28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

28 elders; and they said unto him, 1 By what authority doest thou these things? or who gave thee 29 this authority to do these things? And Jesus said unto them, I will ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what au30 thority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it 2 from heaven, or from men? answer me. 31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven: he will say, Why 32 then did ye not believe him? But should we say, From men- they feared the people: for 33 all verily held John to be a prophet. And they answered Jesus and say, We know not. And Jesus saith unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

what was going on, and perhaps in particular noticed whether the money-changers and sellers of doves, whom he had driven out the day before, were venturing to return. He was also conversing with his disciples and others in the temple courts, and sometimes gathered a crowd by some more formal discourse, "teaching the people in the temple, and preaching the gospel" (Luke 20:1). The chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders. Of these three classes the great Sanhedrin was composed, before which Jesus was three days after brought for trial (14:55). It was hardly the whole body that now approached Jesus, but either a formal deputation, as in John 1: 19, or simply a large number of them. The Sanhedrin had a general control over religious matters, and these men had a right to ask, 28. By what authority doest thou these things? They probably referred particularly to his cleansing the temple, which seemed justifiable only in a prophet (John 2 : 18), and his triumphal entry, which distinctly indicated him as Messiah. It was proper for them to make the inquiry, if they had really desired information, or been open to conviction. But seeing clearly enough the indications that he was Messiah, they were determined not to admit that for a moment, because, according to their notions of Messiah, his coming would produce a revolution, and they would lose their religiouspolitical "place" (John 11: 48). Had he avowed himself Messiah, they would doubtless have called it blasphemy, worthy of death, as the same men did three days later (14: 61-64).

Our Lord not simply evades their malignant and plotting inquiry, but by his question suggests the real trouble, that they were not willing to be convinced of his divine mission, since they would not believe the testimony borne to him by the forerunner. 30. The baptism of

John is several times elsewhere (Acts 1:22; 10: 37; 13:24) used to represent his whole mission, just as he was popularly distinguished from others of that familiar name by calling him John the Baptizer (Baptist). The new and striking purification he administered made a great impression on the popular mind, and it was evident to all that he could have the right to impose it only if he had a divine mission (John 1: 25). Thus the phrase, "the baptism of John," easily represented his mission and work.

The rulers were in a dilemma, and Jesus demanded a reply, answer me. One can see them putting their heads together and discussing the consequences of answering this way or that. 31. Believe him would include believing his testimony to Jesus (John 5: 33; 1: 24–27, 29 f.). The broken phrase in ver. 32 well expresses their embarrassment. 32. Mark simply states that they feared the people. Luke (206) tells us that they themselves said, “All the people will stone us." 33. Their humiliating reply, We know not, is strangely expressed in King James' version by we cannot tell," retained from Tyndale and his successors. Neither tell I you. He does not say, 'neither know I." But their answer was really a refusal to tell, for in fact they did know. They had shown clearly that they would not face the evidence of his Messiahship furnished by the forerunner, and so he would not cast pearls before swine by now asserting, or further proving, what they were utterly determined to reject.

PRACTICAL LESSONS.

1. How gladly we should give up what the Lord needs for his service, whether it be our property or even ourselves (ver. 3).

2. Even in extraordinary circumstances we must respect men's rights (ver. 3, latter part).

1 AND he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.

4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.

1

XII.

1 AND he began to speak unto them in parables. A man planted a vineyard, 3 and set a hedge about it, and digged a pit for the winepress, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country.

2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the hus3 bandmen of the fruits of the vineyard. And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away 4 empty. And again & he sent unto them another servant; and him they wounded in the head, 5 and 10 handled shamefully. And he sent another; and him they killed: and many others;

3. There is a constant tendency to substitute outward and superficial excitement for true religious enthusiasm (ver. 8-10).

4. To be useless is a shame; but to be useless while pretending to be very useful, is an abomination (ver. 13).

5. To make merchandise of religion deserves the most indignant rebuke (ver. 17).

6. Men often assail because they cannot answer (ver. 18).

7. The mightiest thing men can do is to pray; but prayer has power only if we believe in God (ver. 24).

8. We may be assured that God instantly grants our believing requests, if they be according to his will (ver. 24; 1 John 5: 14).

