2 Forefeast of the Holy Theophany

And the chief priests and scribes sought to lay hands on him at that hour, and they feared the people. For they knew that he had spoken this parable against them. The chief priests and scribes, as if accusing the Lord of lying against them, sought to kill him, but by seeking this they were teaching that what he said was true. For he is the heir, whose unjust death he said would be avenged; they are the wicked tenants, who hesitated a little due to human fear from killing the Son of God until his hour had come, but they were never able to be restrained by divine love. Indeed, in a moral sense, each of the faithful is assigned to tend the mystery of baptism which he exercises in his works, like a vineyard he cultivates. One servant after another is sent to receive the fruit, which is read in the law, the psalms, and the prophecies, following their admonition by doing good. But a sent servant is mistreated or beaten and cast out, when the word heard is either despised or, worse, even blasphemed. He kills the sent heir as much as is in his power, who tramples the Son of God and insults the Spirit of grace by whom he was sanctified. With the bad tenant destroyed, the vineyard is given to another, when each humble person is enriched with the gift of grace which the proud one scorned. And this, too, that the chief priests and scribes, seeking to lay hands on Jesus, are restrained by the fear of the people, is enacted daily in the Church, when anyone refrains from attacking the unity of ecclesiastical faith and peace, which he does not love, either out of shame or fear of the multitude of good brothers living together. Yet, just as the Lord said about the foolish ostrich, when the time comes, will he take flight on high, because by persecuting the Church, he will rejoice in having the Lord crucified and displayed.

And so by seeking to slay Him, they proved the truth of what He had said in the parable. For He Himself is the Heir, whose unjust death He said was to be punished. They are the wicked husbandmen who sought to kill the Son of God. This also is daily committed in the Church when any one, only in name a brother, is ashamed or afraid, because of the many good men with whom he lives, to break into that unity of the Church's faith and peace which he abhors. And because the chief priests sought to lay hold of our Lord but could not by themselves, they tried to accomplish it by the hands of the governor; as it follows, And they watched him, &c.

And the chief priests sought, etc. After the refuted calumny and the exposed perfidy, there follows here the third part, in which he detects their contrived cunning. Of this cunning, the Evangelist first describes the deceitful contrivance; and second, the truthful confutation, at the passage: But considering their deceit, etc. The contrivance of cunning, however, the Evangelist describes with respect to three things, namely with respect to the Pharisees' malevolent indignation, malicious scheming, and spiteful questioning.

First therefore, as regards the malevolent indignation of the Pharisees, he says: And the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that hour: they sought, I say, to kill him, according to that passage of John 7: "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you?" Out of indignation of spirit, therefore, they sought, but out of fear of the people they did not dare. Whence he adds: And they feared the people, not God; against which Proverbs 29: "He who fears man shall quickly fall." But they feared the people more than God, because they loved the praise of the people more than the truth of Christ: for the praise of the people anointed them, but the truth of Christ reproved them. Whence it is added: For they knew that he had spoken this parable against them. And thus the truth begot hatred, and that saying of Amos 5 was verified: "They hated him who reproves in the gate, and they abominated him who speaks perfectly." As a figure of this, it is said in Jeremiah 26: "The priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying: The judgment of death is upon this man, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears." But these Pharisees, while they wished to kill Christ, by opposing the truth they had heard were fulfilling that very truth, according to that passage of Acts 13: "Those who dwelt in Jerusalem and their rulers, not knowing this Jesus and the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by judging him; and finding no cause of death in him, they asked Pilate that they might kill him. And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, taking him down from the tree, they laid him in a tomb."

Again the gang of Pharisees is inflamed with unbridled rage. They draw the bow of their envy. They grind their teeth at him who calls them to life. They savagely attack him who seeks to save and who humbled himself from his supreme and godlike glory to our condition. They plot the death of he who became man that he might abolish death. The wise Evangelist shows us the only cause that hindered their shameless pride. He said that they feared the people. He understood, therefore, that they were not restrained by a feeling of piety toward God. The commandment given by Moses that plainly says, "You shall not kill the holy and the just," did not bridle their violence. They had far more respect for the fear of people than the reverence due to God.

