el in
history. Archelaus, who by the will of his father, Herod the Great, had
been named king of the Jews, set out for Rome to ask of the emperor the
confirmation of his royal status. He was opposed by a protest from the
people. On the utilization of this circumstance in the parable, Farrar
(p. 493, note) says: "A nobleman going into a far country to receive a
kingdom would be utterly unintelligible, had we not fortunately known
that this was done both by Archelaus and by Antipas (Jos. Ant. xvii,
9:4). And in the case of Archelaus the Jews had actually sent to
Augustus a deputation of fifty, to recount his cruelties and oppose his
claims, which, though it failed at the time, was subsequently successful
(Josephus, Ant. xvii, 13:2). Philipus defended the property of
Archelaus, during his absence, from the encroachments of the Proconsul
Sabinus. The magnificent palace which Archelaus had built at Jericho
(Jos. Ant. xvii, 13:1) would naturally recall these circumstances to the
mind of Jesus, and the parable is another striking example of the manner
in which He utilized the most ordinary circumstances around Him, and
made them the bases of His highest teachings. It is also another
unsuspected indication of the authenticity and truthfulness of the
Gospels."

4. "We Will Not Have this Man to Reign Over Us."--On this phase of the
parable, Trench (_Miracles_, p. 390) very aptly remarks: "Twice before
He had gone to receive His kingdom, this very declaration found formal
utterance from their lips,--once when they cried to Pilate, 'We have no
king but Caesar'; and again when they remonstrated with him, 'Write not,
The King of the Jews' (John 19:15, 21; compare Acts 17:7). But the
stricter fulfilment of these words is to be found in the demeanor of the
Jews after His ascension, their fierce hostility to Christ in His infant
Church (Acts 12:3; 13:45; 14:18; 17:5; 18:6; 22:22; 23:12; 1 Thes.
2:15)."

5. The Day of the Supper at Bethany.--John places this event as having
occurred on the day following Christ's arrival in Bethany, for as we see
from 12:12, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place on the next
day after the supper, and, as stated in the text, Jesus most probably
reached Bethany on Friday. The joyous processional into Jerusalem did
not occur on the day following Friday, for that was the Jewish Sabbath.
Matthew (26:2-13) and Mark (14:1-9) give place to the incident of the
supper after the record of the triumphal entr