Matthew 21:40 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"

NIV: "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"

NASB: Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?'

CSB: Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?"

NLT: When the owner of the vineyard returns,' Jesus asked, 'what do you think he will do to those farmers?'

KJV: When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

NKJV: “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

Jesus now asks a question of His listeners about His parable. He has described tenants who refuse to pay the owner of the vineyard their agreed rent. Instead, they have mistreated and killed every servant the owner has sent to collect his share of the crops. They have even killed his son in hopes of taking the inheritance of the vineyard for themselves (Matthew 21:33–39).

The question this raises comes with an obvious answer (Matthew 21:41), but Jesus asks for the sake of emphasis. The answer in the following verse might very well be spoken by one of the chief priests or elders Jesus has been talking to (Matthew 21:23). If so, the answer reveals their own condemnation. Whoever answers is clearly indignant about what these tenants have done to this vineyard owner, as they ought to be. God, as well, has a right to be angry about the way His messengers were mistreated (Matthew 23:37), and those meant to care for Israel wound up abusing her, instead (John 10:12–13).

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.

Accessed 11/21/2024 10:10:50 AM