23 ¶ And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority

Thou hast no authority from the sanhedrim to do doest thou these what thou doest; from whence then hast thou it? or things? and who gave thee this au- why dost thou teach and do what thou doest withthority?

out it?

24 And Jesus an- 24. To this question Jesus thought fit to give answered and said un- swer by making this other question, which would ask you one thing, retort and stop their mouths; as it appears it did,

to them, I also will

which if ye

tellme, I ver. 27.

in like wise will tell

you by what autho

ity I do these things.

25 The baptism of

25. Had John the Baptist commission from God to

John, whence was do what he did, or came he only of himself?

it? from [e] heaven,

And

or of men? they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26 But if we shall

say, of men; h we h we shall be in danger to be stoned by the multifear the people; for tude, Luke xx. 6.

all hold John as a prophet.

27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell.

And he said unto

them, Neither tell i Then sure it is not needful for me to give you you by what au- account of my commission or authority, when it is thority I do these granted by you that a man may lawfully preach and 28 But what baptize, and entertain disciples, as John did, withthink ye? A certain out the approbation of the sanhedrim.

things.

man had two sons;

28. But is not this a strange thing, that you that and he came to the undertake and pretend so much to be God's knowfirst, and said, Son, go work to day in ing and obedient servants should yet stand out the my vineyard. most obstinately of all others against his commands 29 He answered and messengers sent from him, when the worst and and said, I will not: meanest of men, the publicans and the multitude, forsake their former ways, repent and believe the gospel? 30 And he came to I will tell you a story, or parable: There was a man the second, and that had two sons

but afterward he re

pented, and went.

said likewise. And

C

Or, other; for the Gr. and Lat. and most of the MSS. read érépy, not devtÉPW.

unto you 'in the way 1 shewing you a way (preaching repentance as of righteousness, and the only way) to rescue you and your whole nation ye believed him not: but the publicans from destruction, and ye despised his menaces; nay, and the harlots be- when even the publicans and viciousest people were lieved him and ye, wrought on by him, yet did not this work upon you when ye had seen it, neither.

repented not after

ward, that ye might believe him.

33 Hear another parable: There was a certain housholder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about,

m

m a hollow trough wherein they tread grapes, and and digged a wine- built a fair lodge for the vine-dresser to dwell in; and press in it, and built a tower, and let it having furnished it so completely that no man could out to husbandmen, require any more to be done to make it tenantable, and went into a far he let it out to those that deal in that commodity, who for the fruit of it were to pay him a set price, upon time of the fruit agreement, Cant. viii. 11; and having so done, himself drew near, he sent took a journey a great way off:

country:

34 And when the

his servants to the 34. And when the harvest time came, when they husbandmen, that were to receive the fruit and pay the rent, he sent― they might receive

the fruits of it.

35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and "stoned another.

36 Again, he sent

"other servants more

" at another they threw stones, though they killed him not.

a greater number of servants than those which he

than the first: and had sent at the first: and they—

they did unto them

likewise.

37 But last of all

he sent unto them

7 set a mound about it, and hewed a wine-press, ppayμdv avтî repiéonke kaì lpuέe Anvóv.

his son, saying, They will reverence my

son.

38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

and slew him.

Pand then we may take possession of his inherit

ance as our own.

39 And they caught 41. And the Pharisees expressed a great indignahim, and cast him tion against these false and bloody servants, affirming out of the vineyard, them worthy of utter destruction, that the lord might 40 When the lord provide him better officers, which should pay him his therefore of the vine- rent duly; though when Jesus, upon this answer yard cometh, what of theirs, approved the reasonableness of it, and will he do unto those affirmed it should thus befall them indeed, Luke xx. husbandmen? 41 They say unto 16, (by which they began to discern that he spake him, He will misera- the parable against them,) they with indignation bly destroy those deprecate the sentence, Luke xx. 19.

sons.

42 Jesus saith unto

wicked men, and Did you never observe a notable passage in the will let out his Psalmist, Psalm cxviii. 22, referring proverbially to vineyard unto other husbandmen, which some famous building, the temple or the like, (whereshall render him the in one stone which the builders had laid aside as fruits in their sea- good for nothing proved at length to be very fit for the prime place in the building, the utmost corner them, Did ye never stone) and by that psalmist applied to David, (whom read in the scriptures, the princes with Saul and the chief of Israel refused The stone which the and persecuted, but after he became king,) and which builders rejected, the yet farther prophetically belongs to Christ, (who being same is become the refused and rejected a long time by the chief priests this is the Lord's and elders, and the sanhedrim of the Jews, and by doing, and it is mar- them put to death, was to rise again, and become a vellous in our eyes? glorious head of his church)?

head of the corner:

unto you, 'The king

43 Therefore say I The gospel, and the privilege of being the only dom of God shall church and people of God, shall be taken from you, be taken from you, and given to such as shall practise those things which and given to a na- the gospel requires.

the fruits thereof.

tion bringing forth 44. He that on occasion of Christ shall by any 44 8 And whoso- thing that befalls him be discouraged, or fall into unever shall fall on this belief, this shall be a great wounding of his soul, a stone shall be bro- great sin thus to fall off in time of tribulation; but ken: but on whom- he that not out of weakness, but of contumacy, shall soever it shall fall, resist and provoke his wrath and judgments, and so it will 10 [g] grind him to powder. bring this stone, this vengeance of Christ down upon 45 And when the him, it shall come down most heavily, and dash him chief priests and into a thousand pieces.