9. We must forgive all persons and for all offenses, or we cannot hope to have power in prayer (ver. 25; Luke 17 : 3).

10. Men often profess ignorance because unwilling to confess the truth (ver. 33).

11. If we obstinately reject the unanswerable evidence we already have concerning Christ, we cannot expect to receive further evidence (ver. 33).

Chap. 12. 1-12. (Comp. Matt. 21: 33-46; Luke 20: 9-19.) The time is Tuesday, three days before the crucifixion; the place is the courts of the temple. It is the last day of our Lord's public teaching, and he becomes more and more outspoken in condemning and denouncing the Jewish rulers.

...

I. THE PARABLE, 1-9. 1. Began. in parables. On this day he gave a new group of parables, as on the occasion recorded in chap. 4 (Matt. 13). Here also, as in that case, there are malignant opposers, who are not worthy of plain instruction (11: 33; comp. with 4: 11, 12). In connection with the parable before us two others were spoken, as given by Matt. 21 : 28-32 and 22 : 114, all having a very similar import and appli

cation. Unto them, viz., "the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders" (11:27). It is important to notice that he is addressing the Jewish rulers especially (comp. ver. 12).

The application of the parable is so obvious from ver. 9 and 12 that we may anticipate it in following the story itself.

The vineyard. Much imagery is drawn in Scripture from vineyards, and Isa. 5:1-7; Ps. 80: 8-16 are strikingly similar to this parable. The owner puts his vineyard in perfect order, with hedge, winepress, and tower in which the watchman may guard the ripe grapes (comp. Isa. 5: which must have instantly occurred to the scribes as they listened. And went into another country, not "far" country (King James); the meaning would be exactly expressed by the colloquial phrase, "moved away."

2),

It is unwarrantable to make any separate application of these details. They are natural parts of the story, which as a whole illustrates the fact that God has assigned great privileges and duties to Israel, and expected them to render him due service and honor.

2. At the

2-5. The servant-messengers. season, when the grapes were gathered, and preserved for food or pressed for wine. Receive... of the fruits, some part of the fruits as rent in kind, according to what is still common in the East, and sometimes seen in this country. These messengers of course represent all God's calls upon Israel, by his providences, by judges, and pious kings, but most obviously and especially, by the prophets. The details of the story are vivid-things get worse and worse. "Cast stones" (King James) is genuine in Matthew (2135), but a spurious addition here. We know from the history that the prophets were often cruelly maltreated. Besides general statements in 2 Chron. 36: 16; Neh. 9: 26, we find

6 beating some, and killing some. He had yet one, a beloved son: he sent him 2 last unto 7 them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, 3 This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the in8 heritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and 5 cast him forth out of the 9 vineyard. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and 8 will give the vineyard unto 10 others. Have ye not read even 10 this scripture; 11 The stone which the builders rejected,

The same was made the head of the corner:
This was from the Lord,

11

And it is marvellous in our eyes?

...

9. The punishment. What will the Lord do? The story had been told as past, but now there is a sudden change to the present, because the application is to a case actually present. Matthew (20: 40, 41) goes more into detail here, showing that the rulers themselves answered as to the story (as David was led by Nathan's parable to pronounce unconsciously his own condemnation), and then Jesus distinctly applied it to the Jews (Matt. 21:43), which led the rulers to exclaim in horror, "God forbid" (Luke 20: 16). In Mark this is more briefly stated, our Lord giving the answer himself-but the substance is exactly the same. Unto others. More plainly in Matt. 21: 43, "The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof," viz., to the spiritual Israel, of which Jews would form a very small portion.

II. THE SCRIPTURE QUOTED, 10, 11. 10. Even this scripture. Did their ignorance

extend even to a passage from a familiar psalm, just before the hosanna? (Mark 11 : 9.)

