And no man was able to answer him a word— None of them could offer the least shadow of a solution of the difficulty which he had proposed. Neither durst any man from that day forth, &c. The repeated proofs which they had received of theprodigiousdepth of his understanding, impressed them with such an opinion of his wisdom, that they judged it impossible to entangle him in his talk; for which reason they left off attempting it, and from that day forth troubled him no more with their captious and insidious questions.
Inferences.—How rich are the provisions of the Gospel! Matthew 22:2.—A feast indeed, becoming the dignity and majesty of the King of heaven, and proportionable to the love which he bears to his own Son, in honour of whom it is made! How wonderful is the grace which calls us to the participation of those provisions! (Matthew 22:9-10.)—Us, who were originally sinners of the Gentiles, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise! Ephesians 2:12. Yet has he graciously sent his messengers to us and invited us to his house, and his table, with the additional hope of yet nobler entertainments in reserve. May none of us reject so condescending a call;—lest we turn his goodness into righteous indignation, and treasure up to ourselves wrath against the day of wrath!
It is not everyone who professes to accept the entertainment; not every one who talks of Gospel blessings, and seems to desire a share in them, who will be admitted to it. In order to our partaking of an inheritance among the saints in light, it is necessary that we be made meet for it, by the holiness both of our hearts and lives. This is the wedding-garment (Matthew 22:11.) wrought by the Spirit of God himself, and offered to us by the freedom of his grace. And it is so necessary, that without it we must be separated from the number of his guests and friends, and, even though we had eaten and drank in his presence, must be cast into outer darkness.
How highly does it behove us frequently to think of that aweful day, when the king will come in to see his guests; when God will take a most exact survey of every soul under a Christian profession; to think of that speechless confusion which will seize such as have not on the wedding-garment, and of that inexorable severity with which they will be consigned to weeping and gnashing of teeth! To have seen for a while the light of the Gospel, and the fair beamings of an eternal hope, will but add deeper and more sensible horror to those gloomy caverns. To have heard those glad tidings of great joy, and then to hear them as it were echoed back in accents of final despair, how will it wound the ear, and pierce the heart! May God prevent it, by fulfilling in us all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in us, and we in him; when the marriage supper of the Lamb shall be celebrated, and all the harmony, pomp, and beauty of heaven shall aid its solemnity, its magnificence, and its joy!
Our Lord was indeed the person whom the artful hypocrites before him described (Matthew 22:16.); and was in that respect an excellent pattern to all his followers, and especially to his ministers. He knew no man in the discharge of his office; but, without regarding the persons of any, neither seeking their favour, nor fearing their resentment, he taught the way of God in truth, and declared the whole of his counsel.
From our Lord's decision in the present case, we may learn with readiness to render to all their dues, Matthew 22:21. Our civil magistrates, by virtue of their office, justly claim our reverent regard; and tribute is most reasonably due to those who attend continually on the service of the public, and are, under God, the pillars of our common tranquillity. Let that tribute therefore be duly rendered with honour and with cheerfulness; for he, surely, is unworthy to share in the benefits of government, who will not contribute his part towards its necessary expence. But let it also be remembered, that the Rights of GOD are sacred and inviolable. He alone is the Lord of conscience; and, when that is invaded, it is easy to judge, whether man or GOD is to be obeyed, Acts 4:19.
With what satisfaction should we read our Lord's vindication of the resurrection, that important article of our faith and hope! How easily was the boasted argument of these Sadducees unravelled and exposed, and all their pride of valuing themselves so much on that imaginary penetration which laid men almost on a level with the brutes, covered with just confusion! Indeed, objections much more plausible than theirs against the resurrection, may be answered in that one saying of our Lord's, Ye know not the Scriptures, nor the power of God. Were the Scripture doctrine of the resurrection considered on the one hand, and the omnipotence of the Creator on the other, it could not seem incredible to any that God should raise the dead. Acts 26:8. How sublime an idea does our Lord give us of the happiness of those who shall be thought worthy to attain it! They shall be equal to the angels! Matthew 22:30. Adored be the riches of that grace which redeems us from this degenerate and miserable state, in which we had made ourselves so much like the beasts that perish, to raise us to so high a dignity, and marshal us with the armies of heaven. O may we be found faithful!
