返回Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Lk. 20:1. On one of those days, when He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and scribes came up with the elders,
Lk. 20:2. And they said to Him: Tell us, by what authority do You do these things, or who is it that gave You this authority?
The Lord, having entered Jerusalem with glory, as proof of His authority does that which cleanses the house of His Father from traders (Lk 19:45–46). He did this also at the beginning of His preaching, as the evangelist John says (Jn 2:13–18). And now He does the same again, a second time. This serves as a greater accusation against the Jews, that they were not brought to their senses by His first open admonition, but continued trading in the temple and called Him an opponent of God, whereas He honors the Father and God to such a degree that He cleanses His house from traders. In reproach of them He also brings forward the words of Isaiah: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Is 56:7). But they foolishly ask Him: "By what authority do You do these things?" Yet it was possible for them to understand that since He brought forward the words of the prophet as testimony that the house of God is a house of prayer, and not a marketplace and a den of robbers (for greed and trading are characteristic of robbers), then what need, after all, is there to ask Him by what authority He does these things, when one can directly conclude that God so commands through the prophet? But they ask: "By what authority do You do these things?" The Law, they say, granted the right to manage the temple to those descended from Levi; how then do You, who are not descended from the tribe of Levi, do this and seize sacred rights? But, O Jews, remember the words of David: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Ps 109:4). Melchizedek is called a priest. And Melchizedek was a priest neither according to the Law nor by descent from the tribe of Levi. For how could this be, when he lived so many years before Levi? Then, why do you demand from Christ a legal procedure? God is not subject to laws. When it was necessary, He commanded that the priests be from the tribe of Levi, but now He abolishes that law and foreordains the priesthood of Melchizedek. Therefore He also drives out those selling sacrificial animals, such as sheep and doves — on the one hand, to preserve the beauty and decorum of the temple, and on the other, to show that one should no longer believe in the propitiation of God through animal sacrifices. Thus, it would have been easy for the Lord to answer them that "so it is said," and to say that so the prophet commands, or rather, God.
Lk. 20:3. He said to them in answer: I will also ask you about one thing, and tell Me:
Lk. 20:4. Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men?
Lk. 20:5. They reasoned among themselves, saying: if we say, "From heaven," He will say, "Why then did you not believe him?"
Lk. 20:6. But if we say, "From men," then all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John is a prophet.
Lk. 20:7. And they answered that they did not know whence it was.
Lk. 20:8. Jesus said to them: Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
However, in order to expose them for their constant resistance to the Holy Spirit and for their unwillingness to believe not only the ancient prophet Isaiah, who had perhaps been forgotten by them, but also John, who had appeared so recently and was almost immaterial and incorporeal, He in turn gives them a real and admirable question in response to their question. With this question He both silences them and shows us that if they did not believe such a prophet as John, who in their opinion was greater than He, when John testified concerning Him, then how would they have believed His answer as to by what authority He does these things? For whatever He might have said, they could in any case have twisted it and mocked it, just as they had also despised the words of John, who was held in great esteem among them.
Lk. 20:9. And He began to speak to the people this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard and let it out to husbandmen, and went away for a long time;
This parable is brief, but it teaches us much that is great, namely: that God had and showed a special providence toward the Hebrews, that they have long been inclined to murder, that the God of the Old and New Testaments is one, that the Gentiles will be brought in, and the Jews rejected. The vineyard is the Jewish church itself, the vinedressers are the scribes and Pharisees, those leading men and overseers of the people. Or: each person in himself is both vineyard and vinedresser, for each of us cultivates himself. The Lover of mankind, having given this vineyard to the workers, "went away," that is, He left them to act according to their own free will.
Lk. 20:10. And in due time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard; but the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
Lk. 20:11. He sent yet another servant; but they, having beaten and insulted this one too, sent him away empty-handed.
Lk. 20:12. And he sent a third; and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
He sends various "servants," that is, prophets, so as to have at least some small profit; for He desired, it says, to receive "some of the fruit," and not all the fruit. And what fruit is there from us to God, if not the knowledge of Him? And this is our gain; yet He counts our salvation and our benefit as His own. The wicked tenants mistreated those who were sent, beat them, and sent them away empty-handed, that is, they reached such ingratitude that they not only turned away from good and gave no good fruit, but also committed evil, which deserves greater punishment.
Lk. 20:13. Then the lord of the vineyard said: What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps when they see him, they will be ashamed.
