1Když se přiblížili k Jeruzalému a přišli do Betfagé u Olivetské hory, poslal Ježíš dva učedníky 2a řekl jim: „Jděte do vesnice před vámi. Hned tam najdete přivázanou oslici a u ní oslátko. Odvažte je a přiveďte ke mně. 3Kdyby vám někdo něco namítal, odpovězte: ‚Pán je potřebuje‘ a hned je pošle.“ 4To se stalo, aby se naplnilo slovo proroka: 5„Povězte Dceři sionské: Hle, tvůj král přichází k tobě, mírný, sedící na oslu, na oslíku, osličím hříbátku.“ 6Učedníci šli a udělali, jak jim Ježíš přikázal. 7Přivedli oslici s oslátkem, položili na ně pláště a posadili ho na ně. 8Veliký zástup pak prostíral své pláště na cestě a jiní sekali větve ze stromů a stlali je na cestu. 9Zástupy, které šly zepředu i zezadu, volaly: „Hosana, Synu Davidův!“ „Požehnaný, jenž přichází v Hospodinově jménu!“ „Hosana na výsostech!“ 10Když vjížděl do Jeruzaléma, ve městě zavládlo vzrušení. Všichni se ptali: „Kdo to je?“ 11„Ježíš,“ odpovídaly zástupy, „ten prorok z galilejského Nazaretu!“ 12Ježíš pak vešel do chrámu a vyhnal všechny, kdo tam prodávali a nakupovali. Zpřevracel stoly směnárníků i sedačky prodavačů holubic 13se slovy: „Je psáno: ‚Můj dům bude nazýván domem modlitby,‘ ale vy jste z něj udělali ‚doupě lupičů‘!“ 14V chrámě ho obklopili slepí a chromí a on je uzdravil. 15Když ale vrchní kněží a znalci Písma viděli divy, které konal, a děti, jak v chrámě křičí: „Hosana, Synu Davidův!“ rozhořčili se. 16„Slyšíš, co říkají?“ ptali se ho. „Ovšem,“ odvětil Ježíš. „Copak jste nikdy nečetli: ‚Z úst nemluvňátek a kojenců sis připravil chválu‘?“ 17Potom je opustil a odešel z města do Betanie, kde přenocoval. 18Za svítání cestou zpět do města dostal hlad. 19Uviděl u cesty jeden fíkovník, šel k němu, ale nenašel na něm nic než listí. Řekl mu tedy: „Ať se z tebe už navěky nerodí ovoce!“ A ten fíkovník hned uschl. 20Když to viděli učedníci, podivili se: „Jak to, že ten fíkovník tak rychle uschl?“ 21Ježíš jim odpověděl: „Amen, říkám vám, když budete mít víru a nebudete pochybovat, nejenže budete moci tohle udělat fíkovníku, ale i kdybyste řekli této hoře: ‚Zvedni se a vrhni se do moře!‘ stane se to. 22Když budete věřit, dostanete, o cokoli v modlitbě požádáte.“ 23Když přišel do chrámu a vyučoval tam, přistoupili k němu vrchní kněží a starší lidu se slovy: „Jakým právem to děláš? Kdo tě k tomu zmocnil?!“ 24„Já se vás také na něco zeptám,“ řekl jim na to Ježíš. „Když mi odpovíte, i já vám odpovím, jakým právem to dělám. 25Odkud se vzal Janův křest? Z nebe, nebo z lidí?“ Začali se tedy mezi sebou dohadovat: „Když řekneme, že z nebe, řekne: ‚Tak proč jste mu nevěřili?‘ 26Když řekneme, že z lidí, musíme se bát zástupu, protože všichni mají Jana za proroka.“ 27Nakonec mu řekli: „Nevíme.“ „Ani já vám tedy neřeknu, jakým právem to dělám,“ odpověděl jim Ježíš. 28„Co myslíte? Jeden člověk měl dva syny. Šel za prvním a řekl: ‚Synu, jdi dnes pracovat na vinici.‘ 29Odpověděl: ‚Nechce se mi,‘ ale pak si to rozmyslel a šel. 30Potom šel za druhým a řekl mu totéž. Ten odpověděl: ‚Ano, pane, půjdu,‘ ale nešel. 31Který z těch dvou naplnil otcovu vůli?“ „Ten první,“ řekli. Ježíš jim odpověděl: „Amen, říkám vám, že výběrčí daní a nevěstky jdou do Božího království před vámi. 32Když k vám Jan přišel cestou spravedlnosti, nevěřili jste mu, ale výběrčí daní a nevěstky mu uvěřili. Ale ani potom, co jste to viděli, jste si nerozmysleli, že mu uvěříte.“ 33„Poslechněte si další podobenství: Jeden hospodář vysadil vinici, obehnal ji plotem, vykopal v ní lis a postavil věž. Pak ji pronajal vinařům a vydal se na cestu. 34Když se přiblížil čas vinobraní, poslal k vinařům své služebníky, aby převzali její úrodu. 35Vinaři se těch služebníků chopili a jednoho ztloukli, jiného zabili a dalšího kamenovali. 36Poslal tedy ještě jiné služebníky, více než předtím, a těm udělali totéž. 37Nakonec k nim poslal svého syna. Řekl si: ‚Před mým synem se zastydí.‘ 38Když ale vinaři toho syna uviděli, řekli si: ‚Tohle je dědic. Pojďme ho zabít a zmocnit se dědictví!‘ 39Chopili se ho, vyvlekli z vinice ven a zabili. 40Co tedy pán vinice udělá s oněmi vinaři, až přijde?“ 41Odpověděli mu: „Ty zlosyny zle zahubí a vinici pronajme jiným vinařům, kteří mu budou odevzdávat ovoce v čas sklizně.“ 42Ježíš jim řekl: „Nikdy jste nečetli v Písmech? ‚Kámen staviteli zavržený stal se kamenem úhelným. Sám Hospodin to učinil a v našich očích je to div.‘ 43Proto vám říkám, že Boží království vám bude vzato a bude dáno lidu, který ponese jeho ovoce. 44Kdo upadne na ten kámen, ten se roztříští, a na koho ten kámen padne, toho rozdrtí.“ 45Když vrchní kněží a farizeové slyšeli ta jeho podobenství, pochopili, že mluví o nich, 46a chtěli ho zatknout. Báli se ale zástupů, protože lidé ho měli za proroka.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 23 THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS QUESTIONED AND THE REPLY--THE PARABLES OF THE TWO SONS, AND OF THE WICKED HUSBANDMAN. ( = Mark 11:27-12:12; Luke 20:1-19). (Mat. 21:23-46)