Christ, we see, argues a very important point of doctrine from premises in which, perhaps, we might not have been able to have discovered it, without such a hint. Let us learn to judge of Scripture arguments, not merely by the sound, but by the sense of the words. And as our Lord chose a passage from the Pentateuch, (see Mark 12:19.) rather than from the prophets, for the conviction of the Sadducees, be it our care to study the tempers, and even the prejudices, of those with whom we converse; that so we may, if possible, let in the light of divine truth on their hearts, on that side by which they seem most capable of receiving it.
Whatever might be the design of the scribe in putting his question to Christ, Matthew 22:28 we have reason to rejoice in the important answer that he received. O that it might be inscribed on every heart as with the point of a diamond!
The great commandments are the entire love of God, and of our neighbour as ourselves. But alas! what reason have we to complain of our own deficiency on both these heads! Can we say that the blessed God has the whole of our hearts? Is the utmost vigour of our faculties exerted in his service? And do we make him the end of all our actions, of all our wishes, of all our pursuits?—Do we so equitably judge between ourselves and others as to seek our own particular interests no farther than they may be subservient to, or consistent with the good of the whole? And do we make all those allowances for others, which we expect, or desire they should make for us?—But if this be not, in the main, the prevailing temper of our minds, in vain are our burnt-offerings and our sacrifices; in vain are all the solemnities of public worship, or forms of secret devotion; and by all our most pathetic expressions of duty to God, and friendship to men, we do but add one degree of guilt to another.
The Gospel of Christ has given us a key to that question of his, (Matthew 22:41, &c.) with which the Pharisees were so perplexed. Well might David in spirit call him Lord, who, according to the flesh, was to descend from his loins; inasmuch as before David or Abraham was, He is.—Let us adore this mysterious union of the divine and human natures, in the person of our glorious Emmanuel; and be very careful that we do not oppose him, if we would not be found fighters against God.
It is remarkable, that our Lord's summary of piety (Matthew 22:37-40 compare Mark 12:29; Mark 12:44.) begins with an emphatical and strong assertion of the unity of God. The reason is, it is necessary that men should be deeply impressed with just notions of the object of their worship—particularly, that he is the only true God, the maker of heaven and earth, and the possessor of all perfection, to whom there is not any being equal, or like, or second;—in order that they may apply themselves, with the utmost diligence, to obey his precepts, the first and chief of which is, that they give him their heart.
The divine Being is so transcendently amiable in himself, and, by the benefits he has conferred upon us, has such a title to our utmost affection, that, in respect to the object, there is no obligation which bears any proportion to that of loving him. The honour assigned to this precept proves, that piety is the noblest act of the human-mind, and that the chief ingredient in piety is love, founded on a clear extensive view of the divine perfections, a permanent sense of his benefits, and a deep conviction of his being the sovereign good, our portion, our happiness. But it is essential to love, that there be a delight in contemplating the beauty of the object beloved, whether that duty be matter of sensation or reflection; that we frequently, and with pleasure, reflect on the benefits which the object of our affection has conferred upon us; that we have a strong desire of pleasing him, and a sensible joy in the thought of being beloved in return. Hence the duties of devotion, prayer, and praise, are the most natural and genuine exercises of the love of God. Moreover, this virtue is not so much any single affection, as the continual bent of all the affections and powers of the soul. In which light, to love God, is as much as possible to direct the whole soul towards God, and to exercise all its faculties on him as its chief object. Accordingly, the love of God is described in Scripture by the several operations of the mind, the knowledge of God, John 17:3 and a following hard after God, Psalms 63:8 namely, by intense contemplation;—a sense of his perfections, gratitude for his benefits, trust in his goodness, attachment to his service, resignation to his providence, the obeying of his commandments, admiration, hope, fear, joy, &c. Not because it consists in any one of these singly, but in all of them together. For to content ourselves with partial regards to the Supreme Being, is not to be affected towards him in the manner we ought to be, and which the perfections of his nature claim. Hence the words of the precept are, Thou shalt love—with all thine heart, &c. that is to say, with the joint force of all thy faculties; and therefore no idols whatsoever must partake of the love and worship which are due to God.
