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Which was spoken
This entry into Jerusalem has been termed the
triumph of Christ. It was indeed the triumph of
humility over pride and worldly grandeur; of
poverty over affluence; and of meekness
and gentleness over rage and malice.
He is coming now meek, full of kindness and
compassion to those who were plotting his destruction! He
comes to deliver up himself into their hands; their king comes
to be murdered by his subjects, and to make his death a ransom
price for their souls!
And they set him
thereon. The rabbins acknowledge that the prophecy in Zechariah
refers to the Messiah; so Rab. Tancum, and Yalcut
Rubeni has a strange story about the ass. "This ass is the
colt of that ass which was created in the twilight of the
sixth day. This is the ass which Abraham found when he went to
sacrifice his son. This is the ass on which Moses rode when he
went to Egypt; and this is the ass on which the Messiah shall
ride." Some of the Jews seem to think that the zebra is
intended; for according to Bab. Sanhedr. fol. 98, when
Shapoor, king of Persia, said to Rabbi Samuel: "You say your
Messiah will come upon an ass; I will send him a noble horse."
To which the rabbi replied, "You have not a horse with a
hundred spots (query, streaks) like his ass." See
Lightfoot and Schoettgen.
Son of David Hosanna in the
highest Money-changers
But ye have made it a den of
thieves. Our Lord alludes here to those dens and caves
in Judea, in which the public robbers either hid or kept
themselves fortified.
They who are placed in the Church of Christ to serve
souls, and do it not, and they who enjoy the revenues of the
Church, and neglect the service of it, are
thieves and robbers in more senses than one.
Our Lord is represented here as purifying his temple; and
this we may judge he did in reference to his true temple, the
Church, to show that nothing that was worldly or
unholy should have any place among his followers, or in
that heart in which he should condescend to dwell. It is
marvellous that these interested, vile men did not raise a mob
against him: but it is probable they were overawed by the
Divine power, or, seeing the multitudes on the side of Christ,
they were afraid to molest him. I knew a case something
similar to this, which did not succeed so well. A very pious
clergyman of my acquaintance, observing a woman keeping a
public standing to sell nuts, gingerbread, porch of his
Church, on the Lord's day, "desired her to
remove thence, and not defile the house of God, while she
profaned the Sabbath of the Lord." She paid no attention to
him. He warned her the next Sabbath, but still to no purpose.
Going in one Lord's day to preach, and finding her still in
the very entrance, with her stall, he overthrew the
stall, and scattered the stuff into the street. He was shortly
after summoned to appear before the royal court, which, to its
eternal reproach, condemned the action, and fined the man of
God in a considerable sum of money!
It was a common thing among the Jews for the children to be
employed in public acclamations; and thus they were accustomed
to hail their celebrated rabbins. This shouting of the
children was therefore no strange thing in the land: only they
were exasperated, because a person was celebrated against whom
they had a rooted hatred. As to the prophecy that foretold
this, they regarded it not. Some imagine that babes and
sucklings in the prophecy have a much more extensive meaning,
and refer also to the first preachers of the Gospel of Christ.
Lodged there.
He hungered-Probably neither he, nor his disciples,
had any thing but what they got from public charity;
and the hand of that seems to have been cold at this
time.
Let no fruit grow on
thee has faith will get through every difficulty and perplexity;
mountains shall become molehills or plains before him. The
saying is neither to be taken in its literal sense, nor is it
hyperbolical: it is a proverbial form of speech, which
no Jew could misunderstand, and with which no Christian ought
to be puzzled.
Who gave thee this
authority? We cannot tell, said they; which, in the words of
truth, should have been, We will not tell, for we will
not have this man for the Messiah: because, if we acknowledge
John as his forerunner, we must, of necessity, receive
Jesus as the Christ.
They who are engaged against the truth are abandoned to the
spirit of falsity, and scruple not at a lie. Pharisaical
pride, according to its different interests, either pretends
to know every thing, or affects to know nothing.
Among such, we may meet with numerous instances of arrogance
and affected humility. God often hides from the wise and
prudent what he reveals unto babes; for, when they use their
wisdom only to invent the most plausible excuses for rejecting
the truth when it comes to them, it is but just that they
should be punished with that ignorance to which, in their own
defence, they are obliged to have recourse.
