8-9. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried out, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest . In the literal account, laying down of clothing is a sign of great reverence, and the cutting of branches is a sign of festivity. But in the spiritual sense, learn that the apostles first laid down their garments, which are their virtues, and then the Lord sat upon them. For God is not conveyed by a soul that has not been adorned with apostolic virtues. Those that went before are the prophets who lived before Christ�s incarnation, while those who followed are the martyrs and teachers who lived after these events. They laid down their garments for Christ, that is, they subjected the flesh to the spirit, for the body is a garment and covering for the soul. They laid them down in the way, that is, in Christ Who said, "I am the Way." For unless a man lays down his garment in the way, that is, unless he humbles his flesh, abiding in the Way which is Christ, and not turning to heresy, the Lord will not be carried by him. Some say that "Hosanna" means "hymn" or "psalm"; others say, more accurately, that it means "Save now." "He that cometh" means the Lord Whose coming was long awaited by the Hebrews. Thus John the Forerunner and Baptist also says, "Thou art He that cometh," meaning "He Whose coming has been long awaited." In another sense, "He that cometh" means "He Whose second coming is awaited day by day." For each of us should always be in hopeful expectation of the end of the world and the coming of the Lord, and should be ready.
10-11. And when He was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. The multitude, being simple and guileless, were not spiteful towards Christ, but neither did they have the proper understanding of Who He was. Therefore they call Him "prophet." Yet since they said it with the article, "the prophet," it could be understood as "the long awaited Prophet," of whom Moses said, "God will raise them up a Prophet" ( Deut. 18:18 ). For they did not say, "This is a prophet," but "the Prophet," that is, He Who is awaited with hope.
12-13. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves . As Master of the house, which is the temple, He cast out the sellers, showing that the things of the Father are also His own. He did this out of concern for the good order of the temple, but also to show the transformation that would take place in the sacrifices. He cast out the cattle and the doves and thus foretold that there would no longer be any need of animal sacrifice and slaughter, but rather, of prayer. For My house, He says, is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves, in which there is slaughter and bloodletting. But He also called the temple a den of thieves because of the hawkers and the buyers and sellers, for the love of profit is a thieving passion. The "money changers" [in Greek, kollybistai] take their name from the kollybos, a coin of small denomination. Those who sell doves are also those who sell the ranks of ordination in the churches, for they are selling the gift of the Holy Spirit, which once appeared in the form of a dove ( Mt. 3:16 ); as a result they are cast out not only from the temple below, but from the one above, for they are unworthy to serve at the altar. But you too, O reader, look and see whether perhaps you have made God�s temple, that is, your mind, a den of thieves, that is, the demons� lair. It will be such a den if we have thoughts full of the desire for material things, of buying and selling, and of a love of money that would even compel us to collect these small coins, the kollyba. And if we buy and sell the doves, that is, if we should mix spiritual teaching with thoughts of material gain, we have made ourselves a den of thieves.
14. And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed them. By healing the infirm He shows that He is God and that rightly does He use His authority to cast out the unworthy from His house. It is also made clear that when the Jews who were attached to the law and to animal slaughter had been cast out, then the blind and the lame of the Gentiles were accepted as His friends and healed by Him.
15-16. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wondrous things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David, they were sore displeased, and said unto Him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise? When the Pharisees saw the children offering to Christ the hymn of David which the prophet seems to offer to God ( Ps. 117:26 ), they exploded with spite and reviled Him for allowing things of God to be said of Him. But He confirmed this by saying "Yea." For, He says, I am so disinclined to stop the mouths of those who are saying these things to Me, that I will even bring forward the prophet as a witness, and show you up as either ignorant or spiteful. For have you not read, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?" ( Ps. 8:2 ). "Thou hast perfected" means "Thou hast shown a perfect and fitting hymn" even if "the babes and sucklings" seem imperfect, or immature, in age. For it was not they who were speaking what they spoke, but they only gave their mouth to the Spirit and became His instruments. This is why He says, "Out of the mouth of babes," implying that the words were not of their own intellect, but only of their mouth which was moved by divine grace. He also showed that He would be blessed by the childish and foolish Gentiles. This was also a consolation to the apostles, that speech would be granted to them as well though they were simple. And you also, O reader, if you are as a babe innocent of any guile and sucking the milk of the Spirit, the divine words, then you will become worthy to hymn God�s praise.
