Lucas 20

Theophylact of Ohrid

Lucas 20:1

The Lord, having entered Jerusalem with glory, as proof of His authority does that which cleanses the house of His Father from traders (Lk 19:45–46). He did this also at the beginning of His preaching, as the evangelist John says (Jn 2:13–18). And now He does the same again, a second time. This serves as a greater accusation against the Jews, that they were not brought to their senses by His first open admonition, but continued trading in the temple and called Him an opponent of God, whereas He honors the Father and God to such a degree that He cleanses His house from traders. In reproach of them He also brings forward the words of Isaiah: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Is 56:7). — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:2

But they foolishly ask Him: "By what authority do You do these things?" Yet it was possible for them to understand that since He brought forward the words of the prophet as testimony that the house of God is a house of prayer, and not a marketplace and a den of robbers (for greed and trading are characteristic of robbers), then what need, after all, is there to ask Him by what authority He does these things, when one can directly conclude that God so commands through the prophet? But they ask: "By what authority do You do these things?" The Law, they say, granted the right to manage the temple to those descended from Levi; how then do You, who are not descended from the tribe of Levi, do this and seize sacred rights? But, O Jews, remember the words of David: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Ps 109:4). Melchizedek is called a priest. And Melchizedek was a priest neither according to the Law nor by descent from the tribe of Levi. For how could this be, when he lived so many years before Levi? Then, why do you demand from Christ a legal procedure? God is not subject to laws. When it was necessary, He commanded that the priests be from the tribe of Levi, but now He abolishes that law and foreordains the priesthood of Melchizedek. Therefore He also drives out those selling sacrificial animals, such as sheep and doves — on the one hand, to preserve the beauty and decorum of the temple, and on the other, to show that one should no longer believe in the propitiation of God through animal sacrifices. Thus, it would have been easy for the Lord to answer them that "so it is said," and to say that so the prophet commands, or rather, God. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:3-4

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] For that He might show that they had always rebelled against the Holy Spirit, and that besides Isaiah, whom they remembered not, they had refused to believe John whom they had lately seen; He now in his turn puts the question to them, proving that if so great a Prophet as John who was accounted greatest among them had been disbelieved when he testified of Him, they would in no wise believe Him, answering by what authority He did this. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:3-4

However, in order to expose them for their constant resistance to the Holy Spirit and for their unwillingness to believe not only the ancient prophet Isaiah, who had perhaps been forgotten by them, but also John, who had appeared so recently and was almost immaterial and incorporeal, He in turn gives them a real and admirable question in response to their question. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:8

With this question He both silences them and shows us that if they did not believe such a prophet as John, who in their opinion was greater than He, when John testified concerning Him, then how would they have believed His answer as to by what authority He does these things? For whatever He might have said, they could in any case have twisted it and mocked it, just as they had also despised the words of John, who was held in great esteem among them. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:9

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] Or each one of the people is the vineyard, each likewise is the husbandman, for every one of us takes care of himself. Having committed then the vineyard to the husbandmen, he went away, that is, he left them to the guidance of their own judgment. Hence it follows, And went into a far country for a long time. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:9

This parable is brief, but it teaches us much that is great, namely: that God had and showed a special providence toward the Hebrews, that they have long been inclined to murder, that the God of the Old and New Testaments is one, that the Gentiles will be brought in, and the Jews rejected. The vineyard is the Jewish church itself, the vinedressers are the scribes and Pharisees, those leading men and overseers of the people. Or: each person in himself is both vineyard and vinedresser, for each of us cultivates himself. The Lover of mankind, having given this vineyard to the workers, "went away," that is, He left them to act according to their own free will. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:10

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] He says of the fruit of the vineyard, because not the whole fruit, but part only, He wished to receive. For what does God gain from us, but His own knowledge, which is also our profit. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:10-12

