Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 19:10

"For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost." — Luke 19:10 (ASV)

The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.—Similar words had been spoken once before, under circumstances that presented a very striking contrast to those now before us. Then the loving purpose of Christ had as its object the “little child,” still untouched by the world’s offenses (Matthew 18:2, 11); now it rested on the tax collector, whose manhood had been marred by them. The same principle of His work is reproduced in a more emphatic form. Then, it was that He “came to save”; now, it is that He came to “seek” as well.