The Gospel of Matthew Study Help

(Matthew 21:33-46)

Jesus’ final week of earthly ministry

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What was Jesus’ basic concern when He confronted the Pharisees.
2. Why is the parable of today’s study, the land owner and the vineyard, considered one of the most important parables in the New Testament?
3. What was the reason for Israel’s failure to bear fruit for the Lord?
4. In today’s study, how were the scribes and Pharisees like the custodians of the vineyard who wanted the vineyard for themselves.
5. What did Israel do to Isaiah who is considered to be one of the great Prophets of the Old Testament?
6. What are some of the things the Pharisees did to look righteous?
7. Why do works, in themselves, have no relationship on who we are?
8. How does being in Christ impact the believer’s life?
9. What did Jesus mean when He said that people either fall on the cornerstone, or they can have that stone fall on them.?

Introduction

When Jesus confronted the Pharisees, it concerned the false righteousness they pretended against the true righteousness of God. Ironically, as Jesus was teaching in the temple on Tuesday, shortly before He went to the cross to die for man’s sins, He was under attack by the unbelieving Pharisees because He claimed to be the Messiah, the savior of the world. Matthew took plenty of space, all the way through chapter 23, to make sure we knew all the details concerning the events between Jesus and the Pharisees.

Our text takes up on a Tuesday morning. Jesus had previously told a parable where He compared these false teachers to a son that promised to do the right thing but never intended to do it from the beginning. The second parable Jesus uses explains why the Pharisees reject Jesus as the Messiah.

This parable compares the external righteousness of the Pharisees versing the internal righteousness they lacked:

Matthew 21:33-40 “Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: 34And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 35And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 36Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 37But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. 38But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. 39And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.  When the Lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?”

The first parable Jesus used compared the Pharisees to a son who exhibited outward righteousness toward his Father but was not committed to him. The son committed to doing the father’s will, but he reneged and did nothing when it came time. Apparently, he never intended to do as the father asked. On the other hand, the second son refused openly to serve the father but then repented and did as he asked. This son is compared to tax collectors and the prostitutes who came to Jesus in repentance, accepting Him as their Messiah and savior. There was no pretension of righteousness among these sinners; they admitted that they were sinners in need of forgiveness, so Jesus forgave them and made them part of the kingdom.

This second parable Jesus uses is considered one of the most important in the New Testament because it is an allegory depicting Jesus as the savior who Israel rejected as their Messiah. It shows the contentious relationship that Jesus experienced with the Pharisees. This parable is in the form of an allegory. This story is about a man who owned a vineyard and could not work it himself. So, he hires others to work it for him while he is away. This way, the land still produced a harvest and income for the owner. That is still a common practice today. Those who own a large tract of land often hire others to work it. These workers are called sharecroppers. They receive a share of the harvest for planting and tilling the crop and harvesting it.

The man in the parable invests money and time in his vineyard, preparing it to bear fruit. He removes the stones, prepares the soil, plants the vines, and digs channels to irrigate the vines. He also has the needed equipment installed and builds a tower to keep watch over his vineyard. The owner has done his best to prepare the vineyard to bear an optimal crop of grapes. 

Now the owner must take an extended trip for what reason we know not. So, he hires attendants to care for the vineyard until he returns. The attendants have no investment in the vineyard. Vineyards require care as the vines grow and bear fruit. The attendant’s responsibility is to see that the vines are well cared for to yield a maximum harvest.

When the time of harvest comes, the vineyard owner sends a servant to collect his share. Even though they have no investment other than their labor, the attendants claim the vineyard as their own, claiming the entire harvest with no intention of sharing a part of it with the actual owner. First, he sends one, and when there are no results, he sends another to collect what was agreed as his share. The attendants kill the servants; the vineyard owner shows patience when he fails to hear from the two servants he sent. The owner sends servant after servant, but there still is no response. Finally, as a last resort, he sends his son, thinking the attendants will honor the land’s heir. The attendant’s reason among themselves that if they kill the son, there will be no heir, and the land will be theirs.

Now Jesus questions the Pharisees as to what action should be taken by the owner. Before we look at the religious leaders’ answer, let’s clarify the meaning of the parable. The landowner in the story represents the Father, who created Israel and planted them in the land that He gave them. He prepared the ground for Israel and gave her everything she needed to flourish. We see the same story given us in Isaiah 5:1-2: “Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.” We know from this that Jesus is talking about the Heavenly Father as the vineyard owner.

