the tenth moon to the fourteenth, they kept the lamb or the kid to be sacrificed. Because although they thirsted for his blood even then, no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. They kept the lamb, who willingly listened to his words; the kid, who through their plots sought to catch something from his mouth to accuse him. But on the completed fourteenth day, that is, during the evening, after he handed over the sacraments of his body and blood to be celebrated by his disciples, for those coming who would bind and seize him, there began to be fulfilled what follows: "And all the assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening" (Exod. XII). For by the cross of Jesus stood not only the wicked who mocked his death, but also the saints who mourned. I have chosen to briefly touch upon these matters to remind the reader that everything which follows leading up to the Lord's passion pertains to the figure of the lamb retained in the house and prepared for sacrifice.