Lk. 20:14. But the vinedressers, seeing him, reasoned among themselves, saying: This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.
After the prophets had endured such terrible evil, the Son is sent. "Perhaps," He says, "they will be ashamed" before My Son. He says "they will be ashamed" not because He does not know the future — namely, that they will treat Him far worse than the prophets — but because this is how it should have been: they should have been ashamed before Him. But if they were so shameless that they even killed Him, this serves as a greater accusation against them, because even after God declared that it would have been good to be ashamed before the Son, they rendered the opposite verdict. This manner of speaking is found in many places of Scripture, for example: "Perhaps... they will listen" (Jer. 26:3); "whether they will listen" (Ezek. 2:5, 3:11). In these places God speaks this way not out of ignorance of the future, but He uses such a manner of expression so that no one would say that God's foreknowledge was the necessary cause of their disobedience.
Lk. 20:15. And having cast him out of the vineyard, they killed him.
They "killed" the Son, "casting him out of the vineyard." One could fittingly say: out of Jerusalem, for Christ suffered "outside the gate" (Heb. 13:12). But since above we understood the vineyard to mean the people, and not Jerusalem, it is perhaps more to the point to say that the people did kill Him, but outside the vineyard, that is, they did not put Him to death with their own hands, but by handing Him over to Pilate and the Gentiles. Thus, the Lord suffered outside the vineyard, that is, not at the hands of the people, for they were not permitted to put anyone to death, and so He died at the hands of the soldiers. Some understood the vineyard to mean the Scriptures. Thus, the Lord suffered outside the Scriptures, that is, He was killed by those who did not believe Moses. For if they had believed Moses and occupied themselves with the Scriptures, searching them, they would not have killed the Master of the Scriptures.
Lk. 20:15. What then will the lord of the vineyard do with them?
Lk. 20:16. He will come and destroy those vinedressers, and will give the vineyard to others.
Having said this, He adds also the sentence which He is about to pronounce upon them, namely: that "He will give the vineyard to others," that is, He will give to others that grace of being called My people. Note: those who say that the vineyard signifies the Scripture seem to guess the meaning more closely, as appears from here. For the Scripture, taken away from the Jews, was handed over to us. And another, bolder person might perhaps say that the vineyard is everything spiritual, whether it be contained in Scripture and laws, or in deeds and histories, all of which the Jews were deprived of, while we enjoy it.
Lk. 20:16. But those who heard it said: God forbid!
As you hear, the Evangelist Luke says that the Lord spoke these words: the master of the vineyard will destroy the ungrateful vinedressers and will give the vineyard to others, and that the Pharisees, hearing this, said: "God forbid!" But the Evangelist Matthew says it differently, namely: the Lord asked, what will the owner of the vineyard do to those vinedressers? And the Jews answered: "He will miserably destroy those wicked men... and will let out the vineyard to others" (Matt. 21:40–41). Is this not a contradiction? Not at all. For probably both things happened: first they themselves pronounced the judgment, as the Evangelist Matthew relates; and then, having realized to whom the parable referred, namely that it was spoken against them, they said again what the Evangelist Luke now relates, namely: "God forbid!"
Lk. 20:17. But He looked at them and said: what then is this that is written: the stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner?
What then does Christ do? He brings forward another testimony from the Psalms of David (Ps. 118:22), calling Himself the stone, and the teachers themselves the builders, just as the prophet Ezekiel also says: "and when he builds a wall, they plaster it with mud" (Ezek. 13:10), that is, those who speak to please and cover up the faults of the people, and therefore as it were smear with mud the injuries of the people, as of some wall. How then did they "reject" this stone? When they said: "This Man is not from God" (John 9:16).
Lk. 20:18. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken, and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.
The Lord speaks here of a twofold destruction. One is the destruction of their souls, which they suffered because they were scandalized. For everyone who falls on this stone will be broken. The other is the destruction from the captivity which this stone brought upon them for their rejection of Him. For "on whomever it falls," it says, "it will crush him." The Jews were crushed and scattered like chaff from one threshing floor — Palestine — into the whole world. Note, then, that first they fell upon this stone, that is, they were scandalized, and then the stone fell upon them and punished them. For first the sin is committed by me, and then the righteous punishment from God overtakes me. But the Jews rejected this stone. And it was so good and chosen that it was placed as the head of the corner and joined and united two walls, that is, the old and the new. Though they ought to have listened to Isaiah, who says: "Sanctify Him, and He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread! And He shall be a sanctuary and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense" (Isa. 8:13–14).