God planted Israel so they could bear spiritual fruit, but instead of bearing fruit and becoming the light of the world, Israel produced only worthless fruit. What was the reason for Israel’s failure to bear fruit for the Lord? According to this parable of Jesus, it was the custodians of the vineyard whose responsibility it was to tend the vineyard and harvest the fruit. Therefore, they were to blame if there was no fruit. Israel had been given all they needed to bear fruit, yet they bear nothing. The custodians of the vineyard represent the religious leaders of Israel, which led Israel away from true righteousness and fruit bearing because of their false teaching and hypocritical life.

The history of Israel was marked by its leaders who were unfaithful to the Lord, always seeking things for themselves and forgetting about the needs of the people. The prophet Ezekiel bears this out: “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5And they were scattered because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them,” Ezekiel 34:1-6 (KJV).

The shepherds of Israel, the false teachers, were greedy, and only concerned for themselves, forgetting the needs of the people and their service to the Lord. They were like the custodians of the vineyard who wanted the vineyard for themselves and their purpose rather than for the Master of the vineyard, who was a symbol of the Lord. The Master of the vineyard was patient and allowed the custodians to repent, but they would not. He sent his servants to them, and they killed them just as Israel had killed their prophets.

Isaiah was one of those prophets that God sent to Israel to warn them; this is what he told them: “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 5And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry,” Isaiah 5:3-7 (KJV).

Isaiah, the servant of the Lord, told Israel it was time to bear fruit, but all they did was to bear briers and thorns. Therefore, judgment was pronounced on them; God withheld the rain and brought oppression on them. The northern kingdom of Israel was carried away by the Assyrians, never to be a nation again, and the southern kingdom was carried away into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Instead of listening to the servants of the Lord, Israel did as the custodians of the vineyard and killed most of the servant/messengers. Isaiah fled and hid in a tree, and the mob found him and sawed the tree and the prophet in half.

At last, the Master of the land gave the custodians one last chance to submit to his authority by sending his son. His son represents Jesus the Lord. They responded by killing Him, thinking after killing the heir they would now be able to take the land. The Pharisees knew that if Jesus ruled, He would take away their power. So, they join together to try and end Him to protect their interest. Ultimately the religious rulers condemned Jesus with false accusations to die on the cross at the hands of the Romans since they had no power to do so themselves.

The religious leaders failed to realize that the parable was about them, so they gave what they considered a logical reply:

Matthew 21:41-46, “They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. 42Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 45And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. 46But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.”

In verse 41, The religious leaders responded: “They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. the landowner should bring those men to a terrible end and give his land to someone who would care for it obediently.” Little did they know that they were pronouncing their judgment.

Finally, in verse 45, it dawned on them that Jesus is speaking about them. Jesus said that the land would be taken from them and given to those who would care for it. Beginning with the apostles, God turned to the Gentiles, which would bear fruit for Him, which continues to this very day and will until the land is finally returned to Israel. Jesus used a quote from Psalm 118 that the builders rejected was the chief cornerstone. The builders were the custodians of the land, scribes, and Pharisees, who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, little knowing they were fulfilling Scripture. They responded to Jesus with intention to lay hands on Him but were fearful of the crowd who considered Jesus a prophet.

The self-righteous Pharisees put forth a lot of effort to look righteous. They engaged in elaborate rituals washing several times a day, praying several times daily in public, and fasting multiple times during the week. However, their religion was only outward while denying the truth of the Lord. By themselves, the things we do outwardly don’t change what we are internally. The proper way of changing from the inside out is simply trusting Christ to forgive sins, therefore, receiving His righteousness. When we are in Christ, it means becoming a new person, which is God’s work and cannot be duplicated by puny humanity. Paul confirms this in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV): “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Sadly, the practice of those Pharisees is still alive and well today. Billions across the world are still using the same methods believing it will give them access to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said in verse 44 that there is a choice: People either fall on that cornerstone, which is Christ Himself, or they can have that stone fall on them. What did He mean? Our choice is to fall on our knees confessing Jesus for salvation and the righteousness He offers, which is the only kind acceptable to God, or we can stand defiantly as the Pharisees and face Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ and be judged for our sins, which sentence is eternal hell.

The Pharisees defiantly choose their righteousness and will face Jesus in the final judgment where they will be crushed eternally. What is your choice? You have the opportunity today, while you still have life, if you have not already, to choose Jesus. Life is uncertain; so, please don’t put it off. I want to show you precisely the Biblical plan of salvation, which is as simple as ABC, on how you can know that you will go to heaven when you die. I’m not asking you to do anything that I have not already done, which I’ve never regretted one moment since. Just click here.