17. And He left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and He lodged there . He departs from those who were unworthy and goes to Bethany, which means "house of obedience." He goes from those who are disobedient to those who are obedient to Him, and among them He lodges. For He says, "I will dwell and walk among them" ( II Cor. 6:16 ).
18-20. Now in the morning as He returned into the city, He hungered. And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and He said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Of the many miracles which the Lord performed, all were done to do good, for He performed no miracles of chastisement. Therefore, lest anyone think that He is unable to chastise, here He shows this power as well, not applied to men but to a tree, as He loves mankind. He also did the same on a previous occasion to the swine. He withers the tree, then, in order to chasten men. The disciples marvel, and with good reason. For the fig tree contains a great amount of sap, and so the fact that it withered immediately serves all the more to indicate the miracle. The fig tree means the synagogue of the Jews, which has only leaves, that is, the visible letter of the law, but not the fruit of the Spirit. But also every man who gives himself over to the sweetness of the present life is likened to a fig tree, who has no spiritual fruit to give to Jesus who is hungry for such fruit, but only leaves, that is, temporal appearances which fall away and are gone. This man, then, hears himself cursed. For Christ says, Go, ye accursed, into the fire ( Mt. 25:41 ). But he is also dried up; for as he roasts in the flame, his tongue is parched and withered like that of the rich man of the parable, who in his life had ignored Lazarus.
21-22. Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Great is the promise which Christ makes to His disciples, the ability to move mountains, if only we are not ambiguous in faith, that is, we do not hesitate. Whatever we ask, unhesitantly believing in God�s power, we shall receive. One might ask, "And if I ask for something unprofitable, and foolishly believe that God will give me this, will I indeed receive this unprofitable thing? How is it that God is said to love mankind if He would fulfill my unprofitable request?" Listen then. First, when you hear "faith," you should understand that it means not "foolish faith" but "true faith"; and when you hear "prayer," understand it to mean that prayer which asks for things profitable, such as the Lord gave to us when He said, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one," and petitions of similar nature. Then consider the words "doubt not," [literally, "be ye not divided," me diakrithete]. For how could a man who is united with God as one and not divided or separated from Him, how could that man ask for something unprofitable? So if you are undivided and inseparable from God, then you will ask for and receive things which are profitable for you.
23-27. And when He was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto Him as He was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell Me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men, we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We do not know. And He said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things . Full of spite that He had expelled the peddlers from the temple, the teachers of the law approached and asked Him such things as these: "Who are you to cast out from the temple those who do business there? As a priest do you do this? But you have no priestly office. As a king, then? But neither are you a king, and even if you were, you would not have the authority to do such things. For it is not permitted for kings to do these things in the temple." They were questioning the Lord in this manner so that if He should say, "By My own authority I do them," they could accuse Him of insurrection because He said that He had His own authority. But if He said, "I do these things by divine authority," they would draw away from Him the multitudes who were praising Him as God, telling them, "Look, he is not God, but he does these things by God�s authority, as a servant." How then does Christ, Who is Himself Wisdom, respond? He seizes the sophists in their cunning, and asks them the same questions concerning John; so that if they said the teaching of John was from heaven, their rejection of John�s teachings would mark them as enemies of God; but if they said that the teaching of John was of men, they would be in danger from the multitudes, for they all considered John a prophet. The Lord shows us here that we ought not to answer those who ask a question with malicious intent. For He Himself did not reply to those Jews who questioned Him with cunning, although He was not at a loss for an answer. At the same time we learn that it is not Christ�s nature to extol Himself. Behold, then, the Lord Who is able to say by what authority He does these things, but does not say, lest He appear to extol Himself.
28-32. But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Which of the two did the will of his father? They say unto Him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlot believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him . He introduces two types of men. One type are those who promised from the beginning: such were the Jews who said, "All which God spoke, we will do and we will obey" ( Ex. 24:3 ). The other type are those who disobeyed: such are the publicans and the harlots, but also the people of the Gentiles, who from the beginning were not obedient to the will of God, but later they repented and obeyed. Behold, then, the wisdom of Christ. He did not at once from the start say to them, "The publicans and the harlots are better than you," but first He got the upper hand over them and they confessed that of the two sons, he who did the will of the father was the obedient one. And when they had so confessed He led them on and said, "John came in the way of righteousness," that is, with a blameless life, and you are not able to say that his life was reprehensible, yet the harlots obeyed him while you did not. Therefore they precede you, that is, enter before you into the kingdom. So you also should struggle to believe, so that you might at least enter in after the harlots, for if you do not believe, you will by no means enter. There are many to this very day who have promised to God their Father to become monks or priests, but afterwards were negligent in their promise. But there are others who did not promise to lead a monastic or priestly life, but now they are monks and priests. So the obedient sons are those who act, although they promised nothing.
