Matthew21chapter 21

Matthew 21:12

“And he cast out all them that sold and bought. It should be known that in obedience to the Law, in the Temple of the Lord venerated throughout the whole world, and resorted to by Jews out of every quarter, innumerable victims were sacrificed, especially on festival days, bulls, rams, goats; the poor offering young pigeons and turtle-doves, that they might not omit all sacrifice. But it would happen that those who came from a distance would have no victim.”

Matthew 21:13

“My house shall be called the house of prayer - This is taken from Isa 56:7. But ye have made it a den of thieves - This is taken from Jer 7:11. Our Lord alludes here to those dens and caves in Judea, in which the public robbers either hid or kept themselves fortified. They who are placed in the Church of Christ to serve souls, and do it not, and they who enjoy the revenues of the Church, and neglect the service of it, are thieves and robbers in more senses than one.”

Matthew 21:14

“Christ's healing was a real answer to that question, Who is this ? His works testified of him more than the hosannas; and his healing in the temple was the fulfilling of the promise, that the glory of the latter house should be greater than the glory of the former.”

Matthew 21:15

“The chief priests - were sore displeased - Or, were incensed. Incensed at what! At the purification of the profaned temple! This was a work they should have done themselves, but for which they had neither grace nor influence; and their pride and jealousy will not suffer them to permit others to do it.”

Matthew 21:16

“Out of the mouth of babes - The eighth Psalm, out of which these words are quoted, is applied to Jesus Christ in three other places in the new covenant, 1Co 15:27; Eph 1:22; Heb 2:6. Which proves it to be merely a prophetic psalm, relating to the Messiah. It was a common thing among the Jews for the children to be employed in public acclamations; and thus they were accustomed to hail their celebrated rabbins.”

Matthew 21:18

“Now in the morning, as he returned into the city - Which was his custom from the time he wholly left Jerusalem, spending only the day time teaching in the temple; see Mat 21:17. This was probably on Thursday, the 12th day of the month Nisan. He hungered - Probably neither he, nor his disciples, had any thing but what they got from public charity; and the hand of that seems to have been cold at this time.”

Matthew 21:19

“He saw a fig tree in the way - Επι της οδου, By the road side. As this fig tree was by the way side, it was no private property; and on this account our Lord, or any other traveler, had a right to take of its fruit. For a full explanation of this difficult passage, relative to this emblematic fig tree, see on Mar 11:13 (note), etc. Let no fruit grow on thee - Can a professor, who affords Christ nothing but barren words and wishes, expect any thing but his malediction?”

Matthew 21:20

“But if the Lord come seeking fruit with temptations, and one be found having nought of righteousness but only a profession of faith, which is leaves without fruit, he is soon withered, losing even his seeming faith; and every disciple makes this fig tree to wither, by making it be seen that he is void of Christ, as Peter said to Simon, Thy heart is not right in the sight of God (Acts 8:21.) For it is better that a deceitful fig tree which is thought to be alive, yet brings forth no fruit, should be withered up at the…”

Matthew 21:21

“If ye have faith, and doubt not - See on Mat 17:20 (note). Removing mountains, and rooting up of mountains, are phrases very generally used to signify the removing or conquering great difficulties - getting through perplexities. So, many of the rabbins are termed rooters up of mountains, because they were dexterous in removing difficulties, solving cases of conscience, etc. In this sense our Lord’s words are to be understood. He that has faith will get through every difficulty and perplexity; mountains shall become molehills or plains before him.”

Matthew 21:22

“But whenever we are not heard when we pray, it is either because we ask something adverse to the means of our salvation; or because the perverseness of those for whom we ask hinders its being granted to them; or because the performance of our request is put off to a future time, that our desires may wax stronger, and so may have more perfect capacity for the joys they seek after.”

Matthew 21:23

“When he was come into the temple, the chief priests came - Who thought he violated their right: and the elders of the people - Probably, members of the sanhedrim, to whom that title most properly belonged: which is the more probable, as they were the persons under whose cognizance the late action of Christ, in purging the temple, would naturally fall.”

Matthew 21:24

“I also will ask you one thing - Our Lord was certainly under no obligation to answer their question: he had already given them such proofs of his Divine mission as could not possibly be exceeded, in the miracles which he wrought before their eyes, and before all Judea; and, as they would not credit him on this evidence, it would have been in vain to have expected their acknowledgment of him on any profession he would make.”

Matthew 21:25

“What then saith He? He doth not answer them directly, to show that, if they had been willing to see His authority, they could; but He asks them again, saying, "The baptism of John, whence is it? From heaven, or of men?" And what sort of inference is this? The greatest surely. For if they had said, from heaven, He would have said unto them, why then did ye not believe him? For if they had believed, they would not have asked these things.”

Matthew 21:26

“But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people--rather, "the multitude." In Luke (Lu 20:6) it is, "all the people will stone us"--"stone us to death." for all hold John as a prophet--Crooked, cringing hypocrites!”

Matthew 21:27

“And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell--Evidently their difficulty was, how to answer, so as neither to shake their determination to reject the claims of Christ nor damage their reputation with the people.”

Matthew 21:28

“A certain man had two sons - Under the emblem of these two sons, one of whom was a libertine, disobedient, and insolent, but who afterwards thought on his ways, and returned to his duty; and the second, a hypocrite, who promised all, and did nothing; our Lord points out, on the one hand, the tax-gatherers and sinners of all descriptions, who, convicted by the preaching of John and that of Christ, turned away from their iniquities and embraced the Gospel; and, on the other hand, the scribes, Pharisees, and self-righteous people, who, pretending a zeal for the law, would…”

Matthew 21:29

“He answered and said, I will not--TRENCH notices the rudeness of this answer, and the total absence of any attempt to excuse such disobedience, both characteristic; representing careless, reckless sinners resisting God to His face.”