Lk. 20:19. And the chief priests and the scribes sought at that very time to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people, for they understood that He had spoken this parable about them.
But even then, when they understood that the Lord was speaking this parable against them, they plotted against Him and would have laid hands on Him, had they not feared the people. The Law also says: "Do not put to death the innocent and the righteous" (Ex. 23:7); but they do not heed it, and instead fear the wrath of men, and, refraining from openly laying hands on Him, they contrive other snares against Him.
Lk. 20:20. And watching Him closely, they sent out spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might catch Him in some word, so as to deliver Him to the rule and authority of the governor.
Lk. 20:21. And they asked Him: Teacher! we know that You speak and teach rightly and do not show partiality, but truly teach the way of God;
Lk. 20:22. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
The Pharisees prepared a net which, in their opinion, the Lord would find difficult to escape, but in this net "their foot was caught" (Ps. 9:16). See what cunning! If the Lord says that tribute ought to be given to Caesar, then they will accuse Him before the people of bringing into slavery the people who are "Abraham's seed" and never served anyone (Jn. 8:33). If He forbids giving tribute, then they will lead Him to the governor as a seditious person.
Lk. 20:23. But He, having perceived their craftiness, said to them: why do you tempt Me?
Lk. 20:24. Show Me a denarius: whose image and inscription is on it? They answered: Caesar's.
Lk. 20:25. He said to them: Therefore, render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's.
But the Lord escapes their snares like a "gazelle," for so the Bride called Him in the Song of Songs (Song 2:9), and He teaches that bodily subjection to the one who rules over our bodies, whether he be a king or a tyrant, in no way hinders us from spiritually pleasing the God of spirits. "Therefore render," He says, "unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." And notice, He did not say "give," but "render." This, He says, is a debt, therefore pay what is owed. Your sovereign protects you from enemies and makes your life peaceful; for this you owe him tribute. And in another sense: the very thing that you contribute, that is, the coin, you have from him himself. Therefore, return the emperor's coin to him (the emperor) again. Meanwhile, you too have derived benefit from it for yourself, exchanging it and obtaining the necessities of life.
So too must one render unto God what is God's. He gave you a mind: return it to Him through rational activity. He gave you reason: return it to Him, not likening yourself to irrational animals, but acting in all things as one endowed with reason. And in general He gave you soul and body: return everything to Him and restore His image for Him, living by faith, with hope, in love.
And in another sense one must render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Each of us bears upon himself either the image of God or the image of the prince of this world. When we become like Caesar, becoming sons of the devil, we bear his image upon ourselves. This image must be given back to him and cast off, so that he may have what is his own with him, and find nothing belonging to him in us. Through this the image of God can also be preserved in us in purity. Therefore the Apostle Paul also urges that just as we have borne the image of the earthly, so we should bear the image of the heavenly (1 Cor. 15:49); and in another place: "to put off the former manner of life of the old man" (Eph. 4:22). What is expressed here by the word "render" is expressed by Paul with the word "put off," and what is here called the image of "Caesar" is there called the image of "the earthly," undoubtedly of Adam who sinned, and of "the old man." For the image of the earthly is nothing other than corruption and sin, an image which we bear because we have made ourselves like the apostate, and not the King.
Lk. 20:26. And they were unable to catch Him in His word before the people, and, marveling at His answer, they fell silent.
The Pharisees could not catch Jesus in His word before the people. For their special concern was to slander Him before the people as one who was enslaving the nation to the Romans. But this they could not achieve because of His most wise answer.
Lk. 20:27. Then some of the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, came and asked Him:
Lk. 20:28. Teacher! Moses wrote for us that if someone's brother dies, having had a wife, and dies childless, then his brother must take his wife and raise up seed for his brother.
Lk. 20:29. There were seven brothers, and the first, having taken a wife, died childless;
Lk. 20:30. The second took that wife, and he died childless;
Lk. 20:31. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also, and they died, leaving no children;
Lk. 20:32. After all of them, the woman died as well.
Lk. 20:33. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of them will she be, for seven had her as wife?
The Sadducees, basing their speculations on a weak foundation, did not believe in the teaching of the resurrection. Assuming that after the resurrection there would be a bodily life, they naturally fell into error. Therefore, mocking the teaching of the resurrection as absurd, they invented the present senseless story.