By what authority doest thou these things!--referring particularly to the expulsion of the buyers and sellers from the temple, and who gave thee this authority?
24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, &c.
25 The baptism of John--meaning his whole mission and ministry, of which baptism was the proper character.
whence was it? from heaven, or of men?--What wisdom there was in this way of meeting their question will best appear by their reply.
If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?--"Why did ye not believe the testimony which he bore to Me, as the promised and expected Messiah?" for that was the burden of John's whole testimony.
26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people--rather, "the multitude." In Luke (
Luke 20:6) it is, "all the people will stone us."
for all hold John as a prophet--Crooked, cringing hypocrites! No wonder Jesus gave you no answer.
27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell--Evidently their difficulty was, how to answer, so as neither to shake their determination to reject the claims of Christ nor damage their reputation with the people. For the truth itself they cared nothing whatever.
Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things--What composure and dignity of wisdom does our Lord here display, as He turns their question upon themselves, and, while revealing His knowledge of their hypocrisy, closes their mouths! Taking advantage of the surprise, silence, and awe produced by this reply, our Lord followed it up immediately by the two following parables.
Parable of the Two Sons (
Matt 21:28-
Matt 21:32).
28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard--for true religion is a practical thing, a "bringing forth fruit unto God."
29 He answered and said, I will not--TRENCH notices the rudeness of this answer, and the total absence of any attempt to excuse such disobedience, both characteristic; representing careless, reckless sinners resisting God to His face.
30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir--"I, sir." The emphatic "I," here, denotes the self-righteous complacency which says, "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men" (
Luke 18:11).
and went not--He did not "afterward repent" and refuse to go; for there was here no intention to go. It is the class that "say and do not" (
Matt 23:3) --a falseness more abominable to God, says STIER, than any "I will not."
31 Whether of them twain did the will of his Father? They say unto him, The first--Now comes the application.
Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go--or, "are going"; even now entering, while ye hold back.
into the kingdom of God before you--The publicans and the harlots were the first son, who, when told to work in the Lord's vineyard, said, I will not; but afterwards repented and went. Their early life was a flat and flagrant refusal to do what they were commanded; it was one continued rebellion against the authority of God. The chief priests and the elders of the people, with whom our Lord was now speaking, were the second son, who said, I go, sir, but went not. They were early called, and all their life long professed obedience to God, but never rendered it; their life was one of continued disobedience.
32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness--that is, calling you to repentance; as Noah is styled "a preacher of righteousness" (
2Pet 2:5), when like the Baptist he warned the old world to "flee from the wrath to come."
and ye believed him not--They did not reject him; nay, they "were willing for a season to rejoice in his light" (
John 5:35); but they would not receive his testimony to Jesus.
but the publicans and the harlots believed him--Of the publicans this is twice expressly recorded,
Luke 3:12;
Luke 7:29. Of the harlots, then, the same may be taken for granted, though the fact is not expressly recorded. These outcasts gladly believed the testimony of John to the coming Saviour, and so hastened to Jesus when He came. See
Luke 7:37;
Luke 15:1, &c.
and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him--Instead of being "provoked to jealousy" by their example, ye have seen them flocking to the Saviour and getting to heaven, unmoved.
Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen (
Matt 21:33-
Matt 21:46).