This whole verse is left out in the Gr. and Lat. MS.

συνθλασθήσεται. 10 dash him to pieces.

9 bruised, or shrewdly shaken,

Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

46 But when they sought to lay hands

8

S

they durst not, knowing that the people generally on him, they feared took him for a prophet, that is, one that had liberty the multitude, because they took him of speech, and was not to be restrained, or apprehendfor a prophet. ed, nor disparaged by them, ver. 26,

CHAP. XXII.

AND Jesus an- a continued his discourse, ch. xxi. 44, and went on swered and spake in parables, saying,

unto them again by

parables, and said,

certain king, which

2 The kingdom of 2. It hath and shall be the fate of the gospel now heaven is like unto a preached to men, and first to the Jews, to meet with made a 1[a] marri- such reception as a king is by parable supposed to age for his son, meet with, who at the marriage of his son made an 3 And sent forth entertainment.

his servants to call

them that were bid- feast was provided, and to bring them in. b to call upon the appointed guests for whom the

den to the 2 wedding:

and they would not

come.

4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner : my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the 3marriage.

5 But they made 5. But of the whole number of those that were light of it, and went invited, none came; some preferring their other affairs their ways, one to in the world before coming to a feast, took no great his farm, another to his merchandise: heed to the invitation, but sent back their desires to 6 And the remnant be excused, Luke xiv. 18.

took his servants, 6. Others, most barbarously treating the servants and entreated them that were sent on no other message to them but this spitefully, and slew of inviting them to a feast, killed them reproachfully 7 But when the which came thus to oblige them.

them.

king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and

8 Then saith he to

The feast is prepared, and in it your duty is perburned up their city. formed, but those which were the prime guests first his servants, The invited to it have behaved themselves most unthank'wedding is ready, fully and unworthily, there is no reason they should 3 feast. 4 marriage feast.

1
1 marriage feast. 2 feast, γάμους.

bidden were

but they which were be waited for any longer (meaning hereby the Jews, not to whom the gospel was first to be preached, Acts worthy. iii. 26). 9 Go ye therefore

into the highways, places where divers ways meet, where in all and as many as ye reason the greatest company was to be met with, shall find, bid to the (that is, unto the Gentile heathen people of the IO So those ser- world,) and all that you can meet with there, be they vants went out into never so vile in your eyes, invite and bring them to the highways, and the feast (preach the gospel to them).

marriage.

gathered together all 10. And this was accordingly done, (the gospel as many as they preached unto the Gentiles without any distinction,) good: and the wed- and they received it universally.

found, both bad and

ding was furnished

with guests.

II¶ And when the

11-13. When this was done, the feast furnished king came in to see with guests, the gospel received by the Gentiles, then the guests, he saw there a man which shall Christ come to visit, and discern whether all had not on a wed- come in to this feast in such manner as is required; ding garment: 5 if any man that continues in his sins, his heathen 12 And he saith practices, crowd in under that profession, Christ will unto him, Friend, how camest thou in expostulate with him, and shew him the great unhither not having a reasonableness of this, and he shall never be able to wedding garment? plead any excuse in this matter, but fall under the And he was speech- terrible sentence of Christ as a judge, and be delivered 13 Then said the up to the officers or sergeants for a sad and direful

less.

king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

14 For many are

execution.

14. See note [c] on ch. xx. 16, and note [b] on called, but few are 1 Pet. ii. chosen.

15 Then went

out unto him their

the Pharisees, and 15, 16. This parable did so gall and incense the took counsel' how Pharisees, which were visibly concerned in it, that they might entangle seeing they had nothing to lay to his charge, they him in his talk. now consult how to get some advantage against him; 16 And they sent and to that purpose, knowing him to be a free speaker, disciples with the that would not disguise his thoughts for fear of any [6] Herodians, say- man, they send some of two contrary parties, some ing, Master, we know Pharisees, others that adhered to Herod the Roman that thou art true, governor, that whatsoever answer he should make to and teachest the way their question, one party might be offended with ther carest thou for him; and they came and asked him flatteringly, but any man for thou insidiously, saying, We know that without all fear 5 festival garment, évdvμa jáμov : see note [a]. 6 the called are many, but the elect few.

of God in truth, nei

ensnare, παγιδεύσωσιν.