The Grace Commentary – Your free verse-by-verse Bible commentary Matthew 21

Matthew 21:5

“SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU,
GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”

(a) The daughter of Zion is a poetic name for Jerusalem (Is. 10:32, Zec. 9:9).

Historically, Zion was a hilltop fortress captured by David and renamed the City of David (2 Sam. 5:6–7). The hill became the heart of the city of Jerusalem (Ps. 135:21).

(b) Behold, your king. This was one of those rare occasions where Jesus referred to himself as a king. See also Matt. 25:34, Mark 15:2, Luke 22:29-30, 23:3, John 18:36-37.

Many people in scripture recognized Jesus as the king who reigns over an everlasting kingdom. These people included the magi (Matt. 2:2), the disciples (Luke 19:38), the palm-waving people of Jerusalem (John 12:13), Paul and Silas (Acts 17:7), the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:32-33), and the seventh angel (Rev. 11:15). However, during his earthly ministry, Jesus rarely referred to himself in such royal terms.

Matthew 21:9

The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!”

(a) Hosanna is a cry for help, “Save us, Lord!” The crowds were shouting lines from Psalm 118 and verse 25 is “Save us, we pray, O Lord!”

(b) The son of David was another name for the Messiah (see entry for Matt. 1:1).

(c) Blessed. In the original language there are two verbs that are translated as bless. One verb (makarios) means to make fortunate, happy or prosperous (see entry for Luke 1:48). The other (eulogeo) means to praise and speak well of. The latter verb is used here. The Judeans praised the Son of David. In the same way, God speaks highly of his children (Matt. 25:34).

(d) Blessed is he; see Ps. 118:26.

(e) The name of the Lord. In the old days, to say a prophet came in the name of the Lord was to recognize him as a true prophet of God (Deut. 18:22). So when the people of Jerusalem hailed Jesus as coming in the name of the Lord, while singing the salvation song of Psalm 118, they were saying, “Jesus, we recognize you as the true Savior.”

Matthew 21:10

When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”

Who is this? It seems inconceivable that after years of ministry there were people in Jerusalem who were unacquainted with Jesus, but this was the week before Passover. The city was full of pilgrims who had come from distant lands and who had never seen Jesus before.

Matthew 21:12

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

Drove out. This was the second time Jesus cleared the temple. The first time happened at the beginning of his public ministry (John 2:13–17). On that occasion, Jesus drove out the livestock with a homemade whip and he overturned the tables of the money changers. Evidently, the merchants had moved back in, so Jesus cleared them out again. Mark adds that Jesus also stopped those who were carrying merchandise through the temple (Mark 11:16).

The temple precinct was a massive 35 acre complex. For Jesus to put a stop to all trade and through-traffic would have required a coordinated effort involving his disciples. But shut it down he did. The religious leaders were alarmed. Since Jesus had become a threat to their business, they resolved to kill him (Mark 11:18, Luke 19:47).

Matthew 21:13

And He said to them, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”

Robbers. The original word (lestes) means armed brigands of the kind who robbed and beat the traveler on the road to Jericho (Luke 10:30), and who also menaced Paul in his travels (2 Cor. 11:26). Two such brigands were crucified beside Christ (Matt. 27:38), and Barabbas was also a brigand (John. 18:40).

Matthew 21:15

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant

(a) The chief priests; see entry for Matt. 2:4.

(b) Scribes; see entry for Matt. 5:20.

(d) The son of David was another name for the Messiah. See entry for Matt. 1:1.

(e) Indignant. The religious leaders did not recognize Jesus as Savior so they were offended by the shouting of the children.

Matthew 21:17

And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

Bethany was a village about two miles from Jerusalem; see entry for John 11:18.

Matthew 21:19

Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

(a) Found nothing. The cursing of the fruitless fig tree was a prophetic act symbolizing Israel’s self-inflicted rejection.