33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard--(See on
Luke 13:6).
and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower--These details are taken, as is the basis of the parable itself, from that beautiful parable of
Isa 5:1-
Isa 5:7, in order to fix down the application and sustain it by Old Testament authority.
and let it out to husbandmen--These are just the ordinary spiritual guides of the people, under whose care and culture the fruits of righteousness are expected to spring up.
and went into a far country--"for a long time" (
Luke 20:9), leaving the vineyard to the laws of the spiritual husbandry during the whole time of the Jewish economy. On this phraseology, see on
Mark 4:26.
34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen--By these "servants" are meant the prophets and other extraordinary messengers, raised up from time to time. See on
Matt 23:37.
that they might receive the fruits of it--Again see on
Luke 13:6.
35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one--see
Jer 37:15;
Jer 38:6.
and killed another--see
Jer 26:20-
Jer 26:23.
and stoned another--see
2Chr 24:21. Compare with this whole verse
Matt 23:37, where our Lord reiterates these charges in the most melting strain.
36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they did unto them likewise--see
2Kgs 17:13;
2Chr 36:16,
2Chr 36:18;
Neh 9:26.
37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son--In Mark (
Mark 12:6) this is most touchingly expressed: "Having yet therefore one son, His well-beloved, He sent Him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence My Son." Luke's version of it too (
Luke 20:13) is striking: "Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send My beloved Son: it may be they will reverence Him when they see Him." Who does not see that our Lord here severs Himself, by the sharpest line of demarcation, from all merely human messengers, and claims for Himself Sonship in its loftiest sense? (Compare
Heb 3:3-
Heb 3:6). The expression, "It may be they will reverence My Son," is designed to teach the almost unimaginable guilt of not reverentially welcoming God's Son.
38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves--Compare
Gen 37:18-
Gen 37:20;
John 11:47-
John 11:53.
This is the heir--Sublime expression this of the great truth, that God's inheritance was destined for, and in due time is to come into the possession of, His own Son in our nature (
Heb 1:2).
come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance--that so, from mere servants, we may become lords. This is the deep aim of the depraved heart; this is emphatically "the root of all evil."
39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard--compare
Heb 13:11-
Heb 13:13 ("without the gate--without the camp");
1Kgs 21:13;
John 19:17.
and slew him.
40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh--This represents "the settling time," which, in the case of the Jewish ecclesiastics, was that judicial trial of the nation and its leaders which issued in the destruction of their whole state.
what will he do unto those husbandmen?
41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men--an emphatic alliteration not easily conveyed in English: "He will badly destroy those bad men," or "miserably destroy those miserable men," is something like it.
and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons--If this answer was given by the Pharisees, to whom our Lord addressed the parable, they thus unwittingly pronounced their own condemnation: as did David to Nathan the prophet (
2Sam 12:5-7), and Simon the Pharisee to our Lord (
Luke 7:43, &c.). But if it was given, as the two other Evangelists agree in representing it, by our Lord Himself, and the explicitness of the answer would seem to favor that supposition, then we can better explain the exclamation of the Pharisees which followed it, in Luke's report (
Luke 20:16) --"And when they heard it, they said, God forbid"--His whole meaning now bursting upon them.
42 Jesus saith unto them. Did ye never read in the scriptures-- (
Ps 118:22-
Ps 118:23).
The stone which the builders rejected, &c.--A bright Messianic prophecy, which reappears in various forms (
Isa 28:16, &c.), and was made glorious use of by Peter before the Sanhedrim (
Acts 4:11). He recurs to it in his first epistle (
1Pet 2:4-6).
43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God--God's visible Kingdom, or Church, upon earth, which up to this time stood in the seed of Abraham.
shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof--that is, the great evangelical community of the faithful, which, after the extrusion of the Jewish nation, would consist chiefly of Gentiles, until "all Israel should be saved" (
Rom 11:25-
Rom 11:26). This vastly important statement is given by Matthew only.
44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder--The Kingdom of God is here a Temple, in the erection of which a certain stone, rejected as unsuitable by the spiritual builders, is, by the great Lord of the House, made the keystone of the whole. On that Stone the builders were now "falling" and being "broken" (
Isa 8:15). They were sustaining great spiritual hurt; but soon that Stone should "fall upon them" and "grind them to powder" (
Dan 2:34-
Dan 2:35;
Zech 12:2) --in their corporate capacity, in the tremendous destruction of Jerusalem, but personally, as unbelievers, in a more awful sense still.
45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables--referring to that of the Two Sons and this one of the Wicked Husbandmen.
they perceived that he spake of them.
46 But when they sought to lay hands on him--which Luke (
Luke 20:19) says they did "the same hour," hardly able to restrain their rage.
they feared the multitude--rather, "the multitudes."
because they took him for a prophet--just as they feared to say John's baptism was of men, because the masses took him for a prophet (
Matt 21:26). Miserable creatures! So, for this time, "they left Him and went their way" (
Mark 12:12).