He sends various "servants," that is, prophets, so as to have at least some small profit; for He desired, it says, to receive "some of the fruit," and not all the fruit. And what fruit is there from us to God, if not the knowledge of Him? And this is our gain; yet He counts our salvation and our benefit as His own. The wicked tenants mistreated those who were sent, beat them, and sent them away empty-handed, that is, they reached such ingratitude that they not only turned away from good and gave no good fruit, but also committed evil, which deserves greater punishment. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:13

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] After the prophets then had suffered all these things, the Son is delegated; for it follows, Then said the Lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? That the Lord of the vineyard speaks doubtingly, arises not from ignorance, for what is there that the Lord knows not? but He is said to hesitate, that the free will of man may be preserved. Now He said this, not as ignorant that they would treat Him worse than they did the prophets, but because the Son ought to be reverenced by them. But if they should still be rebellious and slay Him, this would crown their iniquity. Lest therefore any should say that the Divine Presence has necessarily been the cause of their disobedience, He uses purposely this doubtful mode of speech. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:13-14

After the prophets had endured such terrible evil, the Son is sent. "Perhaps," He says, "they will be ashamed" before My Son. He says "they will be ashamed" not because He does not know the future — namely, that they will treat Him far worse than the prophets — but because this is how it should have been: they should have been ashamed before Him. But if they were so shameless that they even killed Him, this serves as a greater accusation against them, because even after God declared that it would have been good to be ashamed before the Son, they rendered the opposite verdict. This manner of speaking is found in many places of Scripture, for example: "Perhaps... they will listen" (Jer. 26:3); "whether they will listen" (Ezek. 2:5, 3:11). In these places God speaks this way not out of ignorance of the future, but He uses such a manner of expression so that no one would say that God's foreknowledge was the necessary cause of their disobedience. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:15

They "killed" the Son, "casting him out of the vineyard." One could fittingly say: out of Jerusalem, for Christ suffered "outside the gate" (Heb. 13:12). But since above we understood the vineyard to mean the people, and not Jerusalem, it is perhaps more to the point to say that the people did kill Him, but outside the vineyard, that is, they did not put Him to death with their own hands, but by handing Him over to Pilate and the Gentiles. Thus, the Lord suffered outside the vineyard, that is, not at the hands of the people, for they were not permitted to put anyone to death, and so He died at the hands of the soldiers. Some understood the vineyard to mean the Scriptures. Thus, the Lord suffered outside the Scriptures, that is, He was killed by those who did not believe Moses. For if they had believed Moses and occupied themselves with the Scriptures, searching them, they would not have killed the Master of the Scriptures. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:15

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] Since we have already assumed the people, not Jerusalem, to be the vineyard, it may perhaps be more properly said that the people indeed slew Him without the vineyard; that is, our Lord suffered without the hands of the people, because in truth the people did not with their own hands inflict death upon Him, but delivered Him up to Pilate and the Gentiles. But some by the vineyard have understood the Scripture, which not believing they slew the Lord. And so without the vineyard, that is, without Scripture, our Lord is said to have suffered. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:16

Having said this, He adds also the sentence which He is about to pronounce upon them, namely: that "He will give the vineyard to others," that is, He will give to others that grace of being called My people. Note: those who say that the vineyard signifies the Scripture seem to guess the meaning more closely, as appears from here. For the Scripture, taken away from the Jews, was handed over to us. And another, bolder person might perhaps say that the vineyard is everything spiritual, whether it be contained in Scripture and laws, or in deeds and histories, all of which the Jews were deprived of, while we enjoy it. As you hear, the Evangelist Luke says that the Lord spoke these words: the master of the vineyard will destroy the ungrateful vinedressers and will give the vineyard to others, and that the Pharisees, hearing this, said: "God forbid!" But the Evangelist Matthew says it differently, namely: the Lord asked, what will the owner of the vineyard do to those vinedressers? And the Jews answered: "He will miserably destroy those wicked men... and will let out the vineyard to others" (Matt. 21:40–41). Is this not a contradiction? Not at all. For probably both things happened: first they themselves pronounced the judgment, as the Evangelist Matthew relates; and then, having realized to whom the parable referred, namely that it was spoken against them, they said again what the Evangelist Luke now relates, namely: "God forbid!" — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:16