33. Hear another parable: There was a certain man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it to husbandmen, and went into a far country . Yet another parable He brings to them, showing that though they were deemed worthy to receive an immeasurable degree of care for their condition, they did not get better. The "man, a householder" is the Lord Who in His love for man calls Himself a man. The vineyard is the Jewish people, planted by God in the land of promise. For He says, "Bring them in and plant them in Thy holy mountain" ( Ex. 15:17 ). The hedge is the law which prevented them from mixing with the Gentiles; or, it is the holy angels who guarded Israel. The wine-press is the altar; the tower, the temple. The husbandmen are the teachers of the people, the Pharisees and the scribes. The householder, God, went into a far country when He no longer spoke to them in a pillar of cloud. Or, the departure of God into a far country is His long-suffering; for when He is long-suffering and not in hot pursuit of wrongdoers, demanding an account, He appears to be asleep or absent on a far journey.
34-39. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him . "The time of the fruit drew near" during the years of the prophets. For the servants who were sent are the prophets who were abused in various ways by the husbandmen, that is, the false prophets and false teachers of those times. One they beat, as they did to Micah when Sedek struck him on the jaw ( III Kings, or I Kings, 22:24 ); another they killed, as they did to Zechariah [the father of John the Forerunner] between the temple and the altar; another they stoned, as they did Zechariah, the son of Jodae the high priest ( II Chron. 24:21 ). Later the Son of God was sent and He appeared in the flesh. He said, "They will reverence My Son," not unaware that they would kill Him, but signifying what ought to be. For, He says, they ought to honor the dignity of the Son even if they had killed the servants. But the husbandmen saw Him and said, "This is the heir; come, let us kill Him." The Jews, too, said, "This is the Christ," and they crucified Him. They cast Him out of the vineyard, for the Lord was slain outside of the city. But since we would also say that the vineyard is the people, Christ was slain by the Pharisees, the evil husbandmen, outside the vineyard, that is, outside and apart from the will of the guileless people.
40-41. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto Him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
"When He cometh." When? At the second coming? It seems to have this meaning, but a better meaning is this: the lord of the vineyard is God the Father Who sent His Son Who was slain by them. When He comes, that is, when He looks down on the lawlessness which the Jews committed, then He will miserably destroy them by sending the Roman army. And His vineyard, that is, His people, He will give to other husbandmen, that is, to apostles and teachers. Understand the vineyard to mean also the Divine Scriptures, in which the hedge is the letter, and the wine-press that is dug is the depth of the Spirit; the tower is theology, lofty and exalted. These Scriptures, then, were first possessed by bad husbandmen, the Pharisees; but God has let them out to us who cultivate them well. But they slew the Lord outside the vineyard, that is, outside those things of which Scripture spoke.
42-44. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord�s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: and on whomsoever it shall fall, it will crush him to powder to be scattered . The stone means Christ Himself; the builders are the teachers of the Jews who rejected Him as if He were useless, saying, "Thou art a Samaritan and hast a demon." But when He rose from the dead, He was set in place as the head of the corner, that is, He became the head of the Church, joining Jews and Gentiles in one faith. For as the stone which forms the corner of a building makes continuous the walls leading to it and from it, so Christ has bound all together in one faith. This corner is marvelous, and is the Lord�s doing ( Ps. 117:22-23 ). For the Church which connects us and makes us one in faith is the Lord�s doing, and is worthy of all wonder, so well is it built. And in another sense is it marvelous, because the Word of Christ has been confirmed and substantiated by marvels, that is, miracles, so that the composition of the Church is marvelous. The kingdom of God, that is, closeness with God, has been taken from the Jews and given to those who believed. Those who stumble against the Rock of Christ and take offence at Him will not only be crushed at the second coming, but already here in this life they have been scattered like powder by Christ. They have been scattered over all the earth, as we now see the pitiable Jews to be. Understand that he who is "crushed to powder to be scattered�� is dispersed abroad and scattered in diaspora.
45-46. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that He spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitude, because they took Him for a prophet . See once again that the multitude, which is simple and guileless, follows the truth, while the teachers of the law work evil. But even today there are Jews who seek to lay hands on Christ, but they neither grasp nor understand Him. For they shall grasp the Antichrist and shall bow down and worship him, while Christ will not be grasped, that is, understood, by them.
