multitude, and which perhaps also received new nourishment from the extraordinary contributions in money which Zaccheus had made on its behalf. As the departure for Jerusalem was now about to commence, and they were of opinion that the kingdom of God would immediately appear, the Lord spake a parable with a view to instruct His audience concerning the course of events which should attend its establishment:

'A man of noble descent (well-born, evyevýs, above others, furnished with the highest title to command, by right of birth) went into a far country to obtain for himself a kingdom, and then to return. He called therefore his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds,' and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, declaring (before the tribunal of last resort in the foreign land), We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, on his return, after he had received the kingdom (having brought with him the credentials of investiture), that he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had entrusted the money, to learn how much each man had gained by trading. Then came the first, and said, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he answered unto him, Well, thou good servant, thou hast been faithful in the least: thou shalt have authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he spake likewise to him, Thou shalt be over five cities. And another came, and said, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man; thou callest in what thou hast not laid out, and thou reapest what thou hast not sown. But he said unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I am an austere man, that I call in what I have not laid out, that I reap what I have not sown. Wherefore then didst thou not give my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have received mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the one pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds. But he answered, I say unto you, Unto every one that hath shall be given; and from him that

1 Regarding the amount, see above, ii. 234.

2 See above, ii. 235 and 233.

hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.' To this he added one sentence more:

'But those mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither, and slay them before me.'

This parable was intended to convey to the hearers of Jesus the following important facts: that previous to the manifestation of the glory of His kingdom, He must first go into a distant land (the other world), in order to obtain investiture of the kingdom; that meanwhile, He would leave behind His servants, with apparently insignificant outward means, in the position of spiritual merchants, with instructions to turn His pound to profit; that, on their part, the citizens generally would send after Him a protest, refusing to accept His supreme authority; and that on His return, He would first call His servants to account regarding their traffic with the goods entrusted to them, and then also execute judgment on His enemies. Thus they were given to know in the most distinct manner, that His servants, during the intervening period, were not to occupy themselves with outwardly combating His rebellious subjects, but must only make a faithful use of His pounds. And just here lies the central point of this parable. Its seeming duality (which has occasioned several modern critics to find here two heterogeneous parables linked together; see above, ii. 232) belongs to the proper representation of its one fundamental idea.

And if the parable be characterized by unity, it is equally so by the definiteness of its contents, and thus by its difference from the parable of the servants with the various talents (Matt. xxv. 14-30). There, the question is of different gifts of grace; here, of the same vocation and office, appertaining to all Christians, to spread the Gospel; and accordingly the parable before us is also different from the other in its chief individual elements.

Those among the hearers of Jesus who had conceived hopes of speedily sharing in the world-wide dominion of the Messiah, were thus informed that Christ could leave behind for His servants nothing further than to each man a single pound-a mina (the poor and insignificant position of a witness for the truth); and that they must labour for a long time in great self-denial, amidst the continued tumult of His enemies, quietly and noiselessly, as poor spiritual traffickers, if they would enjoy the prospect

of one day having a share in the administration of the government of the world.

It hardly needs to be noticed how much this evangelical representation (which again only Luke records) is in accordance with the conception of the world, as given in the Hellenic Gospel.

With this word-thus with this as a watchword-Jesus opened the procession, and journeyed upwards towards Jerusalem. When He approached to Bethphage and Bethany,1 at the so-called Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying, 'Go ye into the village over against you; and on your entering it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat; loose him and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him: The Lord hath need of him.' And they that were sent went their way, and found even as He had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, 'Why loose ye the colt?' They answered in the terms prescribed: "The Lord hath need of him.' And they brought the colt to Jesus, cast their garments upon him, and set Jesus thereon. Thus does the Lord appear as the mysterious King, at whose disposal His faithful subjects place themselves during His royal journeys, and to whom, at the word of His messengers, they offer the assistance which He requires. As He now proceeded, they (His attendants) spread their clothes in the way. And when He was come nigh to the point of the descent of the Mount of Olives (to the summit), the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice, and to praise God with a loud voice, for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, 'Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!' And some of the Pharisees, from among the people, said unto Him, 'Master, rebuke thy disciples.' And He answered and said unto them:

'I

say unto you, if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out.'

The spirit which ruled the city had already met Him in a melancholy form, in this demand of the pharisaical spirits, who had mingled in the train. Still more did the sight of the city itself affect Him. As the procession descended from the Mount

'The notice of the approach has reference to the more distant place; see vol. iv. p. 41.

of Olives, and approached the city—when, with its temple, the city presented itself to the eye of Jesus in all its magnificence— when He beheld it, He wept over it. The rejoicing of His attendants was responded to on His part by tears, by the lamentation, If thou knewest, even thou-like thy King-even now, still in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall form a besieging wall around thee, and shall enclose thee, and press thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation.'

Thus, according to the Pauline Gospel of the universal love and grace of Christ, did the true Friend of man weep over Jerusalem-the poor, doomed Zion-which, especially through pharisaical self-righteousness, had become so blinded and darkened as not to recognise the great and glorious day when its Messiah held His festive entry within its walls, or the salvation intended for it in this day of visitation. Whilst the disciples of Jesus, with a song of the heart, shouted aloud-spake with tonguesof the glory of this day, His word, on the contrary, in a deep, mournful strain, depicted the future of Jerusalem, as it presented itself to His prophetic eye, in all its terrible distinctness.

And He went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought therein, saying unto them, 'My house is an house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

He now taught daily in the temple. But the Pharisees and the scribes, and generally the first men among the people, sought to destroy Him. Yet they could not find what they should do to Him. For all the people clung to Him and heard Him. They formed a defensive circle of enthusiastic hearers around Him.

NOTES.

1. The Evangelist (similarly with the two other synoptists) passes over, between this section and the preceding one, the journey of Jesus from Perea to the feast of Dedication, and His journey from Perea to Bethany, as likewise His abode in Ephraim.

2. Peculiar to the Evangelist is the strong emphasis laid on the fact, that the disciples did not understand the communica

tions of Christ (xviii. 34); the notice, that the blind man at Jericho heard of Jesus at His entrance into the city (see above, iv. 13); the narrative concerning Zaccheus, and the parable of the ten pounds. He gives the greatest prominence to the circumstance, that the words which the messengers of Jesus had to repeat to the owners of the colt, as well as the question which the latter addressed to them, consisted in distinct watchwords. The Messianic hymn has in his hands a less decided Old Testament form. The word of disapproval on the part of the Pharisees, at this place, is also peculiar to him. In like manner, he alone records the weeping of Christ over Jerusalem, and the distinct announcement of the siege.

SECTION XVIII.

THE CONTEST OF JESUS WITH THE SANHEDRIM IN THE TEMPLE.

(Chap. xx.-xxi. 4.)

On one of those days, as Jesus taught in the temple, He had to undergo that last decisive encounter with the Pharisees which led to His crucifixion.

To

The chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came to Him with the demand, 'Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?' this Jesus replied, that He had first a counter-question to address to them (which thus must necessarily precede their question). It was as follows: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?' They felt at once how severe a blow was given them by this question. They reflected, and talked among themselves: If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? But if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded that John was a prophet. And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. It would seem they made their reply as short and ambiguous as possible. By this Jesus had obtained a right to the counter-declaration, 'Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.'

He then turned from them to the people, as if He would leave them to the judgment which they had pronounced against