It is very difficult to get a worldly minded and
self-righteous man brought to Christ. Examples signify
little to him. Urge the example of an eminent saint, he
is discouraged at it. Show him a profligate sinner
converted to God, him he is ashamed to own and follow; and, as
to the conduct of the generality of the followers of Christ,
it is not striking enough to impress him. John, and Christ,
and the apostles preach; but, to multitudes, all is in vain.
Some apply this parable also to Christianity, thus:-The
master or father-our blessed Lord. The
family-professing Christians in general. The
vineyard-the true Church, or assembly of
the faithful. The hedge-the true faith,
which keeps the sacred assembly enclosed and
defended from the errors of heathenism and
false Christianity. The wine-press-the
atonement made by the sacrifice of Christ, typified by
the sacrifices under the law. The tower-the
promises of the Divine presence and
protection. The husbandmen-the apostles
and all their successors in the ministry. The
going from home-the ascension to heaven. But
this parable cannot go on all fours in the Christian
cause, as any one may see. In the case of the
husbandmen, especially it is applicable; unless we
suppose our Lord intended such as those inquisitorial
Bonners, who always persecuted the true ministers of
Christ, and consequently Christ himself in his members; and to
these may be added the whole train of St. Bartholomew
EJECTORS, and all the fire and faggot men of a certain Church,
who think they do God service by murdering his saints. But let
the persecuted take courage: Jesus Christ will come
back shortly; and then he will miserably destroy
those wicked men: indeed, he has done so already to
several, and let out his vineyard to more faithful husbandmen.
Digged a wine-press
Receive the fruits of
it. Killed another, God by a variety of
persecutions.
More than the first
Our translation, which says, more than the first,
conveys no meaning at all. πλειος is the meaning I have given
it above, in Matthew
6:25. (οις They will reverence
As the Church is represented in Scripture under the
name of the temple and house of God, in allusion
to the temple of Jerusalem, which was a type of it, 1 Corinthians
3:16; ; Hebrews
3:6; ; 1 Peter
2:5; Jesus Christ is represented as the foundation
on which this edifice is laid, 1 Corinthians
3:11; ; Ephesians
2:20,21.
The builders
Rejected This passage, as applied by our Lord to himself, contains
an abridgment of the whole doctrine of the Gospel.
1. The Lord's peculiar work is astonishingly
manifested in the mission of Jesus Christ.
2. He, being rejected and crucified by the
Jews, became an atonement for the sin of the world.
3. He was raised again from the dead, a proof of his
conquest over death and sin, and a
pledge of immortality to his followers.
4. He was constituted the foundation on which the
salvation of mankind rests, and the corner stone which
unites Jews and Gentiles, beautifies,
strengthens, and completes the whole building, as
the head stone, or uppermost stone in the corner
does the whole edifice.
5. He is hereby rendered the object of the
joy and admiration of all his followers and the
glory of man. This was done by the Lord, and
is marvellous in our eyes.
Bringing forth the
fruits
He, whether Jew or Gentile, who shall not believe in
the Son of God, shall suffer grievously in consequence; but on
whomsoever the stone (Jesus Christ) falls in the
way of judgment, he shall be ground to
powder, (οις This last journey of our Lord to Jerusalem is a subject of
great importance; it is mentioned by all the four evangelists,
and has been a subject of criticism and cavil to
some unsanctified minds. He has been accused of "attempting,
by this method, to feel how far the populace
were disposed to favour his pretensions in establishing
himself as a king in the land; or, at least, by his
conduct in this business, he gave much cause for popular
seditions." Every circumstance in the case refutes this
calumny.
1. His whole conduct had proved that his kingdom was not of
this world, and that he sought not the honour that cometh from
man.
2. He had in a very explicit manner foretold his own
premature death, and particularly at this time.
3. It is evident, from what he had said to his disciples,
that he went up to Jerusalem at this time for the express
purpose of being sacrificed, and not of
erecting a secular kingdom.
4. What he did at this time was to fulfil a declaration of
God delivered by two prophets, upwards of 700 years before,
relative to his lowliness, poverty, and total deadness to all
secular rule and pomp. See Isaiah
62:11; ; Zechariah
9:9.
