1576 | MattheW 21:23
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
21:23-27pp — Mk 11:27-33 ; Lk 20:1-8
23
Jesus en tered the tem ple courts , and , while he was teach ing , the chief priests and the el ders of the peo ple came to him . “ By what au thor i ty are you do ing these things ?” they asked . “ And who gave you this au thor i ty ?”
24
Jesus re plied , “ I will also ask you one ques tion . If you an swer me , I will tell you by what au thor i ty I am do ing these things . 25 John ’ s bap tism — where did it come from ? Was it from heav en , or of human or i gin ?”
They dis cussed it among them selves and said , “ If we say , ‘ From heav en ,’ he will ask , ‘ Then why didn ’ t you be lieve him ?’ 26 But if we say , ‘ Of hu man or i gin ’ — we are afraid of the peo ple , for they all hold that John was a proph et .”
27
So they an swered Jesus , “ We don ’ t know .”
Then he said , “ Nei ther will I tell you by what au thor i ty I am do ing these things .
The Parable of the Two Sons
28
“ What do you think ? There was a man who had two sons . He went to the first and said , ‘ Son , go and work to day in the vine yard .’
29
“‘ I will not ,’ he an swered , but lat er he changed his mind and went .
30
“ Then the fa ther went to the oth er son and said the same thing . He an swered , ‘ I will , sir ,’ but he did not go .
31
“ Which of the two did what his fa ther want ed ?” “ The first ,” they an swered . Jesus said to them , “ Tru ly I tell you , the tax col lec tors and the pros ti tutes are en ter ing the king dom of God ahead of you . 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righ teous ness , and you did not be lieve him , but the tax col lec tors and a
42 Psalm 118:22,23
the pros ti tutes did . And even af ter you saw this , you did not re pent and be lieve him .
The Parable of the Tenants
21:33-46pp — Mk 12:1-12 ; Lk 20:9-19
33
“ Lis ten to an oth er par a ble : There was a land own er who plant ed a vine yard . He put a wall around it , dug a wine press in it and built a watch tow er . Then he rent ed the vine yard to some farm ers and moved to an oth er place . 34 When the har vest time ap proached , he sent his ser vants to the ten ants to col lect his fruit .
35
“ The ten ants seized his ser vants ; they beat one , killed an oth er , and stoned a third . 36 Then he sent oth er ser vants to them , more than the first time , and the ten ants treat ed them the same way .
37
Last of all , he sent his son to them . ‘ They will re spect my son ,’ he said .
38
“ But when the ten ants saw the son , they said to each oth er , ‘ This is the heir . Come , let ’ s kill him and take his in her i tance .’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vine yard and killed him .
40
“ There fore , when the own er of the vine yard comes , what will he do to those ten ants ?”
41
“ He will bring those wretch es to a wretch ed end ,” they re plied , “ and he will rent the vine yard to oth er ten ants , who will give him his share of the crop at har vest time .”
42
Jesus said to them , “ Have you nev er read in the Scrip tures :
“ ‘ The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone ; the Lord has done this , and it is marvelous in our eyes ’ a ?
43
“ There fore I tell you that the king dom of God
21:23 – 27 The Jewish leaders demand to know the source of Jesus ’ authority , but he declines to answer them . His miraculous deeds and the people ’ s praises have already borne witness to his divine authority .
21:24 If you answer me The answer to his question would reveal the answer to theirs . That is , if the Jewish officials answered correctly about John ’ s authority ( that his baptism was from heaven ), then they would have their answer about Jesus ’ authority ( also from heaven ). What was true of John was true of Jesus , since John served as his prophetic forerunner . 21:25 from heaven A way of referring to God without using his sacred name .
21:28 — 22:14 Jesus condemns the Jews ’ rejection of him through three parables . The first parable involves two sons ( Mt 21:28 – 32 ); the second is about tenant farmers in a vineyard ( vv . 33 – 46 ); the third is about a wedding feast ( 22:1 – 14 ). See the table “ Parables of Jesus ” on p . 1584 .
21:28 the first Symbolizes repentant sinners ( i . e ., the tax collectors and prostitutes ; v . 32 ).
21:30 the other Represents the religious leaders , who ultimately reject Jesus ( vv . 45 – 46 ). 21:33 a vineyard Jesus draws on imagery from Isaiah ’ s parable of the vineyard ( Isa 5:1 – 7 ). In Isaiah , the problem is the lack of fruit , and the solution is the destruction of the vineyard . In Jesus ’ parable , the problem is the tenants , who refuse the owner his fruit . The solution is replacing the tenants . to some farmers Represents the religious leaders of Israel who rejected Jesus . 21:42 The stone A quotation of Ps 118:22 – 23 ; the rejected stone is Jesus , who comes from Yahweh . 21:43 will be taken away Together with the quotation in the previous verse , Jesus ’ declaration here confirms that the judgment predicted by the religious leaders will indeed come to pass ( Mt 21:41 ). to a people who will produce its fruit Compare the barren fig tree ( vv . 18 – 22 and note ). This passage does not necessarily describe the church replacing Israel , but identifies those worthy of being the tenants of God ’ s kingdom : people who recognize the identity of the Son ( Jesus ). Identity in the kingdom of heaven , as Jesus ’ followers , is demonstrated by acting according to God ’ s will — which the religious leaders of Israel failed to do ( see Mt 21:12 – 17 ; compare 21:28 – 32 ).