In chapter 22, their conduct with respect to the invitations of grace is
presented in its turn. The parable is therefore a similitude of the kingdom
of heaven. The purpose of God is to honour His Son by celebrating His
marriage. First of all the Jews, already invited, are bidden to the
marriage feast. They would not come. This was done during Christ's
lifetime. Afterwards, all things being ready, He again sends forth
messengers to induce them to come. This is the mission of the apostles to
the nation, when the work of redemption had been accomplished. They either
despise the message or slay the messengers.
[see note #64] The result is the
destruction of those wicked men and of their city. This is the destruction
that fell upon Jerusalem. On their rejection of the invitation, the
destitute, the Gentiles, those who were outside, are brought in to the
feast, and the wedding is furnished with guests. Another thing is now
presented. It is true, that we have seen the judgment of Jerusalem in this
parable, but, as it is a similitude of the kingdom, we have the judgment of
that which is within the kingdom also. There must be fitness for the
occasion. For a wedding feast there must be a wedding garment. If Christ is
to be glorified, everything must be according to His glory. There may be an
outward entrance into the kingdom, a profession of Christianity; but he who
is not clothed with that which appertains to the feast will be cast out. We
must be clothed with Christ Himself. On the other hand, all is
prepared-nothing is required. It was not the guest's part to bring
anything; the King provided all. But we must be imbued with the spirit of
that which is done. If there is any thought of what was suitable to a
wedding feast, the need of a wedding garment to appear in would surely be
felt: if not, the honour of the King's Son has been forgotten. The heart
was a stranger to it; the man himself shall become so by the judgment of
the King when He takes cognizance of the guests who have come in.
Thus also grace has been shewn to Israel, and they are judged for refusing
the invitation of the great King to the marriage of His Son. And then the
abuse of this grace by those who appear to accept it is also judged. The
bringing in of the Gentiles is declared.
Here concludes the history of the judgment of Israel in general, and of the
character which the kingdom would assume.
After this (chap. 22: 15, et seq.) the different classes of the Jews come
forward, each in turn. First, the Pharisees and the Herodians (that is,
those who favoured the authority of the Romans, and those who were opposed
to it) seek to entangle Jesus in His talk. The blessed Lord answers them
with that perfect wisdom that ever displayed itself in all He said and all
He did. On their part, it was pure wickedness manifesting a total want of
conscience. It was their own sin that had brought them under the Roman
yoke-a position contrary indeed to that which should have belonged to the
people of God on earth. Apparently therefore Christ must either become an
object of suspicion to the authorities, or renounce His claim to be the
Messiah and consequently the Deliverer. Who had occasioned this dilemma? It
was the fruit of their own sins. The Lord shews them that they had
themselves accepted the yoke. The money bore the mark of this: let them
render it then to those unto whom it belonged, and let them also-which they
were not doing-render unto God the things that were God's. He leaves them
under the yoke which they were obliged to confess they had accepted. He
reminds them of the rights of God; which they had forgotten. Such might
moreover have been Israel's state according to the establishment of power
in Nebuchadnezzar, as a "spreading vine of low stature."
The Sadducees come next before Him, and question Him as to the
resurrection, thinking to prove its absurdity. Thus, as the condition of
the nation had been exhibited in His discourse with the Pharisees, the
unbelief of the Sadducees is displayed here. They thought only of the
things of this world, seeking to deny the existence of another. But
whatever the state of degradation and subjection into which the people had
fallen, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, changed not. The
promises made to the fathers remained sure, and the fathers were living to
enjoy these promises hereafter. It was the word and the power of God which
were in question. The Lord maintains them with power and evidence. The
Sadducees were silenced.
The lawyers, struck with His reply, ask a question, which gives the Lord
occasion to extract from the whole law, that which, in the sight of God, is
its essence, presenting thus its perfection, and that which-by whatever
means it may be reached-forms the happiness of those that walk in it. Grace
alone rises higher.
Here their questioning ceases. All is judged, all is brought to light with
respect to the position of the people, and the sects of Israel; and the
Lord has laid before them the perfect thoughts of God respecting them,
whether on the subject of their condition, of His promises, or of the
substance of the law.
It was now the Lord's turn to propose His question in order to bring out
His own position. He asks the Pharisees to reconcile the title of Son of
David with that of Lord which David himself gave Him, and that in
connection with the ascension of this same Christ to sit at the right hand
of God until God had made all His enemies His footstool, and established
His throne in Zion. Now this was the whole of Christ's position at that
moment. They were unable to answer Him, and no man durst ask Him any more
questions. In fact, to understand that Psalm, would have been to understand
all the ways of God with respect to His Son at the time they were going to
reject Him. This necessarily closed these discourses by shewing the true
position of Christ, who, although the Son of David, must ascend on high to
receive the kingdom, and, while waiting for it, sit at the right hand of
God according to the rights of His glorious Person-David's Lord, as well as
David's Son.
There is another point of interest to be remarked here. In these interviews
and these discourses with the different classes of the Jews, the Lord
brings out the condition of the Jews on all sides with respect to their
relations with God, and then the position which He took Himself. He first
shews their national position towards God, as under responsibility to Him,
according to natural conscience and the privileges belonging to them. The
result would be their cutting off, and the bringing in of others into the
Lord's vineyard. This is chapter 21: 28-46. He then exhibits their
condition with regard to the grace of the kingdom, and the introduction of
Gentile sinners. Here also the result is the cutting off and the
destruction of the city.
[see note #65] Afterwards the Herodians and the
Pharisees, the friends of the Romans and their enemies, the pretended
friends of God, bring out the true position of the Jews with respect to the
imperial power of the Gentiles and to God. In His interview with the
Sadducees, He shews the certainty of the promises made to the fathers, and
the relationship in which God stood to them in respect of life and
resurrection. After this He puts the real meaning of the law before the
scribes; and then the position which He took, Himself the Son of David,
according to Psalm 110, which was linked with His rejection by the leaders
of the nation who stood around Him.
