Matthew 21:38 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’

NIV: "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’

NASB: But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him and take possession of his inheritance!’

CSB: "But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’

NLT: But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

KJV: But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

NKJV: But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’

Jesus, in the temple, is telling a parable meant to illustrate the relationship between God the Father and Israel's religious leaders. The nation's leaders are represented by the tenants: renters of a vineyard. God owns the vineyard, which is Israel. He has repeatedly sent servants to collect the rent from the tenants, but they have mistreated and even killed the owner's servants. The servants may be understood as the prophets of old (Acts 7:52; Matthew 23:37).

Now the owner of the vineyard has sent his own son, thinking the tenants will respect him. This is a gracious step, considering that the owner could have responded with violence or revenge of his own. Instead of responding in obedience, the tenants see an opportunity to have the son's inheritance for themselves by killing him. They hope to own the vineyard by eliminating the future rightful heir.

It's important when hearing any parable not to over-analyze the details. Each parable is meant to make a specific point, not to make every detail line up exactly with a precise person or action in the real world. The leaders of Israel were not literally attempting to become God, or to steal the inheritance of His Son. Broadly, Jesus is describing what Israel's leaders have done to God's servants over time and what they are about to do to Himself, God's Son: to reject Him with violence and sin.

Matthew 21:33–46 begins with another vineyard-related parable from Jesus. This one involves tenants who refused to pay the owner His agreed upon share of the crops. Instead, they mistreated and killed the servants he sent and then killed the owner's son. Jesus compares Israel's religious leaders to these tenants, saying the kingdom of God will be taken from them. Jesus identifies Himself in a psalm about a stone rejected by the builders but chosen by the Lord to be the cornerstone. All who reject Him will fall on the cornerstone or have it fall on and crush them.

Jesus fulfills a prophecy from Zechariah about the coming of the king to Jerusalem by riding in on a donkey. The people celebrate and praise Him as the Messiah. Jesus drives the marketers and moneychangers out of the temple and heals some people. He curses a fig tree and tells the disciples nothing will be impossible for them with faith. Jesus forces cowardly and hypocritical religious leaders to back down with a question about John the Baptist. He then exposes their fraudulent spirituality with two parables about vineyards. Jesus applies to Himself a psalm about a rejected stone being made the cornerstone by the Lord.

Matthew 21 finds Jesus arriving near Jerusalem after leaving Jericho in the previous chapter. His triumphal entry is accomplished riding a donkey, and to raucous praise, fulfilling a prophecy about the Messiah. Jesus cleanses the marketplace from the temple, heals, and presents lessons about faith and Israel's failed leadership. This leads into further conversations which Matthew compiles from Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.