John, the last of the old covenant prophets, urged the religious Jews to “Bear the fruit of repentance,” meaning put your faith in Jesus (see entry for Matt. 3:8). They didn’t listen. Then for three years Jesus searched Israel in vain for the fruit of faith. When Jesus entered Jerusalem at the start of his final week, the people waved branches without fruit and the next morning, Jesus cursed a fruitless fig tree (Mark 11:14).

(b) The fig tree withered. The Israelites cut themselves off through unbelief. “God did not reject his people … they were broken off because of unbelief” (Rom. 11:2, 20).

The religious Jews trusted in themselves. Their source was self and their root was their downfall. Just as the fig tree withered from the roots up, the religious Jews rotted from the inside-out. What should they have done? They should have listened to Jesus. They should have abandoned their quest for self-improvement, put their faith in God, and allowed themselves to be grafted into the living Vine.

Matthew 21:21

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.

Do not doubt. Like fear, doubt is a faith-killer. The one who doubts has the mind like a storm-tossed sea (Jas. 1:6). The remedy for doubt is not to whip yourself into a frenzy of DIY faith, but to remind yourself of the awesome goodness of God.

Matthew 21:23

When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

(a) The chief priests; see entry for Matt. 2:4.

(b) Elders; see entry for Matt. 16:21.

(c) Teaching. Jesus often taught and preached the gospel in the temple (Matt. 26:55, Luke 20:1). He did this because that’s where people congregated (Luke 21:38) and to fulfill the words of the prophet Malachi: “the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple” (Mal. 3:1).

Matthew 21:28

“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’

(a) What do you think? “Tell me what you think of this story.”

Jesus is teaching in the temple courtyards. The chief priests and elders have come to challenge his credentials. “Who gave you the right to teach here?” (see Matt. 21:23). Jesus replies that he will answer their question if they first answer his. “Was John’s baptism ministry of heavenly or human origin?” (Matt. 21:25). The religious leaders are trapped. If they say John’s ministry was from heaven, Jesus will ask, “Then why didn’t you believe him?” But if they dismiss John, they will lose credibility with the people, for everyone regarded John as a prophet (Matt. 21:26). Cornered, the leaders answer, “We don’t know.” Jesus responds, “Then neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Then Jesus launches into a series of striking stories.

The Parable of the Two Sons is the first of three parables exposing the unfaithfulness of Israel’s religious leaders. The other two are the parables of the Wicked Tenants (Matt. 21:33–46) and the Wedding Feast (Matt. 22:1–11). The Parable of the Two Sons is unique because it is mainly about John, rather than Jesus (see Matt. 21:32). John prepared the people to receive Jesus (Luke 1:17) and bore witness to the Light (John 1:6–7). He was like an ambassador sent to prepare the way for the King. To reject John, as the religious leaders did, was to reject Jesus.

This parable is sometimes misused to promote dead works and self-righteousness: “God expects you to turn your life around and start serving.” But the way of righteousness that John proclaimed was based on believing in Jesus (Acts 19:4).

(b) A man had two sons. The man or vineyard owner represents God, and the two sons represent two groups and their different responses to him (see next verse).

(c) Go work. The work that God wants us to do is to believe in Jesus. “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29).

If Jesus were an old covenant preacher of works, we might read this story as a call to Christian service: “We prove our sonship through our works.” But Jesus is a new covenant preacher calling us to hear and act on his words (Matt. 7:24). Like James, he is saying, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (Jas. 1.22). In other words, we are to receive the implanted word—the gospel sown in our hearts—which can save us and put our faith in God’s grace.

(d) Work today. Today is the day of salvation.

In the old covenant, people looked forward to the coming Messiah. For them, salvation was always tomorrow. But in the new covenant, salvation is today (2 Cor. 6:2). When it comes to doing the work of God—believing in his Son—there is nothing to gain by waiting. Why remain captive to sin when freedom beckons?

(e) The vineyard is an Old Testament symbol for the nation of Israel. “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel” (Is. 5:7).

Matthew 21:29–30

“And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.

