Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
First, Christ responds to the Scribes who ask by what authority He preaches, by opposing the testimony of John the Baptist who testified concerning Him, that He had been sent by God to preach. Second, verse 9, He proposes to them the parable of the vineyard and its wicked tenants. Third, verse 22, when they test Him on whether it is lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, He answers: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. Fourth, verse 27, He refutes the Sadducees who deny the resurrection, and proves it to them from Scripture. Fifth, verse 42, He demonstrates to them that the Messiah is God, because David, in Psalm CIX, calls Him Lord. Finally, He rebukes their vices and warns the people not to imitate them.
We have heard all these things in Matthew XXI and XXII, where I explained them.
Vulgate Text: Luke 20:1-47
1. And it came to pass on one of the days, as He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came together with the elders, 2. and they spoke, saying to Him: Tell us by what authority You do these things? Or who is it that gave You this authority? 3. And Jesus, answering, said to them: I will also ask you one question. Answer Me: 4. Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? 5. But they deliberated among themselves, saying: If we say, "From heaven," He will say, "Why then did you not believe him?" 6. But if we say, "From men," all the people will stone us, for they are certain that John is a prophet. 7. And they answered that they did not know whence it was. 8. And Jesus said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. 9. And He began to speak this parable to the people: A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants, and he went abroad for a long time. 10. And at the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11. And he sent yet another servant. But they also beat this one and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12. And he sent yet a third; but they also wounded him and cast him out. 13. Then the owner of the vineyard said: What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps when they see him, they will respect him. 14. But when the tenants saw him, they deliberated among themselves, saying: This is the heir; let us kill him, so that the inheritance may become ours. 15. And they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16. He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. When they heard this, they said: God forbid! 17. But He, looking at them, said: What then is this that is written: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner"? 18. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him. 19. And the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on Him at that very hour, but they feared the people; for they recognized that He had spoken this parable against them. 20. And watching for an opportunity, they sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order to catch Him in His speech, so as to hand Him over to the authority and power of the governor. 21. And they questioned Him, saying: Teacher, we know that You speak and teach rightly, and You do not show partiality, but teach the way of God in truth: 22. Is it lawful for us to pay tribute to Caesar, or not? 23. But perceiving their craftiness, He said to them: Why do you test Me? 24. Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered and said: Caesar's. 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. 26. And they were unable to catch Him in His words before the people; and marveling at His answer, they fell silent. 27. Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and questioned Him, 28. saying: Teacher, Moses wrote for us: If anyone's brother dies having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 29. There were therefore seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died without children. 30. And the next took her, and he too died without a son. 31. And the third took her. Likewise also all seven, and they left no offspring, and died. 32. Last of all the woman also died. 33. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will she be? For seven had her as wife. 34. And Jesus said to them: The children of this age marry and are given in marriage; 35. but those who are deemed worthy of that age and of the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor take wives; 36. for they can no longer die: for they are equal to the angels, and are children of God, since they are children of the resurrection. 37. But that the dead rise, Moses also showed at the bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38. Now God is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live to Him. 39. And some of the Scribes answering said to Him: Master, You have spoken well. 40. And they no longer dared to ask Him anything. 41. But He said to them: How do they say that Christ is the son of David? 42. For David himself says in the book of Psalms: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, 43. until I make Your enemies the footstool of Your feet? 44. David therefore calls Him Lord; and how is He his son? 45. And in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples: 46. Beware of the Scribes, who desire to walk about in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplace, and the first seats in the synagogues, and the chief places at feasts; 47. who devour the houses of widows, making a pretense of long prayer. These shall receive greater condemnation.
Verse 36: For They Are Equal to the Angels
36. FOR THEY ARE EQUAL TO THE ANGELS — (the Arabic version: they are like the angels of God; the Syriac: they are in the likeness of angels; and so also roughly the Egyptian, Persian, and Ethiopian versions), in celibacy, in immortality, in glory. Just as therefore the angels do not marry and do not beget, so neither will the Blessed, because they, being immortal and glorious of themselves, will endure for all eternity. For procreation is sought in this life on account of death, so that the father who dies may live on and endure, as it were, in the son whom he leaves alive. Whence St. Cyril says: "Just as the angels were not propagated through generation, so those who rise have no need of marriage." And St. Chrysostom, chapter XXII, on Matthew: "Here wives are taken, he says, so that through birth what is diminished by death may be replenished; but there death will not exist, and consequently neither marriage," nor wives, nor procreation.
AND THEY ARE CHILDREN OF GOD, SINCE THEY ARE CHILDREN OF THE RESURRECTION. — "Children of God" is the name given, says Theophylactus, to those who are regenerated through the resurrection, not only through grace but also through glory, so that they may be most like God, according to that saying of 1 John 3: "When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." Whence they will then, as children, enter upon the inheritance of God the Father.
Hence they are also called "children of the resurrection," because through the resurrection they will seem to be born again to a new, divine, and blessed life. So says Theophylactus.
Secondly, they will be "children of the resurrection," that is, worthy of the resurrection. For the word "son," when joined with a genitive of reward or punishment, signifies among the Hebrews one who is guilty of, worthy of, or destined for such a punishment or reward. Thus they are called children of death and of Gehenna, that is, deserving of death and Gehenna; children of the kingdom and of the resurrection, that is, worthy of the heavenly kingdom and of the resurrection of the Blessed.
Verse 40: They No Longer Dared to Ask Him
40. AND THEY NO LONGER DARED TO ASK HIM ANYTHING — namely, the Sadducees; for the Pharisees again questioned Him as to which was the greatest commandment, as is clear from Matthew chapter XXII, verse 35.