Matthew 21:35 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

NIV: The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

NASB: And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

CSB: The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

NLT: But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

KJV: And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

NKJV: And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

The owner of a vineyard has rented out his property to some tenants. This would have been a common situation in the ancient middle east. Their agreement was to work the vineyard, caring for the property and the plants, in exchange for a share of the final crop as it is harvested. However, when the owner sends servants to collect his share, the tenants refuse to hand it over. Instead, they beat one of the owner's servants, kill another, and stone a third.

The meaning behind Jesus' parable is clear, in part, because it closely parallels Isaiah 5:1–7. The landowner is the Lord God. The vineyard is Israel. The renters are Israel's leaders, especially her religious leaders. Jesus' description of their treatment of His servants evokes the treatment endured by God's prophets in the Old Testament (Matthew 23:37). Those sent by God to deliver His messages and to demand righteousness from Israel were often persecuted and/or killed by Israel's rulers or citizens (Acts 7:52).

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 4/29/2024 4:42:29 PM