Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew Mark and Luke John Calvin
HARMONY OF THE EVANGELISTS
cause he was near Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God would immediately be revealed. 12. He said therefore, A certain nobleman set out for a distant country, to receive for himself a kingdom, 1292 and to return. 13. And, having called his ten servants, he gave to them ten pounds, and said to them, Trade till I come. 14. And his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15. And it happened that he returned, after having obtained the kingdom, 1293 and commanded those servants to be called to him, to whom he had given money, that he might know how much everyone had gained by trading. 16. And the first came, saying, Master, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17. And he said to him, Well done, good servant; because thou hast been faithful in a very small matter, have though power over ten cities. 18. And another came, saying, Master, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19. And he said to him, And be thou ruler over five cities. 20. And another came, saying, Master, lo, thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21. For I feared thee, because thou art a harsh man: thou takest up what thou didst not lay down, and reapest what thou didst not sow. 22. He saith to him, Out of thy mouth will I judge thee, wicked servant. Thou knewest that I am a harsh man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow: 23. And why didst not thou give my money to the bank, and, when I came, I would have demanded it with usury? 24. And to those who stood by he said, Take from him the pound, and give it to him who hath ten pounds. 25. And they said to him, Master, he hath ten pounds. 26. For I say to you, That to him that hath it shall be given; but from him who hath not, even what he hath shall be taken away. 27. But bring hither those my enemies, who refused that I should reign over them, and slay them before me. 28. And, having said these things, he went before, to go up to Jerusalem.
Luke 19:11. While they were hearing these things. It was next to a prodigy that the disciples, after having been so frequently warned as to the approaching death of Christ, flew aside from it to think of his kingdom. There were two mistakes; first, that they pictured to themselves rest and happiness without the cross; secondly, that they judged of the kingdom of God according to their own carnal sense. Hence it appears how slight and obscure their faith was; for though they had entertained a hope of the resurrection, yet the taste was too slight for forming a fixed and decided opinion about Christ. They believe him to be the Redeemer who had been formerly promised, and hence they conceive a hope that the Church will be renewed; but that knowledge immediately degenerates into vain imaginations, which either overturn or obscure the power of his kingdom. But the strangest thing of all was, that so many warnings should have passed away from their recollection without yielding any advantage. At least, it was brutal stupidity that, though Christ had lately declared, in express terms, that he was just about to undergo a bitter and ignominious death, they not only remained unconcerned, but rushed forward, as if to a joyful triumph.
12. A certain nobleman. Matthew interweaves this parable with others, without attending to the order of time; but, as his intention was, in the twenty-second chap-
1292"Pour conquester un royaurae;" — "to conquer a kingdom." 1293"Apres avoir conqueste le royaume;" — "after having conquered the kingdom."