The date of the public entry into Jerusalem (narrated by all four Evangelists) was _Sunday, the_ _10th of the month Nisan._ We hold that our Lord ate the Passover at the usual time (see on chap. Matthew 26:17), and was crucified on Friday. Reckoning back from this date, we infer that He left Jericho... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:1. BETHPHAGE (‘house of figs'). Mark and Luke add: ‘and Bethany' (‘house of dates'). The two places were probably near each other, but of the former no trace remains. Bethphage was probably nearer to Jerusalem. Some suppose that Bethany lay on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, and our L... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:2. INTO THE VILLAGE. BETHPHAGE; not Bethany, from which He had just come. AN ASS TIED, AND A COLT WITH HER. More particular than Mark and Luke, who mention only the colt. The more literal fulfilment of the prophecy is thus shown. The unbroken animal would be quieter if the mother was wi... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:3. IF ANY ONE LAY AUGHT, etc. Probably a prediction, as well as a measure of prudence. Both Mark and Luke give it in substance. THE LORD HATH NEED OF THEM. The tone is still royal, whether ‘the Lord' here means ‘Jehovah,' or simply ‘the Master.' In the former case the animals would be c... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:4. NOW THIS HATH COME TO PASS _._ Of this Divine purpose the disciples had no idea at the time (John 12:16). Lange: ‘The occasion and need of the moment was the obvious motive. But to the Spirit of God these historical occasions were arranged coincidences with the prophetical word. Christ... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:5. TELL YE THE DAUGHTER OF ZION. From _Isaiah 62:11_. BEHOLD THY KING COMETH, etc. From Zechariah 9:9. Both prophecies were referred to the Messiah by the Jews. Our Lord was to enter Jerusalem in a prominent position, not lost in the crowd thronging to the Passover feast; He chooses to r... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:6. Mark and Luke tell of the dialogue with the owners, which was virtually predicted by our Lord.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:7. PUT ON THEM THEIR GARMENTS. Upper garments, to serve as a saddle. AND HE SAT THEREON, lit., ‘on them,' the animals, not the clothes. He rode on the colt (Mark and Luke), but the plural here is justified by the usage of the Greek language. It suggests moreover that this unbroken colt... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:8. MOST OF THE MULTITUDE. Some (probably the mater number, as it would seem from Matthew 21:11) had come from Galilee and accompanied the Lord from Jericho, others had come out from Jerusalem (John 12:12), now crowded on account of the Passover. ‘It is probable that most of the latter wer... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:9. AND THE MULTITUDES THAT WENT BEFORE HIM, etc. In responsive chorus. Such ‘antiphonies' were common in Jewish worship, especially in the recitation of the Psalms. Those going before had probably come from Jerusalem to meet Him. Stanley: ‘Two vast streams of people met on that day. The o... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:10. ALL THE CITY WAS MOVED. Excited by this occurrence. The question indicates a discussion of His character rather than ignorance of His person. The effect on the Pharisees is mentioned in Luke 19:39-40; John 12:19.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:11. THE PROPHET JESUS FROM NAZARETH OF GALILEE. The Galileans may have spoken of him with some pride as a well known prophet, but they do not now declare that He is the Messiah. The question ‘who is this?' may have dampened their enthusiasm.... [ Continue Reading ]
The cleansing of the temple and the cursing of the barren fig tree were closely connected. According to the fuller account of Mark, on the day of His triumphal entry our Lord looked round about the temple, passed out to Bethany and lodged there. The next day (Monday), on His way to Jerusalem, He pro... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:12. AND JESUS WENT INTO THE TEMPLE OF GOD. On the day of His entry, He had entered it and ‘looked round' (Mark 11:11), as if to take formal possession of it. This entrance was on Monday to purify it; on Tuesday He took final leave of it (chap. Matthew 24:1). This was a fulfilment of the p... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:13. IT IS WRITTEN. The first clause is from Isaiah 56:7; the second from Jeremiah 7:7. YE MAKE IT A DEN OF ROBBERS. What they did here was a sign of the general venality and corruption, a desecration of a place of worship for purposes of gain, ill-gotten often enough. Isaiah adds, ‘for a... