CHAPTER 12

(A.D. 33)

THE PARABLE OF THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN

¹And He began to speak unto them by Parables (represents the first time He had used this method in Jerusalem, although it had been used plentifully in Galilee). A certain man planted a vineyard (constitutes no other than God Himself), and set an hedge about it (the Power of God about the nation), and digged a place for the winefat (better translation, wine-vat; speaks of the product of the vineyard), and built a tower (would contain a watchman, which was to guard the vineyard from plunderers; it spoke of the spiritual leaders of Israel), and let it out to husbandmen (left it in the hands of the people), and went into a far country (refers to Gods residence being in Heaven).

²And at the season (harvest season) he sent to the husbandmen a servant (speaks of Old Testament Prophets), that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard (respects that which was rightly his).

³And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty (the failure to receive fruit points to the failure of Israel to heed the preaching of the Prophets).

⁴And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

⁵And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some (proclaims an increase in the rebellion and its obvious results; barring Repentance, sin never slows, but instead, increases).

⁶Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son (refers to the Lord Jesus Christ).

⁷But those husbandmen said among themselves (in this case, the Sanhedrin), This is the heir (it means that the religious leaders of Israel knew that Jesus was the Messiah); come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours (constitutes the plan of Satan from the very beginning; he wants that which belongs to God, and will usually work through organized religion to further his purpose).

⁸And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard (this was the last effort of Divine Mercy the sending of the incarnate God, whom the Jews put to death without the city).

⁹What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? (The Lord had the Power to do whatever He desired; yet, they treated Him as if He had no power at all!) He will come and destroy the husbandmen (this is exactly what happened in A.D. 70), and will give the vineyard unto others (speaks of the Church, made up mostly of Gentiles, and this being the channel through which God is operating temporarily while Israel is in dispersion, and until Israel will be regathered at the Second Advent, and restored to fellowship and usefulness to God).

¹⁰And have you not read this Scripture (refers to Psalms 118:22-23); The Stone which the builders (the spiritual leaders of Israel) rejected (He was not the type of Messiah they wanted) is become the Head of the Corner (the Corner represents the Corner Stone which is the pivot point for the structure; Christ is the Head of the Church, and of the Work of God, due to what He did at the Cross [Zech. 4:7]):

¹¹This was the Lords doing (refers to the Great Plan of God, which necessitated God becoming flesh and dwelling among men, in order to bring about the Redemption of man), and it is marvellous in our eyes? (It wasnt marvelous in the eyes of Israel of Jesus day, and the results were awful. As the Church, we should take a lesson, in what He has done. It had better be marvelous in our eyes.)

¹²And they sought to lay hold on Him (they were growing even more incensed at Him), but feared the people (whatever they did, would have to be done in secret): for they knew that He had spoken the Parable against them (He predicted that they would kill Him and, as well, what would happen to them; God would destroy them!; but still they wouldnt turn around): and they left Him, and went their way (they definitely didnt go His Way).

TRIBUTE TO CAESAR

¹³And they send unto Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians (these two parties normally hated each other), to catch Him in His words (something for which they could incriminate Him).

¹⁴And when they were come, they say unto Him (these were the most brilliant minds of the Pharisees and the Herodians), Master ([teacher] the word was not used without design), we know that You are true, and care for no man: for You regard not the person of men, but teach the Way of God in truth (they didnt believe any of this, but they were baiting their trap): Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? (This question raged in Israel at that time. The Jews were not necessarily discussing the legality of paying a poll tax to Caesar, but whether a Jew should do so in view of his theocratic relationship to God.)

¹⁵Shall we give, or shall we not give? (This placed the situation in strictly a yes or no mode, or so they thought! They would trap Him either way He answered.) But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them (He knew they had no desire for the true answer, but only were attempting to embarrass Him before the crowd, or to have something in order to accuse Him to Rome), Why tempt you Me? (This told them that He knew what they were doing.) bring Me a penny, that I may see it (refers to the Roman Denarius, the coin with which the tax was to be paid).

