Luke 19:10

The context

Luke 19 is the Zacchaeus episode. Jesus passes through Jericho, a chief tax collector climbs a sycamore tree to see him, and the crowd grumbles when Jesus invites himself to the house. Zacchaeus promises restitution, and Jesus announces salvation for the house before speaking verse 10 as the summary.

What it establishes

The verse establishes a mission statement in the mouth of Jesus, and it is placed at the end of a story that has just shown what seeking looks like. The title Son of Man carries the weight of the book's larger claims, and the verbs are active: came, seek, save.

What it does not establish

It does not define who the lost are. In the story the lost man is a collaborator and a rich one, but the verse itself does not supply a category or a list. Nor does it describe how the seeking works, or promise that every lost person is found.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.