1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| Luke 20:1 | And *it came to pass, in one of the days as he was teaching the people in the temple, and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the Scribes, with the ancients, met together, Matthew 21:23.; Mark 11:27. | In one of the days. This happened on the last week (on the Tuesday) two or three days before Christ suffered. See the contents of this chapter, (Matthew 21.; Matthew 22.; Mark 11.; Mark 12.) (Witham) |
| Luke 20:2 | And spoke to him, saying: Tell us, by what authority dost thou these things? or, who is he that hath given thee this authority? | Authority? By what authority do you make yourself a teacher of the people, a censor of the priests, a reformer of the laws and customs? If Jesus Christ had not publicly given undeniable proofs of his mission, by his miracles, the Pharisees would have had a right to demand an answer to this question; but, after what had been done in their own sight, it was no longer excusable to oppose the preaching of the Son of God. (Calmet) --- Our Saviour himself teaches, that if he had not proved the divinity of his mission by his doctrine and works, it had been no sin to disbelieve or reject him. (John 5:31.; John 5:36.; John 10:25.; John 10:37.; John 15:22-24.) |
| Luke 20:3 | And Jesus answering, said to them: I will also ask you one word. Answer me: | |
| Luke 20:4 | The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? | Jesus does not gratify them by a direct answer; they did not deserve it, because they only interrogated him through captious and improper motives. He only replies by casting on them the very difficulties with which they sought to entangle him. (Calmet) --- Our divine Redeemer proposes to the chief priests a question concerning St. John the Baptist, to shew them how inconsistent was their uniform opposition to the ways of God. Because, though they believed in what was preached by St. John, (at least outwardly, through fear of the Jews) yet they would not believe him, or his doctrines, to whom St. John had given testimony, "That he was the Lamb of God, that had come to take away the sins of the world." (Theophylactus) |
| Luke 20:5 | But they thought within themselves, saying: If we shall say, From heaven: he will say: Why then did you not believe him? | |
| Luke 20:6 | But if we say, Of men: the whole people will stone us: for they are certain that John was a prophet. | |
| Luke 20:7 | And they answered, that they knew not whence it was. | |
| Luke 20:8 | And Jesus said to them: Neither do I tell thee by what authority I do these things. | |
| Luke 20:9 | And he began to speak to the people this parable: *A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen: and he was abroad for a long time. Isaias 5:1.; Jeremias 2:21.; Matthew 21:33.; Mark 12:1. | A long time. Not that God (who is here represented by the man that planted a vineyard) confines himself to any particular place, either distant or near; but he only seems to absent himself in order that when he comes to receive the fruit of the vineyard, he may punish the negligent more severely, and reward the diligent with greater liberality. Likewise God is more intimately present with the good, by continually showering down upon them his special graces; and less so with the wicked, by refusing them, on account of their indispositions, any of his favours. (St. Ambrose) |
| Luke 20:10 | And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard. But they beating him, sent him away empty. | |
| Luke 20:11 | And again he sent another servant. But they beat him also, and treating him reproachfully, sent him away empty. | |
| Luke 20:12 | And again he sent the third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. | |
| Luke 20:13 | Then the lord of the vineyard said: What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be, when they see him, they will reverence him. | |
| Luke 20:14 | But when the husbandmen saw him, they thought within themselves, saying: This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. | |
| Luke 20:15 | And casting him out of the vineyard, they killed him. What, therefore, will the lord of the vineyard do to them? | As this whole parable may be applied exactly to the Jews, to the prophets and Christ; so may this last part, with no less accuracy, be applied to our Saviour. The husbandmen, before they killed the lord's beloved son, first cast him out of the vineyard. So the Jews did not kill the Son of God immediately themselves: they first cast him out from themselves, into the hands of Pilate, a Gentile, and then procured his death. (Theophylactus) --- Thus sinners likewise act, by casting Christ out of their hearts, and crucifying him by sin. (Ven. Bede) --- To reconcile St. Matthew and St. Luke, we must observe, says St. Augustine that this parable was not only spoken to those who questioned his authority, but to the people themselves; as St. Luke tells us. |
