Zacchaeus and Parable of the Pounds

In Lk 19:1-10, we’ll discuss Zacchaeus, and in Lk 19:11-27 we’ll discuss the parable of the pounds.

Zacchaeus

When Jesus passed through Jericho, he encountered Zacchaeus, who was the chief among the publicans and rich.  Since Zacchaeus was short and the crowd was large, he climbed a tree to get a better look.

When Jesus saw him, he said, “Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down: for today I must abide at thy house”.  Notice his response.  “He made haste, he came down, and he received him joyfully”.  He did exactly as he was told.

Of course, the religious crowd murmured against Jesus because “he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner”.  Remember how they accused him of being a friend of publicans and sinners, Lk 7:34.  Yet, they didn’t regard their own sinful condition.

While Jesus was there, Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything by false accusation, I restore him fourfold”.  These actions were all sincere evidences of his repentance and obedience.

Concerning his gift to the poor, see Deut 15:7-11.  Concerning his fourfold restoration, see Ex 22:1.  John the Baptist told the publicans, “Exact no more than that which is appointed you”, Lk 3:13.

Jesus said, in reply, “This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham”.  Zacchaeus obeyed what Ezekiel had written in Ezek 33:14-16.  And thus Jesus could testify to his salvation.  Zacchaeus had done exactly what a Jew was supposed to do before the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus fulfilled his purpose in Jericho.  He said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost”.  Jesus sought Zacchaeus and saved him.

Parable of the Pounds

Jesus spoke this parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would immediately appear.

The certain nobleman is Jesus.  The far country is his ascension to heaven.  The kingdom he goes to receive for himself is his millennial kingdom.  His return is his Second Coming.

The ten servants he called are his followers.  Notice that they each receive the same amount, one pound, which typifies the “measure of faith” given to “every man” in Rom 12:3.  And they all receive the same command, “Occupy till I come”.  To occupy is to perform the function of, in this case, a servant.

His citizens that hated him are the Jews in Jerusalem who are about to cry out “Crucify him”.  They say, “We will not have this man to reign over us”.  When Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your king” the chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar”, Jn 19:15.

When the nobleman returns after receiving the kingdom, he calls the servants to see how much they had gained by trading.

The first said, “Thy pound hath gained ten pounds”.  He was a good servant who was faithful in very little.  Therefore, he was given authority over ten cities.  The trading, therefore, was not only to provide gain for the nobleman, but more importantly to see whom he could trust with authority in his kingdom.

The second said, “Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds”.  It’s interesting to note that both of these faithful servants said that the pound gained the increase, not taking credit themselves.  Because he gained five pounds, he was given authority over five cities.  Their authority in the kingdom is based on their gain during the absence of the nobleman.

Then a servant came and returned the original pound which he kept in a napkin.  He had not been occupied with the pound in his function as a servant.  His excuse was that he feared the nobleman because he was an austere man, having a definite hardness or severity of manner.

He said, “thou takest up thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow”.  The nobleman agreed with his assessment.

Then he asked “Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have received mine own with usury (interest)”?  If he truly believed what he said about this austere man, he would have, at least, put the pound in the bank.

This man was in fact a wicked servant, because he disobeyed his orders, blaming the nobleman and excusing himself.  Therefore, his pound was given to the servant who had ten pounds.  The others said, “Lord, he hath ten pounds”, as if to suggest that he should give the pound to someone who has less.

The Lord taught an important lesson here.  He said, “That unto everyone that hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him”.

The application of the parable to us is this.  The Lord has given to all of us the measure of faith.  And with this, we are to be occupied in his service until he returns.  Those who do most with the faith they have been given will be rewarded with the increase (the faithful servants got to keep the pounds they gained).  And they will have authority over more cities in the kingdom when the Lord returns.

To those who could have received something for their service but who did nothing with their measure of faith will lose what they could have received and it will be given to the most faithful servants. These will have no authority in the Lord’s kingdom.

This should be a great challenge and encouragement to us to work for the Lord with what he has given us.  We are going to stand before him one day to give account of our faithfulness. You certainly don’t want to be called a wicked servant.  How much better to reign with him in his millennial kingdom, Rev 1:5-6, 5:9-10.

Finally, about the enemies who didn’t want him to reign over them, he said, “bring hither, and slay them before me”.  In 70 AD around 97,000 Jews in Jerusalem were enslaved and the others were massacred by the Romans or died by famine.  Josephus said that possibly over 1,000,000 died.

To see the previous lesson, click on To Jerusalem Through Jericho.