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Click a verse to see commentary20. Parables and Teachings
1And it came to pass, on one of the days, as he was teaching the people in the temple, and preaching the gospel, there came upon him the chief priests and the scribes with the elders; 2and they spake, saying unto him, Tell us: By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? 3And he answered and said unto them, I also will ask you a question; and tell me: 4The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? 5And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why did ye not believe him? 6But if we shall say, From men; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded that John was a prophet. 7And they answered, that they knew not whence it was. 8And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. 9And he began to speak unto the people this parable: A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country for a long time. 10And at the season he sent unto the husbandmen a servant, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 11And he sent yet another servant: and him also they beat, and handled him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12And he sent yet a third: and him also they wounded, and cast him forth. 13And the lord of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will reverence him. 14But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned one with another, saying, This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. 15And they cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. 17But he looked upon them, and said, What then is this that is written,
The stone which the builders rejected,
The same was made the head of the corner?
18Every one that falleth on that stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust. 19And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he spake this parable against them. 20And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who feigned themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor. 21And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person of any, but of a truth teachest the way of God: 22Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 23But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, 24Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they said, Caesar's. 25And he said unto them, Then render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. 26And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace. 27And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection; 28and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 29There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless; 30and the second: 31and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died. 32Afterward the woman also died. 33In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife. 34And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the place concerning the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 39And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said. 40For they durst not any more ask him any question. 41And he said unto them, How say they that the Christ is David's son? 42For David himself saith in the book of Psalms,
The Lord said unto my Lord,
Sit thou on my right hand,
43Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.
44David therefore calleth him Lord, and how is he his son? 45And in the hearing of all the people he said unto his disciples, 46Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts; 47who devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater condemnation.
The Scribes Confounded.
39 Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. 40 And after that they durst not ask him any question at all. 41 And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? 42 And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 43 Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. 44 David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son? 45 Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples, 46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; 47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.
The scribes were students in the law, and expositors of it to the people, men in reputation for wisdom and honour, but the generality of them were enemies to Christ and his gospel. Now here we have some of them attending him, and four things we have in these verses concerning them, which we had before:—
I. We have them here commending the reply which Christ made to the Sadducees concerning the resurrection: Certain of the scribes said, Master, thou hast well said, v. 39. Christ had the testimony of his adversaries that he said well; and therefore the scribes were his enemies because he would not conform to the traditions of the elders, but yet when he vindicated the fundamental practices of religion, and appeared in the defence of them, even the scribes commended his performance, and owned that he said well. Many that call themselves Christians come short even of this spirit.
II. We have them here struck with an awe of Christ, and of his wisdom and authority (v. 40): They durst not ask him any questions at all, because they say that he was too hard for all that contended with him. His own disciples, though weak, yet, being willing to receive his doctrine, durst ask him any question; but the Sadducees, who contradicted and cavilled at his doctrine, durst ask him none.
III. We have them here puzzled and run aground with a question concerning the Messiah, v. 41. It was plain by many scriptures that Christ was to be the Son of David; even the blind man knew this (ch. xviii. 39); and yet it was plain that David called the Messiah his Lord (v. 42, 44), his owner, and ruler, and benefactor: The Lord said to my Lord. God said it to the Messiah, Ps. cx. 1. Now if he be his Son, why doth he call him his Lord? If he be his Lord, why do we call him his Son? This he left them to consider of, but they could not reconcile this seeming contradiction; thanks be to God, we can; that Christ, as God, was David's Lord, but Christ, as man, was David's Son. He was both the root and the offspring of David, Rev. xxii. 16. By his human nature he was the offspring of David, a branch of his family; by his divine nature he was the root of David, from whom he had his being and life, and all the supplies of grace.
IV. We have them here described in their black characters, and a public caution given to the disciples to take heed of them, v. 45-47. This we had, just as it is here, Mark xii. 38, and more largely Matt. xxiii. Christ bids his disciples beware of the scribes, that is,
1. "Take heed of being drawn into sin by them, of learning their way, and going into their measures; beware of such a spirit as they are governed by. Be not you such in the Christian church as they are in the Jewish church."
2. "Take heed of being brought into trouble by them," in the same sense that he had said (Matt. x. 17), "Beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils; beware of the scribes, for they will do so. Beware of them, for," (1.) "They are proud and haughty. They desire to walk about the streets in long robes, as those that are above business (for men of business went with their loins girt up), and as those that take state, and take place." Cedant arma togæ—Let arms yield to the gown. They loved in their hearts to have people make their obeisance to them in the markets, that many might see what respect was paid them; and were very proud of the precedency that was given them in all places of concourse. They loved the highest seats in the synagogues and the chief rooms at feasts, and, when they were placed in them, looked upon themselves with great conceit and upon all about them with great contempt. I sit as a queen. (2.) "They are covetous and oppressive, and make their religion a cloak and cover for crime." They devour widows' houses, get their estates into their hands, and then by some trick or other make them their own, or they live upon them, and eat up what they have; and widows are an easy prey to them, because they are apt to be deluded by their specious pretences: for a show they make long prayers, perhaps long prayers with the widows when they are in sorrow, as if they had not only a piteous but a pious concern for them, and thus endeavour to ingratiate themselves with them, and get their money and effects into their hands. Such devout men may surely be trusted with untold gold; but they will give such an account of it as they think fit.
Christ reads them their doom in a few words: These shall receive a more abundant judgment, a double damnation, both for their abuse of the poor widows, whose houses they devoured, and for their abuse of religion, and particularly of prayer, which they had made use of as a pretence for the more plausible and effectual carrying on of their worldly and wicked projects; for dissembled piety is double iniquity.