Lk. 20:34. Jesus said to them in answer: The children of this age marry and are given in marriage;
Lk. 20:35. But those who are counted worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
But the Lord refutes their premise and declares that life there is not bodily. And together with this weak premise and assumption He destroys their teaching as well, saying: you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures and misinterpreting their meaning. "The children of this age," that is, those who beget and are begotten in this world, "marry and are given in marriage," that is, "are wed." But the sons of that age do none of such things, for they cannot even die; therefore there is no marriage there either, but life is angelic, divine. Here there is marriage because there is death, and there is death because there is marriage. But there, when death is abolished, what need is there for marriage? For marriage was established as an aid to mortality and to make up for what is lacking. And where there is no lack whatsoever, what need is there for replenishment?
Lk. 20:36. Neither can they die any more, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
"For they are equal to the Angels and are sons of God." Why? Because they are sons of the resurrection. These words have the following meaning: I, He says, called them sons of God because in their birth nothing bodily is perceived, but everything is divine. For in the resurrection there is no preceding of union, nor seed, nor womb, nor conception, but God gives birth to our bodies in a way known to Him. Since God acts in the resurrection, those who are reborn through the resurrection are rightly called sons of God.
Lk. 20:37. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
Lk. 20:38. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to Him.
To His logical argument the Lord also adds testimony from Scripture. Moses says that God said to him from the bush: "I am the God of Abraham" and so forth (Exod. 3:6). If the patriarchs had been utterly destroyed and were not alive before God by the hope of the resurrection, He would not have said "I am," but "I was." For concerning things damaged and lost we usually say: I "was" the owner of such-and-such a thing. But now, when God said "I am," He showed that He is the Lord and God of the living, and not of those who have been utterly destroyed. For although they have died, yet by the hope of the resurrection they are alive, just as Adam, although he was alive, was nevertheless mortal, and it is said of him that he died at the very moment he tasted the forbidden fruit.
Lk. 20:39. And some of the scribes answering said: Master, You have well said.
Lk. 20:40. And they no longer dared to ask Him anything.
When the Sadducees were thus put to shame, the scribes, pleased with the victory over them, approved of Jesus as their adversary.
Lk. 20:41. He said to them:
Lk. 20:41. How is it that they say that Christ is the Son of David,
Lk. 20:42. And David himself says in the book of Psalms: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand,
Lk. 20:43. until I make Your enemies the footstool of Your feet?
Lk. 20:44. So David calls Him Lord; how then is He his Son?
Soon about to go to His sufferings, the Lord preaches about His Divinity, and not openly or with pride, but very humbly. For He asks them and, having brought them to perplexity, leaves it to them to draw the conclusion. David, He says, calls Him Lord (Ps. 109:1): how then is He merely his Son? He was indeed a son of David according to the flesh, but at the same time also his God, yet they considered Him only the son of David. Therefore He refutes this opinion of theirs, that Christ is merely a son of David, and declares that He is not opposed to the Father, but has great unity of mind with Him, for the Father vanquishes His enemies. This He said to the scribes.
Lk. 20:45. And while all the people were listening, He said to His disciples:
Lk. 20:46. Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes and love greetings in public gatherings, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the chief places at feasts,
Since He was sending the disciples as teachers into the world, He rightly urges them not to imitate the Pharisees in their love of glory, their love of preeminence, and in general their worldliness and people-pleasing. For to carefully seek out greetings in the marketplaces is characteristic of those who flatter every person they meet and curry a favorable opinion of themselves, or who use this as a means of collecting money.
Lk. 20:47. who devour the houses of widows and for a pretense make long prayers; they will receive the greater condemnation.
"They devour," He says, "the houses of widows," filling their bellies and squandering beyond what is proper. And the pretext for this is seemingly pious. For, under the pretense of prayer and spiritual benefit, they teach not fasting, but drunkenness and gluttony, and for this, He says, "they will receive the greater condemnation," because they not only do evil, but also cloak it with prayer. Their appearance is pious, yet they make virtue a pretext for wickedness. Therefore they deserve even greater condemnation, since they bring reproach upon what is good. Widows ought to be pitied, but these men enter their houses supposedly to bless them with lengthy prayers. Meanwhile, the widows are compelled on account of their visits to bear expenses, and are thus ruined.
