Matthew 22:1-14. The Parable of the Royal Marriage Feast. Peculiar to St Matthew The parable recorded by St Luke (Luke 14:16-24), though similar to this in some respects, differs in its context and special teaching and in many details. As of the other parables of the Passion, the primary intention... [ Continue Reading ]
_which made a marriage for his son_ Rather, _a marriage_ FEAST _for his son_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_sent forth his servants_ This was in accordance with Eastern custom. Cp. Esther 5:8; Esther 6:14. _servants_ Or SLAVES. In Matthew 22:13 a different Greek word is used for "servants.... [ Continue Reading ]
_he was wroth_ For a subject to scorn the summons to the royal feast implied disloyalty and rebellion. _sent forth his armies_ The soldiers of Titus literally achieved the purposes of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
_So those servants went out into the highways_ Strictly, INTO THE PLACES WHERE DIFFERENT ROADS BRANCH OFF. The "servants" are the earliest Christian missionaries, Paul, Silas, Barnabas and others, who went in their journeys to such meeting-places of the nations at Rome, Antioch and Corinth. _bad an... [ Continue Reading ]
_which had not on a wedding garment_ The festive robe which the master of the feast himself provided, so that there was no excuse. This man is the representative of a class the bad (Matthew 22:10), who are not clothed in righteousness.... [ Continue Reading ]
_was speechless_ See Matthew 22:34.... [ Continue Reading ]
_and take him away_ Omit, on the best MS. authority. _outer darkness_ The dark dungeon outside the brightness of the banqueting-hall.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Temptation of the Herodians. The Tribute Money Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-25. 15. _how they might entangle him_ Literally, ENSNARE, AS A fowler ensnares birds. The Greek word is used here only in N.T. All the previous attempts had been to discredit Jesus as a religious teacher; the present is... [ Continue Reading ]
_their disciples with the Herodians_ An unnatural coalition, for the Pharisees represented the patriotic resistance to all foreign power; whereas the Herodians, as their name implies, supported the Herodian dynasty, and, as the context shews, acquiesced in the Roman rule. The Herodians are not named... [ Continue Reading ]
_Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cesar, or not?_ The injunction, "thou mayest not set a stranger over thee" (Deuteronomy 17:15), was interpreted to mean that the Jews should pay tribute to no foreign power. But their history exhibits them as tributary in turn to Assyria, Babylon, Egypt and Persia.... [ Continue Reading ]
_they brought unto him a penny_ A _Denarius_, bearing probably the image of Tiberius. The Jewish coins were not impressed with the effigy of their kings. Herod Philip, alone of his family, out of flattery to the Emperor, had caused his coins to be stamped with the likeness of Cæsar.... [ Continue Reading ]
_superscription_ Rather, INSCRIPTION or EFFIGY.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar's_ The Jewish doctors laid down the principle that "He is king whose coin passes current." St Paul expands this principle, which underlies our Lord's answer (Romans 13:1 foll. Cp. also 1 Peter 2:13-17). _Render_= "pay back as due." _and unto G... [ Continue Reading ]
The Sadducees tempt Jesus. The Condition of the Future Life Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38 23. _the Sadducees_ See note ch. Matthew 3:7. This is the only direct contact of the Sadducees with Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]
_his brother shall marry his wife_ This is sometimes called the "levirate law," from Lat. _levir_, a brother-in-law; see Deuteronomy 25:5. "The law on this subject is not peculiar to the Jews, but is found amongst various Oriental nations, ancient and modern." _Speaker's Comment._, Deuteronomy 25:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
_not knowing_ i. e. "because ye do not know" (1) _the Scriptures_, which affirm the doctrine; nor (2) _the power of God_, which is able to effect the resurrection, and after the resurrection to create a new order of things in the new world.... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the resurrection_ i. e. in that world or that phase of existence which begins with the resurrection. The logical difficulty vanishes; for in this respect the analogy between the present world and the next does not hold good. The danger of the argument from analogy always lies in the fallacy tha... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus appeals to the Pentateuch when arguing with the Sadducees, with whom the books of Moses had the greatest authority. Stated in a logical form the argument is: God is a God of the living _only_, but He is the God of Abraham, therefore Abraham is living. The same deduction from the words was mad... [ Continue Reading ]
_doctrine_ Rather, TEACHING.... [ Continue Reading ]
_had put … to silence_ Literally, GAGGED; hence silenced completely, not only for the moment. The same Greek work is used (Matthew 22:12) of the guest; Mark 1:25 and Luke 4:35, of silencing a demon; Mark 4:39, of silencing a storm; 1 Corinthians 9:9 and 1 Timothy 5:18, of muzzling an ox.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Greatest Commandment Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-28 In St Luke the question is asked at an earlier period of the ministry, after the return of the Seventy; and the meaning of "neighbour" is illustrated by the parable of the "Good Samaritan.... [ Continue Reading ]
_one of them, which was a lawyer]_i. e. an interpreter of the written law, as distinguished from the "traditions" or unwritten law.... [ Continue Reading ]
See Deuteronomy 6:5. _heart … soul … mind_ St Mark and St Luke add "strength." In Deut. the words are heart … soul … might. _Heart_includes the emotions, will, purpose; _soul_, the spiritual faculties; _mind_, the intellect, the thinking faculty. This greatest commandment was written on the phylact... [ Continue Reading ]
The Son of David Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44 44. _The Lord said unto my Lord_ Psalms 110:1. According to the Hebrew, "Jehovah said to Adoni," i. e. to my sovereign Lord, the Messiah, the Son of David. _said_ The Hebrew word translated "said" implies divine inspiration, hence "in spirit" (Matthew... [ Continue Reading ]
The Psalm was always regarded by the Jews as Messianic, hence their silence and inability to answer without acknowledging the divinity of Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]