The quotation is from Ps. 118: 22, 23, and corresponds verbatim to the Hebrew and the Septuagint. The image is clear and beautiful. Some miles north of Jerusalem we remember to have passed an old quarry, long abandoned, in the midst of which stood a large stone, squared and standing on end, and of very fine appearance. Curious to see why it had been left there, we rode around, and found in it a deep crack, extending half through. The quarriers had offered it as it lay; the builders required it to be lifted on end for inspection, and at once rejected it-and there it has stood for centuries. In Ps. 118 Israel, probably after the return from the captivity, rejoices over his restoration to power and dignity, and among other expressions describes it by this image. Our Lord does not say this was a prediction of Messiah, and we might regard it as only an application of the principle to an analogous case: the Jewish rulers rejected their Messiah, and they ought to be competent judges; yet as in the case of Israel so here, rejection by the supposed judges might turn out to be unwarranted, and in fact would be followed by recognition and the highest honor. The Lord brought about this marvelous thing in the former case, and would also in the latter. But it may be further observed that Israel was at many points of the national history a type of Messiah (e. g., Matt. 2: 15), and so this passage of the psalm may contain a reference to the Messiah. Our Lord's quotation of it in applying this parable is given by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which shows that it was felt to be a very important part of his discourse. Peter makes the same application of the passage in addressing the Sanhedrin (Acts 4: 11), and in his first Epistle (1 Peter 2: 7). The term " "rejected" is used in 8: 31, and Luke 9: 22; 17: 25.

12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people; for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

13b And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.

14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cesar, or not?

12 And they sought to lay hold on him; and 2 they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spake the parable against them: and they left him, and went away.

13 4 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they 14 might catch him in talk. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, 7 we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one: for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give 10 tribute unto 11 Cæsar, or not?

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III. THE EFFECT PRODUCED, 12. They sought, the rulers (11 27), as distinguished from the multitude; Matthew (21 45) expressly says, The chief priests and the Pharisees." Fearing the multitude, who "took him for a prophet" (Matt. 21: 46), they doubtless concluded that he must be apprehended secretly, say at night. Against them is in the Greek so placed as to make it emphatic. They perceived that he was really claiming to be Messiah, and that he represented them as rejecting the Messiah to their own utter ruin; they knew that he had confirmed his claims and teachings by the greatest variety of indisputable miracles; yet they would not hearken nor consider, but simply plotted how to kill him. They were officeholders, and anything rather than lose their positions. They were self-righteous hypocrites, and felt no need of spiritual light and life. They were determined not to be convinced, and none so blind as those who will not see."

13-27. (Comp. Matt. 22: 15-33; Luke 20: 20-40.) Our Lord continues teaching in the temple courts on Tuesday, the last day of his public ministry. His enemies are making a succession of attacks upon him, by publicly asking him hard questions. It was common to test a rabbi with difficult questions, but there was in this case no mere curious inquiry, but malignant hate and murderous designs. They hoped to get from him some answer which they could use as a means of awakening fanatical prejudice among the people, or persuading the Roman authorities that he was a dangerous character. One of their questions, "By what authority doest thou these things?" was met in a way not only baffling

their plans, but severely exposing their wickedness and guilt.

IV. JESUS IS QUESTIONED BY THE PHARISEES AND THE HERODIANS, 13-17. 13. They send, viz., the rulers send-closely connected with ver. 12 (comp. Luke 20: :19). Of the Pharisees and of the Herodians. A curious and cunning combination, made long before also in Galilee (36). The Pharisees owed much of their popularity to the fact they were the old patriotic party, utterly opposed to foreign rule, and never satisfied with the Herodian dynasty of subjectprinces. The Herodians (a word of Latin termination, like Pompeians, Cæsarians), were partisans of the Herod family, who still wished instead of a Roman procurator to have in Judea a native prince of the Herod family, under Roman protection and control (as Herod the Great had been, and Herod Antipas now was in Galilee and Perea). The two parties were thus quite unfriendly, but united for the moment by common hostility to one who began to be popularly regarded as King Messiah, thus seeming dangerous to their respective political aims, and whose pure spiritual teachings painfully rebuked their hypocrisy and secularism. Catch him in talk. The image is of catching game in hunting. They hoped that whatever answer he made they would be able to use it to his prejudice with the Roman governor (Luke 20: 20), who alone could authorize putting him to death. They failed in this particular effort, but they persevered in the same direction to the end.