Lk. 20:1. On one of those days, when He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and scribes came up with the elders,
Lk. 20:2. And they said to Him: Tell us, by what authority do You do these things, or who is it that gave You this authority?
The Lord, having entered Jerusalem with glory, as proof of His authority does that which cleanses the house of His Father from traders (Lk 19:45–46). He did this also at the beginning of His preaching, as the evangelist John says (Jn 2:13–18). And now He does the same again, a second time. This serves as a greater accusation against the Jews, that they were not brought to their senses by His first open admonition, but continued trading in the temple and called Him an opponent of God, whereas He honors the Father and God to such a degree that He cleanses His house from traders. In reproach of them He also brings forward the words of Isaiah: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Is 56:7). But they foolishly ask Him: "By what authority do You do these things?" Yet it was possible for them to understand that since He brought forward the words of the prophet as testimony that the house of God is a house of prayer, and not a marketplace and a den of robbers (for greed and trading are characteristic of robbers), then what need, after all, is there to ask Him by what authority He does these things, when one can directly conclude that God so commands through the prophet? But they ask: "By what authority do You do these things?" The Law, they say, granted the right to manage the temple to those descended from Levi; how then do You, who are not descended from the tribe of Levi, do this and seize sacred rights? But, O Jews, remember the words of David: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Ps 109:4). Melchizedek is called a priest. And Melchizedek was a priest neither according to the Law nor by descent from the tribe of Levi. For how could this be, when he lived so many years before Levi? Then, why do you demand from Christ a legal procedure? God is not subject to laws. When it was necessary, He commanded that the priests be from the tribe of Levi, but now He abolishes that law and foreordains the priesthood of Melchizedek. Therefore He also drives out those selling sacrificial animals, such as sheep and doves — on the one hand, to preserve the beauty and decorum of the temple, and on the other, to show that one should no longer believe in the propitiation of God through animal sacrifices. Thus, it would have been easy for the Lord to answer them that "so it is said," and to say that so the prophet commands, or rather, God.
Lk. 20:3. He said to them in answer: I will also ask you about one thing, and tell Me:
Lk. 20:4. Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men?
Lk. 20:5. They reasoned among themselves, saying: if we say, "From heaven," He will say, "Why then did you not believe him?"
Lk. 20:6. But if we say, "From men," then all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John is a prophet.
Lk. 20:7. And they answered that they did not know whence it was.
Lk. 20:8. Jesus said to them: Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
However, in order to expose them for their constant resistance to the Holy Spirit and for their unwillingness to believe not only the ancient prophet Isaiah, who had perhaps been forgotten by them, but also John, who had appeared so recently and was almost immaterial and incorporeal, He in turn gives them a real and admirable question in response to their question. With this question He both silences them and shows us that if they did not believe such a prophet as John, who in their opinion was greater than He, when John testified concerning Him, then how would they have believed His answer as to by what authority He does these things? For whatever He might have said, they could in any case have twisted it and mocked it, just as they had also despised the words of John, who was held in great esteem among them.
Lk. 20:9. And He began to speak to the people this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard and let it out to husbandmen, and went away for a long time;
This parable is brief, but it teaches us much that is great, namely: that God had and showed a special providence toward the Hebrews, that they have long been inclined to murder, that the God of the Old and New Testaments is one, that the Gentiles will be brought in, and the Jews rejected. The vineyard is the Jewish church itself, the vinedressers are the scribes and Pharisees, those leading men and overseers of the people. Or: each person in himself is both vineyard and vinedresser, for each of us cultivates himself. The Lover of mankind, having given this vineyard to the workers, "went away," that is, He left them to act according to their own free will.
Lk. 20:10. And in due time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard; but the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
Lk. 20:11. He sent yet another servant; but they, having beaten and insulted this one too, sent him away empty-handed.
Lk. 20:12. And he sent a third; and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
He sends various "servants," that is, prophets, so as to have at least some small profit; for He desired, it says, to receive "some of the fruit," and not all the fruit. And what fruit is there from us to God, if not the knowledge of Him? And this is our gain; yet He counts our salvation and our benefit as His own. The wicked tenants mistreated those who were sent, beat them, and sent them away empty-handed, that is, they reached such ingratitude that they not only turned away from good and gave no good fruit, but also committed evil, which deserves greater punishment.
Lk. 20:13. Then the lord of the vineyard said: What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps when they see him, they will be ashamed.