5. All the time he spent now in Jerusalem, which was about
five days, he spent in teaching, precisely in the same way he
had done for three years past; nor do we find that he uttered
one maxim dissimilar to what he formerly taught, or said a
word calculated to produce any sensation on the hearts of the
populace, but that of piety towards God; and in the parable of
the man and his two sons, the husbandmen and
the vineyard, he spoke in such a way to the rulers of the
people as to show that he knew they were plotting his
destruction; and that, far from fleeing from the face of
danger, or strengthening his party against his enemies, he was
come to wait at the foot of the altar till his blood should be
poured out for the sin of the world!
6. Had he affected any thing of a secular kind, he
had now the fairest opportunity to accomplish his
designs. The people had already received him as Jesus
the prophet; now they acknowledge him as the
Christ or MESSIAH, and sing the hosannah to him,
as immediately appointed by Heaven to be their
deliverer.
7. Though, with the character of the Messiah, the Jews had
connected that of secular royalty, and they now, by
spreading their clothes in the way, strewing branches, royal
person, and one appointed to govern the kingdom; yet of this
he appears to take no notice, farther than to show that an
important prophecy was thus fulfilled: he went as usual into
the temple, taught the people pure and spiritual truths,
withdrew at night from the city, lodged in private at Mount
Olivet; and thus most studiously and unequivocally showed that
his sole aim was to call the people back to purity and
holiness, and prepare them for that kingdom of righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, which he was about, by his
passion, death, resurrection, ascension, and the mission of
the Holy Spirit, to set up in the earth.
8. Could a person who worked such miracles as he was in the
daily habit of working-miracles which proved he possessed
unlimited power and unerring wisdom, need
subterfuges, or a colouring for any design he
wished to accomplish? He had only to put forth that power
essentially resident in himself, and all resistance to his
will must be annihilated. In short, every circumstance
of the case shows at once the calumny and absurdity of the
charge. But, instead of lessening, or tendering suspicious
this or any other part of our Lord's conduct, it shows the
whole in a more luminous and glorious point of view; and thus
the wrath of man praises him.
9. That he was a king, that he was born of a woman
and came into the world for this very purpose, he took every
occasion to declare; but all these declarations showed that
his kingdom was spiritual: he would not even interfere
with the duty of the civil magistrate to induce an avaricious
brother to do justice to the rest of the family,
Luke
12:13, when probably a few words from such an authority
would have been sufficient to have settled the business; yet
to prevent all suspicion, and to remove every cause for
offence, he absolutely refused to interfere, and took occasion
from the very circumstance to declaim against secular
views, covetousness, and worldly ambition! O
how groundless does every part of his conduct prove this
charge of secular ambition to be! Such was the spirit
of the Master: such must be the spirit of the
disciple. He that will reign with Christ, must be
humbled and suffer with him. This is the royal road.
The love of the world, in its power and
honours, is as inconsistent with the spirit of the
Gospel as the love of the grossest vice. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. Reader, take
occasion from this refuted calumny, to imitate thy Lord in the
spirituality of his life, to pass through things temporal so
as not to lose those that are eternal, that thou mayest reign
with him in the glory of his kingdom. Amen.
Additional Resources
Bibliography
Information
• Key
SRB = Scofield References
SRB = Introduction
JFB = Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary
JFB = Introduction
AC = Adam Clarke Comentary
AC = Chronology by Adam Clarke
OU = OUtline of St. Matthew
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Matthew Chapter 21
by Adam Clarke
Verse 1. Bethphage
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A place on the west declivity of Mount Olivet, from
which it is thought the whole declivity and part of the valley
took their name. It is supposed to have derived its name from
the fig-trees which grew there; beeth, signifying a
region as well as a house, and phag, a
green fig.
Verse 2. Ye shall find an ass tied,
and a colt
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Asses and mules
were in common use in Palestine: horses were seldom to
be met with. Our blessed Lord takes every opportunity to
convince his disciples that nothing was hidden from
him: he informs them of the most minute occurrence; and
manifested his power over the heart in disposing the owner to
permit the ass to be taken away.
