est tree (verse 3). And Israel is represented as
such a vine, precious if but fruitful, otherwise nothing but fuel and
that of poor quality. The psalmist sang of the vine that Jehovah had
brought out of Egypt and which, planted with care and hedged about, had
flourished even with goodly boughs; but the favor of the Lord had been
turned from the vine, and it had been left desolate (Psalm 80:8-16). For
further allusions see Isa. 27:2-6; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 19:10-14; Hosea
10:1.

4. The Call to the Marriage Feast.--The calling of the guests who had
been bidden aforetime is thus commented upon by Trench (_Parables_, pp.
175-6): "This summoning of those already bidden, was, and, as modern
travellers attest, is still, quite in accordance with Eastern manners.
Thus Esther invites Haman to a banquet on the morrow (Esth. 5:8), and
when the time has actually arrived, the chamberlain comes to usher him
to the banquet (6:14). There is, therefore, no slightest reason why we
should make '_them that were bidden_' to mean them that were now _to be
bidden_; such an interpretation not merely violating all laws of
grammar, but the higher purpose with which the parable was spoken; for
our Lord, assuming that the guests had been invited long ago, does thus
remind His hearers that what He brought, if in one sense new, was in
another a fulfilment of the old; that He claimed to be heard, not as one
suddenly starting up, unconnected with aught which had gone before but
as Himself 'the end of the law,' to which it had been ever tending, the
birth with which the whole Jewish dispensation had been pregnant, and
which alone should give a meaning to it all. In His words, '_them that
were bidden_,' is involved the fact that there was nothing abrupt in the
coming of His kingdom, that its rudiments had a long while before been
laid, that all to which His adversaries clung as precious in their past
history was prophetic of blessings now actually present to them in Him.
The original invitation, which had now come to maturity, reached back to
the foundation of the Jewish commonwealth, was taken up and repeated by
each succeeding prophet, as he prophesied of the crowning grace that
should one day be brought to Israel (Luke 10:24; 1 Pet. 1:12), and
summoned the people to hold themselves in a spiritual readiness to
welcome their Lord and their King."

5. Servants and Ministers.--According to good philological authority,
"ministers" or "ministering attendants"