25 the baptism of John, whence was it? -- from heaven, or from men?' And they were reasoning with themselves, saying, `If we should say, From heaven; he will say to us, Wherefore, then, did ye not believe him?
yet he having done so many signs before them, they were not believing in him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said, `Lord, who gave credence to our report? and the arm of the Lord -- to whom was it revealed?' Because of this they were not able to believe, that again Isaiah said, `He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they might not see with the eyes, and understand with the heart, and turn back, and I might heal them;' these things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. Still, however, also out of the rulers did many believe in him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing, that they might not be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.
Jesus answered them, `I told you, and ye do not believe; the works that I do in the name of my Father, these testify concerning me; but ye do not believe, for ye are not of my sheep,
how are ye able -- ye -- to believe, glory from one another receiving, and the glory that `is' from God alone ye seek not? `Do not think that I will accuse you unto the Father; there is who is accusing you, Moses -- in whom ye have hoped; for if ye were believing Moses, ye would have been believing me, for he wrote concerning me; but if his writings ye believe not, how shall ye believe my sayings?'
ye have sent unto John, and he hath testified to the truth. `But I do not receive testimony from man, but these things I say that ye may be saved; he was the burning and shining lamp, and ye did will to be glad, for an hour, in his light. `But I have the testimony greater than John's, for the works that the Father gave me, that I might finish them, the works themselves that I do, they testify concerning me, that the Father hath sent me.
and they came unto John, and said to him, `Rabbi, he who was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou didst testify, lo, this one is baptizing, and all are coming unto him.' John answered and said, `A man is not able to receive anything, if it may not have been given him from the heaven; ye yourselves do testify to me that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am having been sent before him; he who is having the bride is bridegroom, and the friend of the bridegroom, who is standing and hearing him, with joy doth rejoice because of the voice of the bridegroom; this, then, my joy hath been fulfilled. `Him it behoveth to increase, and me to become less; he who from above is coming is above all; he who is from the earth, from the earth he is, and from the earth he speaketh; he who from the heaven is coming is above all. `And what he hath seen and heard this he doth testify, and his testimony none receiveth; he who is receiving his testimony did seal that God is true; for he whom God sent, the sayings of God he speaketh; for not by measure doth God give the Spirit; the Father doth love the Son, and all things hath given into his hand; he who is believing in the Son, hath life age-during; and he who is not believing the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God doth remain upon him.'
and they questioned him and said to him, `Why, then, dost thou baptize, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?' John answered them, saying, `I baptize with water, but in midst of you he hath stood whom ye have not known, this one it is who is coming after me, who hath been before me, of whom I am not worthy that I may loose the cord of his sandal.' These things came to pass in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing, on the morrow John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, `Lo, the Lamb of God, who is taking away the sin of the world; this is he concerning whom I said, After me doth come a man, who hath come before me, because he was before me: and I knew him not, but, that he might be manifested to Israel, because of this I came with the water baptizing. And John testified, saying -- `I have seen the Spirit coming down, as a dove, out of heaven, and it remained on him; and I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, On whomsoever thou mayst see the Spirit coming down, and remaining on him, this is he who is baptizing with the Holy Spirit; and I have seen, and have testified, that this is the Son of God.'
And in those days cometh John the Baptist, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, `Reform, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens,' for this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, `A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths.' And this John had his clothing of camel's hair, and a girdle of skin round his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and honey of the field. Then were going forth unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about the Jordan, and they were baptized in the Jordan by him, confessing their sins. And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming about his baptism, he said to them, `Brood of vipers! who did shew you to flee from the coming wrath? bear, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation, and do not think to say in yourselves, A father we have -- Abraham, for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise children to Abraham, and now also, the axe unto the root of the trees is laid, every tree therefore not bearing good fruit is hewn down, and to fire is cast. `I indeed do baptize you with water to reformation, but he who after me is coming is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to bear the sandals, he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire, whose fan `is' in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and will gather his wheat to the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.'
for I say to you, a greater prophet, among those born of women, than John the Baptist there is not; but the least in the reign of God is greater than he.' And all the people having heard, and the tax-gatherers, declared God righteous, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees, and the lawyers, the counsel of God did put away for themselves, not having been baptized by him. And the Lord said, `To what, then, shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? they are like to children, to those sitting in a market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We piped to you, and ye did not dance, we mourned to you, and ye did not weep! `For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, He hath a demon; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and ye say, Lo, a man, a glutton, and a wine drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners; and the wisdom was justified from all her children.'