Verse 3. The Lord (the
proprietor of all things) hath need of
them
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Jesus is continually humbling
himself, to show us how odious pride is in the sight of
God: but in his humility he is ever giving proofs of his
almighty power, that the belief of his divinity may be
established.
Verse 4. All this was
done
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The word all, in this clause,
is omitted by some MSS., versions, and fathers.
The Spirit of God, which predicted those things that
concerned the Messiah, took care to have them literally
fulfilled: 1. To show the truth of prophecy in general; and,
2. To designate Christ as the person intended by that
prophecy. See the note on Matthew
2:23.
Verse 5. Tell ye the daughter of
Sion
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The quotation is taken from Zechariah
9:9, but not in the precise words of the prophet.
Verse 7. And put on them their
clothes
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Thus acknowledging him to be their
king, for this was a custom observed by the
people when they found that God had appointed a man to the
kingdom. When Jehu sat with the captains of the army, and
Elisha the prophet came, by the order of God, to anoint him
king over Israel, as soon as he came out of the inner chamber
into which the prophet had taken him to anoint him, and they
knew what was done, every man took his garment,
and spread it under him on the top of the steps, and
blew the trumpets, saying, "Jehu is king." 2 Kings
9:13.
(οις
),
,
and he sat upon them; but instead of επανωαυτων,
upon THEM, the Codex Bezae, seven copies of the
Itala, some copies of the Vulgate, and some
others, read επαυτον, upon him, i.e. the colt. This is
most likely to be the true reading; for we can scarcely
suppose that he rode upon both by turns,-this would
appear childish; or that he rode upon both at
once, for this would be absurd. Some say he sat
on both; for "the ass that was tied up was an
emblem of the Jews bound under the yoke of the law; and
the colt that had not been tied represented the
Gentiles who were not under the law; and that
Jesus Christ's sitting on both represented his
subjecting the Jews and the Gentiles to the sway
of his evangelical sceptre." He who can receive
this saying, let him receive it.
Verse 8. Cut down branches from the
trees
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Carrying palm and other branches was
emblematical of victory and success. See 1 Mac. xiii. 51; 2
Mac. x. 7; and Revelation
7:9.
Verse 9. Hosanna to the son of
David
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When persons applied to the king for
help, or for a redress of grievances, they used the word
hosanna, or rather from the Hebrew HOSHIAH NA! Save
now! or, Save, we beseech thee!-redress our
grievances, and give us help from oppression! Thus both the
words and actions of the people prove that they
acknowledged Christ as their king, and looked to him
for deliverance. How easily might he have assumed the
sovereignty at this time, had he been so disposed! For
instances of the use of this form of speech, see 2 Samuel
14:4; 2 Kings
6:26; ; Psalms
118:25.
A
well-known epithet of the Messiah. He who cometh in
the name, name and authority of the Most
High.
Either meaning, Let the heavenly
hosts join with us in magnifying this august Being!-or,
Let the utmost degrees of hosanna, of
salvation, and deliverance, be communicated to
thy people! Probably there is an allusion here to the custom
of the Jews in the feast of tabernacles. During the first
seven days of that feast, they went once round the
altar, each day, with palm and other branches in
their hands, singing HOSANNA: but on the eighth day of
that feast they walked seven times round the altar,
singing the hosanna; and this was termed the hosanna
rabba, the GREAT hosanna: i.e. Assist with
the greatest succour. Probably answering to the
(οις),
‚ of the evangelist, for on this day they beg the
most speedy and powerful help against
their enemies, and likewise pray for a
prosperous and fruitful year. See STEHLIN'S
Jewish Traditions, vol. ii. p. 322.
Verse 10. All the city was
moved
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Or, the whole city was in
motion. (οις),
, was in a tumult-they saw and heard
plainly that the multitude had proclaimed Christ king,
and Messiah. Who is this? Who is
accounted worthy of this honour?
Verse 11. This is Jesus THE
PROPHET
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(οις),
‚ THAT prophet whom
Moses spoke of, Deuteronomy
18:18. I will raise them up a prophet-like unto
thee, expression of the multitude plainly intimated that
they fully received our blessed Lord as the promised
Messiah.-How strange is it that these same people (if the
creatures of the high priest be not only intended) should,
about five days after, change their hosannas for, Away with
him! crucify him! crucify him! How fickle is the
multitude! Even when they get right, there is but
little hope that they will continue so long.
