Mark 12:1

Mark 12:1-12. Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen

1. by parables Another Parable spoken at this time was that of "the Two Sons" (Matthew 21:28-32), and "the Marriage of the King's Son" (Matthew 22:1-14). St Mark relates only the second of these three Parables.

A certain man planted a vineyard Our Lord seems to take up the words of the prophet Isaiah (Mark 5:1-7) and to build His teaching the more willingly on the old foundations, as He was accused of destroying the Law. Comp. Deuteronomy 32:32; Psalms 80:8-16; Ezekiel 15:1-6; Hosea 10:1. By the Vineyard we are to understand the Kingdom of God, as successively realized in its idea (1) by the Jew, and (2) by the Gentile. Trench's Parables, p. 193.

planted The householder not merely possessed, he "planted" the vineyard. So God plantedHis spiritual vineyard (a) under Moses (Deuteronomy 32:12-14; Exodus 15:17), (b) under Joshua, when the Jews were established in the land of Canaan.

an hedge about it Not a hedge of thorns, but a stone wall to keep out wild boars (Psalms 80:13), jackals, and foxes (Numbers 22:24; Song of Solomon 2:15; Nehemiah 4:3). The word only occurs (a) here, (b) in the parallel Matthew 21:33, (c) in Luke 14:23, "go ye into the highways and hedges," and (d) Ephesians 2:14, "the middle wallof partition." "Enclosures of loose stone, like the walls of fields in Derbyshire or Westmoreland, everywhere catch the eye on the bare slopes of Hebron, of Bethlehem, and of Olivet." Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 421.

a place for the winefat "dalf a lake," Wyclif; "digged a pit to receauve the lycour of the wynepresse," Geneva; "digged a trough," Rhemish Version. The original word only occurs here in the N.T., and = the Latin lacus. The winepress, = torcular(Matthew 21:33), consisted of two parts; (1) the press (gath) or trough above, in which the grapes were placed, and there trodden by the feet of several persons amidst singing and other expressions of joy (Judges 9:27; Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 25:30); (2) a smaller trough (yekeb), into which the expressed juice flowed through a hole or spout (Nehemiah 13:15; Isaiah 63:2; Lamentations 1:15). Here the smaller trough, which was often hollowed ("digged") out of the earth or native rock and then lined with masonry, is put for the whole apparatus, and is called a wine-fat. This word occurs also in Isaiah 63:2; Hosea 9:2, marg.; compare press- fat, Haggai 2:16; and fat, Joel 2:24; Joel 3:13. Fatfrom A. S. fæt = a vessel, vat, according to the modern spelling. Comp. Shakespeare, Ant. and Cleop. ii. 7. 120:

"Come thou monarch of the vine,

Plumpie Bacchus, with pinke eyne:

In thy fattesour cares be drown'd."

and built a tower i. e. a "tower of the watchman," rendered "cottage" in Isaiah 1:8; Isaiah 24:20. Here the watchers and vinedressers lived (Isaiah 5:2), and frequently, with slings, scared away wild animals and robbers. At the corner of each enclosure "rises its square grey towers, at first sight hardly distinguishable from the ruins of ancient churches or fortresses, which lie equally scattered over the hills of Judæa." Stanley, p. 421.

to husbandmen By these the spiritual leaders and teachers of the Jewish nation (Malachi 2:7; Ezekiel 34:2) are intended. Their land, secluded and yet central, was hedged round on the east by the river Jordan, on the south by the desert of Idumæa, on the west by the sea, on the north by Libanus and Anti-Libanus, while they themselves were separated by the Law, "the middle wall of partition" (Ephesians 2:14), from the Gentiles and idolatrous nations around.

went into a far country "for a long while," adds St Luke, or "many times." "At Sinai, when the theocratic constitution was founded, and in the miracles which accompanied the deliverance from Egypt, the Lord may be said to have openly manifested Himself to Israel; but then to have withdrawn Himself again for awhile, not speaking to the people again face to face (Deuteronomy 34:10-12), but waiting in patience to see what the Law would effect, and what manner of works the people, under the teaching of their spiritual guides, would bring forth." Trench, Parables, p. 197.