But the beauty and excellency of this state of the mind is best seen in its effects; for the worship and obedience flowing from such an universal bent of the soul towards God, is as much superior to the worship and obedience arising from partial considerations, as the light of the sun is to any picture of it which can be drawn. For example, if we look on God only as a stern lawgiver, who can and will punish our rebellion, it may indeed force an awe and dread of him, and as much obedience to his laws as we think will satisfy him; but can never produce that constancy in our duty, that delight in it and that earnestness to do it in its utmost extent, which are produced and maintained in the mind by the sacred fire of divine love, or by the bent of the whole soul turned towards God; a frame the most excellent which can be conceived, and the most to be desired, because it constitutes the highest perfection and happiness of the creature.
The precept enjoining the love of our neighbour, is similar to that which enjoins the love of God, because charity is the sister of piety, equally the offspring of God, founded on the same authority, and produced by the influence of the same Spirit. Piety and charity consist in the like motions and dispositions of soul; and are kept alive by the same kind of nourishment. They have the same happy tendency to make those in whom they reside like God, who is God by being good and doing good; like him also in his felicity, which arises not only from the possession, but from the communication of his goodness. They are like to each other in their sublime and important nature, and of like use in the conduct of life; the one being the principle from which the whole duty we owe to God must spring, the other, that from which the whole duty we owe to man must flow. These are the features by which piety and charity are strongly marked, by which their affinity to each other is clearly proved, and by which they are rendered sister graces, and inseparable companions.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, The parable contained in the first part of this chapter, is in import much the same as the foregoing, shewing the rejection of the Jewish people for their obstinate infidelity, and the calling of the Gentiles consequent thereupon.
The Gospel dispensation is compared to a magnificent entertainment made by a king on the marriage of his son; which represents the rich provision made for poor sinners, and the gracious invitation sent to them by the great Bridegroom of his church, Christ Jesus, the Son of the eternal King. We have,
1. The rich provision made on this occasion. The oxen and fatlings are killed, with all that vast abundance which became the royal table; signifying those spiritual blessings which a poor and perishing sinner needs, such as the pardon of sin, acceptance with God, a sense of his love, the comforts and graces of the Holy Spirit, spiritual supports to carry him through the journey of time, and the glorious hope of the enjoyment of God in eternity. And these afford the richest feast for a sinful soul.
2. The repeated calls sent to those who had been invited, urging their attendance. Thus in particular the Lord sent out the seventy disciples to call the Jewish people; and, when they refused to hearken, he again, after his resurrection, sent forth his apostles and evangelists, to urge with greater vehemence their coming in, having now perfected his great plan of atonement by the one oblation of himself, and obtained for every faithful soul all spiritual blessings in heavenly things. He invited them therefore once more to join themselves to the Lord, and take him as their covenant-head and glorious bridegroom. And thus in general by his ministers to the end of time, does the Lord send forth his gracious invitations to miserable sinners, entreating them to come and secure their own happiness, be reconciled to God, and partake of the Gospel feast, where all things are ready which they can wish or need; where Jesus is ready to receive them, the Father to pardon and bless them, the Spirit to comfort and strengthen them. Well therefore may we with earnestness beseech men, as they value all that is dear to them to, Come unto the marriage.
3. The folly and wickedness of those who were invited appear in striking colours; at first in a careless and insolent refusal of the favour done them; and afterwards, when expostulated with, and again intreated to comply, by a contemptuous treatment of the message, and a more cruel treatment of the messengers: some slighted and despised the offer, preferring their worldly avocations, and pretending more necessary engagements; whilst others, provoked with the importunity of the servants, not only insulted and reviled them, but even in a rage imbrued their hands in their blood. Thus it happened to the first preachers of the Gospel: the Jewish people slighted their admonitions, and, instead of hearkening to the word of salvation, were the bitter persecutors and murderers of those who preached it. Nor were they singular herein. The same invitation has ever since, to this very day, met with very much of the like treatment. Many continue to make light of Christ: negligent about the concerns of their immortal souls, their pleasures, their gains, their worldly engagements, occupy all their hearts, and they have neither leisure nor inclination to mind the concerns of religion. They are engrossed with the cares of life, and anxious about so many other things, that they pretend they cannot pursue the one thing needful. Thus thousands turn their backs on Christ; their farm and their merchandise occupy them wholly, and the calls of the Gospel find no entrance into their deaf ears. Whilst others, exasperated at being disturbed in their sinful pursuits by the zealous ministers of God, hate and revile them, and would, but for human restraints, renew the former persecutions. They who preach the Gospel must expect to suffer for it.