Verse 12.
Jesus went into the temple of God, Avarice,"
says one, "covered with the veil of religion, is one of those
things on which Christ looks with the greatest indignation in
his Church. Merchandize of holy things, simoniacal
presentations, fraudulent exchanges, a mercenary spirit in
sacred functions; ecclesiastical employments obtained by
flattery, service, or attendance, or by any thing which is
instead of money; collations, nominations, and elections made
through any other motive than the glory of God; these are all
fatal and damnable profanations, of which those in the temple
were only a shadow." QUESNEL.
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Persons who furnished the Jews and proselytes who came
from other countries, with the current coin of Judea,
in exchange for their own.
Verse 13. My house shall be called
the house of prayer
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This is taken from Isaiah
56:7.
This is taken from Jeremiah
7:11.
Verse 14. The blind and the lame
came
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Having condemned the profane
use of the temple, he now shows the proper use of it. It is a
house of prayer, where God is to manifest his goodness
and power in giving sight to the spiritually
blind, and feet to the lame. The
Church or chapel in which the blind and
the lame are not healed has no Christ in it, and
is not worthy of attendance.
Verse 15. The chief priests-were
sore displeased
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Or, were
incensed. Incensed at what! At the purification of the
profaned temple! This was a work they should have done
themselves, but for which they had neither grace nor
influence; and their pride and jealousy will not suffer
them to permit others to do it. Strange as it may appear, the
priesthood itself, in all corrupt times, has been ever
the most forward to prevent a reform in the Church. Was
it because they were conscious that a reformer would find them
no better than money-changers in, and profaners
of, the house of God, and that they and their system must be
overturned, if the true worship of God were restored!
Let him who is concerned answer this to his conscience.
Verse 16. Out of the mouth of
babes
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The eighth Psalm, out of which these
words are quoted, is applied to Jesus Christ in three
other places in the new covenant, 1 Corinthians
15:27; ; Ephesians
1:22; Hebrews
2:6. Which proves it to be merely a prophetic psalm,
relating to the Messiah.
Verse 17.
And he left them ((οις
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),
, finally leaving
them) and went-into Bethany; and
he lodged there.
Bethany was a village
about two miles distant from Jerusalem, by Mount
Olivet, John
11:18; and it is remarkable that from this day till his
death, which happened about six days after, he spent not one
night in Jerusalem, but went every evening to Bethany, and
returned to the city each morning. See Luke
21:37;; 22:39;
; John
8:1,2. They were about to murder the Lord of glory; and
the true light, which they had rejected, is now
departing from them.
Not merely to avoid the snares laid for him by those bad
men, but to take away all suspicion of his affecting the regal
power. To the end of this verse is added by the Saxon,
{Anglo-Saxon}. And taught them of the kingdom of God.
This same reading is found in some MSS., Missals, and
one copy of the Itala. It appears also in
Wickliff, and my old folio English MS. Bible, and
taugt hem of the kyngdom of God; and in two MS. copies
of the Vulgate, in my possession: one, duodecimo, very
fairly written, in 1300; the other a large folio, probably
written in the 11th or 12th century, in which the words are,
IBIQUE docebat eos de regno Dei. AND THERE he taught them
concerning the kingdom of God.
Verse 18. Now in the morning, as he
returned into the city
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Which was his custom
from the time he wholly left Jerusalem, spending only the day
time teaching in the temple; see Matthew
21:17. This was probably on Thursday, the 12th day of the
month Nisan.
Verse 19. He saw a fig tree in the
way
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(οις),
…, By the road
side. As this fig tree was by the way side, it was
no private property; and on this account our Lord, or
any other traveller, had a right to take of its fruit. For a
full explanation of this difficult passage, relative to this
emblematic fig tree, see on Mark
11:13,
Can a professor, who affords Christ
nothing but barren words and wishes, expect any
thing but his malediction? When the soul continues in
unfruitfulness, the influences of grace are removed,
and then the tree speedily withers from the very root.
Verse 20. How soon is the fig tree
withered away!
