Matthew 21:45 - Printer Friendly

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

NIV: When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them.

NASB: When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.

CSB: When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them.

NLT: When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them — they were the wicked farmers.

KJV: And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

NKJV: Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.

This conversation began when some chief priests and elders approached Jesus with a question about the source of His authority (Matthew 21:23). Now Matthew shows that some Pharisees were present, as well—at least they had arrived by the time Jesus finished these two parables.

Instead of finding ammunition to use against Jesus, though, He had forced them to back down since they were unwilling to publicly say that John the Baptist was not sent from God (Matthew 21:25–27). Jesus launched from this into two parables that thoroughly condemned these Jewish religious leaders. He had indirectly owned His own role as the Son of God, predicting both His own death and God's coming judgment of these Israelite leaders (Matthew 21:28–41).

Now Matthew adds a note to let his readers know that the chief priests and Pharisees understood that Jesus was talking about them all along. They grasped that He was condemning them and predicting that the kingdom would be taken from them. It's not surprising that they were looking for a way to arrest Jesus and stop Him from teaching these things.

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.