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] Now Matthew seems to relate the parable differently; that when our Saviour asked indeed, What will he do then to the husbandmen? the Jews answered, he will miserably destroy them. But there is no difference between the two circumstances. The Jews at first pronounced that opinion, then perceiving the point of the parable said, God forbid, as Luke here relates. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:17

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] 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. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:17

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). — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:18

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] He mentions two condemnations or destructions of them, one indeed of their souls, which they suffered being offended in Christ. And He touches this when He says, Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be shaken to pieces. But the other of their captivity and extermination, which the Stone that was despised by them brought upon them. And He points to this when He says, But upon whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder, or winnow him. For so were the Jews winnowed through the whole world, as the straw from the threshing floor. And mark the order of things; for first comes the wickedness committed against Him, then follows the just vengeance of God. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:18

The Lord speaks here of a twofold destruction. One is the destruction of their souls, which they suffered because they were scandalized. For everyone who falls on this stone will be broken. The other is the destruction from the captivity which this stone brought upon them for their rejection of Him. For "on whomever it falls," it says, "it will crush him." The Jews were crushed and scattered like chaff from one threshing floor — Palestine — into the whole world. Note, then, that first they fell upon this stone, that is, they were scandalized, and then the stone fell upon them and punished them. For first the sin is committed by me, and then the righteous punishment from God overtakes me. But the Jews rejected this stone. And it was so good and chosen that it was placed as the head of the corner and joined and united two walls, that is, the old and the new. Though they ought to have listened to Isaiah, who says: "Sanctify Him, and He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread! And He shall be a sanctuary and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense" (Isa. 8:13–14). — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:19

But even then, when they understood that the Lord was speaking this parable against them, they plotted against Him and would have laid hands on Him, had they not feared the people. The Law also says: "Do not put to death the innocent and the righteous" (Ex. 23:7); but they do not heed it, and instead fear the wrath of men, and, refraining from openly laying hands on Him, they contrive other snares against Him. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:20-22

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] They laid snares for our Lord, but got their own feet entangled in them. Listen to their cunning, And they asked Him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly. Therefore it was intended, in case He said they ought to give tribute to Cæsar, that He should be accused by the people, as placing the nation under the yoke of slavery, but if He forbade them to pay the tax, that they should denounce Him as a stirrer up of divisions to the governor. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:20-22

The Pharisees prepared a net which, in their opinion, the Lord would find difficult to escape, but in this net "their foot was caught" (Ps. 9:16). See what cunning! If the Lord says that tribute ought to be given to Caesar, then they will accuse Him before the people as one who was enslaving the people who are "Abraham's seed" and never served anyone (Jn. 8:33). If He forbids giving tribute, then they will lead Him to the governor as a seditious person. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:23

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] But He escapes their snares, as it follows, Perceiving their craftiness, he said unto them, Why tempt ye me? show me a penny. Whose image and superscription has it? — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:23

But the Lord escapes their snares like a "gazelle," for so the Bride called Him in the Song of Songs (Song 2:9), and He teaches that bodily subjection to the one who rules over our bodies, whether he be a king or a tyrant, in no way hinders us from spiritually pleasing the God of spirits. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:25

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] And observe that He said not, give, but return. For it is a debt. Thy prince protects thee from enemies, renders thy life tranquil. Surely then thou art bound to pay him tribute. Nay, this very piece of money which thou bringest thou hast from him. Return then to the king the king's money. God also has given thee understanding and reason, make then a return of these to Him, that thou mayest not be compared to the beasts, but in all things mayest walk wisely. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:25