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We often say to our
neighbours, "How suddenly this man died! Who could have
expected it so soon?" But who takes warning by these examples?
What we say to-day of OTHERS, may be said
to-morrow of OURSELVES. Be ye also ready! Lord,
increase our faith!
Verse 21. If ye have faith, and
doubt not
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See on Matthew
17:20. Removing mountains, and rooting up of
mountains, are phrases very generally used to signify the
removing or conquering great
difficulties-getting through perplexities. So,
many of the rabbins are termed rooters up of mountains,
because they were dexterous in removing difficulties, solving
cases of conscience,
Verse 22. All things-ye shall ask in
prayer, believing
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In order to get
salvation, there must be, 1. a conviction of the want
of it: this begets, 2. prayer, or warm desires,
in the heart: then 3. the person asks, i.e. makes use
of words expressive of his wants and wishes: 4.
believes the word of promise, relative to the
fulfilment of his wants: and 5. receives, according to
the merciful promise of God, the salvation which his soul
requires.
Verse 23. By what authority doest
thou these things?
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The things which the
chief priests allude to, were his receiving the
acclamations of the people as the promised
Messiah, his casting the traders out of the
temple, and his teaching the people
publicly in it.
Not them: for, like many
of their successors, they were neither teachers nor
cleansers; though they had the name and the profits of
the place.
Verse 24. I also will ask you one
thing
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Our Lord was certainly under no
obligation to answer their question: he had already given them
such proofs of his Divine mission as could not possibly be
exceeded, in the miracles which he wrought before their eyes,
and before all Judea; and, as they would not credit him on
this evidence, it would have been in vain to have expected
their acknowledgment of him on any profession he would make.
Verse 25. The baptism of
John
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Had John a Divine commission or
not, for his baptism and preaching? Our Lord here takes the
wise in their own cunning. He knew the estimation John was in
among the people; and he plainly saw that, if they gave any
answer at all, they must convict themselves: and so they saw,
when they came to examine the question. See Matthew
21:25,26.
Verse 27. We cannot
tell.
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Simplicity gives a wonderful
confidence and peace of mind; but double dealing causes a
thousand inquietudes and troubles. Let a man do his utmost to
conceal in his own heart the evidence he has of truth and
innocence, to countenance his not yielding to it; God, who
sees the heart, will, in the light of the last day, produce it
as a witness against him, and make it his judge.
Verse 28. A certain man had
two sons
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Under the emblem of these two
sons, one of whom was a libertine, disobedient, and
insolent, but who afterwards thought on his ways, and
returned to his duty; and the second, a hypocrite, who
promised all, and did nothing; our Lord points out, on the one
hand, the tax-gatherers and sinners of all
descriptions, who, convicted by the preaching of John and that
of Christ, turned away from their iniquities and embraced the
Gospel; and, on the other hand, the scribes,
Pharisees, and self-righteous people, who,
pretending a zeal for the law, would not receive the
salvation of the Gospel.
Verse 29. I will not
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SRB
JFB
OU
This is the general reply of every sinner to the
invitations of God; and, in it, the Most High is treated
without ceremony or respect. They only are safe who persist
not in the denial.
Verse 30. I go, sir
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JFB
OU
This is all respect, complaisance, and professed,
obedience; but he went not: he promised well,
but did not perform. What a multitude of such are in the
world, professing to know God, but denying him in their works!
Alas! what will such professions avail, when God comes to take
away the soul?
Verse 31. The publicans and the
harlots
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JFB
OU
In all their former conduct they
had said NO. Now they yield to the voice of truth when they
hear it, and enter into the kingdom, embracing the salvation
brought to them in the Gospel. The others, who had been
always professing the most ready and willing obedience, and
who pretended to be waiting for the kingdom of God, did not
receive it when it came, but rather chose, while making the
best professions, to continue members of the synagogue of
Satan.
Verse 32. John came unto you in the
way of righteousness
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JFB
OU
Proclaiming the truth,
and living agreeably to it. Or, John came unto
you, who are in the way of righteousness. This
seems rather to be the true meaning and construction of this
passage. The Jews are here distinguished from the Gentiles.