Those invited to the wedding. Those who asked about the tribute.
The Sadducees. The lawyer who questioned. The questions asked by the Lord.
1-7. And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man who was a king, who made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were called to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them who were called, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fattened calves are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his field, another to his merchandise: and the others took his servants, and treated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city . This parable, too, like that of the vineyard, alludes to the disobedience of the Jews. But as that one indicates Christ�s death, so this one indicates the nuptial joy, that is, the resurrection. But this parable also shows them to be worse transgressors than the men in the preceding parable. For the husbandmen of the vineyard slew those who demanded fruits of them. But these men vented their murderous rage upon those who had invited them to a wedding. God is likened to a human king, for He does not appear as He is, but as it is fitting for Him to appear to us. When we die as humans, subject to human failings, God appears to us in human form; but when we walk about as gods, then God stands in the congregation of gods. And when we live as wild beasts, then He, too, becomes for us a panther, and a bear, and a lion. He makes a wedding feast for His Son, joining Him to every soul that is beautiful. For the bridegroom is Christ and the bride is the Church and the soul. The servants that were sent out first are Moses and those with him, whom the Jews did not obey but provoked God in the wilderness for forty years and did not want to accept the word of God and spiritual joy. Then other servants, the prophets, were sent out; but of these, some they killed, as they did Isaiah; others they treated spitefully, as they did Jeremiah, throwing him into a pit of mire. Those who were less extreme merely declined the invitation: one went his way to his own field, that is, turned towards a life of pleasure and carnal pursuits, for one�s "own field" is the body; another, to his merchandise, that is, to a life of acquisition and profit, for merchants are a type of men most greedy for profit. This parable shows that those who fail to attend the wedding feast and the fellowship and feasting with Christ, do so primarily on account of these two things � the pleasures of the flesh, or the passion of greed. In this parable the meal is called a "dinner," although elsewhere the same thing is called a "supper" ( Lk. 14:16 ), and not unreasonably. For it is called a supper when this wedding feast appears in perfect form in the latter times, towards evening, that is, at the end of the ages. But it is called a dinner when even in former times the mystery was revealed, although more obscurely. The oxen and the fattened calves [in Greek, sitista, grain-fattened calves] are the Old and the New Testaments. For the Old Testament is symbolized by the oxen, for it contained animal sacrifice; the New Testament is symbolized by the grain-fattened calves, for now we offer loaves upon the altar, which could truly be called sitista [literally, "formed from wheat"], as the loaves consist of wheat, sitos. God therefore calls us to partake of the good things of both the Old Testament Scriptures and the New. But when you see someone clearly interpreting the divine words know that he is giving grain-fattened meat. For when he teaches clearly, it is as if he were feeding the unlearned with rich food. No doubt you will ask why He says here, "Call them that were called." If they were already invited, why are they going to invite them again? Learn, then, that each of us by nature has been called towards the good, for we are being called by the word of the innate teacher within us. But God also sends us external teachers to call us from without, we who were first called by the word in our nature. The king sent his armies, that is, the Roman legions, and destroyed the disobedient Jews and burnt up their city, Jerusalem, as even the truthful Josephus says.
8-10. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were called were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the lanes off from the highways, and as many as ye shall find, call to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests . Since the previous servants, Moses and those with him, and the prophets, did not persuade them, He sends out other servants, the apostles, and they call the Gentiles who do not walk in the true way but are divided, some here, some there, separated into many ways and doctrines. Indeed, they are to be found along the lanes off from the highways, that is, in great error, delusion, and deviation. They were even at odds among themselves, and were not in the true way, but along the exits, which are the evil doctrines that they taught. For they were not all content with the same doctrines, but some with these and some with those. But perhaps an even better explanation is this: the highway is the life and the manner in which each person lives; the lanes exiting from the highway are doctrines. The pagan Greeks, then, travel along evil highways, that is, they lead reprehensible lives, and from these evil lives they have turned off into godless doctrines, setting up shameful gods as patrons of their own passions. So as the apostles went forth from Jerusalem to the Gentiles, they gathered all together, both evil and good, that is, those filled with every wickedness and also those less wicked whom He calls good by comparison to the others.