(a) I will not. The disobedient son who later changes his mind represents the tax collectors and prostitutes who responded to the ministry of John the Baptist (see verse 32). These “sinners” had been living in disobedience to the will of God, but when John came preaching “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4), they repented and believed.

(b) I will. The son who makes promises but fails to keep them represents the Pharisees and religious leaders who refused to heed John’s message (Matt. 21:25, 32). Though they had a reputation for being God’s servants, they ignored the will of God as revealed through John and the prophets. Jesus called them hypocrites, “for they say things and do not do them” (Matt. 23:3).

(c) Sir. The original noun kyrios is usually translated “lord,” as in, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matt. 7:21). Israel’s leaders spoke reverently about God, but their disobedience revealed the true state of their hearts.

Matthew 21:31

“Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.

(a) Which of the two? “Who was the obedient son?” With this simple question, Jesus corners the chief priests and elders. They can no longer feign ignorance.

(b) The will of his father? The will and the work of God the Father to believe in his Risen Son. “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40). The will, the work, and the command of the Father are to believe in his Son and receive eternal life (John 6:29, 1 John 3:23).

(c) They said, “The first.” In saying this, the chief priests and elders pass judgment on themselves, for they are the second son who talked a good line but never showed up. They claimed to serve God, yet they disobeyed him by rejecting the Son he sent.

(d) Truly. The original word amēn is sometimes translated as “amen” and means “truly” or “so be it.” It’s a word to introduce a statement of truth or convey a strong affirmation. See entry for Matt. 5:18.

(e) The tax collectors and prostitutes were entering the kingdom ahead of the priests and Pharisees because they were quicker to believe the good news of God’s unconditional love and acceptance.

The phrase “tax collectors and prostitutes” appears only in this parable. Both groups were infamous for collaborating with the hated Romans. Tax collectors collected revenue for Rome, while prostitutes often plied their trade near Roman garrisons. In the eyes of the religious, they were sinners, the very worst of the worst. But in the eyes of God, they were loved and accepted.

(f) The kingdom of God is synonymous with the kingdom of heaven and refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. In this present age, it is expressed through the body of Christ, the church. See entry for Matt. 3:2.

(g) Before you. “They precede you.” The priests and Pharisees who rejected Jesus had not entered the kingdom, but the door remained open to them. After Jesus rose from the dead, “a great many” priests turned to God in faith (Acts 6:7).

Matthew 21:32

“For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

(a) John came to prepare the way of the Lord (Mark 1:2). He told people that the kingdom of heaven was near and that the Messiah was about to arrive (Matt. 3:2, Mark 1:7). When he saw Jesus he proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

(b) The way of righteousness. John showed people how to get right with God by putting their faith in Jesus. “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus” (Acts 19:4).

(c) You did not believe him. For centuries, God’s prophets had been proclaiming a coming Messiah. When John said, “He’s here,” Israel’s leaders did not believe him. Those who claimed to be God’s servants revealed themselves to be faithless frauds.

(d) The tax collectors and prostitutes; see previous verse.

(e) Did believe him. In contrast to the faithless scribes and Pharisees, tax collectors and other “sinners” were baptized by John (Luke 7:29–30).

(f) And you, seeing this. “When faced with the evidence of sinners repenting and being changed by grace, you still did not change your unbelieving minds.”

It is not the merciless law that turns sinners into saints but the radical grace of God. Yet, despite the testimony of transformed lives, the religious leaders stubbornly refused to believe the good news. What will become of these hard-hearted men? Jesus gives us some hints in the following parable of the Wicked Tenants.

Further reading: “The Parable of the two sons”

Matthew 21:33

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.

(a) Parable. The Parable of the Wicked Tenants, also known as the Parable of the Tenants, the Landowner, or the Vineyard, appears in three Gospels (Mark 12:1–12, Luke 20:9–18). Jesus told this parable in the temple courts on a Tuesday. Two days earlier, on Palm Sunday, he had entered Jerusalem to shouts of triumph and briefly visited the temple (Mark 11:11). On Monday, he drove the merchants out of the temple and healed the sick (Matt. 21:12–14). He also stopped people from carrying merchandise and household items through the temple courts (Mark 11:16).

