32 For G1063 John G2491 came G2064 unto G4314 you G5209 in G1722 the way G3598 of righteousness, G1343 and G2532 ye believed G4100 him G846 not: G3756 but G1161 the publicans G5057 and G2532 the harlots G4204 believed G4100 him: G846 and G1161 ye, G5210 when ye had seen G1492 it, repented G3338 not G3756 afterward, G5305 that ye might believe G4100 him. G846
And, G2532 behold, G2400 a woman G1135 in G1722 the city, G4172 which G3748 was G2258 a sinner, G268 when she knew G1921 that G3754 Jesus sat at meat G345 in G1722 the Pharisee's G5330 house, G3614 brought G2865 an alabaster box G211 of ointment, G3464 And G2532 stood G2476 at G3844 his G846 feet G4228 behind G3694 him weeping, G2799 and began G756 to wash G1026 his G846 feet G4228 with tears, G1144 and G2532 did wipe G1591 them with the hairs G2359 of her G846 head, G2776 and G2532 kissed G2705 his G846 feet, G4228 and G2532 anointed G218 them with the ointment. G3464 Now G1161 when the Pharisee G5330 which G3588 had bidden G2564 him G846 saw G1492 it, he spake G2036 within G1722 himself, G1438 saying, G3004 This man, G3778 if G1487 he were G2258 a prophet, G4396 G302 would have known G1097 who G5101 and G2532 what manner G4217 of woman G1135 this is that G3748 toucheth G680 him: G846 for G3754 she is G2076 a sinner. G268 And G2532 Jesus G2424 answering G611 said G2036 unto G4314 him, G846 Simon, G4613 I have G2192 somewhat G5100 to say G2036 unto thee. G4671 And G1161 he saith, G5346 Master, G1320 say on. G2036 There was G2258 a certain G5100 creditor G1157 which had two G1417 debtors: G5533 the one G1520 owed G3784 five hundred G4001 pence, G1220 and G1161 the other G2087 fifty. G4004 And G1161 when they G846 had G2192 nothing G3361 to pay, G591 he frankly forgave G5483 them both. G297 Tell me G2036 therefore, G3767 which G5101 of them G846 will love G25 him G846 most? G4119 Simon G4613 answered G611 and G1161 said, G2036 I suppose G5274 that G3754 he, to whom G3739 he forgave G5483 most. G4119 And G1161 he said G2036 unto him, G846 Thou hast G2919 rightly G3723 judged. G2919 And G2532 he turned G4762 to G4314 the woman, G1135 and said G5346 unto Simon, G4613 Seest thou G991 this G5026 woman? G1135 I entered G1525 into G1519 thine G4675 house, G3614 thou gavest me G1325 no G3756 water G5204 for G1909 my G3450 feet: G4228 but G1161 she G3778 G846 hath washed G1026 my G3450 feet G4228 with tears, G1144 and G2532 wiped G1591 them with the hairs G2359 of her G846 head. G2776 Thou gavest G1325 me G3427 no G3756 kiss: G5370 but G1161 this woman G3778 G846 since G575 the time G3739 I came in G1525 hath G1257 not G3756 ceased G1257 to kiss G2705 my G3450 feet. G4228 My G3450 head G2776 with oil G1637 thou didst G218 not G3756 anoint: G218 but G1161 this woman G3778 G846 hath anointed G218 my G3450 feet G4228 with ointment. G3464 Wherefore G3739 G5484 I say G3004 unto thee, G4671 Her G846 sins, G266 which G3588 are many, G4183 are forgiven; G863 for G3754 she loved G25 much: G4183 but G1161 to whom G3739 little G3641 is forgiven, G863 the same loveth G25 little. G3641 And G1161 he said G2036 unto her, G846 Thy G4675 sins G266 are forgiven. G863 And G2532 they that sat at meat with him G4873 began G756 to say G3004 within G1722 themselves, G1438 Who G5101 is G2076 this G3778 that G3739 forgiveth G863 sins G266 also? G2532 And G1161 he said G2036 to G4314 the woman, G1135 Thy G4675 faith G4102 hath saved G4982 thee; G4571 go G4198 in G1519 peace. G1515
And G2532 all G3956 the people G2992 that heard G191 him, and G2532 the publicans, G5057 justified G1344 God, G2316 being baptized G907 with the baptism G908 of John. G2491 But G1161 the Pharisees G5330 and G2532 lawyers G3544 rejected G114 the counsel G1012 of God G2316 against G1519 themselves, G1438 being G907 not G3361 baptized G907 of G5259 him. G846
