until the time when the darnel shall be separated from the good corn, will then no longer bear fruits on your earth, but will be cast down to inferior worlds corresponding with his degree of guilt, and to what is needful for his progress and advancement. Jesus shows you, on the one hand, the still remaining hope, and the spirits of the Lord persevering in the work, and interceding in favour of the criminal, until they shall have led him into the right path; but, on the other hand, he also shows you the ungrateful and barren nature which no effort can reach, and which must be removed from a scene where its existence could only be injurious.

We have already given you sufficient explanations of the symbolic meaning of the words spoken by Jesus to Peter and the other disciples.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XXI.-VERSES 23-32. MARK, CHAP. XI.-VERSES 27-33. LUKE, CHAP. XX. VERSES 1-8.

Fesus silences the Chief Priests and Elders.

Matth. xxi. (23) And when he came into the Temple, the chief priests and elders of the people, came to him while he was teaching, saying, By what authority do you do these things, and who gave you this authority? (24) And Jesus answered and said to them, I will also ask you one question, and if you answer me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. (25) The baptism of John; whence was it? from heaven or from men? And they debated among themselves, saying, If we should say, From heaven, he will say to us, Why then did you not believe in him? (26) And if we should say, From men, we fear the people, for all regard John as a prophet. (27) And they answered Jesus, and said, We do not know. And he said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things, (28) But what think ye? A man had two children, and he went to one of them, and said, Child, go to-day and work in my vineyard. (29) And he answered and said, I do not like; but afterwards he repented, and went. (30) And going to the other he said the same, and he answered and said, I go, Lord; and he did not go. (31) Which of these two did the will of his father? They say to him, The first. Jesus saith to them, Verily I say to you, that the taxgatherers and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. (32) For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the taxgatherers and harlots believed him; but when you saw it, you did not afterwards repent and believe in him.

Mark xi. (27) And they come again to Jerusalem, and while he was walking about in the Temple, the chief priests and scribes and elders come

to him. (28) And say to him, By what authority doeth thou these things, and who gave thee authority to do them? (29) And Jesus answered and said to them, I will also ask you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. (30) Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men; answer me. (31) And they spoke among themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe in him? (32) But if we shall say, From men, we fear the people, for all considered John to be a prophet. (33) And they answered and said to Jesus, We do not know, And Jesus said to them, Nor do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Luke xx. (1) And it came to pass on one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the Temple, and preaching the Gospel, the chief priests and scribes rose up with the elders of the people, and spoke to him, saying, (2) Tell us by what authority you do these things, and who it is who has given you this authority. (3) And he answered and said to them, I will also ask you one question, and answer me. (4) Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? (5) And they spoke together among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe in him? (6) But if we say, From men, all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet. (7) And they replied that they knew not whence it was. (8) And Jesus said to them, Nor do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

§ 246. Jesus spoke to those who had witnessed the actions of John without being reformed; and, who as they did not understand the source whence he derived his power, would be equally unable to understand, and still less disposed to admit the testimony of the Word. If Jesus had said that his power came from God, he would have provoked the priests, the Scribes and the Pharisees to hasten the moment which should terminate his mission. He therefore avoided answering their question directly; but you may find encouragement for the present, and promises for the future, in his words. He told his adversaries, "The tax-gatherers and harlots go into the kingdom of the heavens before you." These rebellious children were touched by repentance, and came, though late, to work in the vineyard of the Lord; but you, proud men, who hold the highest positions in the church, have said, "Lord, I come ;" and you have delayed, and often even drawn back. You will arrive very late indeed in the kingdom of the heavens, for you must first understand your fault, and go into the vineyard of the Lord, and work very hard to make up for lost time; and when you arrive, the tax-gatherers and harlots who repented

at the time, and have finished their task, will be waiting to hold out their hands to aid you to enter. There are chief priests, Scribes, and Pharisees in your own days; and they that have ears to hear, let them hear.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XXI.-VERSES 33-41. MARK, CHAP. XII.-VERSES 1-9. LUKE, CHAP. XX. VERSES 9-16.

Parable of the Vineyard and the wicked Husbandmen.