4. The offended monarch, in righteous wrath, to vindicate his honour, and avenge his servants' wrongs, sent forth his armies, destroyed these murderers, and burnt up their cities. The Roman armies, at God's command, thus destroyed the Jewish nation and burnt up Jerusalem, as the punishment due to them for rejecting and murdering their Messiah and his ministers. And the like vengeance awaits all that obey not the Gospel, and persecute the preachers of it: wrath will shortly come upon them to the uttermost.
5. The calling of the Gentiles into the Gospel-church was a consequence of the rejection of the Jews. God's feast shall not be prepared in vain. When they therefore who were first bidden, were, by their refusal, judged unworthy a place in his kingdom, he sent forth his servants into the heathen world, with a general invitation, to preach the Gospel to every creature: which commission they readily executed, inviting all of every rank and station, and sinners of every degree, to come to Jesus Christ, with assurances of a ready reception from him. And thus the Christian church was filled with an innumerable multitude of converts or proselytes; some who really and truly turned to God, others but false-hearted and hypocritical professors. Note; (1.) Christ will have a church and people in the world, however many reject his Gospel. (2.) The invitation is general: we therefore must preach the Gospel to every creature. (3.) Under the dispensation of grace by Jesus Christ, and in respect to the offers of mercy and pardon, all distinctions between one sinner and another are in some sense abolished; as the least sinner must eternally perish without Christ, the greatest have a full and free redemption offered in him: but the final reward of the faithful will be according to their works.
6. The discovery, conviction, and condemnation of hypocrites in the church, are represented by the king's visit to his guests; where observing one without a wedding-garment, (which was provided for each of the guests on these occasions; and therefore the neglect was highly criminal, especially if he preferred his rags of natural depravity before the bright garments of Gospel-holiness which lay ready for him) he addressed him with a startling inquiry, how he dared intrude himself there without the wedding-garment: and, struck speechless at the question, his silence confessed his guilt. Shackled therefore as a malefactor, the king commands him to be dragged from the room illuminated for the bridal feast, and thrust into the darkness without, to bewail, with unavailing expressions of bitter anguish, his presumption, sin, and folly. Where we may observe, (1.) The particular notice which the Lord takes of those who profess to believe in him: he trieth the heart. Hypocrisy may deceive men, but not God. The day will come when the false-hearted shall be detected, either by sifting providences in this world, or at the appearing of the King upon his throne. May we now so judge ourselves, that we may not then be judged of the Lord! (2.) They must needs be speechless in the day of God, who in profession have joined in the outward ordinances, while their faith has never laid hold of Christ, nor their hearts been conformed to his image. (3.) Hypocrites in the church will receive the greater damnation in eternal torments, doomed to suffer agonies unutterable and inconceivable, and filled with the most excruciating rage, horror, and despair.
7. The parable concludes with the repetition of the observation which Christ had made before, that many are called, but few chosen: an alarming notice, to examine ourselves whether we be in the faith; how we came in to the Lord's table; what garments we are clothed with; and how we can bear the Master's piercing eye.
2nd, Ceaseless in their designs of malice, the Pharisees, associated with the Herodians, endeavoured to entangle him in his talk, and, by some captious subject of dispute, to draw from him expressions whereon to found an accusation against him. So little can the purest innocence, or the most faultless integrity, screen us from the malevolence of wicked men.
The Herodians are thought to be a sect of the Jews who were the partizans of Herod, and were zealous for the Roman government and the payment of the tribute; while the Pharisees and the rest of the nation abhorred the yoke, and hardly could brook this ignominious badge of servitude. They were therefore proper instruments on the present occasion. See the Critical Notes.
1. The question they put to our Lord was, whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not; and they concluded this would necessarily involve him in a dilemma. Should he deny the lawfulness of paying tribute, the Herodians would immediately accuse him to the government as a rebel and incendiary: should he affirm it, the Pharisees thought he would immediately exasperate the people, and give them the wished-for opportunity to destroy him. Note; It has been the invariable practice of Satan's emissaries to lay snares for God's servants, and, by catching an unguarded expression, by wilful mistake or designed misrepresentation, to blacken and abuse them. But there is one who heareth and judgeth.