Now it is Tuesday, and on his third visit to the temple in as many days, the religious leaders confront him. “By what authority do you do these things?” (Matt. 21:23). Their purpose is to discredit him before the crowds, but Jesus will not be drawn into their trap. Instead, he tells three parables exposing the unfaithfulness of Israel’s leaders: the Two Sons (Matt. 21:28–32), the Wedding Feast (Matt. 22:1–11), and the Wicked Tenants. Jesus tells these parables to two audiences—the religious leaders who have challenged him and the crowds gathered to hear him teach.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants frightens some people. Like the parables of the Barren Fig Tree and the Vine and the Branches, it is often misread as a demand for productivity. “If I fail to produce spiritual fruit, my place in the kingdom will be taken from me.” They hear about the landowner bringing the wicked tenants to a wretched end and worry that God will judge them for their failures. These fears reveal the influence of performance-based religion and a failure to grasp the good news of grace.

A parable is a comparison expressed in the form of a short story; see entry for Matt. 13:3.

(b) Landowner. The landowner represents God, as any Jewish listener would recognize. The prophets and rabbis often described Israel as God’s vineyard (e.g., Is. 5:1–7).

(c) The vineyard in this parable, as well as in the earlier parable of the Two Sons, represents the people of God. In Old Testament times, this referred to the nation of Israel (Is. 5:1–7, Matt. 21:28).

The Jews were God’s chosen people, called to shine in a dark and depraved world. They were tenants or stewards of God’s favor, and earthly representatives of his kingdom. But the “sons of the kingdom” rebelled and lost their favored position (Matt. 8:12). As a result, God gave the vineyard to others (Matt. 21:43).

(d) The wall, winepress, and tower represent the blessings of protection, prosperity, and peace given to God’s people. These blessings, which were promised to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 12:2–3, 15:1), are ours in Christ (Gal. 3:14, 29).

This good landowner provides his tenants with many good things. He digs a pit, builds a wall, and erects a tower. The tenants don’t have to do a thing except tend the vines and reap the harvests. “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?” (Is. 5:4).

(e) The vine-growers, or tenants, were sharecroppers who tended the vineyard and paid an annual rent in crops. If the vineyard represents Israel, the tenants are Israel’s leaders. This includes the chief priests, elders, and other members of the ruling Sanhedrin who are standing before Jesus as he tells this parable (see Matt. 21:23).

God entrusted the care of Israel to the priestly class. Their task was to honor his word and cultivate the fruit of faith. If they had done their job, the people would have been ready to welcome the Messiah when he came. Instead, the leaders disobeyed God, mistreated his prophets, and tried to kill the Son he sent.

(f) Journey. There is no special significance to the journey other than to indicate the owner’s absence.

At the foot of Mt. Sinai, Israel encountered the Lord (Ex. 19:17–20). But since then, he had scarcely been seen. It was as though he had gone on a long journey. In their minds, God had been absent a long time (Luke 20:9).

Matthew 21:34

“When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.

(a) Harvest time was when the landowner sent slaves to collect the annual rent from the vine-growers.

(b) Slaves. The original noun doulos describes someone who belongs to a master. The slaves represent God’s prophets, wise men, and scribes (Matt. 23:34) who challenged Israel’s leaders and encouraged people to turn to God in faith. See also the entry for Matt. 18:23.

Matthew 21:35

“The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third.

(a) The vine-growers. Israel’s leaders; see entry for Matt. 21:33.

(b) Slaves. The slaves represent the Old Testament prophets and teachers (see previous verse).

(c) Beat, killed, stoned. God’s prophets were often mistreated by Israel’s rulers (Heb. 11:37). The Old Testament records several occasions when the Lord’s prophets were rejected (2 Chr. 24:19, Jer. 7:25–27, 25:4), beaten (1 Kgs. 22:24, Jer. 20:2), killed (Neh. 9:26, Jer. 26:20–23; see also Matt. 23:34–35, Luke 13:34, Acts 7:52), and stoned (2 Chr. 24:20–21).

