Matthew 21:37-41

21:37 Finally he sent his son to them, ¹  saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 21:39 So ²  they seized him, ³  threw him out of the vineyard, ⁴  and killed him. 21:40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 21:41 They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”

Matthew 23:37

Judgment on Israel

23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ⁵  you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! ⁶  How often I have longed ⁷  to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ⁸  you would have none of it! ⁹ 

Luke 19:42

19:42 saying, “If you had only known on this day, ¹⁰  even you, the things that make for peace! ¹¹  But now they are hidden ¹²  from your eyes.

Luke 19:1

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19:1 Jesus ¹³  entered Jericho ¹⁴  and was passing through it.

Luke 2:15-16

2:15 When ¹⁵  the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem ¹⁶  and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord ¹⁷  has made known to us.” 2:16 So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁸ 

¹ sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.

² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son in v. 38.

³ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

⁴ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

⁵ sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.

⁶ tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).

⁷ sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁹ tn Grk “you were not willing.”

¹⁰ sn On this day. They had missed the time of Messiah’s coming; see v. 44.

¹¹ tn Grk “the things toward peace.” This expression seems to mean “the things that would ‘lead to,’ ‘bring about,’ or ‘make for’ peace.”

¹² sn But now they are hidden from your eyes. This becomes an oracle of doom in the classic OT sense; see Luke 13:31-35; 11:49-51; Jer 9:2; 13:7; 14:7. They are now blind and under judgment (Jer 15:5; Ps 122:6).

¹³ tn Grk “And entering, he passed through”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁴ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁵ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

¹⁷ sn Note how although angels delivered the message, it was the Lord whose message is made known, coming through them.

¹⁸ tn Or “a feeding trough.”