2. To cover this insidious design, they use the deepest expressions of respect; as if, conscientiously disposed to follow the path of duty, and highly venerating Christ's wisdom and piety, they desired his directions for their conduct, persuaded that, being a teacher come from God, no frowns nor fear of man would sway his determinations. Note; (1.) The fairest professions often cloke the foulest designs. (2.) Their character of Christ should be the pattern for all his ministers. Faithful and true to God themselves, no fear nor flattery must tempt them to conceal any thing of the whole counsel of God from others; but, regardless of men's persons, with zeal and simplicity they must discharge their commission, and speak the truth as it is in Jesus.
3. Christ baffles their craft and disappoints their designs. He knew the secret wickedness which they meditated, and, by his question, which shewed his knowledge of their hearts, reproved their hypocrisy: Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute-money. Out of their own mouths he would silence them, and answer them with their own confessions: for, producing to him a penny, a silver Roman coin, he demanded whose image and superscription it bore: and, they replying Caesar's, he answered, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's. As the coining of money was the royal prerogative, the circulation of such coin implied subjection to the person whose image it bore: there could be no doubt therefore but that, if Caesar's money was regarded as the current coin of the land, there could be no unlawfulness in rendering him the tribute which bore his image, in return for the protection and administration of the civil government, which they received from him. And this interfered not with their religious duties: they must render also unto God the things that are God's. Thus neither could the civil government have cause to be offended, nor the Pharisees be able to accuse him without condemning themselves. Note; (1.) When we have to deal with crafty adversaries, we need be wise as serpents, while we are harmless as doves. (2.) The mark of hypocrites, however naturally painted, cannot impose upon him who trieth the heart. Their hope of concealment is delusion; and while they tempt him, they destroy themselves. (3.) Captious questions should have a cautious answer, that, if possible, they who came to ensnare us may be confounded themselves. (4.) It is reasonable that we should pay tribute to the government from which we receive protection. Christ's servants must on principle be loyal subjects. But, though Caesar has our tribute, God must have our hearts.
4. Though confounded with his reply, they could not but admire his wisdom; and, defeated in their purpose, they retired with shame as baffled foes, unable to find the least ground for accusation against him. May the Lord ever endue his ministers with the like wisdom, and enable them to disappoint the malice of those who lie in wait for an occasion against them!
3rdly, The Pharisees and Herodians being foiled, the Sadducees next resolved to take the field of controversy against him. They utterly denied a future state, the existence of angels or spirits, and the resurrection of the dead, and thought they could propose a question to our Lord which it would puzzle him to decide.
1. They stated a case, (whether real or imaginary was not material) founded on the Mosaical institutions concerning the widow of a man who died childless, whose brother, according to the law, Deuteronomy 25:5 was obliged to marry her, and raise up an heir to the inheritance of the deceased. The question they proposed therefore was, if a woman successively married seven brothers, and, having no children by any of them, at last died herself—whose wife shall she be at the resurrection, since all could claim the same title to her? They thought thus to lead our Lord to join them in denying a resurrection, or to reduce him to own his ignorance, or to make a decision which they could prove to be absurd, and unsupported by reason or Scripture.
2. Christ rectifies their mistake, reproves their ignorance, and shews their objection against a resurrection to be fallacious: they erred, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. The Scriptures declare that there shall be a resurrection, Job 19:26., Ezekiel 37., Daniel 12:2.; and though the collection of the scattered atoms of the human body appears never so difficult, it is not beyond the almighty power of God to effect. Besides, their ideas of a future state were false and carnal. There will be no occasion there for marriage, to perpetuate inheritances, or to keep up a succession of names, or to minister to our comforts, or alleviate our cares; but all will be in heaven as the angels of God, perfectly pure and spiritual, and happy as those glorious ministers who surround the throne of God. But our Lord rests not in confuting their mistakes: he supports the truth by unanswerable arguments, drawn even from the Pentateuch, the sacred authority of which books they themselves admitted. Now, concerning the resurrection of the dead, they must needs remember what God himself declared at that memorable occasion when he appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Exodus 3:6 where he said, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, though these patriarchs were long before dead. He saith not I was, but I am, he standing towards them still in the same relation; and as his being their God implies some peculiarly great and glorious advantages thence accruing, but these holy men, during all their lives, were strangers and pilgrims in the earth, exercised with various troubles and afflictions, therefore it follows that there must be a future state, where their eternal reward awaits them. Besides, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Had these patriarchs ceased to be when their bodies died, God could not with any propriety be said to continue in the same covenant relation to them as before. He being their God proves them still alive; and the existence therefore of their souls as immortal is evident: but he was not only the God of their souls, but of the men in their whole persons. As therefore their souls now live, their bodies will be quickened also; else would he be still the God of the dead: the resurrection of the body, as well as the immortality of the soul, therefore is here supposed, and the argument conclusive against the tenets of the Sadducees. Note; (1.) The cause of all our grand errors is our ignorance of the Scriptures. (2.) Many things to the eye of sense impossible, the eye of faith, which looks to the promises and power of God, sees not only possible, but sure and certain. (3.) They who have the Lord for their God, need not wish for more, but that he may be their increasing and eternal portion and exceeding great reward.