It became indeed the rulers of the Jews, perceiving that the parable was spoken of them, to depart from evil, having been thus as it were warned concerning the future. But little mindful of this, they rather gather a fresh occasion for their crimes. The commandment of the Law restrained them not, which says, The innocent and righteous men thou shalt not slay, (Exod. 23:7.) but the fear of the people checked their wicked purpose. For they set the fear of man before the reverence of God. The reason of this purpose is given, for they perceived that he spoke this parable against them.

For they seemed to be trifling, yet were in earnest, forgetful of God, who says, Who is this that hideth his counsel from me? (Job 42:3.) For they come to Christ the Saviour of all, as though He were a common man, as it follows, that they might take him in his speech.

But even then, when they understood that the Lord was speaking this parable against them, they plotted against Him and would have laid hands on Him, had they not feared the people. The Law also says: "Do not put to death the innocent and the righteous" (Ex. 23:7); but they do not heed it, and instead fear the wrath of men, and, refraining from openly laying hands on Him, they contrive other snares against Him.

And observing, they sent spies, who pretended to be righteous, in order to catch him in his speech, and deliver him to the authority and power of the governor. Seeking to apprehend the Lord, the chief priests and the scribes feared the people, and therefore what they could not do themselves, they tried to accomplish through the hands of the governor, so that they might appear innocent of his death. For recently, under Caesar Augustus, Judea was subjected to the Romans, when a census was held throughout the entire world, and it had become tributary, and there was great unrest among the people, with some saying that for security and peace, with the Romans fighting for all, tributes should be paid; however, the Pharisees, who prided themselves on their righteousness, were contrary to this, arguing that the people of God, who paid tithes and offered first fruits, and other things written in the law, should not be subjected to human laws. The spark of this unrest grew so strong that after the Lord's passion, when the Romans besieged them, they preferred to lose their homeland, nation, and kingdom, the noble temple with its religion, even the light itself, rather than pay tributes.

Second, as regards the malicious plotting, he adds: And watching, they sent spies who feigned themselves to be just, against that passage of Proverbs 24: "Do not lie in wait and seek iniquity against the house of the just, and do not lay waste his rest." But plots are carried out through pretenses: against whom Job 36: "Dissemblers and the crafty provoke the wrath of God"; because, Proverbs 11, "the dissembler deceives his friend with his mouth."

And because dissembling has a perverse intention joined to it, therefore he adds: That they might catch him in his speech and deliver him to the principality and power of the governor, namely of Herod. Whence in Mark 12 it is said: "They send to him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in his word." And this was a great cunning: whence the Gloss: "What they cannot do by themselves on account of fear of the people, they wish to accomplish by the hands of the governor, so that they might appear as though innocent of his death." Therefore in the person of such men it is said in Wisdom 2: "Let us lie in wait for the just one, for he is useless to us and contrary to our works, and he reproaches us with sins against the law and defames us with sins against our training." Whence also as a figure of this, the Philistines said to Delilah in Judges 16: "Deceive him and learn from him wherein he has such great strength, and how we may be able to overcome him."

These bold and hardhearted men, being ready for only evil, do not entertain a good purpose, but with their mind full of the craftiness of the devil, they commit themselves to wicked plans. They lay traps for Christ, plan a trap for an accusation against him, and gather pretexts for falsely accusing him. In their bitterness, they are already meditating and plotting the lying words they spoke against him before Pilate.… They pretended to be kind and just. They imagined that they could deceive him who knows secrets. Having one purpose in mind and heart, they speak words totally unlike their wicked dishonesty.