Annas and Caiaphas being chief priests -- there came a word of God unto John the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness, and he came to all the region round the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of reformation -- to remission of sins, as it hath been written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, `A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths; every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straightness, and the rough become smooth ways; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' Then said he to the multitudes coming forth to be baptised by him, `Brood of vipers! who did prompt you to flee from the coming wrath? make, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have a father -- Abraham; for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise children to Abraham; and already also the axe unto the root of the trees is laid, every tree, therefore, not making good fruit is cut down, and to fire it is cast.' And the multitudes were questioning him, saying, `What, then, shall we do?' and he answering saith to them, `He having two coats -- let him impart to him having none, and he having victuals -- in like manner let him do.' And there came also tax-gatherers to be baptised, and they said unto him, `Teacher, what shall we do?' and he said unto them, `Exact no more than that directed you.' And questioning him also were those warring, saying, `And we, what shall we do?' and he said unto them, `Do violence to no one, nor accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.' And the people are looking forward, and all are reasoning in their hearts concerning John, whether or not he may be the Christ; John answered, saying to all, `I indeed with water do baptise you, but he cometh who is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to loose the latchet of his sandals -- he shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire; whose winnowing shovel `is' in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and will gather the wheat to his storehouse, and the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.' And, therefore, indeed with many other things, exhorting, he was proclaiming good news to the people, and Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him concerning Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, and concerning all the evils that Herod did, added also this to all, that he shut up John in the prison.
And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and did prophesy, saying, `Blessed `is' the Lord, the God of Israel, Because He did look upon, And wrought redemption for His people, And did raise an horn of salvation to us, In the house of David His servant, As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, Which have been from the age; Salvation from our enemies, And out of the hand of all hating us, To do kindness with our fathers, And to be mindful of His holy covenant, An oath that He sware to Abraham our father, To give to us, without fear, Out of the hand of our enemies having been delivered, To serve Him, in holiness and righteousness Before Him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, Prophet of the Highest Shalt thou be called; For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, To prepare His ways. To give knowledge of salvation to His people In remission of their sins, Through the tender mercies of our God, In which the rising from on high did look upon us, To give light to those sitting in darkness and death-shade, To guide our feet to a way of peace.' And the child grew, and was strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
And there appeared to him a messenger of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of the perfume, and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him; and the messenger said unto him, `Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John, and there shall be joy to thee, and gladness, and many at his birth shall joy, for he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and strong drink he may not drink, and of the Holy Spirit he shall be full, even from his mother's womb; and many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God, and he shall go before Him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers unto children, and disobedient ones to the wisdom of righteous ones, to make ready for the Lord, a people prepared.'
And they come again to Jerusalem, and in the temple, as he is walking, there come unto him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and they say to him, `By what authority dost thou these things? and who gave thee this authority that these things thou mayest do?' And Jesus answering said to them, `I will question you -- I also -- one word; and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things; the baptism of John -- from heaven was it? or from men? answer me.' And they were reasoning with themselves, saying, `If we may say, From heaven, he will say, Wherefore, then, did ye not believe him? But if we may say, From men,' -- they were fearing the people, for all were holding John that he was indeed a prophet; and answering they say to Jesus, `We have not known;' and Jesus answering saith to them, `Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.'
A beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God. As it hath been written in the prophets, `Lo, I send My messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee,' -- `A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye his paths,' -- John came baptizing in the wilderness, and proclaiming a baptism of reformation -- to remission of sins, and there were going forth to him all the region of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and they were all baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, and a girdle of skin around his loins, and eating locusts and honey of the field, and he proclaimed, saying, `He doth come -- who is mightier than I -- after me, of whom I am not worthy -- having stooped down -- to loose the latchet of his sandals; I indeed did baptize you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.' And it came to pass in those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John at the Jordan; and immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens dividing, and the Spirit as a dove coming down upon him; and a voice came out of the heavens, `Thou art My Son -- the Beloved, in whom I did delight.'
and I say to you -- Elijah did already come, and they did not know him, but did with him whatever they would, so also the Son of Man is about to suffer by them.' Then understood the disciples that concerning John the Baptist he spake to them.
And as they are going, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, `What went ye out to the wilderness to view? -- a reed shaken by the wind? `But what went ye out to see? -- a man clothed in soft garments? lo, those wearing the soft things are in the kings' houses. `But what went ye out to see? -- a prophet? yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet, for this is he of whom it hath been written, Lo, I do send My messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say to you, there hath not risen, among those born of women, a greater than John the Baptist, but he who is least in the reign of the heavens is greater than he. `And, from the days of John the Baptist till now, the reign of the heavens doth suffer violence, and violent men do take it by force, for all the prophets and the law till John did prophesy, and if ye are willing to receive `it', he is Elijah who was about to come; he who is having ears to hear -- let him hear.
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).