Matthew 21:30

“And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir--"I, sir." The emphatic "I," here, denotes the self-righteous complacency which says, "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men" (Lu 18:11). and went not--He did not "afterward repent" and refuse to go; for there was here no intention to go.”

Matthew 21:31

“The publicans and the harlots - In all their former conduct they had said No. Now they yield to the voice of truth when they hear it, and enter into the kingdom, embracing the salvation brought to them in the Gospel. The others, who had been always professing the most ready and willing obedience, and who pretended to be waiting for the kingdom of God, did not receive it when it came, but rather chose, while making the best professions, to continue members of the synagogue of Satan.”

Matthew 21:32

“John came unto you in the way of righteousness - Proclaiming the truth, and living agreeably to it. Or, John came unto you, who are in the way of righteousness. This seems rather to be the true meaning and construction of this passage. The Jews are here distinguished from the Gentiles.”

Matthew 21:33

“He hath planted a vine of which Isaiah speaks, The vine of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel. (Isa. 5:7.) And hedged it round about; i. e. either the wall of the city, or the guardianship of Angels. A winepress, that is to say, An altar; or those winepresses after which the three Psalms, the 8th, the 80th, and the 83d are entitled, that is to say, the martyrs. And built a tower therein, that is, the Temple, of which it is said by Micah, And thou, O cloudy tower of the daughter of Sion. (Mic. 4:8.)”

Matthew 21:34

“He sent his servants - Prophets, which, from time to time, he sent to the Jewish nation to call both priests and people back to the purity of his holy religion. Receive the fruits of it - Alluding to the ancient custom of paying the rent of a farm in kind; that is, by a part of the produce of the farm. This custom anciently prevailed in most nations; and still prevails in the highlands of Scotland, and in some other places.”

Matthew 21:35

“Beat one - Εδειραν, took his skin off, flayed him: probably alluding to some who had been excessively scourged. Killed another, etc. - Rid themselves of the true witnesses of God by a variety of persecutions.”

Matthew 21:36

“Again he sent other servants,.... Meaning, perhaps, such as suffered in the times of the Maccabees: more than the first; their number was greater, though their office was the same, at least not higher: and they did unto them likewise; they beat them with rods, they killed them with the sword, and stoned them, Heb 11:36.”

Matthew 21:37

“But when He says, They will reverence my Son, He does not speak as in ignorance. For what is there that this householder (by whom in this place God is intended) knows not? But God is thus spoken of as being uncertain, in order that free-will may be reserved for man. Let us enquire of Arrius and Eunomius. See here the Father is said not to know somewhat. Whatever answer they make for the Father, let them understand the same of the Son, when He says that He knows not the day of the consummation of all things. (Mat. 22:36.)”

Matthew 21:38

“Or we may suppose this fulfilled in the case of those Jews who, knowing Christ, believed in Him. But what follows, But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir, come let us kill him, and let us seize on the inheritance, was fulfilled in those who saw Christ, and knew Him to be the Son of God, yet crucified Him.”

Matthew 21:39

“Cast him out of the vineyard - Utterly rejected the counsel of God against themselves; and would neither acknowledge the authority of Christ, nor submit to his teaching. What a strange and unaccountable case is this! - a sinner, to enjoy a little longer his false peace, and the gratification of his sinful appetites, rejects Jesus, and persecutes that Gospel which troubles his sinful repose.”

Matthew 21:40

“When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh--This represents "the settling time," which, in the case of the Jewish ecclesiastics, was that judicial trial of the nation and its leaders which issued in the destruction of their whole state. what will he do unto those husbandmen?”

Matthew 21:41

“Like Caiaphas (John 11:49) so did they, not from themselves, prophesy against themselves, that the oracles of God were to he taken from them, and given to the Gentiles, who could bring forth fruit in due season.”

Matthew 21:42

“Did ye never read in the scriptures-- (Ps 118:22, 23). The stone which the builders rejected, &c.--A bright Messianic prophecy, which reappears in various forms (Isa 28:16, &c.), and was made glorious use of by Peter before the Sanhedrim (Ac 4:11).”

Matthew 21:43

“Therefore say I - Thus showing them, that to them alone the parable belonged. The kingdom of God shall be taken from you - the Gospel shall be taken from you, and given to the Gentiles, who will receive it, and bring forth fruit to the glory of God. Bringing forth the fruits - As in Mat 21:34 an allusion is made to paying the landlord in kind, so here the Gentiles are represented as paying God thus.”

Matthew 21:44

“The 44th verse should certainly come before Mat 21:43, otherwise the narration is not consecutive. Mat 21:42. The stone which the builders rejected, is become the head of the corner, etc. Mat 21:44. Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, etc. This is an allusion to the punishment of stoning among the Jews.”

Matthew 21:45

“The chief priests - perceived that he spoke of them - The most wholesome advice passes for an affront with those who have shut their hearts against the truth. When that which should lead to repentance only kindles the flame of malice and revenge, there is but little hope of the salvation of such persons.”

Matthew 21:46

“But when they sought to lay hands on him--which Luke (Lu 20:19) says they did "the same hour," hardly able to restrain their rage. they feared the multitude--rather, "the multitudes." because they took him for a prophet--just as they feared to say John's baptism was of men, because the masses took him for a prophet (Mt 21:26).”