Lk. 20:14. But the vinedressers, seeing him, reasoned among themselves, saying: This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.
After the prophets had endured such terrible evil, the Son is sent. "Perhaps," He says, "they will be ashamed" before My Son. He says "they will be ashamed" not because He does not know the future — namely, that they will treat Him far worse than the prophets — but because this is how it should have been: they should have been ashamed before Him. But if they were so shameless that they even killed Him, this serves as a greater accusation against them, because even after God declared that it would have been good to be ashamed before the Son, they rendered the opposite verdict. This manner of speaking is found in many places of Scripture, for example: "Perhaps... they will listen" (Jer. 26:3); "whether they will listen" (Ezek. 2:5, 3:11). In these places God speaks this way not out of ignorance of the future, but He uses such a manner of expression so that no one would say that God's foreknowledge was the necessary cause of their disobedience.
Lk. 20:15. And having cast him out of the vineyard, they killed him.
They "killed" the Son, "casting him out of the vineyard." One could fittingly say: out of Jerusalem, for Christ suffered "outside the gate" (Heb. 13:12). But since above we understood the vineyard to mean the people, and not Jerusalem, it is perhaps more to the point to say that the people did kill Him, but outside the vineyard, that is, they did not put Him to death with their own hands, but by handing Him over to Pilate and the Gentiles. Thus, the Lord suffered outside the vineyard, that is, not at the hands of the people, for they were not permitted to put anyone to death, and so He died at the hands of the soldiers. Some understood the vineyard to mean the Scriptures. Thus, the Lord suffered outside the Scriptures, that is, He was killed by those who did not believe Moses. For if they had believed Moses and occupied themselves with the Scriptures, searching them, they would not have killed the Master of the Scriptures.
Lk. 20:15. What then will the lord of the vineyard do with them?
Lk. 20:16. He will come and destroy those vinedressers, and will give the vineyard to others.
Having said this, He adds also the sentence which He is about to pronounce upon them, namely: that "He will give the vineyard to others," that is, He will give to others that grace of being called My people. Note: those who say that the vineyard signifies the Scripture seem to guess the meaning more closely, as appears from here. For the Scripture, taken away from the Jews, was handed over to us. And another, bolder person might perhaps say that the vineyard is everything spiritual, whether it be contained in Scripture and laws, or in deeds and histories, all of which the Jews were deprived of, while we enjoy it.
Lk. 20:16. But those who heard it said: God forbid!
As you hear, the Evangelist Luke says that the Lord spoke these words: the master of the vineyard will destroy the ungrateful vinedressers and will give the vineyard to others, and that the Pharisees, hearing this, said: "God forbid!" But the Evangelist Matthew says it differently, namely: the Lord asked, what will the owner of the vineyard do to those vinedressers? And the Jews answered: "He will miserably destroy those wicked men... and will let out the vineyard to others" (Matt. 21:40–41). Is this not a contradiction? Not at all. For probably both things happened: first they themselves pronounced the judgment, as the Evangelist Matthew relates; and then, having realized to whom the parable referred, namely that it was spoken against them, they said again what the Evangelist Luke now relates, namely: "God forbid!"
Lk. 20:17. But He looked at them and said: what then is this that is written: the stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner?
What then does Christ do? He brings forward another testimony from the Psalms of David (Ps. 118:22), calling Himself the stone, and the teachers themselves the builders, just as the prophet Ezekiel also says: "and when he builds a wall, they plaster it with mud" (Ezek. 13:10), that is, those who speak to please and cover up the faults of the people, and therefore as it were smear with mud the injuries of the people, as of some wall. How then did they "reject" this stone? When they said: "This Man is not from God" (John 9:16).
Lk. 20:18. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken, and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.
The Lord speaks here of a twofold destruction. One is the destruction of their souls, which they suffered because they were scandalized. For everyone who falls on this stone will be broken. The other is the destruction from the captivity which this stone brought upon them for their rejection of Him. For "on whomever it falls," it says, "it will crush him." The Jews were crushed and scattered like chaff from one threshing floor — Palestine — into the whole world. Note, then, that first they fell upon this stone, that is, they were scandalized, and then the stone fell upon them and punished them. For first the sin is committed by me, and then the righteous punishment from God overtakes me. But the Jews rejected this stone. And it was so good and chosen that it was placed as the head of the corner and joined and united two walls, that is, the old and the new. Though they ought to have listened to Isaiah, who says: "Sanctify Him, and He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread! And He shall be a sanctuary and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense" (Isa. 8:13–14).
