Matthew 21:33-43

The Parable of the Tenants

21:33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner ¹  who planted a vineyard. ²  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ³  he leased it to tenant farmers ⁴  and went on a journey. 21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves ⁵  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 So ⁹  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 people ¹⁴  who will produce its fruit.

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

[21:33]  ² sn 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]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

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

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

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

[21:35]  ⁷ sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[21:37]  ⁸ sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.

[21:39]  ⁹ 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.

[21:39]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

[21:39]  ¹¹ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

[21:42]  ¹² tn 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]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.

[21:43]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).