Matthew 21:33--22:10

Context

The Parable of the Tenants

21:33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner¹ who planted a vineyard.² He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then³ he leased it to tenant farmers⁴ and went on a journey. 21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves⁵ to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop.⁶ 21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one,⁷ killed another, and stoned another. 21:36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. 21:37 Finally he sent his son to them,⁸ 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 So⁹ they seized him,¹⁰ threw him out of the vineyard,¹¹ 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.”

21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.¹²

This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?¹³

21:43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people¹⁴ who will produce its fruit. 21:44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”¹⁵ 21:45 When¹⁶ the chief priests and the Pharisees¹⁷ heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 21:46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowds¹⁸ regarded him as a prophet.

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

22:1 Jesus spoke¹⁹ to them again in parables, saying: 22:2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 22:3 He sent his slaves²⁰ to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 22:4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready.²¹ My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 22:5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 22:6 The²² rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 22:7 The²³ king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death²⁴ and set their city²⁵ on fire. 22:8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 22:9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 22:10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

[21:33] ¹tn The term here refers to the owner and manager of a household.

[21:33] ²sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[21:33] ³tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[21:33] ⁴sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

[21:34] ⁵tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[21:34] ⁶tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”

[21:35] ⁹sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[21:37] ¹³sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.

[21:39] ¹⁷tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son in v. 38.

[21:39] ¹⁸tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

[21:39] ¹⁹sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

[21:42] ²¹tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

[21:42] ²²sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.

[21:43] ²⁵tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).

[21:44] ²⁹tc A few witnesses, especially of the Western text (D 33 it sy^s Or Eus^syr), do not contain 21:44. However, the verse is found in א B C L W Z (Θ) 0102 Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy^c,p,h co and should be included as authentic.

[21:45] ³³tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[21:45] ³⁴sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[21:46] ³⁷tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowds) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Both previous occurrences of “they” in this verse refer to the chief priests and the Pharisees.

[22:1] ⁴¹tn Grk “And answering again, Jesus spoke.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[22:3] ⁴⁵tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[22:4] ⁴⁹tn Grk “Behold, I have prepared my dinner.” In some contexts, however, to translate ἄριστον (ariston) as “dinner” somewhat misses the point. L&N 23.22 here suggests, “See now, the feast I have prepared (for you is ready).”

[22:6] ⁵³tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[22:7] ⁵⁷tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[22:7] ⁵⁸tn Grk “he sent his soldiers, destroyed those murderers.” The verb ἀπώλεσεν (apwlesen) is causative, indicating that the king was the one behind the execution of the murderers. In English the causative idea is not expressed naturally here; either a purpose clause (“he sent his soldiers to put those murderers to death”) or a relative clause (“he sent his soldier who put those murderers to death”) is preferred.

[22:7] ⁵⁹tn The Greek text reads here πόλις (polis), which could be translated “town” or “city.” The prophetic reference is to the city of Jerusalem, so “city” is more appropriate here.