| Luke 20:16 | He will come, and will destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. And when they heard this, they said to him: God forbid. | |
| Luke 20:17 | But he looking on them, said: What is this then that is written, *The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Psalm 117:22.; Isaias 28:16.; Matthew 21:42.; Acts 4:11.; Romans 9:33.; 1 Peter 2:7. | |
| Luke 20:18 | Whosoever shall fall upon that stone, shall be bruised: and upon whomsoever it shall fall, it will crush him to pieces. | Fall upon. That is, whosoever sins against God, yet believes, will be spared by God for a short time to repent, though he kills his own soul by mortal sin: but, upon whomsoever it shall fall, that is, he who denies Christ, and continues on hardened in his sin, upon him the fury of God shall fall, and he shall be utterly destroyed. It will grind him to powder, like the dust which the wind driveth from the face of the earth. (Psalm i.) (Ven. Bede) |
| Luke 20:19 | And the chief priests, and the Scribes, sought to lay hands upon him the same hour: but they feared the people: for they knew that he spoke this parable against them. | Lay hands on him. Thus they themselves proved him to be the Lord's beloved Son, as he had just described himself in the preceding parable. (Ven. Bede) |
| Luke 20:20 | *And being upon the watch, they sent spies, who should feign themselves just, that they might take hold of him in his words, that they might deliver him up to the authority and power of the governor. Matthew 22:15.; Mark 12:13. | Of the governor, etc. Of the governor, Pilate, who in the name of the Romans, exercised absolute authority in the country: for the Jews had lost the power of life and death, which was put into the hands of their presidents. (Calmet) |
| Luke 20:21 | And they asked him, saying: Master, we know that thou speakest and teachest rightly: and hast no respect of person, but teachest the way of God in truth: | |
| Luke 20:22 | Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not? | If our divine Saviour had returned them for answer, that they ought to give tribute to Caesar, they would have accused him of being an enemy to the law; but if, on the contrary, he said it was not lawful, they would have accused him to Pilate as an enemy to the state. (Theophylactus) --- For there was then a great misunderstanding among the Jews: some, who wished to keep peace with the Romans, said that it was lawful; but the Pharisees denied it, and said: "The people of God ought to be exempt from such a tax. They were bound by the law to give tithes and first-fruits to God; therefore they ought not to be bound by human laws to give likewise tax to men who were heathens." (St. Jerome) |
| Luke 20:23 | But he, considering their deceit, said to them: Why tempt you me? | |
| Luke 20:24 | Shew me a penny. Whose image and inscription hath it? They answering, said to him: Caesar's. | |
| Luke 20:25 | And he said to them: *Render, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar's: and to God the things that are God's. Romans 13:7. | |
| Luke 20:26 | And they could not reprehend his word before the people: and wondering at his answer, they held their peace. | We may here be astonished at the incredulity of the chiefs of the Jews, who, though they ought to have admired his wisdom, as something divine, and believed in him, are only surprised that he should have escaped their duplicity and snares. (Ven. Bede) --- Their pride must have been a good deal hurt, to have been thus publicly refuted and confused by the wisdom of our Saviour's answer. (Theophylactus) |
| Luke 20:27 | *And there came to him some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is any resurrection, and they asked him, Matthew 22:23.; Mark 12:18. | |
| Luke 20:28 | Saying: Master, Moses wrote unto us: *If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he leave no children, that his brother should take her to wife, and raise up seed to his brother. Deuteronomy 25:5. | |
| Luke 20:29 | There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. | |
| Luke 20:30 | And the next took her to wife, and he also died childless. | |
| Luke 20:31 | And the third took her. And in like manner all the seven, and they left no seed, and died. | |
| Luke 20:32 | Last of all the woman died also. | |
| Luke 20:33 | In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of them shall she be? since the seven had her to wife. | |
| Luke 20:34 | And Jesus said to them: The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: | |
| Luke 20:35 | But they that shall be accounted worthy of that world, and of the resurrection from the dead, shall neither be married, nor take wives. | |
