Mark 12:12

they sought All three Evangelists take note of the exasperation of our Lord's hearers at words which they now clearly perceived were directed against themselves. The chief priests and Pharisees sought to arrest Him on the spot at once (Luke 20:19), but they were afraid of the multitudes, who regarded Him if not with the same deep feelings as on Palm Sunday, yet still as a prophet(Matthew 21:46), so they left Him and went their way(Mark 12:12). One more Parable followed, that of the "Marriage of the King's Son" (Matthew 22:1-14), and once more the rulers of the nation were solemnly warned of the danger they were incurring. "Thus within a few hours of crucifixion, and conscious of the fact; in the intervals of mortal contest with the whole forces of the past and present, the wandering Galilæan Teacher, meek and lowly in spirit, so that the poorest and the youngest instinctively sought Him; full of Divine pity, so that the most sunken and hopeless penitent felt He was their friend; indifferent to the supports of influence, wealth, or numbers; alone and poor, the very embodiment of weakness, as regarded all visible help, still bore Himself with a serene dignity more than human. In the name of God He transfers the spiritual glory of Israel to His own followers; throws down the barriers of caste and nationality; extends the new dominion, of which He is Head, to all races, and through all ages, here and hereafter; predicts the Divine wrath on His enemies in this world, as the enemies of God, and announces the decision of the final judgment as turning on the attitude of men towards Himself and His message." Geikie's Life and Words of Christ, ii. pp. 414, 415; Liddon's Bampton Lectures, pp. 113 118, Sixth Edition.