Luke 20:17 Kommentar

In this chapter we have, I. Christ's answer to the chief priests' question concerning his authority (Luk 20:1-8). II. The parable of the vineyard let out to the unjust and rebellious husbandmen (Luk 20:9-19). III. Christ's answer to the question proposed to him concerning the lawfulness of paying tribute to Caesar (Luk 20:20-26). IV. His vindication of that great fundamental doctrine of the Jewish and Christian institutes - the resurrection of the dead and the future state, from the foolish cavils of the Sadducees (Luk 20:27-38). V. His puzzling the scribes with a question concerning the Messiah's being the Son of David (Luk 20:39-44). VI. The caution he gave his disciples to take heed of the scribes (Luk 20:45-47). All which passages we had before in Matthew and Mark, and therefore need not enlarge upon them here, unless on those particulars which we had not there.

And it came to pass, that on one of those days,.... According to the account of the Evangelist Mark, it must be the second day, or two days after his public entrance into Jerusalem; for on the evening of the day he made his entry, he went out to Bethany with his disciples; the next morning, as he returned from thence, he cursed the barren fig tree; and when he came to the temple cast out the buyers and sellers; at evening he went out again, either to Bethany, or the Mount of Olives; and the next morning, as he and his disciples returned, the fig tree was observed to be dried up; and when they were come to Jerusalem, as he was walking in the temple, he was attacked by the sanhedrim, and had the following discourse with them: as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the Gospel; for he taught them by preaching that, and which he did most clearly, faithfully, and publicly, being abundantly anointed and qualified for it, and sent to do it. The chief priests, and the Scribes, came upon him, with the elders. The whole sanhedrim being purposely convened together, came upon him in a body; and it may be suddenly, and at an unawares, and came open mouthed against him, and attacked him with great warmth and vehemency.

And the chief priests, and the Scribes, that same hour,.... As soon as he had delivered the above parable, together with that of the two sons: sought to lay hands on him; they had a good will to it, being exceedingly gravelled with the question he put to them concerning John's baptism, which confounded them, and put them to silence; and with the parables he delivered, in which they were so manifestly pointed at: and they feared the people; lest they should rise and stone them, as in Luk 20:6 or rescue him out of their hands; for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them: and that they were the husbandmen that had used the servants of God so ill, and would put to death the son of God, the Messiah; and who would at length be destroyed themselves, and the kingdom of God be taken from them, though they seem to detest and deprecate it, saying in Luk 20:16 God forbid; that we should kill the heir, or that we should be destroyed, and the vineyard given to others: these things grievously nettled them, and exasperated them against him; but they knew not how to help themselves at present.

Christ is called a stone on account of His earthly body, cut out without hands, (Dan. 2:34.) as in the vision of Daniel, because of His birth of the Virgin. But the stone is neither of silver nor gold, because He is not any glorious King, but a man lowly and despised, wherefore the builders rejected Him.

He led them to the point of judging themselves, saying, “What do the vinedressers deserve?” They made a pronouncement concerning themselves, saying, “Let him destroy the evil ones with evil.” He then explained this, saying, “Have you not read that the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner?” What stone is this? It is the one known to be as hard as lead. See, he has said, “I am setting a plumb line in the midst of the sons of Israel.” To show that he himself was this stone, he said concerning it, “Whoever knocks against that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush and destroy whomsoever it falls upon.” The leaders of the people were gathered together against him and wanted his downfall because his teaching did not please them. He said, “It will crush and destroy whomsoever it falls upon,” because he got rid of idolatry along with other such things. “The stone that struck the image has become a great mountain, and the whole earth has been filled with it.”

(de con. Ev. lib. iv. cap. 70.) Or else, in the multitude of which we are speaking there were those who craftily asked our Lord by what authority He acted; there were those also who not craftily, but faithfully, cried aloud, Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord. And so there would be some who would say, He will miserably destroy those husbandmen, and let out his vineyard to others. Which are rightly said to have been the words of our Lord Himself, either on account of their truth, or because of the unity of the members with the head; while there would be others also who would say to those who made this answer, God forbid, inasmuch as they understood the parable was spoken against themselves. It follows, And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?