Lk. 20:19. And the chief priests and the scribes sought at that very time to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people, for they understood that He had spoken this parable about them.
But even then, when they understood that the Lord was speaking this parable against them, they plotted against Him and would have laid hands on Him, had they not feared the people. The Law also says: "Do not put to death the innocent and the righteous" (Ex. 23:7); but they do not heed it, and instead fear the wrath of men, and, refraining from openly laying hands on Him, they contrive other snares against Him.
Lk. 20:20. And watching Him closely, they sent out spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might catch Him in some word, so as to deliver Him to the rule and authority of the governor.
Lk. 20:21. And they asked Him: Teacher! we know that You speak and teach rightly and do not show partiality, but truly teach the way of God;
Lk. 20:22. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
The Pharisees prepared a net which, in their opinion, the Lord would find difficult to escape, but in this net "their foot was caught" (Ps. 9:16). See what cunning! If the Lord says that tribute ought to be given to Caesar, then they will accuse Him before the people of bringing into slavery the people who are "Abraham's seed" and never served anyone (Jn. 8:33). If He forbids giving tribute, then they will lead Him to the governor as a seditious person.
Lk. 20:23. But He, having perceived their craftiness, said to them: why do you tempt Me?
Lk. 20:24. Show Me a denarius: whose image and inscription is on it? They answered: Caesar's.
Lk. 20:25. He said to them: Therefore, render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's.
But the Lord escapes their snares like a "gazelle," for so the Bride called Him in the Song of Songs (Song 2:9), and He teaches that bodily subjection to the one who rules over our bodies, whether he be a king or a tyrant, in no way hinders us from spiritually pleasing the God of spirits. "Therefore render," He says, "unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." And notice, He did not say "give," but "render." This, He says, is a debt, therefore pay what is owed. Your sovereign protects you from enemies and makes your life peaceful; for this you owe him tribute. And in another sense: the very thing that you contribute, that is, the coin, you have from him himself. Therefore, return the emperor's coin to him (the emperor) again. Meanwhile, you too have derived benefit from it for yourself, exchanging it and obtaining the necessities of life.
So too must one render unto God what is God's. He gave you a mind: return it to Him through rational activity. He gave you reason: return it to Him, not likening yourself to irrational animals, but acting in all things as one endowed with reason. And in general He gave you soul and body: return everything to Him and restore His image for Him, living by faith, with hope, in love.
And in another sense one must render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Each of us bears upon himself either the image of God or the image of the prince of this world. When we become like Caesar, becoming sons of the devil, we bear his image upon ourselves. This image must be given back to him and cast off, so that he may have what is his own with him, and find nothing belonging to him in us. Through this the image of God can also be preserved in us in purity. Therefore the Apostle Paul also urges that just as we have borne the image of the earthly, so we should bear the image of the heavenly (1 Cor. 15:49); and in another place: "to put off the former manner of life of the old man" (Eph. 4:22). What is expressed here by the word "render" is expressed by Paul with the word "put off," and what is here called the image of "Caesar" is there called the image of "the earthly," undoubtedly of Adam who sinned, and of "the old man." For the image of the earthly is nothing other than corruption and sin, an image which we bear because we have made ourselves like the apostate, and not the King.
Lk. 20:26. And they were unable to catch Him in His word before the people, and, marveling at His answer, they fell silent.
The Pharisees could not catch Jesus in His word before the people. For their special concern was to slander Him before the people as one who was enslaving the nation to the Romans. But this they could not achieve because of His most wise answer.
Lk. 20:27. Then some of the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, came and asked Him:
Lk. 20:28. Teacher! Moses wrote for us that if someone's brother dies, having had a wife, and dies childless, then his brother must take his wife and raise up seed for his brother.
Lk. 20:29. There were seven brothers, and the first, having taken a wife, died childless;
Lk. 20:30. The second took that wife, and he died childless;
Lk. 20:31. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also, and they died, leaving no children;
Lk. 20:32. After all of them, the woman died as well.
Lk. 20:33. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of them will she be, for seven had her as wife?
The Sadducees, basing their speculations on a weak foundation, did not believe in the teaching of the resurrection. Assuming that after the resurrection there would be a bodily life, they naturally fell into error. Therefore, mocking the teaching of the resurrection as absurd, they invented the present senseless story.
