CONTENTS.
The LORD is here teaching in Parables. The Pharisees and Herodians try to catch JESUS in his words. The LORD blessedly discourseth on the Resurrection, and with a Scribe: he cautions against the Scribes. The Chapter closeth with the LORD's Commendation of the Widow's Offering to the Treasury.
AND he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an 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. (6) Having yet therefore one son, his well beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. (7) But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. (8) And they took him, and. killed him, and, cast him out of the vineyard. (9) What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. (10) And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: (11) This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (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.
We had this parable, Matthew 21:33, to which I refer. But in addition to what was there observed, it may not be improper briefly to remark, that in this, as well as some other parables of CHRIST, we are to keep in remembrance as we pass through the several parts of it, that as it is a parable, we are not to strain the expressions beyond the figure intended; no do more in the application of the whole than as evidently the LORD intended it in a general, way. That the chief scope of it is to shew the LORD's ill-treatment from the Jewish nation is certain; and the several characters represented in the parable as, plainly mark it out. The certain man here spoken of is GOD the FATHER; the vineyard as is elsewhere described, is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. Isaiah 5:7. The servants at different times said to be sent, are the Prophets, and faithful messengers preparatory to the coming of CHRIST and his SON the LORD JESUS CHRIST. But when it is said that this certain man went into a far country; that this certain man, put a may be upon the reception his SON might receive; it may be, they will reverence my SON. These are parabolical expressions, and not to be construed in their exact literal sense and meaning. The LORD is everywhere, and always present; and therefore can neither be said to withdraw, nor, go forth. Neither could the LORD be supposed to say, that there was a probability CHRIST would be reverenced by the nation, the Jews, to whom he was sent: for provision was only made for those to reverence CHRIST, of whom he himself spake, and every other: JESUS himself assigned the cause, wherefore they would not accept him. See John 6:37; John 8:43. But the parable is intended to shew the nation the Jews, in their national character. And the event, in the destruction of the Jewish nation, exactly corresponded to the predictions CHRIST here delivered. The whole nation was overthrown, and the people which survived the destruction of Jerusalem, were scattered over the face of the earth.