"Therefore render," He says, "unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." And notice, He did not say "give," but "render." This, He says, is a debt, therefore pay what is owed. Your sovereign protects you from enemies and makes your life peaceful; for this you owe him tribute. And in another sense: the very thing that you contribute, that is, the coin, you have from him himself. Therefore, return the emperor's coin to him (the emperor) again. Meanwhile, you too have derived benefit from it for yourself, exchanging it and obtaining the necessities of life. So too must one render unto God what is God's. He gave you a mind: return it to Him through rational activity. He gave you reason: return it to Him, not likening yourself to irrational animals, but acting in all things as one endowed with reason. And in general He gave you soul and body: return everything to Him and restore His image for Him, living by faith, with hope, in love. And in another sense one must render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Each of us bears upon himself either the image of God or the image of the prince of this world. When we become like Caesar, becoming sons of the devil, we bear his image upon ourselves. This image must be given back to him and cast off, so that he may have what is his own with him, and find nothing belonging to him in us. Through this the image of God can also be preserved in us in purity. Therefore the Apostle Paul also urges that just as we have borne the image of the earthly, so we should bear the image of the heavenly (1 Cor. 15:49); and in another place: "to put off the former manner of life of the old man" (Eph. 4:22). What is expressed here by the word "render" is expressed by Paul with the word "put off," and what is here called the image of "Caesar" is there called the image of "the earthly," undoubtedly of Adam who sinned, and of "the old man." For the image of the earthly is nothing other than corruption and sin, an image which we bear because we have made ourselves like the apostate, and not the King. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:26

The Pharisees could not catch Jesus in His word before the people. For their special concern was to slander Him before the people as one who was enslaving the nation to the Romans. But this they could not achieve because of His most wise answer. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:26

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] This was their main object, to rebuke Him before the people, which they were unable to do because of the wonderful wisdom of His answer. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:27

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] Now the Sadducees resting upon a weak foundation, did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. For imagining the future life in the resurrection to be carnal, they were justly misled, and hence reviling the doctrine of the resurrection as a thing impossible they invent the story, There were seven brothers, &c. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:27

The Sadducees, basing their speculations on a weak foundation, did not believe in the teaching of the resurrection. Assuming that after the resurrection there would be a bodily life, they naturally fell into error. Therefore, mocking the teaching of the resurrection as absurd, they invented the present senseless story. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:34

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] But our Lord shows that in the resurrection there will be no fleshly conversation, thereby overthrowing their doctrine together with its slender foundation; as it follows, And Jesus said unto them, The children of this world marry, &c. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:34

But the Lord refutes their premise and declares that life there is not bodily. And together with this weak premise and assumption He destroys their teaching as well, saying: you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures and misinterpreting their meaning. "The children of this age," that is, those who beget and are begotten in this world, "marry and are given in marriage," that is, "are wed." But the sons of that age do none of such things, for they cannot even die; therefore there is no marriage there either, but life is angelic, divine. Here there is marriage because there is death, and there is death because there is marriage. But there, when death is abolished, what need is there for marriage? For marriage was established as an aid to mortality and to make up for what is lacking. And where there is no lack whatsoever, what need is there for replenishment? — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:35

But the sons of that age do none of such things, for they cannot even die; therefore there is no marriage there either, but life is angelic, divine. Here there is marriage because there is death, and there is death because there is marriage. But there, when death is abolished, what need is there for marriage? For marriage was established as an aid to mortality and to make up for what is lacking. And where there is no lack whatsoever, what need is there for replenishment? — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:35

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] As if He said, Because it is God who worketh in the resurrection, rightly are they called the sons of God, who are regenerated by the resurrection. For there is nothing carnal seen in the regeneration of them that rise again, there is neither coming together, nor the womb, nor birth. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:36

"For they are equal to the Angels and are sons of God." Why? Because they are sons of the resurrection. These words have the following meaning: I, He says, called them sons of God because in their birth nothing bodily is perceived, but everything is divine. For in the resurrection there is no preceding of union, nor seed, nor womb, nor conception, but God gives birth to our bodies in a way known to Him. Since God acts in the resurrection, those who are reborn through the resurrection are rightly called sons of God. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:36