¹⁶And they brought it (there was no coin like this in the Temple, as such was not allowed, so one had to be brought in). And He said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? (Speaking of the image on the coin.)And they said unto Him, Caesars (referred to the image of Tiberius Caesar, the then reigning Roman Emperor; consequently, the coin of the country proved the subjection of the country to him whose image was upon it, in this case, Caesar).

¹⁷And Jesus answering said unto them (in a sense, Jesus placed His Approval by His Answer on the separation of Church and State, which did not exist in Israel), Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods. And they marvelled at Him (the Jewish leaders had used the give respecting tribute or taxes paid to Caesar, while Jesus used the word, render, which speaks of paying something as a debt; in other words, He was saying that Israel owed Rome certain obligations, such as taxes, etc.; it also means that Believers are obligated to pay taxes, and as well, to submit to Civil Government in every respect, providing its demands do not abrogate the Word of God).

THE RESURRECTION

¹⁸Then come unto Him the Sadducees (another party in Israel), which say there is no Resurrection (this denial was their major platform; it was a denial of the possibility of such a thing as a Resurrection from the dead); and they asked Him, saying,

¹⁹Master (their use of this title was purely formal; they in no way considered Jesus to be a great teacher), Moses wrote unto us (proclaims them quoting the Scripture, but attempting as many, to subvert it), If a mans brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother (quoted from Deut. 25:5-6; this law was given, to prevent the family inheritance from being broken up, among other things).

²⁰Now there were seven Brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

²¹And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed (children): and the third likewise.

²²And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also (none of the above Text is in the Law of Moses; it is all a made-up story in order to prove, they think, their argument against the Resurrection; these skeptics will have a good laugh at Jesus expense).

²³In the Resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife (this is the pivot point of their trap).

²⁴And Jesus answering said unto them (proclaims an answer they had never yet received, even though having argued about this matter with the Pharisees for many years), Do you not therefore err, because you know not the Scriptures (points to their ignorance which was inexcusable, seeing that most Sadducees were members of the Priesthood), neither the Power of God? (They assumed either that God could not raise the dead, or that He could raise them only to a life, which would be a counterpart of the present. Their failure to know the Power of God stems from unbelief.)

²⁵For when they shall rise from the dead (proclaims the guarantee by Christ of the coming Resurrection), they neither marry, nor are given in marriage (marriage was instituted by God to bring forth and perpetuate the human race; due to having glorified bodies in Heaven, which will take place in the Resurrection, there will be no death and, therefore, no need to perpetuate the race, therefore, no need for marriage); but are as the Angels which are in Hea ven (only in the sense of which He speaks).

²⁶And as touching the dead, that they rise (refers to dead bodies, and not the soul and spirit, which are already with the Lord, that is, if the person was saved when they died): have you not read in the Book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke unto him (Ex. 3:5-6), saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? (God did not say, I was the God of Abraham... referring to someone who was dead, out of existence, and was no more. He instead said, I am the God of Abraham... meaning that these individuals continued to be alive at the time of Moses, even though their bodies were dead.)

²⁷He is not the God of the dead (meaning that God is not the God of something which no longer exists), but the God of the Living (meaning that no individual goes out of existence at death, but actually lives forever, whether redeemed or in a fallen state; the soul and the spirit of man are eternal): you therefore do greatly err (not merely err, but rather greatly err).

THE GREAT COMMANDMENT

²⁸And one of the Scribes came (probably a Pharisee), and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the First Commandment of all? (Was not asked in sarcasm, but sincerely. He is one of the few who took advantage of the Perfect Knowledge of Christ. He was not really referring to the single most important Commandment of the Ten, but rather, which was the most important, the ritual or the ethical?)

²⁹And Jesus answered him, The first of all the Commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord (the word, one in the Hebrew is echad, and means to be united as one, one in number):

³⁰And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the First Commandment (this is the type of love which the world doesnt have, and in fact, cannot have, which only a Believer can have, and which can only be given by the Lord).

