The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 173

his approaching and dreadful doom l The result of this murder of God's Son is to be the transference of the theocracy from the Jews to other husbandmen. 'l'he chief pri~ts- a1:1d scribes_ are to be supplanted by apostles; and Judaism to give place to Chnst1amty. Seemg that the parable was spoken against them, they c1·y "God forbid I" but Jesus clinches ~is argument by_ apt quotation from their own Sc;iptures. He asks, " Is not the stone reJected of the builders to become the head of the corner ? And will not all who collide with it be either broken or ground to powder?" In this way he claims to be the test of men, and his rejection to be fatal and final.-R. M. E. Vers. 20-40.-Christ supreme in debate. We have seen in the last section how our Lord told a parable whose bearing was unmistakably against the Jewish rulers. They are determined., in consequence, to so entrap him in discussion as, if possible, to bring him withir. the grasr of the Roman governor. But in entering the doubtful field of debate with a base purpose such as this, it was, as the sequel shows, only to be vanquished. Jesus proves more than a match for the two batches of artful men who try to entrap him. Let us look at the victories separately, and then at Jesus remaining Master of the field. I. Hrs VICTORY OVER THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY, (Vers, 21-26.) This party was composed mainly of Pharisees. They corresponded to the modern revolutionary party in settled or conquered states. They were constantly fomenting sedition, plottin"' against the Roman power, the sworn enemies of Cmsar. 'fhey come, then, with thei~ difficulty about tribute. But notice: 1. Their real trioute to Christ's character in their pretended flattery. (Ver. 21.) They own to his face that he was too brave to make distinctions among men or to accept their persons. In other words, their testi- mony clearly is that, like God his Father, Jesus was "no respecter of persons." No one is fit to be a teacher of truth who panders to men':i tastes or respects their per- sons. Only the impartie.1 mood and mind can deal with truth truthfully. In the hollow :fla.ttery of the Pharisees we find rich testimony to the excellency of Jesus. 2. Notice their scruple about paying tribute. (Ver. 22.) The law of the nation might possibly be made to teach the duty of being tributary to none. It was this they wished to elicit from him, and so hand him over to the governor as seditious. They wished a. pretext for revolution, and if he furnished them with one and perished for it, so much the better, they imagined.. The baseness of the plot is evident. 'fheir hearts are hostile to Cmsa.r, but they are ready to become "informers" against him for the sake of getting rid of him. 3. Notice how simply he secured a victory. Showing them at once that he knew their designs, he asks th~m to show him a. penny. In his poverty he hardly possessed at this time e. spa.re penny to point his teaching. Having got the penny, be asks about the image on the currency, and receiving for answer that it was Cmsar's, he simply instructs them to give both Cmsar and God their due. Cmsar has his domain as the currency shows. He regulates the outward relations of men, their barter and their cit:zensbip, and by his la.we he makes them keep the peace. But beyond this civil sphere, there is the moral and the religious, where God alone is Kin:g, Let God get his rights as well as Cmsar, and all shall be well. These words of Christ sonnded the death-knell of the Jewish theocracy. '!'hey point out two mutually inde- pendent spheres. They call upon men to be at once loyal citizens and real saints. We may do our duty by the state, while at the same time we a.re conscious citizens of heaven, and serve our unseen Master in all things.1 11 His VICTORY OVER THE SADDUCEEB. (Vers. 27-38.) The Pharisees having been confounded by his subtle power, he is next beset by the rival party, the party of sceptical and worldly tendencies. _They have given over anot~er world e.s e. n◊-:man'.s land the region of undoubted difficulty and puzzle. Especially do they thmk 1t im~ssible to settle the complicated relations into which °;len ~nd women en~er here in any hereafter. Accordingly they state a case where, by d1rect1on of the Mosaic Law, a poor woman became successively t~e wife of se_ven b:oth~rs. In the other ~ife, ~Bk they, whose wife shall she be? Ch~1st's answer. 1B agam tnumpbant through 1t~ e1m- JJlicity. In the immortal life to which resurrection leads there shall be no marrymg or giving in marriage. All shall be like the angels. No di~tinction i~ sex sba.l_l contin~e. All are to be" sons of God, being sons of tLe resurrcct10n" (R~v1sed Version). 'lho 1 Cf. Dcrsier'e 'Sermollll,' tome iv. p. 239, cto. oll, xx. 1-47.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 181