Matthew 21:36

“Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.

(a) Another group of slaves. Although Israel mistreated the prophets, God continued to send prophet after prophet all the way to John the Baptist. Then the Lord sent his twelve disciples to the lost sheep of Israel, followed by a larger group of seventy (Matt. 10:5–6, Luke 10:1).

(b) They did the same thing. The religious leaders repeatedly ignored those whom God had sent. They rejected the message of John the Baptist and opposed the disciples (Matt. 15:1–2, Luke 5:30).

At this point in the story, the landowner faces a dilemma. In Luke’s account of the parable, he asks, “What shall I do?” (Luke 20:13). He could send officers to drive the wicked tenants off his land, but he still cares for his tenants and hopes for the best. Instead of punishing them for their offenses, he makes his boldest move yet.

Matthew 21:37

“But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

(a) He sent his son. For the landowner to send his son to these thugs seems madness. What was he thinking? Yet it is an act of stunning vulnerability, meant to shame the tenants out of their wickedness. The landowner hopes to inspire a change of heart.

In sending his son, the landowner risks everything. He does this not merely to save his vineyard, but to save his tenants from themselves. It is an astounding act of good faith.

(b) His son. In the other Gospel accounts of this parable, the landowner sends his beloved son (Mark 12:6, Luke 20:13), a direct reference to Jesus, the beloved Son of God (Matt. 3:17). Jesus is the latest and last in a long line of messengers sent by God to the nation of Israel.

(c) Respect. The original verb entrepō means “to turn about.” By sending his son, the landowner hopes to turn his tenants’ hearts back to himself.

Matthew 21:38

“But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’

(a) The vine-growers, who represent Israel’s leaders, kill the heir, who represents Jesus.

In the Prodigal Son, the younger son essentially wished his father dead so that he might enjoy his inheritance (Luke 15:12). Similarly, the wicked tenants wanted to be rid of the absent landowner even though he had been like a father to them. By killing his son, they thought they could sever the relationship and go their own way.

(b) Let us kill him. It was an open secret that the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus (John 7:25), and Jesus knew the murderous intentions of their hearts (John 7:19, 25). The chief priests wanted Jesus removed because he threatened their position as rulers of Israel. “If we let him go on like this, all men will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (John 11:48).

(c) Seize his inheritance. “Kill the son, keep the vineyard.” This idea is so ridiculous that it beggars belief, yet it perfectly captures the motive behind the plot to assassinate Jesus.

The Sanhedrin was dominated by a former high priest called Annas. Five of his sons and one grandson later became high priests, and the current high priest, Caiaphas, was his son-in-law (see entry for John 18:13). The House of Annas effectively ruled the council that ruled Israel. But Annas et al. felt threatened by Jesus. Just the previous day, Jesus and his followers had shut down the temple precinct and driven out the merchants (Mark 11:15–16). Jesus was bad for business. Who knew what he might do next?

If Jesus were not stopped, the House of Annas could lose its grip on power. To protect their position—their inheritance—Annas, Caiaphas, and the other chief priests decided to kill the Son.

Matthew 21:39

“They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

(a) Out of the vineyard. Not wanting to desecrate the vineyard, the vine-growers killed the son outside the walls. For similar reasons, Jesus was crucified outside the walls of the city (John 19:17–18, Heb. 13:12).

(b) Killed him. In the parable, the landowner’s son is killed, and that is the end of him. The Son of God, however, will be raised from the dead. Jesus signals his resurrection by adding a coda about rejected stones being exalted (Matt. 21:42).

Matthew 21:40

“Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?”

(a) The owner represents God (see entry for Matt. 21:33).

(b) What will he do? Jesus addresses this question to the temple officials, and they answer him (see next verse). But in Mark and Luke’s accounts, Jesus answers the question himself (Mark 12:9, Luke 20:16).

