A Brief Bible History: A Survey of the Old and New TestamentsMachen, J. Gresham (John Gresham)
Religion
A Brief Bible History: A Survey of the Old and New Testaments
Machen, J. Gresham (John Gresham)
Bible stories, English
The next day, Tuesday, was a day of teaching. Our Lord spent the day
in the Temple, meeting the attacks of his enemies. And he had an
answer to every inquiry; the trick questions of his enemies always
redounded to their own rebuke.
Matthew 21:23-32, and Parallels
First our Lord was questioned as to the authority by which he had
cleansed the Temple the day before. Matt. 21:23-32, and parallels.
He answered that question by another question: "The baptism of
John, whence was it? from heaven or from men?" The chief priests
and elders could not say. They were not really sincere seekers for
divine authority. But Jesus was not content with having silenced
them. He also pointed out, positively, their sin in not receiving
the word of God which had come through John.
Matthew 21:33-46, and Parallels
Still more scathing was the rebuke which Jesus uttered through the
parable of the Wicked Husbandmen. Matt. 21:33-46, and parallels. The
wicked husbandmen had been put in charge of a vineyard. But when
the time came to render the fruit of the vineyard to the owner,
they killed the servants who were sent to them and finally the
owner's son. The chief priests and Pharisees needed no elaborate
explanation; they would probably in any case have applied the
parable to themselves. But as a matter of fact Jesus made the
application abundantly plain. "The kingdom of God," he said, "shall
be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing
forth the fruits thereof."
Matthew 22:1-14
Just as plainly directed against the wicked leaders of the people,
and against the rebellious nation itself, was the parable of the
Marriage of the King's Son. Matt. 22:1-14. Those who were bidden
to the feast refused to come in; but from the highways and hedges
the king's house was filled. So the covenant people, the Jews, had
rejected the divine invitation; but the despised Gentiles would be
received.
Matthew 22:15-40, and Parallels
The rulers would have liked to put Jesus to death at once; but they
still feared the people. So they adopted the underhand method of
trying to catch him in his speech. First came the Pharisees and
the Herodians, the latter being the partisans of the Herodian
dynasty, with their adroit question about giving tribute to Cæsar,
Matt. 22:15-22, and parallels; then the Sadducees, the worldly
aristocracy, who did not believe in the resurrection, with their
attempt to make the doctrine of the resurrection ridiculous, vs.
23-33, and parallels; then an individual Pharisee with his question
about the greatest commandment in the law. Vs. 24-40, and parallels.
Jesus had a wonderful, profound answer for them all. But only the
last inquirer seems to have been at all willing to learn. "Thou art
not far," Jesus said to him, "from the kingdom of God." Mark 12:34.
Matthew 22:41-46, and Parallels
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account