| Luke 20:36 | Neither can they die any more: for they are equal to the Angels, and are the children of God, being the children of resurrection. | The children of resurrection; that is of the just, who shall rise to a happy resurrection: not but that the wicked shall also rise, but to their condemnation and greater misery. (Witham) --- Jesus Christ begins with stating the wide difference between the state of things in this mortal life and in that which is to come: that marriage necessary here, will be unnecessary hereafter. For, in this life, they are children of men, subject to death, and therefore under the necessity of continuing their race by generation; but in the next life, they shall be children of resurrection, living for eternity, never to die, and consequently sons of God, and immortal. Resurrection is a kind of regeneration to immortality. Hence St. Paul explains to our Saviour's rising again, these words of the 2nd Psalm: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. (Calmet) |
| Luke 20:37 | Now that the dead rise again, Moses also shewed at the bush, *when he calleth the Lord, The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob: Exodus 3:6. | |
| Luke 20:38 | For he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live to him. | |
| Luke 20:39 | And some of the Scribes answering, said to him: Master, thou hast said well. | The Scribes, seeing the Sadducees thus silenced, seemed to side entirely with our Saviour saying: Master, thou hast said well. And, apprehensive of being exposed to a similar disgrace and discomfiture themselves, they were afraid to ask him any more questions. But this was only an apparent and false conformity; for they afterwards procured him to be put to death by the Romans. Thus mortal hatred or envy may indeed be smothered for a time, but can hardly ever be extinguished. (Theophylactus) |
| Luke 20:40 | And after that they durst not ask him any more questions. | |
| Luke 20:41 | But he said to them: How say they that Christ is the son of David? | |
| Luke 20:42 | And David himself saith in the book of psalms: *The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, Psalm 109:1.; Matthew 22:44.; Mark 12:36. | |
| Luke 20:43 | Till I make thy enemies thy footstool. | |
| Luke 20:44 | David then calleth him Lord: and how is he his son? | Christ indeed is both the Lord and Servant of David. He is Servant, according to the flesh, being a descendant of David; and he is Lord, according to the spirit, being Lord of all. (St. Chrysostom) --- We hear in our times of a new sect of Pharisees, who neither believe that Christ is the true Son of God, nor that he is God born of a pure virgin. To such we object this question: How is he the Son of David, and his Lord? Not by human, but by divine dominion. (St. Cyril) --- He has two natures: the nature of man, according to which, David was his father; and the nature of God, according to which, he was Son of God, and Lord of David. Thus is the difficulty solved. |
| Luke 20:45 | And in the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples: | How forcible are our divine Redeemer's reasonings, when he uses any text out of the prophets. When he performs the most stupendous miracles, his enemies generally have something to reply; when he cites a text of Scripture, they have nothing to say. All are silent. (St. Chrysostom) |
| Luke 20:46 | *Beware of the Scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the market-place, and the first chairs in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts: Matthew 23:6.; Mark 12:38.; Luke 11:43. | The reproach he makes the Scribes in this place, is similar to what he had objected against the Pharisees. (St. Matthew 23:5.) Both these sects were filled with the same spirit of pride and vanity, which shewed itself in their dress, in their exterior, and in every part of their conduct. If our Saviour here attacks them upon their long trains, or other affected forms of their dress, he does not pronounce an absolute condemnation of things, which in themselves are indifferent, but of their abuse of them, making them serve only the purpose of vanity and affectation. (Calmet) |
| Luke 20:47 | Who devour the houses of widows, feigning long prayer. These shall receive greater damnation. | These shall receive a greater condemnation, because they not only commit ordinary evil actions, but also make their prayers, and virtue itself, a cloak to their hypocrisy and vanity, and the cause of their greater depravity, famishing the widows whom themselves ought to compassionate and relieve. (Theophylactus) --- Or, the greater honours and rewards they received for their wickedness, the greater punishment must they endure to expiate it. (Ven. Bede) --- Jesus Christ seems in this place to allude to the avaricious practice of the Jews, draining the purses of widows by their stipulated long prayers for their departed husbands, (see Matthew 23:14.; Mark 12:40.) and thus abusing so holy a thing as prayer, merely to gratify their avarice. |