John Calvin Commentary Luke 19:11

"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and [because] they supposed that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear." — Luke 19:11 (ASV)

While they were hearing these things. It was almost a marvel that the disciples, after having been so frequently warned about the approaching death of Christ, turned their thoughts away from it to think of his kingdom. There were two mistakes; first, that they imagined rest and happiness without the cross; secondly, that they judged the kingdom of God according to their own carnal sense.

Thus it appears how weak and unclear their faith was; for though they held a hope of the resurrection, their grasp was too shallow for forming a firm and decided opinion about Christ. They believe him to be the Redeemer who had been previously promised, and thus they conceive a hope that the Church will be renewed; but that knowledge immediately degenerates into vain imaginations, which either overturn or obscure the power of his kingdom.

But the strangest thing of all was that so many warnings had faded from their memory without having any effect. Indeed, it was brutal stupidity that, though Christ had recently declared explicitly that he was about to undergo a bitter and ignominious death, they not only remained unconcerned but rushed forward as if to a joyful triumph.