your fathers per S. Stephen broke out into the indignant question, Acts vii. 52. xxi. 41. And what was the fate of the wicked husbandmen ? It adds not a little to the interest that, as S. Matthew records, its justice was acknow- S. Matt. ledged by the very men who both earned and endured it. It seems strange that, knowing, as they must have done, that the parable was aimed against them, they should by their own lips have condemned themselves, for, in answer to the question, "What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do?" they 5 answered at once, "He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others." We can hardly doubt, however, that it was intended as a blind, to hide from the people the conviction they must have felt. But it was fulfilled to the letter. Nothing could have exceeded the misery which overtook those miserable men at the destruction of their city. Their threatened wretchedness is intensified by the peculiar allitera VOL. II. H Ps. cxviii. Nehem. viii. 14. tion which the first Evangelist has preserved: "He will miserably destroy these miserable men." And not only did they perish for their wickedness, but the vineyard was given to others, and all the spiritual privileges which they had forfeited were transferred to the Gentiles, and are now the heritage of Catholic Christendom. Such was the predicted punishment for the wicked husbandmen; but what was in store for the rejected messengers? The "Hosannahs "7 with which He, the Heir, the Well-beloved Son, had been received, were still ringing in His ears, and the Psalm, so familiar to every Jew, from which the people had drawn their shouts of triumph, answered His thoughts. It had been written to commemorate the completion of the Second Temple after their Return from Captivity, and it was sung at their favourite Feast. The Psalmist wished to contrast their present happiness with their former misery; the joy of independence and restoration to ancient rights with the contempt and rejection they had endured at the hands of the heathen. And he drew his imagery from an episode in the building which had been noted by him for remembrance. Among the stones and slabs from the marble quarries was one which the builders set aside from some foolish caprice as unfitted for use, and there perhaps it lay neglected and moss-grown, till suddenly it was found to be exactly what was wanted; not, however, for some common occasion, but to be raised to a position of the highest honour. The circumstance was seized by the poet to depict the change which the nation had experienced. The Rabbis, passing by the predicted rejection, and thinking only of the glory of the coming King as the Corner-stone of the nation, had interpreted it in its secondary sense as of Messianic application; and Jesus knew that they had done so. It is no matter of surprise, then, that His appeal to a well-known scripture to describe their conduct should have stung the Rulers and Scribes with resentment. That He should dare to tell the people that One Whom they were plotting to destroy would be set by God upon His holy hill, kindled to the highest degree their hatred against Him. Gladly would they have seized Him and silenced His voice for ever, but the people were on His side, and they dreaded another public demonstration-a repetition of Palm Sunday-if they attempted to lay hands upon Him. And so they went away in a rage, baffled for a time, but determined to redouble their efforts, and lay deeper designs to bring Him into their net. NOTES. 1 Probably He was then in Peræa; if so, the same principle applies, as Moab, no less than Judæa, was famous for its vines. There is no instance of His referring to the vine in Galilee, where it grew most rarely, if at all. 2 The object of these was chiefly to protect the vines from robbers and wild beasts, which would root them up. They presented a very isolated appearance, rising out of the vineyards. "The lodge in the garden of cucumbers," in Isa. i. 8, was no doubt such a tower of observation. 3 It is called the métayer system. It is known also in Italy and Persia. 4 I feel that I am indebted to some one for this illustration, but cannot recall where I have seen it. 5 The answer is put into their mouth by S. Matthew. Probably it was taken up and repeated by Himself, as SS. Mark and Luke indicate. 6 κακοὺς κακῶς ἀπολέσει. It is not easy to transfer the force into another language, which is further increased by the juxtaposition of the adjective and adverb. 7 Cf. ii. 82, 86 n. 8 It is the last of the collection forming the Hallel, cxiii. -cxviii. The Psalm has been assigned to David or Hezekiah, but there is a strong consensus of opinion in placing it after the Return from Captivity, though the occasion of its composition is disputed. LV. The Tribute-Money. S. MARK XII. 13-17. 13. And they send unto Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. 14. And when they were come, they say unto Him, Master, we know that Thou art true, and carest for no man: for Thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not? 15. Shall we give, or shall we not give? But He, knowing their hypo crisy, said unto them, Why tempt iii. 6. NOTHING could express more clearly the determination of the chief men of Jerusalem to destroy Jesus, than to be told that for the second time the Pharisees and Herodians had entered into a s. Mark compact together against Him. It would be difficult in the annals of history to find a more striking example of what is meant by "an unholy alliance." The ecclesiastic and rigidly orthodox Religionist makes common cause with the political and freethinking Secularist-the one bound hand and foot to the |