14. The question. Notice the opening flattery. They hoped not merely to conciliate him toward themselves (Luke 20: 20), but to puff him up with self-importance, so that he would not hesitate to speak out on a dangerous topic. Low cunning often utterly blunders in supposing that all men are accessible to small flattery. These petty tempters little knew that the great tempter had appealed to the noblest form of worldly ambition in the same person (Matt. 4: 8), and appealed in vain. Is it lawful, permissible

15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. 16 And they brought it. "And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cesar's.

17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cesar the things that are Cesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him. 18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which

b

15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why 2 tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may 16 see it. And they brought it. "And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 17 And they said unto him, Cæsar's. And Jesus said unto them, 4 Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marvelled greatly at him. And there come unto him 5 Sadducees, which

18

no direct reference to the law. So in 10: 2. Cæsar was the general title of all the Roman emperors. The then reigning emperor was Tiberius. Notice that they insist on a direct and explicit answer, adding or not, and then repeating, Shall we give, or shall we not give? No doubt the rabbis often evaded a dangerous question, or discussed only some general principle. But these questioners had put their heads together, and thought they had devised a dilemma from which there was no escape. If he said, "No, do not give," the Herodians would at once report him to the Roman authorities as discouraging the payment of taxes, which with the Romans would be a high crime. If he said, "Yes, give," the Pharisees

RDI

AR

DENARIUS.

would tell all the people who came to the feast that he could not be King Messiah, for he taught slavish subjection to the foreigner, etc. When Archelaus was banished (A. D. 6) and Judea made a Roman province, the governor began a registration of property with a view to taxation, and Judas the Galilean (Acts 5: 37) aroused a rebellion on the ground that this registration "led straight to slavery"; and though he was overthrown, yet Josephus declares ("Ant." XVIII., 1: 1) that his ideas spread widely and lasted long, leading finally to the war which ended with the destruction of Jerusalem. The foundation of this opposition was in the persuasion that, being the people of Jehovah, they ought not to acknowledge the supremacy of a heathen.

15-17. The answer. 15. Knowing their hypocrisy, in pretending to have so high an opinion of him, and to desire instruction from him. Tempt, trial, put to the test, and here with

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evil intent, hoping to get some answer that would injure him; this is the Greek word commonly translated "tempt." Our Lord's reply involves another striking object-lesson, like his taking the little child (9: 16), and his overthrowing the tables (1115). By calling for the coin he drew the attention of all around, and strikingly illustrated the great principle he wished to teach. A penny, denarius, a Roman coin, worth fifteen to seventeen cents of our money; for this our penny" (King James and English revisers) is a very misleading translation, and we must either say "shilling" (6: 37), or borrow the original word, as the Greek borrowed it from the Latin. Matt. 20 19 has, "Show me the tribute money," which may mean either that this was a poll-tax of a denarius, or that Roman taxes in general were required to be paid in Roman coin, as the temple tax had to be paid in Jewish coin (Matt. 17:24). The answer (ver. 17) is not merely a skillful escape from their dilemma, but sets forth a profound and surpassingly important principle, which the Jews generally did not at all understand, viz., that there is a distinction between political and religious duties, and neither excludes the other. Coining money is a sovereign act, and the common circulation of Roman coin ought to remind them that the Roman emperor was their sovereign, from whose government they received protection, and who had claims upon them. 17. As sovereign he gave them coin and the other benefits of government, and they must (not simply “give,” ver. 14, but) render, repay, coin and the other things rightly belonging to a sovereign. At the same time, and none the less, certain other things belong to God, and must be "rendered" to him. Thus at one blow our Lord cleft the heart of a problem which the wisest Jews knew not how to solve. No wonder they marvelled greatly. See too, how his principle was carried out by Paul (Rom. 13: 1–7) and Peter (1 Peter 2: 13-17).

V. JESUS IS QUESTIONED BY THE SADDUCEES, 18-27. 18. The Sadducees were a political and religious party directly opposed to the