and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

Abide at thy house.' This was an honour which Zaccheus did not expect. The utmost, it seems, which he aimed at, was to see Jesus. But instead of that, Jesus proposed to remain with him, and give him the benefit of his personal instruction. Thus the Saviour goes, in bestowing mercies, far beyond the desert, the desire, or the expectation of men; and it is not improper to learn from this example, that an anxious desire to behold the Saviour, will not pass unnoticed by him, but will meet with his warm approbation, and be connected with his blessing.

7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner.

'Murmured.' Found fault, complained. To be a guest.' To remain with, or to be entertained by. A man that is a sinner. All publicans they regarded as great sinners; and the chief of the publicans, therefore, as peculiarly wicked. It would appear also from Zaccheus' confession that his character had been that of an oppressive man.

8 And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

"The half of my goods I give to the poor.' He was convinced, as we may suppose, by the presence and discourse of Jesus. At first, attracted only by curiosity, he had sought to see the Saviour; but his presence and conversation convinced him of his guilt, and he stood and openly confessed his sins, and expressed his purpose to give half his ill-gotten property to the poor. This was not a proclamation of his own righteousness, nor the ground of his righteousness, but it was the evidence of the sincerity of his repentance, and the confession which, with the mouth, is made unto salvation, Rom. x. 10. And if I have taken.' His office gave him the power of oppressing the people, and it seems that he did not deny that it had been done. By false accusation.' This is the same word which in Luke iii. 14, is rendered, " neither accuse any falsely." The accusation seems to have been so made that the person accused was obliged to pay much greater taxes, or so that his property came into the hands of the informer. 'Í restore him.' This was the evidence of his penitence and conversion. And here it may be remarked, that such conduct is required as an evidence of a man's conversion to God. A man who has hoarded ill-gotten gold, if he becomes a christian, will

0

be disposed to return it, or if that cannot be done, to do good with it. A man who has injured others-who has cheated them, or defrauded them, even by due forms of law, must, if he be a christian, be willing, as far as possible, to make restoration. Zaccheus might have obtained this property by the decisions of courts of justice; but he now felt that it was wrong, and his conscience told him that in order to his being a true penitent he must make restitution. One of the best evidences of a genuine revival of religion is when it produces this result. And one of the surest proofs that a professed penitent is not a true one is, when he is not disposed to follow the example of this son of Abraham, and make proper restitution. 'Four-fold.' Four times as much as had been unjustly taken. This was the amount that was required in the Jewish law when a sheep had been stolen, and a man was convicted of the theft by trial at law, Ex. xxii. 1. The sincerity of Zaccheus' repentance was manifest by his being willing to make restoration as great as if he had committed actual theft, evincing his sense of the wrong, and his purpose to make full restitution.

9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

'Salvation is come to this house.' This family. Salvation commences when men truly receive Christ, and their sins are pardoned; it is completed when the soul is fully sanctified and received up into heaven. 'Forsomuch.' Because. For he has given evidence that he is a new man. 'A son of Abraham,' He was not worthy to be called a son of Abraham. Now by repentance, and by receiving the Christ whose day Abraham saw and was glad, John viii. 56, he has shown himself to be worthy to be called his son. Abraham was an example of distinguished piety; the father of the faithful, Rom. iv. 11, as well as the ancestor of the Jews. Those were called his sons who were descended from him, and particularly those who resembled him.

10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

See Matt. xviii. 11.

11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

'He spake a parable.' He was now near Jerusalem. A great multitude attended him. His disciples regarded him as the Messiah, and by this they understood a temporal prince who should deliver them from the dominion of the Romans, and set them at

liberty. They supposed that the time was at hand, and that now, as 300n as he entered Jerusalem, he would set up his kingdom. To correct that notion seems to have been the main design of this parable. Because he was nigh to Jerusalem.' The capital of the country, and where they supposed he would probably set up his kingdom. The kingdom of God should immediately appear.' The reign of the Messiah should immediately

commence.

12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to

return.