If G2532 they shall fall away, G3895 to renew them G340 again G3825 unto G1519 repentance; G3341 seeing they crucify G388 to themselves G1438 the Son G5207 of God G2316 afresh, G388 and G2532 put him to an open shame. G3856 For G1063 the earth G1093 which G3588 drinketh in G4095 the rain G5205 that cometh G2064 oft G4178 upon G1909 it, G846 and G2532 bringeth forth G5088 herbs G1008 meet G2111 for them G1565 G2532 by G1223 whom G3739 it is dressed, G1090 receiveth G3335 blessing G2129 from G575 God: G2316 But G1161 that which beareth G1627 thorns G173 and G2532 briers G5146 is rejected, G96 and G2532 is nigh G1451 unto cursing; G2671 whose G3739 end G5056 is to G1519 be burned. G2740
But my people H5971 would not hearken H8085 to my voice; H6963 and Israel H3478 would H14 none of me. So I gave them up H7971 unto their own hearts' H3820 lust: H8307 and they walked H3212 in their own counsels. H4156
And G1161 as G5613 John G2491 fulfilled G4137 his course, G1408 he said, G3004 Whom G5101 think ye G5282 that I G3165 am? G1511 I G1473 am G1510 not G3756 he. But, G235 behold, G2400 there cometh one G2064 after G3326 me, G1691 whose G3739 shoes G5266 of his feet G4228 I am G1510 not G3756 worthy G514 to loose. G3089 Men G435 and brethren, G80 children G5207 of the stock G1085 of Abraham, G11 and G2532 whosoever among G1722 you G5213 feareth G5399 God, G2316 to you G5213 is G649 the word G3056 of this G5026 salvation G4991 sent. G649 For G1063 they that dwell G2730 at G1722 Jerusalem, G2419 and G2532 their G846 rulers, G758 because they knew G50 him G5126 not, G50 nor yet G2532 the voices G5456 of the prophets G4396 which G3588 are read G314 G2596 every G3956 sabbath day, G4521 they have fulfilled G4137 them in condemning G2919 him. And G2532 though they found G2147 no G3367 cause G156 of death G2288 in him, yet desired they G154 Pilate G4091 that he G846 should be slain. G337 And G1161 when G5613 they had fulfilled G5055 all G537 that was written G1125 of G4012 him, G846 they took him down G2507 from G575 the tree, G3586 and laid G5087 him in G1519 a sepulchre. G3419
Ye G5210 sent G649 unto G4314 John, G2491 and G2532 he bare witness G3140 unto the truth. G225 But G1161 I G1473 receive G2983 not G3756 testimony G3141 from G3844 man: G444 but G235 these things G5023 I say, G3004 that G2443 ye G5210 might be saved. G4982 He G1565 was G2258 a burning G2545 and G2532 a shining G5316 light: G3088 and G1161 ye G5210 were willing G2309 for G4314 a season G5610 to rejoice G21 in G1722 his G846 light. G5457 But G1161 I G1473 have G2192 greater G3187 witness G3141 than that of John: G2491 for G1063 the works G2041 which G3739 the Father G3962 hath given G1325 me G3427 to G2443 finish, G5048 G846 the same G846 works G2041 that G3739 I G1473 do, G4160 bear witness G3140 of G4012 me, G1700 that G3754 the Father G3962 hath sent G649 me. G3165 And G2532 the Father G3962 himself, G846 which hath sent G3992 me, G3165 hath borne witness G3140 of G4012 me. G1700 Ye have G191 neither G3777 heard G191 his G846 voice G5456 at any time, G4455 nor G3777 seen G3708 his G846 shape. G1491 And G2532 ye have G2192 not G3756 his G846 word G3056 abiding G3306 in G1722 you: G5213 for G3754 whom G3739 G1565 he hath sent, G649 him G5129 ye G5210 believe G4100 not. G3756 Search G2045 the scriptures; G1124 for G3754 in G1722 them G846 ye G5210 think G1380 ye have G2192 eternal G166 life: G2222 and G2532 they G1565 are they G1526 which testify G3140 of G4012 me. G1700 And G2532 ye will G2309 not G3756 come G2064 to G4314 me, G3165 that G2443 ye might have G2192 life. G2222
Bring forth G4160 therefore G3767 fruits G2590 worthy G514 of repentance, G3341 and G2532 begin G756 not G3361 to say G3004 within G1722 yourselves, G1438 We have G2192 Abraham G11 to our father: G3962 for G1063 I say G3004 unto you, G5213 That G3754 God G2316 is able G1410 of G1537 these G5130 stones G3037 to raise up G1453 children G5043 unto Abraham. G11 And G1161 now G2235 also G2532 the axe G513 is laid G2749 unto G4314 the root G4491 of the trees: G1186 every G3956 tree G1186 therefore G3767 which bringeth G4160 not G3361 forth G4160 good G2570 fruit G2590 is hewn down, G1581 and G2532 cast