The former were in the way of righteousness, had the
revelation of God, and the ordinances of justice
established among them; the latter were in the way
of unrighteousness, without the Divine revelation, and
iniquitous in all their conduct: John came to both, preaching
the doctrine of repentance, and proclaiming Jesus the Christ.
To say that it was John who came in the way of righteousness,
and that to him the words refer, is, in my opinion, saying
nothing; for this was necessarily implied: as he professed to
come from God, he must not only preach righteousness,
but walk in it.
Verse 33. There was a certain
householder
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JFB
OU
Let us endeavour to find out a
general and practical meaning for this parable. A
householder-the Supreme Being. The
family-the Jewish nation. The
vineyard-the city of Jerusalem. The
fence-the Divine protection. The
wine-press-the law and sacrificial rites.
The tower-the temple, in which the Divine
presence was manifested. The husbandmen-the
priests and doctors of the law. Went from
home-entrusted the cultivation of the vineyard to the
priests, as a man would do who had the most trusty servants,
and was obliged to absent himself from home for a certain
time. Our Lord takes this parable from Isaiah
5:1, but whether our blessed Redeemer quote from the
law, the prophets, or the rabbins, he
reserves the liberty to himself to beautify the whole, and
render it more pertinent.
(οις),
, the pit under the
press, into which the liquor ran, when squeezed out of the
fruit by the press.
Verse 34. He sent his
servants
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OU
Prophets, which, from
time to time, he sent to the Jewish nation to
call both priests and people back to the purity of his holy
religion.
Alluding to the ancient custom of
paying the rent of a farm in kind; that is, by a part
of the produce of the farm. This custom
anciently prevailed in most nations; and still prevails in the
highlands of Scotland, and in some other places. The Boldon
book, a survey made of the state of the bishopric of
Durham in 1183, shows how much of the rents was paid in cows,
sheep, pigs, fowls, eggs, being made up chiefly by manual
labour.
Verse 35. Beat one
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JFB
OU
(οις),
, took his skin off, flayed him: probably
alluding to some who had been excessively scourged.
Verse 36. Other
servants
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JFB
OU
There is not a moment in which God
does not shower down his gifts upon men, and require the fruit
of them. Various instruments are used to bring sinners
to God. There are prophets, apostles, pastors,
teachers: some with his gift after this manner, and some
after that. The true disciples of Christ have been persecuted
in all ages, and the greatest share of the persecution has
fallen upon the ministers of his religion; for there
have always been good and bad husbandmen, and
the latter have persecuted the former.
Or, more honourable, so I think πλειονας should be
translated; for, as the fulness of the time approached,
each prophet more clearly and fully pointed out
the coming of Christ.
),
‚, of MORE VALUE than
food; and in Numbers
22:15 (οις),
, persons higher in
dignity and office.
Verse 37. Last of all he sent-his
son
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OU
This requires no comment. Our Lord
plainly means himself.
(οις),
, they will reflect upon their
conduct and blush for shame because of it, when
they see my son. So the Syric and Persic.
Verse 38. Said among
themselves
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JFB
OU
Alluding to the
conspiracies which were then forming against the life
of our blessed Lord, in the councils of the Jewish
elders and chief priests. See Matthew
27:1.
Verse 39. Cast him out of the
vineyard
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OU
Utterly rejected the counsel of
God against themselves; and would neither acknowledge the
authority of Christ, nor submit to his teaching.
What a strange and unaccountable case is this!-a sinner, to
enjoy a little longer his false peace, and the
gratification of his sinful appetites, rejects Jesus, and
persecutes that Gospel which troubles his sinful repose.
Verse 41. He will miserably destroy
those wicked men
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OU
So, according to this
evangelist, our Lord caused them to pass that sentence of
destruction upon themselves which was literally executed about
forty years after. But Luke relates it differently:
according to him, they said (οις),
, God forbid! The
Codex Leicestrensis omits οιλεγουσιν, they say; so that
the following words appear to be spoken by our Lord. Michaelis
supposes that in the Hebrew original the word was
waiomer, he said; for which the Greek translator
might have read waiomeru, they said.