Matth. xxi. (33) Hear another parable. A certain man who was a householder planted a vineyard, and hedged it round, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it to husbandmen, and went abroad. (34) And when the fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, to receive its fruits. (35) And the husbandmen seized upon his servants, and one they beat, and one they killed, and one they stoned. (36) Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did to them likewise. (37) And at last he sent his son to them, saying, They will reverence my son. (38) And the husbandmen seeing the son, said to each other, This is the heir; come let us kill him, and seize his inheritance. (39) And they seized him and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. (40) When, therefore, the Lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to these husbandmen? (41) They say to him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and hand over the vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall give up to him the fruits in their seasons.

Mark xii. (1) And he began to speak to them in parables. A man planted a vineyard, and hedged it round, and dug a wine-vat, and built a tower, and entrusted it to husbandmen, and went abroad. (2) And in the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that he should receive some of the fruit of the vineyard. (3) And they seized him and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. (4) And again he sent another servant to them, and him they stoned and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. (5) And again he sent another, and him they slew; and many others, and some they beat, and some they killed. (6) But he had still one beloved son, and at last he sent him to them, saying, They will reverence my son. (7) But these husbandmen said to each other, This is the heir, come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. (8) And they seized him and slew him, and cast him out of the vineyard. (9) What then will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others.

Luke xx. (9) And he began to tell the people this parable. A certain man planted a vineyard, and handed it over to husbandmen, and went abroad for a long time. (10) And in the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. And the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. (11) And again he sent another servant, and they beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. (12) And again he sent a

third, and they wounded him also, and cast him out. (13) And the Lord of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will reverence him when they see him. (14) And when the husbandmen saw him, they debated among themselves, saying, This is the heir; come let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. (15) And they cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. What then shall the lord of the vineyard do to them? (16) He will come and destroy those husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, May it not be thus !

§ 247. This parable is an emblem of the people of Israel. This is the vineyard which the Lord has planted; and the hedge which he made round it denotes the care which he took to preserve the remembrance of his name among the Hebrews. The wine-press which the householder dug in the ground is an allegorical expression used to complete the idea, and to show that nothing had been neglected that the vineyard should yield all that could be obtained from it. The fruit is gathered when it is ripe, but soon spoils, and the juice must be drawn from it by pressing and bruising the outward material part, to extract the wine, which does not change, but lasts for ever. The wine-press, as regards the Jews and other men, is the veiled emblem of experience, expiation, and reincarnation. The tower denotes the indestructible abode of the husbandmen, if they take care of the vineyard; the safe place where they would have preserved the juice of the grape when their labour should have brought it to the necessary quality and purity to be stored up in the tower. The season of ripe fruits is the period when the Jews should have been ready to yield fruits of justice, fit to be gathered for eternity. The servants of the master are the prophets who often came to remind men that they did not walk in the way which had been marked out for them. The fruit-season is near when men have received the lessons needful for their advancement, and ought to be able to profit by them. We need not point out to you the Father's beloved Son, ready, as it appeared to men, to sacrifice his life to yield up to the Father the ripe fruits of the vineyard. The rebellious husbandmen are the Jews from whom the Lord withdraws his protection; for they have destroyed him whom they ought to have loved and reverenced.

The husbandmen in the parable say, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours." This is a material idea, which only shows man the actions which relate to his present life, and hides from him the consequences which his conduct will bring upon him. Such men only open their eyes to what is material, and shut fast the eyes of the soul. These words are designed to illustrate the blindness of those who persist in refusing to render to God the things which are God's, rejecting all the warnings which they have received, and have no fear of him whom they have offended and continue to offend by their ingratitude and obduracy.

Some of those to whom the words of the parable were applied are still living reincarnated on your earth. The words are applicable to all; to them as well as to you; and you may remember that Jesus said, "This generation shall not pass, until you shall see the Son of Man coming in his glory."* The husbandmen in the parable are not changed until the Son has been killed. They are the servants, the messengers of the Lord, who succeed one another, who are changed; and not the husbandmen. The Jewish nation represents the husbandmen, until the apparent death of Jesus. After the conclusion of his earthly mission, the vineyard was taken away from the wicked husbandmen, and given to others. You, Christians, have taken the place of the Jews, and have been the new husbandmen until now. The vineyard which the Lord has given into your charge is the entire humanity of your planet, both Jews and Gentiles. The hedge surrounding it is the law of love which he sent his beloved Son to preach to men by his teaching and example, that above all things you might become united, apart from all external forms of worship.

The new husbandmen are all who have been called to labour at their individual and collective progress by perfecting themselves and their brethren, and thus causing the vineyard to yield fruits of justice, charity, knowledge, and

*Matth. xxxiv. 34; Luke xxi. 32.