But suppose they sent Him the message for the purpose of tempting Him? Well, but the Scripture does not say so; and inasmuch as it is usual for it to indicate what is done in the way of temptation ("Behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him; " again, when inquiring about tribute, the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him ), so, when it makes no mention of temptation, it does not admit the interpretation of temptation.

The Pharisees prepared a net which, in their opinion, the Lord would find difficult to escape, but in this net "their foot was caught" (Ps. 9:16). See what cunning! If the Lord says that tribute ought to be given to Caesar, then they will accuse Him before the people as one who was enslaving the people who are "Abraham's seed" and never served anyone (Jn. 8:33). If He forbids giving tribute, then they will lead Him to the governor as a seditious person.

They laid snares for our Lord, but got their own feet entangled in them. Listen to their cunning, And they asked Him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly.

Therefore it was intended, in case He said they ought to give tribute to Cæsar, that He should be accused by the people, as placing the nation under the yoke of slavery, but if He forbade them to pay the tax, that they should denounce Him as a stirrer up of divisions to the governor.

And they questioned him, saying: Master, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and do not show partiality, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not? The flattering and deceitful question provokes the respondent to fear God more than Caesar, and to say that tributes should not be paid, so that immediately the governor's officers, who are recorded to have been present according to other evangelists, could hold him as a leader of sedition against the Romans.

This smooth and artful question was to entice the answerer to say that he fears God rather than Cæsar, for it follows, Neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly.

Third, regarding the malicious interrogation, he adds: And they asked him, saying: Master, we know that you speak and teach rightly. Regarding the word, they speak truly indeed, because John 17: "Your word is truth." They themselves were saying this by way of flattery, so that they might extract the secret of his heart from him. Whence Chrysostom: "This is the first prudence of hypocrites: feigned praise, just as one who cannot subdue a bull by strength rubs its neck with gentle hands, so as to seize it through blandishments." And concerning such persons, Proverbs 16: "An evil man entices his friend and leads him along a way that is not good"; and Proverbs 27: "He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising in the night, shall be likened to one who curses."

And you do not regard the person of men, regarding disposition: and this is true, according to that passage in Acts 10: "In truth I have found that God is no respecter of persons"; and Deuteronomy 10: "God great and mighty and terrible, who does not regard persons nor accept bribes."

But you teach the way of God in truth, regarding example, on account of which he himself said in John 14: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

Or: you speak rightly, regarding the truth of life; you do not regard persons, with respect to the truth of justice; but you teach the way of God in truth, with respect to the truth of doctrine. In this they praise Christ with true praise, but with a deceitful heart.

What do they say? "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, nor do you accept persons but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" O what polluted dishonesty! The God of all certainly wanted Israel to be exempt from human rule. They trampled under foot the divine laws and totally despised the commandment given to them. They committed themselves to their own devices. They therefore fell under the hand of those who at that time ruled over them. They also imposed on them tribute, tax and the yoke of an unaccustomed slavery. The prophet Jeremiah also lamented over Jerusalem as though it had already suffered this fate, saying, "How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the cities has become a vassal."It therefore says that their object was to deliver him to the authority of the governor, because they expected that they would hear him say, certainly and without doubt, that it was not lawful to give tribute to Caesar.

When they saw miracles in the Lord, the same enemies said: Tell us, by what power do you do these things? They asked with an inimical mind, so that if he confessed his power, they might hold him as a blasphemer. But how did he act with the coin, when they wanted to accuse him: if he said, Pay tribute to Caesar, as if he had spoken against the Jewish people, making them subject and tributary; if he said, Do not pay, they could denounce him to Caesar's friends and ministers for prohibiting the payment; but he said: Show me the coin. Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered: Caesar's. Therefore, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. This is to say: If Caesar seeks his image on the coin, does not God seek His image in man?

This they say, to entice Him to tell them that they ought not to pay tribute, in order that the servants of the guard, (who according to the other Evangelists are said to have been present,) might immediately upon hearing it seize Him as the leader of a sedition against the Romans. And so they proceed to ask, Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not? For there was a great division among the people, some saying that for the sake of security and quiet, seeing that the Romans fought for all, they ought to pay tribute; while the Pharisees, on the contrary, declared, that the people of God who gave tithes and first fruits, ought not to be subject to the law of man.