G906 into G1519 the fire. G4442 And G2532 the people G3793 asked G1905 him, G846 saying, G3004 What G5101 shall we do G4160 then? G3767 He answereth G611 and G1161 saith G3004 unto them, G846 He that hath G2192 two G1417 coats, G5509 let him impart G3330 to him that hath G2192 none; G3361 and G2532 he that hath G2192 meat, G1033 let him do G4160 likewise. G3668 Then G1161 came G2064 also G2532 publicans G5057 to be baptized, G907 and G2532 said G2036 unto G4314 him, G846 Master, G1320 what G5101 shall we do? G4160 And G1161 he said G2036 unto G4314 them, G846 Exact G4238 no G3367 more G4119 than G3844 that which is appointed G1299 you. G5213
G1161 In G1722 those G1565 days G2250 came G3854 John G2491 the Baptist, G910 preaching G2784 in G1722 the wilderness G2048 of Judaea, G2449 And G2532 saying, G3004 Repent ye: G3340 for G1063 the kingdom G932 of heaven G3772 is at hand. G1448 For G1063 this G3778 is he G2076 that was spoken G4483 of by G5259 the prophet G4396 Esaias, G2268 saying, G3004 The voice G5456 of one crying G994 in G1722 the wilderness, G2048 Prepare ye G2090 the way G3598 of the Lord, G2962 make G4160 his G846 paths G5147 straight. G2117 And G1161 the same G846 John G2491 had G2192 his G846 raiment G1742 of G575 camel's G2574 hair, G2359 and G2532 a leathern G1193 girdle G2223 about G4012 his G846 loins; G3751 and G1161 his G846 meat G5160 was G2258 locusts G200 and G2532 wild G66 honey. G3192 Then G5119 went out G1607 to G4314 him G846 Jerusalem, G2414 and G2532 all G3956 Judaea, G2449 and G2532 all G3956 the region round about G4066 Jordan, G2446 And G2532 were baptized G907 of G5259 him G846 in G1722 Jordan, G2446 confessing G1843 their G846 sins. G266 But G1161 when he saw G1492 many G4183 of the Pharisees G5330 and G2532 Sadducees G4523 come G2064 to G1909 his G846 baptism, G908 he said G2036 unto them, G846 O generation G1081 of vipers, G2191 who G5101 hath warned G5263 you G5213 to flee G5343 from G575 the wrath G3709 to come? G3195 Bring forth G4160 therefore G3767 fruits G2590 meet G514 for repentance: G3341 And G2532 think G1380 not G3361 to say G3004 within G1722 yourselves, G1438 We have G2192 Abraham G11 to our father: G3962 for G1063 I say G3004 unto you, G5213 that G3754 God G2316 is able G1410 of G1537 these G5130 stones G3037 to raise up G1453 children G5043 unto Abraham. G11 And G1161 now G2235 also G2532 the axe G513 is laid G2749 unto G4314 the root G4491 of the trees: G1186 therefore G3767 every G3956 tree G1186 which bringeth G4160 not G3361 forth G4160 good G2570 fruit G2590 is hewn down, G1581 and G2532 cast G906 into G1519 the fire. G4442 I G1473 indeed G3303 baptize G907 you G5209 with G1722 water G5204 unto G1519 repentance: G3341 but G1161 he that cometh G2064 after G3694 me G3450 is G2076 mightier than G2478 I, G3450 whose G3739 shoes G5266 I am G1510 not G3756 worthy G2425 to bear: G941 he G846 shall baptize G907 you G5209 with G1722 the Holy G40 Ghost, G4151 and G2532 with fire: G4442 Whose G3739 fan G4425 is in G1722 his G846 hand, G5495 and G2532 he will throughly purge G1245 his G846 floor, G257 and G2532 gather G4863 his G846 wheat G4621 into G1519 the garner; G596 but G1161 he will burn up G2618 the chaff G892 with unquenchable G762 fire. G4442
But they refused H3985 to hearken, H7181 and pulled away H5414 H5637 the shoulder, H3802 and stopped H3513 their ears, H241 that they should not hear. H8085 Yea, they made H7760 their hearts H3820 as an adamant stone, H8068 lest they should hear H8085 the law, H8451 and the words H1697 which the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 hath sent H7971 in his spirit H7307 by H3027 the former H7223 prophets: H5030 therefore came a great H1419 wrath H7110 from the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Matthew 21
Commentary on Matthew 21 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 21
Mt 21:1-9. Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on the First Day of the Week. ( = Mr 11:1-11; Lu 19:29-40; Joh 12:12-19).