3. The Sadducees were silenced; but the multitude were astonished: they had never before heard the eternal happiness of the righteous, the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection from the dead, so nobly defended and proved.
4thly, The Pharisees again return to the charge; and, grieved probably that he should be able to silence those whom they could not, consulted together how to put a stop to his increasing reputation, which so eclipsed their own. They who greatly shine, must expect to be greatly envied. One of their lawyers then proposed a question, probably with a good intention. See the Critical Notes on this chapter, and Mark 12:28-34.
1. The question was, which is the great commandment in the law? some esteeming it to be circumcision, others the observation of the sabbath, others the wearing the phylacteries, washings, &c. And should he determine the question in favour of any one party of disputants, the rest would probably have been offended with the decision.
2. His answer carries evidence and conviction along with it: the first and great commandment is the perfect love of God, and the next the loving of our neighbour as ourselves: these two commandments comprize the whole moral law, with all the duties enforced by the prophets; and to be obedient to these, this divine principle of love can alone engage us. These commandments still continue in full force; and in the practical exercise of these consists all vital religion: for though we are not under the law, that we should expect life from our obedience: yet are we bound to set them before us as our rule of duty and law of life, and by the Gospel-faith, which worketh by love, shall be enabled in our measure to walk as Christ also walked, humbly following his bright example. Note; (1.) We must love the Lord our God, and labour through grace to love him with all our hearts. We must first believe that he is our God, our reconciled God in Jesus Christ, and then love will be the immediate effect: this will produce a hearty obedience to his commands, and unreserved submission to his providence. The love of God will make us count none of his commandments grievous, and reckon every dispensation righteous, just, and good. (2.) The love of our neighbours follows. They must be dear to us as we are to ourselves: their persons, property, characters, be regarded as our own; and we should be ready in every good word and work to do them service, with them every blessing, and desire to act towards them, in every situation, as we could reasonably expect they should behave to us, if they were in our circumstances. The more we appear under the influence of these divine precepts, the more we shall shew of the spirit and power of true Christianity.
5thly, Having thus silenced all his opponents, our Lord is now pleased to put a question in his turn to those who had so often tempted him. And he did it when they were gathered together to consult how to ensnare him, that his triumph over them might be more distinguished.
1. The question seemed so plain that a child might answer it. What think ye of Christ? whose Son is he? And they have their reply ready, little imagining in what difficulties it would involve them. They say unto him, The Son of David. So far they were right, the Scripture had thus determined, Psalms 89:35-36., Isaiah 9:7; Isaiah 11:1. It is a question that we should be seriously concerned to answer, What we think of his person, offices, undertaking; and whether he is a Christ to us, a Saviour to the uttermost?
2. From their answer our Lord proposes to them another question of more difficult solution. How is the Messiah's being David's Son reconcileable with his being David's Lord? for such the Psalmist acknowledges him, when, speaking under divine inspiration, Psalms 110:1 he saith, The Lord, God the Father, said unto my Lord, the divine Messiah, Sit thou at my right hand, exalted to the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, till I make thine enemies thy footstool; for so long will he reign in his mediatorial kingdom, till every foe is destroyed, and the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ, and death itself be banished from his church for ever. If David then call him Lord, acknowledging him his superior, and a divine Person, how is he is son, and to descend from him as man?
3. This question quite puzzled them. They seem to have been ignorant of the divine character of the Messiah; they regarded him as a mere man, and understood not the union of God and man in one Christ; or, if they knew it, they were not willing to acknowledge his Deity, and chose to be silent, rather than reply. Perceiving now how unequal a match they all together were for his superior wisdom, they durst not encounter him with any more ensnaring questions, and avoided any farther disputes which they found must issue in their shame. Note; Many are silenced, without being convinced; and have their arguments confuted, while their hearts still remain unconverted.