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:14. BLIND AND LAME. ‘A house of prayer' becomes a house of mercy. The making it ‘a den of robbers' was unmerciful.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:15. WONDERFUL THINGS. Including all His doings, especially this driving out of the traders. AND THE CHILDREN THAT WERE CRYING IN THE TEMPLE. The Hosannas of the day of entry were kept up by the children, probably only by the children.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:16. HEAREST THOU WHAT THESE ARE SAYING? They seem to complain that _children_ express a religious sentiment, and contemptuously hint that only children call Him Messiah. Bigotry can always find some trifle on which to ground its objections. DID YE NEW READ? A pointed rebuke, for He quot... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:17. AND HE LEFT THEM, etc. On Monday evening (see Introductory note). BETHANY was His stronghold.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:18. N OW IN THE MORNING. On Monday morning. To give point to the incident, Matthew, unites the two morning walks from Bethany (on Monday and Tuesday). HE HUNGERED. An actual physical want; it may have been occasioned by His leaving Bethany very early in His zeal to purify the temple whe... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:19. A SINGLE (lit., ‘one') FIG TREE. A solitary one. BY THE WAY SIDE, where it was customary to plant such trees, as the dust was thought to help the productiveness. BUT LEAVES ONLY. Mark adds: ‘for the time of figs was not yet.' The usual explanation is that the fruit of the fig tree... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:21. IF YE HAVE FAITH. Comp. chap. Matthew 17:20; Mark 11:22. Such faith also could perhaps exist only in Christ Himself, but as it was approximated by the disciples their power would correspond. TO THIS MOUNTAIN. Either the Mount of Olives, the size and exceeding difficulty being thus em... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:22. AND ALL THINGS, etc. Mark: ‘therefore,' showing that the primary application, so far as miraculous power is concerned, was to the Twelve. As applied to all Christians, it is of course confined to prayers of faith (Matthew 21:21-22), implying agreement with the will of God, and excludi... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:23. INTO THE TEMPLE, probably the ‘court of the Israelites.' THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE ALDERS OF THE PEOPLE. Mark and Luke add: ‘the scribes.' Perhaps a formal delegation from the Sanhedrin. BY WHAT AUTHORITY DOEST THOU THESE THINGS! Referring both to His teaching there, and to His cl... [ Continue Reading ]
TIME. _Tuesday_, in the temple, after the discourse about the fig tree. The events recorded in chaps, 22, 23, took place on the same day; the discourse in chaps, 24, 26, was delivered in the evening as our Lord returned from Jerusalem to Bethany (on the Mount of Olives). The assault of the high prie... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:24. I ALSO, etc. Our Lord places His authority and that of John together. If they were incompetent to decide in the one case, they were in the other. The opportunity to decide aright was given them, but they refused it.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:25. THE BAPTISM OF JOHN. As representing his whole ministry. AND THEY REASONED, consulted, so as to agree upon the answer.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:26. FROM MEN. This they evidently believed. WE FEAR THE MULTITUDE. Demagogues who lead ‘the multitude' astray ‘fear the multitude.'... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:27. WE KNOW NOT. A falsehood; as Matthew 21:25-26, show. NEITHER TELL I YOU, etc. Christ answers their thought: we _will_ not tell. This refusal is similar to that made when a sign from heaven was demanded (chap. Matthew 12:38 ff.). The answer assumes their proven and confessed incompet... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:28. BUT WHAT THINK YE. Peculiar to Matthew. This parable assumes the concealment and falsity of their real opinion. Spoken in love, as an invitation and warning, it led to greater enmity. TWO SONS. The two classes represented are mentioned in Matthew 21:3. CHILD. Affectionate address.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:29. REPENTED, ‘changed his mind; ‘the application refers to genuine repentance.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:30. I WILL GO, SIR. I, in contrast with this one who refuses; an expression of pride. The answer was hypocritical, since it is not added that he changed his mind, but simply WENT NOT.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:31. THE PUBLICANS were already entering, having listened to John's preaching of repentance, and being disposed to follow Christ. GO BEFORE YOU. This does not imply that the rulers would follow; though it invites them to do so.