Verse 42. The stone
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JFB
OU
R. Solom. Jarchi, on Micah 5., says, this stone
means the Messiah, : Abarbanel is of the same
opinion. This seems to have been originally spoken of
David who was at first rejected by the Jewish rulers,
but was afterwards chosen by the Lord to be the great ruler of
his people Israel. The quotation is taken from Psalms
118:22.
The chief priests and elders of the people,
with the doctors of the law.
An
expression borrowed from masons, who, finding a stone, which
being tried in a particular place, and appearing improper for
it, is thrown aside, and another taken; however, at last, it
may happen that the very stone which had been before
rejected, may be found the most suitable as the head
stone of the corner.
Verse 43. Therefore say
I
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OU
Thus showing them, that to them alone the
parable belonged. The kingdom of God shall be taken
from you-the Gospel shall be taken from you, and given
to the Gentiles, who will receive it, and bring forth fruit to
the glory of God.
As in Matthew
21:34an allusion is made to paying the landlord in
kind, so here the Gentiles are represented as paying
God thus. The returns which He expects for his grace
are the fruits of grace; nothing can ever be acceptable
in the sight of God that does not spring from himself.
Verse 44. The
44th verse should certainly come before ver. 43, otherwise the
narration is not consecutive.
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JFB
OU
Verse 42.
The stone which the builders rejected, is become the
head of the corner,
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OU
Verse 44.
Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken,
This is an allusion to the punishment of stoning among the
Jews. The place of stoning was twice as high as a man; while
standing on this, one of the witnesses struck the culprit on
the loins, so that he fell over this scaffold; if he died by
the stroke and fall, well; if not, the other witness threw a
stone upon his heart, and despatched
him. That stone thrown on the culprit was, in some cases, as
much as two men could lift up. Tract Sanhed. and
Bab. Gemara, and Lightfoot. See also the note
on John
8:7.
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JFB
OU
),
-it shall make him so small as
to render him capable of being dispersed as
chaff by the wind. This seems to allude, not
only to the dreadful crushing of the Jewish state by
the Romans, but also to that general dispersion of the
Jews through all the nations of the world, which continues to
the present day. This whole verse is wanting in the Codex
Bezae, one other, five copies of the Itala, and Origen; but it
is found in the parallel place, Luke
20:18, and seems to have been quoted from Isaiah
8:14,15. He shall be for a STONE of
STUMBLING, and for a ROCK OF OFFENCE to both the
houses of Israel-and many among them shall
STUMBLE and FALL, and be BROKEN.
Verse 45. The chief
priests-perceived that he spoke of them.
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OU
The most wholesome advice passes for an affront with those
who have shut their hearts against the truth. When that which
should lead to repentance only kindles the flame of malice and
revenge, there is but little hope of the salvation of such
persons.
Verse 46. They sought to lay hands
on him, they feared the multitude
• Key
Restraining and preventing grace is an excellent blessing,
particularly where it leads to repentance and salvation; but
he who abstains from certain evils, only through fear of
scandal or punishment, has already committed them in his
heart, and is guilty before God. The intrepidity of our
Lord is worthy of admiration and imitation; in the very face
of his most inveterate enemies, he bears a noble testimony to
the truth, reproves their iniquities, denounces the Divine
judgments, and, in the very teeth of destruction, braves
danger and death! A true minister of Christ fears
nothing but God, when his glory is concerned: a
hireling fears every thing, except Him whom he ought to
fear.
SRB = Scofield References
SRB = Introduction
JFB = Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary
JFB = Introduction
AC = Adam Clarke Comentary
AC = Chronology by Adam Clarke
OU = OUtline of St. Matthew
• Burton
Coffman
• Barnes'
New Testament
• Darby's
Synopsis
• Gill's
Exposition
• Geneva
Study Bible
• David
Guzik's Commentaries
• Jamieson,
Fausset, Brown
• John
Lightfoot Commentary
• Matthew
Henry Complete
• Matthew
Henry Concise
• People's
New Testament
• Robertson's
Word Pictures
• Scofield
Reference Notes
• The
Fourfold Gospel
• Treasury
of Scripture
• Wesley's
Explanatory Notes
Copyright Statement
The Adam Clarke Commentary is a derivative of an
electronic edition prepared by GodRules.net.
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary
on Matthew 21". "The Adam Clarke Commentary".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=021>.
1832.
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