Luke 19 records the events of the day before Palm Sunday and Palm Sunday events in the life of Jesus.
Verses 1-10
B1 Jesus and Zacchaeus
B2 Zacchaeus was a tax collector (Publican) for Rome. These men were to collect taxes, customs, tariffs, etc. from the people. They inspected goods, assigned a value, and charged and collected the taxes. The value they assigned was often inflated with the Publican taking the difference between the real value and the inflated value. Because of this action, they were hated.
B3 Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus, was curious about him, his teaching, and his ministry. Because he was short, he climbed a sycamore tree to see Him.
B4 Jesus spotted him, called out to him, and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.”
B5 Zacchaeus cheerfully came down, invited Jesus, his disciples, and many other Publicans to a large feast.
B6 Jesus must have spoken to them and bringing conviction upon Zacchaeus.
B7 Zacchaeus must have believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
B8 Zacchaeus showed this belief by saying, ““Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”
B9 Jesus knowing of Zacchaeus’s faith and the outward expression of it announced, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
B10 We learn—Jesus seeks the lost, and faith is seen in what we do. See James 2:23-26. Words must be matched by living.
Verses 11-27
B1 This is the parable of the Ten Minas. Compare Matthew 25:14-30.
B2 A mina is “1 mina (Hebrew) =148.05194805195 denarius (Roman). A denarius is one day’s wage.
B3 A nobleman was going on a journey, so he instructed his servants to be faithful. To 3 of his servants, he gave a sum of money to use in business to secure a profit. To one he gave 10 minas (1,480 day’s wages), to another 5 (740 day’s wages), and to the third he gave 1 mina (148 day’s wages). In the account found in Matthew, 1 talent (Hebrew) = 8883.116883 denarius (Roman). So, the servant with 10 talents has 88,883 days wages (243 years wages), 5 would be 44,441.5 days wages, and 1 would be 8,883 days wages. Either way, each servant had plenty of money to invest for their master.
B4 Two invested and earned money, as faithful servants are supposed to do. One did nothing except to hide the money and spoke harshly to his master.
B5 We learn—all believers in Jesus Christ have been given great gifts. What are we doing with them?
Verses 28-40
B1 The Triumphal Entry—the day we are reminded of who Jesus is. Compare John 12:12-19.
B2 This day is prophesied in Zechariah 9:9. Compare Zechariah 2:10. Jesus fulfills all prophecy of His first coming. Many more will be fulfilled at His second coming (Advent) at the end of the Tribulation.
B3 This day is also prophesied by God through Gabriel to the prophet Daniel (Daniel 9:25). Jesus, riding into Jerusalem, fulfilled to THE day this prophecy given to Daniel. See the Coming Prince by Sir Robert Anderson, or this summary (a PDF file and I don’t necessarily endorse the web site.)— [https://grace-life.org/docs/2018/Son_of_Man-Sir_Robert_Anderson.pdf]. Also, Daniel’s 70 Weeks of Years [https://christinprophecy.org/articles/daniels-70-weeks-of-years/]. Luke 19:42 WEB— “saying, “If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes.” Compare Psalm 95:7-8).
B4 Jesus stopped at the Mt of Olives, sent some disciples to get the colt, mounted the colt, rode down to Jerusalem and into town.
B5 The people, not the leaders, rejoiced, taking their outer robe off, placing it on the ground for Jesus to ride upon (an honor), and shouted. Luke 19:37-38 (BSB) And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
B6 The Jewish leaders were not pleased and continued to reject Jesus despite all the prophesies of His first coming.
B7 Because He was rejected, He did this: John 12:35-36 BSB Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.Compare John 12:37-41.
B7 We learn—Jesus kept His word to Israel and came, prophesied His rejection (John 12:37), and continued to fulfill His ministry on earth (Luke 24:44 and Acts 3:18.). All people are accountable to make a decision of accept Him (Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9, and Hebrews 5:9) as Messiah, the Son of God, or reject Him (John 10:26 and John 3:36).
Verses 41-44
B1 Jesus weeps for Jerusalem.
B2 Jesus was officially rejected by Jewish leaders and most of the people.
B3 Jesus wept for sorrow at all the horrors of God’s wrath coming upon Israel (for ~2,000 years now) and in the 7 year tribulation. Jerusalem was razed to the ground and the Israelites died and suffered. Peace has been hidden from their eyes (Luke 19:42).
B4 We learn God gives warning and opportunity to all to repent and believe the Gospel. Compare “Are You a Good Person” [https://livingwaters.com/are-you-a-good-person/].
Verse 45-48
B1 Jesus cleans out the sin defiling people and activities in the Temple.
B2 The Temple was for worship and prayers, not money making.
B3 We learn—God is holy, and we need to be holy. Compare Romans 6:19, 1 Thessalonians 4:7, and 2 Peter 3:11.
Ray Stedman writes [https://www.raystedman.org/new-testament/john/triumph-or-tragedy]:
I remember watching on television the return of General Douglas MacArthur to San Francisco following his years of being the virtual overlord of Japan. A holiday was declared and the whole city turned out to greet him. Streamers and confetti were strewn about everywhere as MacArthur rode in a car along Market Street. As the camera focused on his face, I noted the quiet pride and the warm response to the enthusiasm of the crowd reflected in it. That was truly a Triumphal Entry.
But this was a tearful entry by Jesus. He was coming as King, not to receive a throne, but in tears to pronounce a sentence of judgment upon the nation. The other gospels say that he went immediately to the temple. Standing there, having once again cleansed it of the greedy moneychangers, he pronounced these words, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. You will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,'” (Luke 13:35 RSV). According to John’s account, that is what the crowd coming down the mountainside had been saying. But that was a crowd of strangers, not the residents of Jerusalem.
Let us rejoice and receive Him as King, live for Him as King, and wait for the time when He returns to be the King of the Universe.