The insolence of the chief priests and elders increasing, and their enmity being set more on work, they come forward and make their first challenge of the Lord. They call upon Him to produce His credentials— “By what authority, say they, doest thou these things?” In reply, He puts it upon them to decide as to the authority of John's baptism, whether it was “from heaven or of men.” This He did, not so much with the design of hazarding their safety with the multitude, as their evil hearts suggested, but of leading them, in God's own appointed way, to the answer of their own inquiry; for as they ought to have felt no hesitation in deciding John's baptism to have been “from heaven,” this would have at once shown by what authority He was acting; for John's ministry was God's testimony to Him, the Christ. And then, in order to show them that they should have no hesitation in deciding that John's baptism was from heaven, He constructs the parable of “the two sons,” the purpose of which most plainly was to show them on their own principles of righteousness, which John practiced and taught, that it had been “from heaven,” and thus to convict them of sin in rejecting this counsel of God against themselves.
In the parable of “The wicked husbandmen,” the Lord after this presents to them a view of their transgressions as a nation, the full measure of which they were now awfully filling up, and, according to a similar parable in their prophet, He leads these “inhabitants of Jerusalem,” these “men of Judah,” to judge themselves in the controversy between Him, the householder, and His vineyard. He then confirms the fact of their being ripe for judgment, by citing two passages, one from Psa. 118 and another from Isa. 8, which together showed them that they had rejected Him, the sure foundation Stone, and must therefore suffer the judgment written. The enmity of the Pharisees was now worked up to a still greater heat, and they were only hindered by their fears of the multitude from seizing on Him, and killing this blessed Heir of the vineyard.
The Lord then delivers the parable of “The marriage of the King's Son,” which, in drawing out the character and history of the kingdom of heaven, pointedly and advisably (as did the former parable) exhibits the refusal of the Jews, though bidden again and again, to enter into that kingdom, and also their awful destruction which followed thereon.
The Pharisees now took solemn counsel, and laid their plans for ensnaring the Lord. Finding as they had just done, that because of the multitude they had no hope of getting Him into their power simply as a Jew, they seek occasion against Him as a subject of Caesar in order to deliver Him over into the power and authority of the Romans. Thus minded, they formally enter upon their second challenge of the blessed Jesus. They send a few of their disciples with certain Herodians, a political sect of Jews that were slaves to the Roman interests, who insidiously asked Him, “Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not?” The Lord, knowing their hypocrisy, so prepared His reply as not only to prove that “before the king innocency should be found in Him,” but also to show them, that they were now slaves to Caesar, a heathen oppressor, only because they had not rendered due service to God, their only rightful and gracious King. Thus He designed again to convict their consciences, and prove to them, as a nation or political body, that they were now lost, that there was no life in them, and that they were ready to be dissolved. The arrow appears to be sharp in the hearts of the King's enemies, for “they marveled and left Him, and went their way.”
The nation being thus judged, religion advances to the controversy. It was at this time distracted between the two principal sects of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the former having departed from the truth in the way of, formalism, the latter in the way of infidelity. Representatives of each of these parties now present themselves successively before the Lord, with separate inquiries suitable to their respective errors, and these thus constitute the third and fourth challenge by this deeply revolted nation, of Him who was their rightful King, and Whom they should have rather reverenced and received as the heir of all their nation's glory. The Sadducees hoped to disprove certain divine doctrines by insinuating their apparent absurdity. The Pharisees designed to magnify the law, of which they were the teachers, The former He convicts by showing them their ignorance of the word which they were blaspheming; the latter, by evincing the end of the law, and thus intimating, that while they were desiring to be teachers of it, they understood neither what they said nor whereof they affirmed.
He then, at the end, having answered all these challenges, makes one inquiry of them touching the person of Messiah. But they had no word of wisdom or of knowledge among them: night was upon the prophets; and thus, as a religious or ecclesiastical body, they were found to have become apostate from the truth, and no light to be remaining in them.
Thus then, as a nation and a religion, they were adjudged to be as reprobate silver.
The Sentence of Judgment —23.
The pleadings were now closed—the Jews convicted and silenced—there was no counselor among them, who, when asked, could answer a word: as a religion and a nation, they stood condemned. The Lord then, as in the place of judgment, proceeds to array the matters which were in evidence against them, and to pronounce the solemn sentence.
He takes occasion, however by the way, to instruct both His disciples, and those of the multitude who still apparently heard Him gladly in their respective duties in this state of apostasy. He then pronounces the religion and nation to be guilty of oppression and pride—of having awfully corrupted the truth of God—of having substituted religiousness for righteousness—of deep hypocrisy—of pretending veneration for the prophets of old, and yet doing the deeds of those who persecuted and killed them. He next warns them that they were soon to fill up the measure of their sins, and that, the long-suffering of their much offended God having been continued through the appointed day of grace, they should answer to Him, and the penalty of all the righteous blood which had been shed on the earth be required of this generation.
The Lord closes this sentence with a lamentation over His long and well beloved Jerusalem. He remembered how He had at first chosen it for His rest, and would so often have repaired it with goodly pleasant stones; but He now sees it as lost to Him, and soon to be laid even with the ground, because she had not known this the time of her visitation! The holy and beautiful house, where the fathers had praised Him, was to be left unto their apostate children desolate; nor should the people again see Him thus among them—thus again offering Himself as their King, until by repentance and faith they learn to join with His disciples in calling Him “Blessed.” Then will they take up the words which the prophet has prepared for that glorious and triumphant day, that day of all days for Israel, when the Head Stone is to be brought in with shoutings of the restored and obedient people. See Psa. 118
Here the Lord's public ministry ended. He now went out and departed from the temple (Matt. 24:11And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. (Matthew 24:1)), nor did He return to the city, save in the character of a Lamb prepared for the slaughter. J. G. B.