Matthew 21:41

They said to him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

(a) They said. The chief priests, the elders, and the Pharisees spoke their own sentence of judgment.

(b) Wretches. The original adjective kakos is sometimes translated as “evil,” as in evil slave (Matt. 24:48), evil workers (Php. 3:2), evil beasts (Tit. 1:12), and evildoer (John 18:30). The tenants are not miserable but murderous.

(c) A wretched end. The wicked tenants will be destroyed by the landowner (Mark 12:9, Luke 20:16). The tenants’ fate is similar to what happens to the murderers in the following parable of the Wedding Feast (see entry for Matt. 22:7). The landowner’s destructive wrath hints at how God will ultimately deal with those who are opposed to him (Rom. 1:18, 2 Pet. 3:7).

(d) Other vine-growers. God’s vineyard will be offered to all, both Jews and Gentiles alike (see Eph. 2:11–13). Anyone who comes to God in faith will become part of God’s chosen people and his holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9). But those who reject God’s Son will lose their place, having cut themselves off through unbelief (Rom. 11:20).

From Luke’s account, we learn that the Jews were horrified by the thought that God might share their vineyard with the Gentiles. “May it never be!” (Luke 20:16). Jesus responds by saying, “This is exactly what is going to happen” (see Matt. 21:43).

(e) Pay him the proceeds or produce the fruit of the vineyard; see entry for Matt. 21:43.

Matthew 21:42

Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief cornerstone; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

(a) The Scriptures. Jesus concludes the parable by quoting Psalm 118:22–23.

(b) Stone. The rejected son is compared to a rejected stone that is exalted to the highest place. Jesus, the Son the Jews rejected, became the foundation stone for God’s new covenant habitation (Is. 28:16, Eph. 2:20).

(c) The builders who rejected the stone were the tenants who rejected the son. Again, Jesus is talking about the religious leaders who are questioning his authority.

Israel’s leaders were as proud of their temple as they were of their religion. In their minds, they had built something that would impress the Lord. But their religion had no place for Jesus. The Living Stone, not cut with human hands (1 Pet. 2:4, Dan. 2:34), did not fit in their man-made edifice.

(d) Chief cornerstone. The cornerstone is the first stone laid in a new structure. It sets a mark for the rest of the building. Jesus is the cornerstone on which God’s house is being built (Eph. 2:20).

(e) Marvelous. What Satan meant for evil (the rejection and removal of Jesus), God would repurpose for good.

The corrupt chief priests conspired to murder the Son of God in one of the most wicked schemes ever devised. Yet their evil plot became the very foundation of God’s salvation plan. What they meant for evil, God used for good. It’s a sign to make us wonder.

Matthew 21:43

“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.

(a) Therefore. Jesus explains the parable to his listeners. “You Jews were looking for a Messiah who would overthrow the Romans and usher in a heavenly kingdom. Yet when I told you, ‘the kingdom of God is at hand,’ you didn’t believe me. Since you refuse to enter the kingdom, the invitation will be extended to the Gentiles.”

(b) The kingdom of God refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. In this present age, it is expressed through the body of Christ, the church. When the kingdom of God is revealed in our lives, we are like a fruitful vineyard blessed by God. The kingdom of God is synonymous with the kingdom of heaven; see entry for Matt. 3:2.

(c) A people. The original noun ethnos means “a race or tribe.” By implication, it means a tribe other than the Jews, or simply “the Gentiles.” Jesus is saying the Gentiles, too, will gain access to the kingdom through faith in him (see Eph. 2:11–13). Since the unbelieving Jews judged themselves unworthy of the kingdom, the invitation would go out to all nations, fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham (Gal. 3:8).

(d) Producing. The Greek verb poieō means “to make” or “to do,” but can also be read as “to bear” (e.g., “Every good tree bears good fruit; Matt. 7:17). It is God’s fruit that we bear (John 15:4–5). The vineyard is given to those who bear God’s fruit.