For the exposition of this majestic scene—recorded, as will be seen, by all the Evangelists—see on Lu 19:29-40.
Mt 21:10-22. Stir about Him in the City—Second Cleansing of the Temple, and Miracles There—Glorious Vindication of the Children's Testimony—The Barren Fig Tree Cursed, with Lessons from It. ( = Mr 11:11-26; Lu 19:45-48).
For the exposition, see on Lu 19:45-48; and Mr 11:12-26.
Mt 21:23-46. The Authority of Jesus Questioned and the Reply—The Parables of the Two Sons, and of the Wicked Husbandman. ( = Mr 11:27-12:12; Lu 20:1-19).
Now commences, as Alford remarks, that series of parables and discourses of our Lord with His enemies, in which He develops, more completely than ever before, His hostility to their hypocrisy and iniquity: and so they are stirred up to compass His death.
The Authority of Jesus Questioned, and the Reply (Mt 21:23-27).
23. By what authority doest thou these things!—referring particularly to the expulsion of the buyers and sellers from the temple,
and who gave thee this authority?
24. And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, &c.
25. The baptism of John—meaning his whole mission and ministry, of which baptism was the proper character.
whence was it? from heaven, or of men?—What wisdom there was in this way of meeting their question will best appear by their reply.
If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?—"Why did ye not believe the testimony which he bore to Me, as the promised and expected Messiah?" for that was the burden of John's whole testimony.
26. But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people—rather, "the multitude." In Luke (Lu 20:6) it is, "all the people will stone us"—"stone us to death."
for all hold John as a prophet—Crooked, cringing hypocrites! No wonder Jesus gave you no answer.
27. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell—Evidently their difficulty was, how to answer, so as neither to shake their determination to reject the claims of Christ nor damage their reputation with the people. For the truth itself they cared nothing whatever.
Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things—What composure and dignity of wisdom does our Lord here display, as He turns their question upon themselves, and, while revealing His knowledge of their hypocrisy, closes their mouths! Taking advantage of the surprise, silence, and awe produced by this reply, our Lord followed it up immediately by the two following parables.
Parable of the Two Sons (Mt 21:28-32).
28. But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard—for true religion is a practical thing, a "bringing forth fruit unto God."
29. He answered and said, I will not—Trench notices the rudeness of this answer, and the total absence of any attempt to excuse such disobedience, both characteristic; representing careless, reckless sinners resisting God to His face.
30. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir—"I, sir." The emphatic "I," here, denotes the self-righteous complacency which says, "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men" (Lu 18:11).
and went not—He did not "afterward repent" and refuse to go; for there was here no intention to go. It is the class that "say and do not" (Mt 23:3)—a falseness more abominable to God, says Stier, than any "I will not."
31. Whether of them twain did the will of his Father? They say unto him, The first—Now comes the application.
Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go—or, "are going"; even now entering, while ye hold back.
into the kingdom of God before you—The publicans and the harlots were the first son, who, when told to work in the Lord's vineyard, said, I will not; but afterwards repented and went. Their early life was a flat and flagrant refusal to do what they were commanded; it was one continued rebellion against the authority of God. The chief priests and the elders of the people, with whom our Lord was now speaking, were the second son, who said, I go, sir, but went not. They were early called, and all their life long professed obedience to God, but never rendered it; their life was one of continued disobedience.
32. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness—that is, calling you to repentance; as Noah is styled "a preacher of righteousness" (2Pe 2:5), when like the Baptist he warned the old world to "flee from the wrath to come."
and ye believed him not—They did not reject him; nay, they "were willing for a season to rejoice in his light" (Joh 5:35); but they would not receive his testimony to Jesus.
but the publicans and the harlots believed him—Of the publicans this is twice expressly recorded, Lu 3:12; 7:29. Of the harlots, then, the same may be taken for granted, though the fact is not expressly recorded. These outcasts gladly believed the testimony of John to the coming Saviour, and so hastened to Jesus when He came. See Lu 7:37; 15:1, &c.
and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him—Instead of being "provoked to jealousy" by their example, ye have seen them flocking to the Saviour and getting to heaven, unmoved.
Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen (Mt 21:33-46).
33. Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard—(See on Lu 13:6).
and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower—These details are taken, as is the basis of the parable itself, from that beautiful parable of Isa 5:1-7, in order to fix down the application and sustain it by Old Testament authority.
and let it out to husbandmen—These are just the ordinary spiritual guides of the people, under whose care and culture the fruits of righteousness are expected to spring up.
and went into a far country—"for a long time" (Lu 20:9), leaving the vineyard to the laws of the spiritual husbandry during the whole time of the Jewish economy. On this phraseology, see on Mr 4:26.
34. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen—By these "servants" are meant the prophets and other extraordinary messengers, raised up from time to time. See on Mt 23:37.
that they might receive the fruits of it—Again see on Lu 13:6.
35. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one—see Jer 37:15; 38:6.
and killed another—see Jer 26:20-23.
and stoned another—see 2Ch 24:21. Compare with this whole verse Mt 23:37, where our Lord reiterates these charges in the most melting strain.
36. Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they did unto them likewise—see 2Ki 17:13; 2Ch 36:16, 18; Ne 9:26.
37. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son—In Mark (Mr 12:6) this is most touchingly expressed: "Having yet therefore one son, His well-beloved, He sent Him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence My Son." Luke's version of it too (Lu 20:13) is striking: "Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send My beloved Son: it may be they will reverence Him when they see Him." Who does not see that our Lord here severs Himself, by the sharpest line of demarcation, from all merely human messengers, and claims for Himself Sonship in its loftiest sense? (Compare Heb 3:3-6). The expression, "It may be they will reverence My Son," is designed to teach the almost unimaginable guilt of not reverentially welcoming God's Son.
38. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves—Compare Ge 37:18-20; Joh 11:47-53.
This is the heir—Sublime expression this of the great truth, that God's inheritance was destined for, and in due time is to come into the possession of, His own Son in our nature (Heb 1:2).
come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance—that so, from mere servants, we may become lords. This is the deep aim of the depraved heart; this is emphatically "the root of all evil."
39. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard—compare Heb 13:11-13 ("without the gate—without the camp"); 1Ki 21:13; Joh 19:17.
and slew him.
40. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh—This represents "the settling time," which, in the case of the Jewish ecclesiastics, was that judicial trial of the nation and its leaders which issued in the destruction of their whole state.
what will he do unto those husbandmen?
41. They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men—an emphatic alliteration not easily conveyed in English: "He will badly destroy those bad men," or "miserably destroy those miserable men," is something like it.
and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons—If this answer was given by the Pharisees, to whom our Lord addressed the parable, they thus unwittingly pronounced their own condemnation: as did David to Nathan the prophet (2Sa 12:5-7), and Simon the Pharisee to our Lord (Lu 7:43, &c.). But if it was given, as the two other Evangelists agree in representing it, by our Lord Himself, and the explicitness of the answer would seem to favor that supposition, then we can better explain the exclamation of the Pharisees which followed it, in Luke's report (Lu 20:16)—"And when they heard it, they said, God forbid"—His whole meaning now bursting upon them.
42. Jesus saith unto them. Did ye never read in the scriptures—(Ps 118:22, 23).
The stone which the builders rejected, &c.—A bright Messianic prophecy, which reappears in various forms (Isa 28:16, &c.), and was made glorious use of by Peter before the Sanhedrim (Ac 4:11). He recurs to it in his first epistle (1Pe 2:4-6).
43. Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God—God's visible Kingdom, or Church, upon earth, which up to this time stood in the seed of Abraham.
shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof—that is, the great evangelical community of the faithful, which, after the extrusion of the Jewish nation, would consist chiefly of Gentiles, until "all Israel should be saved" (Ro 11:25, 26). This vastly important statement is given by Matthew only.
44. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder—The Kingdom of God is here a Temple, in the erection of which a certain stone, rejected as unsuitable by the spiritual builders, is, by the great Lord of the House, made the keystone of the whole. On that Stone the builders were now "falling" and being "broken" (Isa 8:15). They were sustaining great spiritual hurt; but soon that Stone should "fall upon them" and "grind them to powder" (Da 2:34, 35; Zec 12:2)—in their corporate capacity, in the tremendous destruction of Jerusalem, but personally, as unbelievers, in a more awful sense still.
45. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables—referring to that of the Two Sons and this one of the Wicked Husbandmen.
they perceived that he spake of them.
46. But when they sought to lay hands on him—which Luke (Lu 20:19) says they did "the same hour," hardly able to restrain their rage.
they feared the multitude—rather, "the multitudes."
because they took him for a prophet—just as they feared to say John's baptism was of men, because the masses took him for a prophet (Mt 21:26). Miserable creatures! So, for this time, "they left Him and went their way" (Mr 12:12).