'A certain nobleman.' A prince; a man descended from kings, and having a title, therefore, to succeed in the kingdom. Went into a far country,' &c. Judea was subject to the Romans, having been conquered by Pompey about sixty years before Christ. It was, however, governed by Jews who held the government under the Romans. It was necessary that the prince or king should receive a recognition of his right to the kingdom by the Roman emperor. This actually took place about that time. Archelaus, a son of Herod the Great, went to Rome to obtain a confirmation of the title which his father had left him, and succeeded in doing it. But, by the nobleman,' here, is undoubtedly represented the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ; by his going into a far country, is denoted his going to heaven, to the right hand of his Father, before he should fully set up his kingdom and establish his reign among men.

13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

'Ten servants.' By these servants our Saviour denotes his disciples. Ten pounds.' The pound, as it is here called, was equa! to three pounds two shillings and sixpence sterling; ten of these would amount to thirty-one pounds five shillings, in our money. By the 'pounds' is denoted the talents which God has given to his servants on earth to improve, and for which they must give an account in the day of judgment. Occupy till I come." The word'occupy,' here, means to improve, to employ in business, for the purpose of increasing it, or of making a profit on it. commands his disciples to improve their talents; to make the most of them; to increase their capability of doing good; and to do it until he comes to call us hence, by death, to meet him. See 1 Cor. xii. 7. Eph. iv. 7.

Jesus

14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign

over us.

His citizens.' His subjects, or the people whom he was

desirous of ruling. Hated him. On account of his character, and their fear of oppression. This was the case with regard to Archelaus, the Jewish prince, who went to Rome to be confirmed in bis kingdom. Sent a message, saying,' &c. This actually took place. The Jews, knowing the character of Archelaus (compare Matt. ii. 22), sent an embassy of fifty men to Rome to prevail on Augustus not to confer the title on him, but they could not succeed. As this fact was fresh in the memory of the Jews, it makes this parable much more striking. By this part of it, Christ designed to denote that the Jews would reject him, the Messiah, and would say that they did not desire him to reign over them. See John i. 11. So it is true of all sinners that they do not wish Jesus to reign over them; they reject him; and if it were possible, would cast him off, and never submit to his reign.

15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

See Matt, xxv. 19.

16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

See Matt. xxv. 20, 21. Ten cities.' Christ teaches here that our rewards in heaven will be in proportion to our faithfulness in improving our talents on earth.

20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin :

A napkin. A towel. He means by it that he had not wasted it, nor thrown it by carelessly, but had been very careful of it. So many men employ their talents, and their learning, and their influence. They have them; they keep them; but they never use them in the service of the Lord Jesus.

21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.

'An austere man.' Hard, severe, oppressive. Thou takest up,' &c. Thou dost exact of others what thou didst not give. The phrase is applied to a man who finds what has been lost by

another, and refuses to return it to the owner. This is designed to show the sinner's view of God. He regards him as unjust, demanding more than man has power to render, and more, therefore, than God has a right to demand. See note on Matt. xxv. 24.

22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

'Out of thine own mouth. By your own statement, or your own views of my character. If you knew that this was my character, it would have been wise and prudent in you to have made the best use of the money in your power. We are not to suppose that God is unjust or austere, but what we are to learn from this is, that as man knows that God will be just, and will call him to a strict account in the day of judgment, he ought to be prepared to meet him, and that he cannot then complain if God should condemn him. The bank.' The treasury, or the place of exchange. Why did you not lend it out, that it might have been thus increased? Usury.' Interest.

24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)

'He hath,' &c. This was probably an observation made by some of the bystanders as if to correct him in the distribution. The answer is given in the following verse, that every one that hath, to him shall be given; every man who is faithful and honest, and improves what God gives him, shall receive much more.

26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath, shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

But

These are the words of 'the nobleman' declaring the principles on which he would distribute the rewards of his kingdom. those,' &c. By the punishment of those who would not that he should reign over them, is denoted the ruin that was to come upon the Jewish nation for rejecting the Messiah, and also upon all sinners for not receiving him as their King. See notes on the parable of the talents, in Matt. xxv.