(e) Producing the fruit of it. The fruit that God seeks is faith. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). God is not looking for do-gooders or law-keepers. He is looking for people who will trust him and believe in the One he sent (John 6:29, 40, 1 John 3:23).

For three years, Jesus had been encouraging people to repent and believe the good news of the kingdom. A few believed, but many didn’t because the religious leaders hindered them (Matt. 23:13, Luke 11:52). Instead of proclaiming, “Jesus is the Messiah we’ve been waiting for,” they opposed him at every turn. They also persecuted those who followed him (e.g., John 9:22, 12:10).

Matthew 21:44

“And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

(a) Stone. Jesus combines prophecies from Isaiah and Daniel. From Isaiah, the Jews understood that God was “a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over” (Is. 8:14). From Daniel, they knew that God’s kingdom would fall like a stone from heaven and crush man-made kingdoms (Dan. 2:34–45).

(b) Broken to pieces. There are two responses we can make to Jesus, the heavenly Stone. Either we will fall on the Stone in brokenness and humility, or we will stumble over him and be offended (Rom. 9:32–33). Those who stumble in stubborn unbelief will be broken to pieces and crushed into dust.

(c) On whomever it falls. “Jesus the cornerstone” points to Christ’s first coming. But when he returns at the end of the age, he will strike like a falling stone, and everything opposed to him will be crushed and scattered like dust.

Two judgments are mentioned here: In the first, the religious leaders will lose their place in the vineyard. As Jesus has warned them before, they will find themselves outside the kingdom in the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 8:12). This prophecy came true when the religious Jews saw the rise of godly men and women in the early church (e.g., Acts 7:54). The second and greater judgment will take place when the Lord returns with his mighty angels in blazing fire (2 Th. 1:7, Heb. 10:27).

(d) Dust symbolizes death (Gen. 3:19). Death is the ultimate outcome for those who reject the Author of Life (John 5:40).

Matthew 21:45

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they understood that he was speaking about them.

(a) The chief priests served on the Sanhedrin and were responsible for overseeing the temple. The high priests were selected from among their number. See entry for Matt. 2:4.

(b) The Pharisees were members of a devout religious and political movement. Some Pharisees also served on Israel’s ruling council, the Sanhedrin. See entry for Matt. 3:7.

(c) His parables. The chief priests and the Pharisees have just heard Jesus tell two parables—the Two Sons and the Wicked Tenants—exposing their unfaithfulness. They now stand at a crossroads. Before them is Jesus, the Landowner’s Son, the last in a long line of messengers. This is their moment to respond. Will they repent, or will they follow the path of the wicked tenants and seek to kill him?

Matthew 21:46

When they sought to seize him, they feared the people, because they considered him to be a prophet.

(a) They sought to seize him that very hour (Luke 20:19). The religious leaders would have killed Jesus there and then if they could have (John 5:18, 11:53).

(b) Feared the people. The leaders’ attempts to arrest Jesus were thwarted by the temple crowds, so they waited for a more private moment. Two days later, accompanied by 500 armed men, they seized him under the cover of night in the Garden of Gethsemane (see entry for John 18:3).

(c) A prophet. The ordinary Jews loved listening to Jesus (Mark 12:37). They were astonished by his teaching and recognized that he had an authority that the religious scholars lacked (Matt. 7:28–29). Though many did not realize he was the Messiah sent to save them, they respected him as an anointed teacher of God, calling him “the prophet from Nazareth” (Matt. 21:11).

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants was a warning for Israel’s leaders, but what does it mean for us? It tells us that we have been offered a kingdom (Matt. 21:43). It is at hand, within reach, right there for the taking (Matt. 4:17, 10:7). All Jesus asks is that we “repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). Those who turn to God in faith become part of his fruitful vineyard. We are not fruitful because we toil like vinedressers. We are fruitful because we are connected to Jesus the Living Vine and are tended by God himself (John 15:1, 5).

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Matthew 21