Lk. 20:34. Jesus said to them in answer: The children of this age marry and are given in marriage;
Lk. 20:35. But those who are counted worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
But the Lord refutes their premise and declares that life there is not bodily. And together with this weak premise and assumption He destroys their teaching as well, saying: you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures and misinterpreting their meaning. "The children of this age," that is, those who beget and are begotten in this world, "marry and are given in marriage," that is, "are wed." But the sons of that age do none of such things, for they cannot even die; therefore there is no marriage there either, but life is angelic, divine. Here there is marriage because there is death, and there is death because there is marriage. But there, when death is abolished, what need is there for marriage? For marriage was established as an aid to mortality and to make up for what is lacking. And where there is no lack whatsoever, what need is there for replenishment?
Lk. 20:36. Neither can they die any more, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
"For they are equal to the Angels and are sons of God." Why? Because they are sons of the resurrection. These words have the following meaning: I, He says, called them sons of God because in their birth nothing bodily is perceived, but everything is divine. For in the resurrection there is no preceding of union, nor seed, nor womb, nor conception, but God gives birth to our bodies in a way known to Him. Since God acts in the resurrection, those who are reborn through the resurrection are rightly called sons of God.
Lk. 20:37. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
Lk. 20:38. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to Him.
To His logical argument the Lord also adds testimony from Scripture. Moses says that God said to him from the bush: "I am the God of Abraham" and so forth (Exod. 3:6). If the patriarchs had been utterly destroyed and were not alive before God by the hope of the resurrection, He would not have said "I am," but "I was." For concerning things damaged and lost we usually say: I "was" the owner of such-and-such a thing. But now, when God said "I am," He showed that He is the Lord and God of the living, and not of those who have been utterly destroyed. For although they have died, yet by the hope of the resurrection they are alive, just as Adam, although he was alive, was nevertheless mortal, and it is said of him that he died at the very moment he tasted the forbidden fruit.
Lk. 20:39. And some of the scribes answering said: Master, You have well said.
Lk. 20:40. And they no longer dared to ask Him anything.
When the Sadducees were thus put to shame, the scribes, pleased with the victory over them, approved of Jesus as their adversary.
Lk. 20:41. He said to them:
Lk. 20:41. How is it that they say that Christ is the Son of David,
Lk. 20:42. And David himself says in the book of Psalms: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand,
Lk. 20:43. until I make Your enemies the footstool of Your feet?
Lk. 20:44. So David calls Him Lord; how then is He his Son?
Soon about to go to His sufferings, the Lord preaches about His Divinity, and not openly or with pride, but very humbly. For He asks them and, having brought them to perplexity, leaves it to them to draw the conclusion. David, He says, calls Him Lord (Ps. 109:1): how then is He merely his Son? He was indeed a son of David according to the flesh, but at the same time also his God, yet they considered Him only the son of David. Therefore He refutes this opinion of theirs, that Christ is merely a son of David, and declares that He is not opposed to the Father, but has great unity of mind with Him, for the Father vanquishes His enemies. This He said to the scribes.
Lk. 20:45. And while all the people were listening, He said to His disciples:
Lk. 20:46. Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes and love greetings in public gatherings, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the chief places at feasts,
Since He was sending the disciples as teachers into the world, He rightly urges them not to imitate the Pharisees in their love of glory, their love of preeminence, and in general their worldliness and people-pleasing. For to carefully seek out greetings in the marketplaces is characteristic of those who flatter every person they meet and curry a favorable opinion of themselves, or who use this as a means of collecting money.
Lk. 20:47. who devour the houses of widows and for a pretense make long prayers; they will receive the greater condemnation.
"They devour," He says, "the houses of widows," filling their bellies and squandering beyond what is proper. And the pretext for this is seemingly pious. For, under the pretense of prayer and spiritual benefit, they teach not fasting, but drunkenness and gluttony, and for this, He says, "they will receive the greater condemnation," because they not only do evil, but also cloak it with prayer. Their appearance is pious, yet they make virtue a pretext for wickedness. Therefore they deserve even greater condemnation, since they bring reproach upon what is good. Widows ought to be pitied, but these men enter their houses supposedly to bless them with lengthy prayers. Meanwhile, the widows are compelled on account of their visits to bear expenses, and are thus ruined.