11-14. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how earnest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind his hands and feet, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. The entry into the wedding takes place without distinction of persons, for by grace alone we have all been called, good and bad alike; but the life thereafter of those who enter shall not be without examination, for indeed the king makes an exceedingly careful examination of those found to be sullied after entering into the faith. Let us tremble, then, when we understand that if one does not lead a pure life, faith alone benefits him not at all. For not only is he cast out of the wedding feast, but he is sent away into the fire. Who is he that is wearing filthy garments? It is he who is not clothed with compassion, goodness, and brotherly love. For there are many who deceive themselves with vain hopes, thinking that they shall attain the kingdom of heaven, and they include themselves among the assembly of the dinner guests, thinking great things of themselves. Being justified in regard to that unworthy man, the Lord demonstrates these two things to us; first, that He loves mankind, and secondly, that we ought not to pass judgement on anyone, even if they sin openly, unless they have been reproved for their sin. The Lord then says to His servants, the angels of punishment, "Bind his hands and feet," that is, the soul�s powers of action. For in this present age is the time to act and to do, but in the age to come all of the soul�s powers of action are bound, and a man cannot then do any good thing to outweigh his sins. Gnashing of teeth is the meaningless repentance that will then take place. "Many are called" for God calls many, indeed, all, "but few are chosen." For few are saved and found worthy to be chosen by God. For it is God�s part to call, but to become one of the chosen or not, is our part. He shows, then, that this parable was spoken for the Jews who were called but were not chosen, as they did not listen.
15-16. Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent out unto Him their disciples with the Herodians . What took place was a plot: therefore Luke also calls them spies ( Lk. 20:20 ), or waylayers, sent secretly to set a trap for Christ. "Herodians" were either soldiers of Herod or those who thought Herod was the Christ. For since the princely line of Judah had failed when Herod, who was not of that line, became king, the Herodians thought that Herod himself was the Christ. So the Pharisees, then, come with thesemen to set a trap for Him. Hear how they address Him:
16-22. Saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, Why test ye Me, ye hypocrites? Show Me the tribute money. And they brought unto Him a penny. And He saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto Him, Caesar�s. Then saith He unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar�s; and unto God the things that are God�s. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left Him, and went their way. Thinking to placate and disarm Him with praise, they flatter Him, so that when He had let down His guard He would say that it was not necessary to pay the tax, and upon that they would seize Him as an insurrectionist who was stirring up the people against Caesar. This is why they also brought along the Herodians, so that they, representing the king, could arrest Him as a rebel. "Thou regardest not the person of men," they say, that is, you would not say anything for the sake of Pilate or Herod. Tell us, then, should we be subject to men�s taxation and pay them tribute just as we pay the two-drachma tax to God, or should we pay tribute to God alone, and not to Caesar as well? They said this, as I have explained, so that if He answered that one must not pay tribute to Caesar, they could arrest Him and put Him to death, as they did to the followers of Theudas and Judas ( Acts 5:36-37 ) who said that one must not make sacrifice in Caesar�s name. Jesus persuades them by means of the image of Caesar engraved on the coin, that one must render to Caesar that which is his, namely, that which bears his image, and that in bodily and external things one must submit to the king, but in inner and spiritual things one must submit to God. But one must also understand it in this manner: each one of us must render to Caesar that which is Caesar�s, namely, we must throw to the demon who rules below the things which belong to him. As for example when you have anger which comes from Caesar, throw it back to him, get angry against him. Then you will also be able to render to God that which is God�s. But since we are of dual nature, consisting of both soul and body, to our body, as to Caesar, we owe food and clothing, but to that which is more divine in us, we owe what befits it.
23-28. The same day came to Him the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, and asked Him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, died, and, having no offspring, left his wife unto his brother: likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her. When the mouths of the Pharisees and the Herodians had been shut, again the Sadducees put Him to the test. Their heresy was this: they believed neither in a resurrection of the dead, nor in the existence of an immaterial spirit, nor in angels, and in general took a position opposite to that of the Pharisees. Here they contrive an impossible situation. For supposing that two brothers took her and then died, would not the third consider it an omen and refuse the marriage, learning from those who had preceded him? So the Sadducees invent a situation, intending to perplex Christ and so to refute the resurrection. They even draw Moses as an advocate into their invention. They speak of seven brothers so as to ridicule the mystery of the resurrection even more. "Whose wife shall she be?" they ask. One could answer, "O foul Sadducees, she shall be the wife of him who first married her, if we concede that there is marriage in the resurrection; for the others are surrogates and not true and lawful husbands" ( Deut. 25:5-6 ).
29-33. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye are deluded, knowing neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at His doctrine.