16. Now the Parable before our eyes, obviously introduces the familiar feast, and bringing together, of the Bridegroom and Bride, with a marriage-supper: and again the servants also, who are here destroyed and slain, and the former and latter persons bidden. By means of these again, He points out covertly, the things that happened after His resurrection from the dead. For the Bridegroom is, THE WORD OF GOD ; the Bride, the rational soul, which is associated with Him, and receives the Divine seed that is of Him. And (this) Divine and rational association, (represents) that of His Church : and, consequent upon these things, the rational feast and marriage supper, (represent) the Divine and heavenly aliments (so prepared). He does not here speak of the inviting servants, with reference to those who were formerly sent to the vineyard, but, with reference to the latter ones. For those were the Prophets; but these, His own Apostles, who were sent forth to make the call, (and) first, of those who were of the circumcision. For, when He first sent these forth, He charged them, saying, "⁴² Into the way of the Gentiles go ye not; and into a city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but rather go ye to the wandering sheep of the house of Israel." These same persons therefore, the servants did first invite; but, when they hearkened not to the call, He sent also, the second time, many Evangelists and Preachers of the Gospel ; those whom He chose, after the twelve Apostles, the seventy other Disciples, who also first preached the Gospel to the Jewish people, and called them to the feast of the New Testament. But they availed nothing, because they, who had been bidden, were busied with their merchandise; and who, after they had heard the

call of the servants, abused some, and killed others. And it is in our power to find from the Scriptures, how many of the Disciples of our Saviour they afterwards killed, both in Jerusalem and in the rest of Judea. Stephen then was, in the first place, forthwith slain by them by stoning. After him, James the brother of John⁴³. And again after them, he who first chose (to accept) the throne⁴⁴ of the Church of that place, James who was called the Brother of our Lord: whom, on account of his great excellence, they called "the Just⁴⁵." Him too, the Jews of those times killed by stoning. How they abused the Apostles by stripes, the Book of the Acts relates. And these things did He, by His divine knowledge, foretel before they happened; He also foretold the things which should befall them from the Jews. By means of a parable too, He predicted what should come to pass before these things took place, by these expressions, (viz.) "The king was enraged" at the abuse and slaughter of his servants, " and sent his army, and slew those murderers, and burnt up their city." And, What can be more obvious than this foreknowledge, and the fulfilment of the things themselves (so predicted) ? For the army of the Romans came soon after, and took the city, and destroyed the Temple itself by fire. And, of Whom was it, except of Him who is King of all, God over all, that it was thus said, that "the King shall send his army, and shall slay those murderers, and shall burn up their

city?" To this very time indeed, the remnants of the conflagration which took place in various parts of the city, are obvious to the sight of those who travel thither. But, how those murderers of the Apostles were taken in the reduction (of the city), and suffered the punishment which they deserved, it is not necessary we should say, as the things which were done to them, may readily be found in the record of the Romans⁴⁶ by Flavius Josephus⁴⁷. After the slaughter of these therefore, and the reduction of the metropolis of their kingdom, they, -- who remained of those servants that had first heard it said by their Lord, "They who were first called were not worthy; but go ye out into the ways and paths, and all that ye find, call to the feast" -- performed even the thing commanded. Our Saviour said to them therefore, after His resurrection, " Go ye and make Disciples of all nations in my name," And these things He said, who formerly had commanded: " In the way of the Gentiles go ye not" but (enjoined) that they should preach to the Jews only. But, when these had abused (their) Inviters, then He dismissed the servants the second time, and said, " Those that were called were not worthy. Go ye out into the ways and paths, and all that ye find call to the feast." And this they fulfilled in deed. They went out into the whole creation, and they preached to all nations, the divine and heavenly calling; and " they collected together as many as they could find, (both) bad and good." Let no one therefore wonder, that, of those, who are collected into the Church of Christ, all are not good; but, that in the mixture together with the good, the evil will also be collected. Nor did this escape the foreknowledge of our Saviour. And it is accordingly seen to remain in fact, in conformity with that foreknowledge : and, what the end of those will be, who are brought together unworthily in His Church, He Himself shews; for He afterwards teaches these things in the

parable, saying, "And⁴⁸ the feast was filled with guests: but, when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who had not (on) wedding garments. And he said to him, My friend! how earnest thou in hither not having put on wedding garments ? And he was silent. Then the king said to the ministers: Bind him hands and feet, and cast him out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are the called, but few the chosen." He likewise previously rebuked, with these predictive words, those who should conduct themselves unrighteously in His Church. 

Again, on the rejection of the Jewish people. From the Gospel of Matthew.