From
the blood of Abel. Though Abel
(Gen. 4:8) was not slain by the Jews, yet the murder of Abel is imputed to them by Christ, because there is an affinity of
wickedness between them and Cain; otherwise there would have been no propriety
in saying that righteous blood had
been shed by that nation from the
beginning of the world. Cain is therefore declared to be the head, and
leader, and instigator of the Jewish people, because, ever since they began to
slay prophets, they succeeded in the
room of him whose imitators they were.
To
the blood of Zechariah. He does not speak of Zechariah as the latest martyr; for the
Jews did not then put an end to the murder of the prophets, but, on the contrary, their insolence and madness
increased from that period; and posterity, who followed them, satiated
themselves with the blood which their fathers only tasted. Nor is it because
his death was better known, though it is recorded in Scripture. But there is
another reason, which, though it deserves attention, has escaped the notice of
commentators; in consequence of which they have not only fallen into a mistake,
but have likewise involved their readers in a troublesome question. We might
suppose it to have arisen from forgetfulness on the part of Christ, that, while
he mentions one ancient murder, he passes by a prodigious slaughter which
afterwards took place under Manasseh. For until the Jews were carried to
Babylon, their wicked persecutions of holy men did not cease; and even while
they were still under affliction, we know with what cruelty and rage they
pursued Jeremiah, (32:2.) But our Lord on purpose abstains from reproaching
them with recent murders, and selects this murder, which was more ancient—which
was also the commencement and source of base licentiousness, and afterwards led
them to break out into unbounded cruelty—because it was more suitable to his
design. For I have lately explained, that his leading object was to show that
this nation, as it did not desist from impiety, must be held guilty of all the
murders which had been perpetrated during a long period. Not only, therefore,
does he denounce the punishment of their present cruelty, but says that they
must be called to account for the murder of Zechariah,
as if their own hands had been imbrued in his blood.
There is no probability in the opinion of those who refer
this passage to that Zechariah who
exhorted the people, after their return from the Babylonish captivity, to build the temple, (Zech. 8:9,) and
whose prophecies are still in existence. For though the title of the book
informs us that he was the son of
Barachiah, (Zech. 1:1,) yet we nowhere read that he was slain; and it is a
forced exposition to say, that he was slain during the period that intervened between the building of the altar and of the temple. But as to
the other Zechariah, son of Jehoiada,
the sacred history relates what agrees perfectly with this passage; that when
true religion had fallen into decay, after the death of his father, through the
wicked revolt of the king and of the people, the Spirit of God came upon him, to reprove severely the public
idolatry, and that on this account he was stoned in the porch of the temple, (2
Chron. 24:20, 21.) There is no absurdity in supposing that his father Jehoiada
received, in token of respect, the surname of Barachiah, because, having throughout his whole life defended the
true worship, he might justly be pronounced to be the Blessed of God. But whether Jehoiada had two names, or whether (as
Jerome thinks) there is a mistake in the word, there can be no doubt as to the
fact, that Christ refers to that impious stoning of Zechariah which is recorded
in 2 Chron. 24:21, 22.
Whom
you slew between the temple and the altar. The crime is
rendered still more heinous by the circumstance of the place, since they did
not revere the sacredness of the temple.
Here the temple is put for the outer
court, as in other passages. Near it was the altar of burnt-offerings, (1 Kings 8:64; 18:30,) so that the priest
offered the sacrifices in presence of the people. It is evident, therefore,
that there must have been furious rage, when the sight of the altar and of the temple could not restrain the Jews from
profaning that sacred place by a detestable murder. (John Calvin, Commentary
on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 3 vols. [Bellingham,
Wash.: Logos Bible Software, 2010], 3:103-5)
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