³¹And the second is like, namely this, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is none other Commandment greater than these (if we truly love God, we will as well, love our neighbor; this is the answer to all war, prejudice, hate, bias, racism, etc.).

³²And the Scribe said unto him, Well, Master, You have said the truth (refers to a Pharisee, who for a change, spoke kindly to and of Jesus): for there is one God; and there is none other but He:

³³And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole Burnt Offerings and Sacrifices (proclaims the fact that this Pharisee understood what the Sacrifices actually were all about; in other words, they were not mere rituals).

³⁴And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him (means that this man had a mind of his own, which means he did not blindly follow the religious leaders of his day), You are not far from the Kingdom of God (not there yet, but close!; the distance from the Kingdom of God is measured neither by miles, nor by ceremonial standards, but by spiritual conditions; however, being close is not enough; regrettably, millions fall into this category). And no man after that does ask Him any question (none were able to match wits with Christ!; it is tragic that they approach Christ in this fashion, and not in worship and adoration; but how many, approach Christ presently in the same fashion?!).

DAVIDS SON

³⁵And Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the Temple (is presented by Matthew as Jesus talking with the Pharisees [Mat. 22:41-42]), How say the Scribes that Christ is the Son of David? (This concerns the Incarnation, i.e., God becoming man, and dwelling among men.)

³⁶For David himself said by the Holy Spirit (affirms by Christ that David wrote Psalm 110; as well, it proclaims the fact that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit), The LORD said to my Lord (the first LORD is the august title of God in the Hebrew Old Testament, i.e., Jehovah; so the first LORD refers to God the Father with the second Lord referring to God the Son; in effect, the entirety of the Trinity is addressed here; the Holy Spirit makes up the Third Person, the One Who inspired what was said), Sit thou on My Right Hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool (refers to the time after the Cross, when Christ is exalted, which speaks of the present time [Heb. 1:3]; in essence, all enemies were defeated at the Cross [Col. 2:14-15], but will be defeated in a practical sense by the end of the Kingdom Age [Rev. 20; 1 Cor. 15:24-28]).

³⁷David therefore himself calls Him Lord (recognizes Christ as Deity, actually, the Jehovah of the Old Testament); and whence is He (Christ) then his son? (Davids Son, which speaks of the Incarnation, God becoming man. Jesus is God, and at the same time, He is Davids Son.)And the common people heard Him gladly (means that the common people believed Him respecting His claim as Messiah, but the religious leaders did not; with this statement about David, He brings them face-to-face with His claim as Messiah, a claim they could not deny; so they said nothing [Mat. 22:46]).

³⁸And He said unto them in His Doctrine (specifies that His Doctrine was totally different than that of the Pharisees and the religious leaders), Beware of the Scribes (those who claim to be expert in the Law of Moses), which love to go in long clothing (priestly or royal robes), and love salutations in the marketplaces (to be called Rabbi, or Doctor; He was not condemning these titles, but only the greedy grasping after them),

³⁹And the chief seats in the Synagogues (seats reserved for officials and persons of distinction) and the uppermost rooms at feasts (the place for the most honored guest at a feast):

⁴⁰Which devour widows houses (for money), and for a pretence make long prayers (praying long and loud for these widows and in their presence, hoping they would make out a will in favor of the Scribes): these shall receive greater damnation (teaches degrees of punishment in the coming Judgment).

THE WIDOWS MITE

⁴¹And Jesus sat over against the treasury (He did so for a purpose), and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury (not the amount that they cast in, but rather how it was cast in): and many who were rich cast in much (made an ostentatious display of their gift, in order that all may know how much it was).

⁴²And there came a certain poor widow (proclaims her being noticed not at all, except by the Lord; the word, poor, in the Greek Text is ptochos, and is used to designate a pauper rather than a mere peasant; the woman was destitute), and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing (it was referred to as a lepton, which was the smallest Greek copper coin, with both of them being presently worth about a dollar, if that, in 2003 currency).

⁴³And He called unto Him His Disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow has cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

⁴⁴For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living (God judges our gift, not only by the amount, but how much we have left, and our motives).