And this is evident from their crafty interrogation, when it is added: Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not? according to the decree of divine law; in this they propose a deceitful question because, whichever answer is given, they intend to lead him into an absurdity. For either he would say yes, and thus he would seem to speak against the Law and against the Jewish people and common opinion; or he would say no, and then they would hand him over to the authority, as a rebel against Caesar and an enemy of the whole empire. Whence the Gloss: "The Pharisees, who applauded themselves for their righteousness, who gave tithes and first-fruits to God, denied that tributes should be paid to a man." And hence it is that they flattered Christ, so that they might extract from the mouth of Christ such a pronouncement, so that afterward they might say that word from John 19: "If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar; for everyone who makes himself king opposes Caesar."

And everywhere we, more readily than all men, endeavour to pay to those appointed by you the taxes both ordinary and extraordinary, as we have been taught by Him; for at that time some came to Him and asked Him, if one ought to pay tribute to Caesar; and He answered, "Tell Me, whose image does the coin bear?" And they said, "Caesar's." And again He answered them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Whence to God alone we render worship, but in other things we gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that with your kingly power you be found to possess also sound judgment. But if you pay no regard to our prayers and frank explanations, we shall suffer no loss, since we believe (or rather, indeed, are persuaded) that every man will suffer punishment in eternal fire according to the merit of his deed, and will render account according to the power he has received from God, as Christ intimated when He said, "To whom God has given more, of him shall more be required."

And they could not reproach his word before the people, and marveling at his answers they remained silent. They who ought to have believed because of such wisdom, wondered that their cunning in ensnaring had found no place.

Now they who ought rather to have believed such great wisdom, marvelled that in all their cunning they had found no opportunity of catching Him. As it follows, And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.

Thirdly, as to the evident confutation of shifty cunning, he adds: And they were not able to reprehend his word before the people, by any apparent contradiction. Nor is this surprising, because in Romans nine: "Who are you to answer back to God?" Whence in Job nine: "If he should suddenly question, who will answer him? Or who can say to him: Why do you act thus?"

And therefore those who contend with Christ are necessarily confounded; on account of which he adds: And marveling at his answer, they were silent, through evident confusion; whence the Gloss: "Those who ought to have believed marveled, because they have no ground for testing him." Whence Chrysostom: "Malice is sometimes confounded, but never corrected; just as one who wishes to block the channel of running water breaks open a path elsewhere, so also does malice." Whence they were not silent from prudence, as is said in Sirach twenty: "There is one who is silent and is found wise." "A wise man will be silent until the proper time." Nor from reverence, as that one of whom Sirach thirty-two says: "Listen in silence, and for your reverence good grace will come to you." Nor from patience, as that one in Isaiah forty-two: "I was silent, I was always quiet, I was patient." Nor from interior peace: Lamentations three: "He will sit alone and be silent." But from open confusion, as those of whom the Lord inquired in Mark three: "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it? But they were silent"; and 1 Kings two: "The wicked shall be silent in darkness," etc.

If, then, forasmuch as there is in the law a precept that a man is to take in marriage the wife of his brother if he have died without children, for the purpose of raising up seed to his brother; and this may happen repeatedly to the same person, according to that crafty question of the Sadducees; men for that reason think that frequency of marriage is permitted in other cases as well: it will be their duty to understand first the reason of the precept itself; and thus they will come to know that that reason, now ceasing, is among those parts of the law which have been cancelled.

The Pharisees could not catch Jesus in His word before the people. For their special concern was to slander Him before the people as one who was enslaving the nation to the Romans. But this they could not achieve because of His most wise answer.

This was their main object, to rebuke Him before the people, which they were unable to do because of the wonderful wisdom of His answer.