Lucas 20:37

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] Or to the reason above given the Lord added the testimony of Scripture, Now that the dead are raised, Moses also showed at the bush, (Exod. 3:6.) as the Lord saith, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. As if he said, If the patriarchs have once returned to nothing so as not to live with God in the hope of a resurrection, He would not have said, I am, but, I was, for we are accustomed to speak of things dead and gone thus, I was the Lord or Master of such a thing; but now that He said, I am, He shows that He is the God and Lord of the living. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:37

To His logical argument the Lord also adds testimony from Scripture. Moses says that God said to him from the bush: "I am the God of Abraham" and so forth (Exod. 3:6). — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:38

If the patriarchs had been utterly destroyed and were not alive before God by the hope of the resurrection, He would not have said "I am," but "I was." For concerning things damaged and lost we usually say: I "was" the owner of such-and-such a thing. But now, when God said "I am," He showed that He is the Lord and God of the living, and not of those who have been utterly destroyed. For although they have died, yet by the hope of the resurrection they are alive, just as Adam, although he was alive, was nevertheless mortal, and it is said of him that he died at the very moment he tasted the forbidden fruit. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:38

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] This is what follows, But he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. For though they have departed from life, yet live they with Him in the hope of a resurrection. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:39

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] But when the Sadducees were silenced, the Scribes commend Jesus, for they were opposed to them, saying to Him, Master, thou hast well said. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:39-40

When the Sadducees were thus put to shame, the scribes, pleased with the victory over them, approved of Jesus as their adversary. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:41

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] Although our Lord was shortly about to enter on His Passion, He proclaims His own Godhead, and that too neither incautiously nor boastfully, but with modesty. For He puts a question to them, and having thrown them into perplexity, leaves them to reason out the conclusion; as it follows, And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:41

Soon about to go to His sufferings, the Lord preaches about His Divinity, and not openly or with pride, but very humbly. For He asks them and, having brought them to perplexity, leaves it to them to draw the conclusion. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:42-43

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] He manifests then that He is not opposed to the Father, but agrees with Him, since the Father resists the Son's enemies, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:44

David, He says, calls Him Lord (Ps. 109:1): how then is He merely his Son? He was indeed a son of David according to the flesh, but at the same time also his God, yet they considered Him only the son of David. Therefore He refutes this opinion of theirs, that Christ is merely a son of David, and declares that He is not opposed to the Father, but has great unity of mind with Him, for the Father vanquishes His enemies. This He said to the scribes. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:44

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] Therefore He asks the question, and having excited their doubts, leaves them to deduce the consequence; as it follows, David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son? — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:46

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] For as He was sending them to teach the world, He rightly warns them not to imitate the pride of the Pharisees. Beware of the Scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, that is, to go forth into public, dressed in fine clothes, which was one of the sins remarked in the rich man. (Luke 16:19.) Which is the way of those who court and hunt after a good reputation, or they do it for the sake of collecting money. It follows, And the chief seats in synagogues. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Lucas 20:46

Since He was sending the disciples as teachers into the world, He rightly urges them not to imitate the Pharisees in their love of glory, their love of preeminence, and in general their worldliness and people-pleasing. For to carefully seek out greetings in the marketplaces is characteristic of those who flatter every person they meet and curry a favorable opinion of themselves, or who use this as a means of collecting money. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:47

"They devour," He says, "the houses of widows," filling their bellies and squandering beyond what is proper. And the pretext for this is seemingly pious. For, under the pretense of prayer and spiritual benefit, they teach not fasting, but drunkenness and gluttony, and for this, He says, "they will receive the greater condemnation," because they not only do evil, but also cloak it with prayer. Their appearance is pious, yet they make virtue a pretext for wickedness. Therefore they deserve even greater condemnation, since they bring reproach upon what is good. Widows ought to be pitied, but these men enter their houses supposedly to bless them with lengthy prayers. Meanwhile, the widows are compelled on account of their visits to bear expenses, and are thus ruined. — Commentary on Luke

Lucas 20:47

[(as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)] Because they not only do what is evil, but make a pretence of prayer, so making virtue an excuse for their sin. They also impoverish widows whom they were bound to pity, by their presence driving them to great expenses. — Catena Aurea by Aquinas