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:32. IN THE WAY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. In the way of repentance, turning to that righteousness of life (which the Pharisees professed to esteem); perhaps with an allusion to Christ Himself as the Way (John 14:6). DID NOT EVEN REPENT AFTERWARD. Even after seeing the repentance of these classes... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:33. HEAR ANOTHER PARABLE. Spoken to the chief priests and elders, so embittered by the result of their attack. This parable points out the crime to which their enmity was leading them, though still spoken in love. ‘I have not done with you _yet_; I have still another word of warning and r... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:34. THE SEASON OF THE FRUITS. Probably no definite time is here represented. God expects fruit after such careful preparation; His people, especially those in official stations, are responsible for the trust committed to them. HE SENT HIS SERVANTS; the prophets of the Old Testament, cal... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:35. TOOK HIS SERVANTS, AND HEAT ONE, etc. The maltreatment of the servants appears in the history of the prophets (Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah); comp. Nehemiah 9:26; Matthew 23:29-31; Matthew 23:34; Matthew 23:37; 1 Thessalonians 2:15; Hebrews 11:36-38;... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:36. AGAIN, etc. The second sending probably does not refer to any definite time, but sets forth God's long-suffering. In Mark's account the climax is the killing of a servant, here the stoning. The former respects the actual suffering of the servants, the latter the hostility of the husba... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:37. HIS SON. Comp. Mark 12:6: ‘a beloved son,' Luke 20:13: ‘my beloved son.' The sending of ‘His son,' whose superiority to the prophets is so distinctly marked, is the last and crowning act of God's mercy; to reject Him was therefore to fill up the measure of human sin and guilt. ‘The So... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:38. THIS IS THE HEIR. ‘Heir' in virtue of His human nature, Hebrews 1:1-2. KEEP HIS INHERITANCE. Not ‘seize.' An expression of folly (in addition to the wicked resolve), as though the death of the heir would permit them to hold the possession, while the householder lived. This assumes an... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:39. CAST HIM FORTH OUT OF THE VINEYARD. This refers either to the excommunication which preceded death, or to the crucifixion outside the gates of Jerusalem; perhaps to both, the latter being a result of the former. Mark inverts the order. AND SLEW HIM. Our Lord here recognizes the fixe... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:40. WHEN THEREFORE THE LORD, etc. The question is asked, that they may be warned and condemned out of their own mouth. Matthew is fuller here than Mark and Luke.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:41. THEY SAY UNTO HIM, _i.e._, the rulers. Probably the people joined in the answer, as the parable was spoken to them also (Luke 20:9) Mark and Luke seem to put these words in the mouth of our Lord. HE WILL MISERABLY DESTROY THOSE MISERABLE MEN. The order and repetition of the original... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:42. THE STONE, etc. From Psalms 118:22. The ‘Hosannas' at our Lord's entry to Jerusalem were taken from the same Psalm. The original reference of the passage is doubtful, whether to David or to Zerubbabel (Zechariah 3:8-9; Zechariah 4:7); but it is properly applied to the Messiah. Compare... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:43. THEREFORE. The parable is taken up again. Because this word of God applies to you, this interpretation also applies to you. THE KINGDOM OF GOD SHALL BE TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU. The ‘vineyard' means the ‘kingdom of God' in all ages, not exclusively the Jewish people. TO A NATION BRINGI... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:44. AND HE THAT FALLETH ON THIS STONE, _i.e._, the corner-stone, Christ (Matthew 21:42). This verse expands the clause: ‘He will miserably destroy these miserable men,' adding the thought that Christ Himself is the Judge, whose coming will result in a twofold punishment. WILL BE BROKEN.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 21:45-46. They now perceived, if not before, that the parable referred to them; their determination to kill Him became fixed (see Mark 12:12; Luke 20:19). Avoiding open violence because the multitude HELD HIM FOR A PROPHET, they welcomed treachery and at last carried the multitude with them.... [ Continue Reading ]