Although he was a chosen stone, those who had the duty to build up the synagogue of the Jews in everything that was edifying rejected the Savior. He still became the head of the corner. Now the sacred Scripture compares with a corner the gathering together or joining of the two people. I mean Israel and the Gentiles in the sameness of sentiment and faith. The Savior has built the two people into one new person by making peace and reconciling the two in one body to the Father. This resembles a corner, which unites two walls and binds them together. Blessed David wondered at this corner or gathering together of the two people into one. He said, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This [the corner] has been done by the Lord, and is marvelous in our eyes." Christ has bound together the two people in the bonds of love and in the same sentiment and faith.

But holy Scripture compares to a corner the meeting together of the two nations, the Jew and the Gentile, into one faith. (1 Pet. 2:7. Eph. 2:20.) For the Saviour has compacted both peoples into one new man, reconciling them in one body to the Father. Of saving help then is that stone to the corner made by it, but to the Jews who resist this spiritual union, it bringeth destruction.

(in Marc. 12.) Or understanding it morally; to every one of the faithful is let out a vineyard to cultivate, in that the mystery of baptism is entrusted to him to work out. One servant is sent, a second and a third, when the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets are read. But the servant who is sent is said to be treated despitefully or beaten, when the word heard is despised or blasphemed. The heir who is sent that man kills as far as he can, who by sin tramples under foot the Son of God. (Heb. 6:6.) The wicked husbandman being destroyed, the vineyard is given to another, when with the gift of grace, which the proud man spurned, the humble are enriched.

But he, looking at them, said: What then is this that is written: The stone which the builders rejected, this one has become the head of the corner? How, he says, will this prophecy be fulfilled, which says that the stone rejected by the builders is to be made the head of the corner, unless it be that Christ, rejected and killed by you, is to be preached to the believing nations? So that, like a cornerstone binding together two into itself, from both peoples he builds for himself one city of the faithful, one temple. For the same teachers of the Synagogue whom he had previously called husbandmen, he now calls builders, because those who were instructed to cultivate the people subject to them to bear fruits of life like a vineyard, were commanded to build and adorn this for God as a worthy dwelling, like a house. Whence also the Apostle writing to the faithful says: You are God's husbandry, God's building (I Cor. III). But those who refused the fruit of God's vineyard as bad husbandmen, the same ones as bad masons attempted to remove the precious chosen stone from the house of God, which was to be placed either in the foundations or in the corner, that is, they tried to take away the faith of Christ from their hearers. But even though they were unwilling, this same stone made the head of the corner, because from both peoples, as many as he willed, he joined together in his faith.

As if He said, How shall the prophecy be fulfilled, except that Christ, being rejected and slain by you, is to be preached to the Gentiles, who will believe on Him, that as the corner stone He may thus from both nations build up one temple to Himself?

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).

For the rulers of the people rejected Him, when they said, This man is not of God. (John 9:16.) But He was so useful and so precious, that He was placed as the head stone of the corner.

The question concerning the authority of Christ, and the baptism of John, Luk 20:1-8. The parable of the vine-yard let out to wicked husbandmen, Luk 20:9-18. The chief priests and scribes are offended, and lay snares for him, Luk 20:19, Luk 20:20. The question about tribute, Luk 20:21-26. The question about the resurrection of the dead, and our Lord's answer, Luk 20:27-40. How Christ is the son of David, Luk 20:41-44. He warns his disciples against the hypocrisy of the scribes, whose condemnation he points out, Luk 20:45-47.

THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS QUESTIONED, AND HIS REPLY--PARABLE OF THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN. (Luke 20:1-19) these things--particularly the clearing of the temple.

written--(in Psa 118:22-23. See on Luk 19:38). 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), "sustaining great spiritual hurt; but soon that Stone should fall upon them and grind them to powder" (Dan 2:34-35; Zac 12:3) --in their corporate capacity in the tremendous destruction of Jerusalem, but personally, as unbelievers, in a more awful sense still.