_Jesus spake unto them again by parables_ That is, spake with reference to what had just passed: for this parable is closely connected with that of the vineyard, delivered at the close of the preceding chapter. And as our Lord had in that foretold the approaching ruin of the Jewish place and nation,... [ Continue Reading ]
_The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king_ That is, the dispensation of the gospel may be well illustrated by that which happened in the case of a king; _who made a marriage for his son_ Our Lord is frequently represented in Scripture under the character of a bridegroom. The marriage-feast... [ Continue Reading ]
_Again, he sent forth other servants_ The apostles and others, on whom the Holy Ghost descended on the day of pentecost, and who thereby received a fresh commission to call the Jews to repentance; _saying, Tell them which were bidden, I have prepared my dinner_, &c. After Christ's resurrection and a... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the remnant_ Or the rest of them, who did not go to farms or merchandise, who were neither husbandmen nor tradesmen, but ecclesiastics; namely, the scribes and Pharisees, and chief priests; _took_ [Gr. κρατησαντες, _laying hold on_] _his servants, entreated them spitefully_ [or rather, _shamefu... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when the king heard thereof, he was wroth_ Inasmuch as “the invitation to the marriage-feast of his son, sent by this king to his supposed friends, was the highest expression of his regard for them, and the greatest honour that could be done to them; therefore, when they refused it for such tri... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready_ That is, the marriage-feast is prepared; _but they which were bidden were not worthy_ Were not disposed to receive the gospel, not willing to repent and believe, and behave kindly to the preachers of it: which is the description Christ gives to h... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when the king came in to see the guests_ The members of the visible church; _he saw there a man which had not on a wedding- garment_ To explain this, it must be observed, it was usual in the eastern countries to present the guests at marriages, and other solemnities, with garments wherein they... [ Continue Reading ]
_Friend, how camest thou in hither_ How camest thou to presume to enter into my church, by taking upon thee a profession of my religion, and to sit down among the guests, or associate thyself with my disciples; _not having on a wedding-garment?_ Not having put off the old man and put on the new, not... [ Continue Reading ]
_For many are called_ Nor imagine, (as if our Lord had said,) that this will be the case of one alone; for though it be a dreadful truth, yet I must say, that even the greatest part of those to whom the gospel is offered, will either openly reject or secretly disobey it; and while indeed _many are c... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then went the Pharisees_ Greatly incensed by the two last parables delivered by our Lord; _and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk_ Gr. παγιδευσωσιν εν λογω, might _entrap him in his discourse_, so as to find something on which they might ground an accusation against him, and effec... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Jesus perceived their wickedness_, (_and craftiness_, Luke,) in this their address, however pious and respectful it appeared; _and said, Why tempt ye me?_ That is, _Why do ye try me_ by such an insnaring question, and seek to draw me into danger by it? _Ye hypocrites_ Making conscience and a pu... [ Continue Reading ]
_The same day came to him the Sadducees_ Concerning whose doctrines and conduct see note on Matthew 3:7; _which say, there is no resurrection_ Nor indeed any future life at all, as the word αναστασις, here rendered _resurrection_, is considered by many learned men as signifying; their doctrine being... [ Continue Reading ]
_Master, Moses said, If a man die_, &c. “The argument by which the Sadducees endeavoured to confute the notion of a future state was taken from the Jewish law of marriage, which, to give their objection the better colour, they observed was God's law, delivered by Moses. As they believed the soul to... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jesus answered, Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures_ Which plainly assert a future state; _nor the power of God_ Who created spirit as well as matter, and can preserve it in existence when the body is dissolved, and can also raise the body from the dust and render it immortal; and who can make th... [ Continue Reading ]
_But as touching the resurrection of the dead_ Or the future state, (see on Matthew 22:23,) _have ye not read that which was spoken by God_ Namely, in the books of Moses, for which the Sadducees had a peculiar value; but which Christ here shows they did not understand; but were as ignorant of them a... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when the multitude_ Which was present in the temple at the time; _heard this_ This unthought-of, and yet convincing argument, together with so complete an answer to a cavil in which the Sadducees were wont to triumph as invincible; _they were astonished at his doctrine_ At the clearness and sol... [ Continue Reading ]
_When the Pharisees heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence_ Gr. οτι εφιμοσε, that he had _stopped their mouths_, or so _confuted_ that he had _confounded_ them, and rendered them unable to make any reply; _they were gathered together_ It is not said with what design: but it is probable from... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jesus said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart_ Concerning this first and great commandment, and the words wherewith Moses prefaced it, see note on Deuteronomy 6:5; and for the elucidation of this whole paragraph, see the notes on Mark 12:28, where the conversation which our Lord h... [ Continue Reading ]
_While the Pharisees were gathered_, &c. That is, during this conference, expecting to have found an opportunity to insnare him, as he was still teaching the people in the temple; _Jesus asked them_ “The Pharisees, having in the course of our Lord's ministry proposed many difficult questions to him,... [ Continue Reading ]