Thursday, April 16, 2025
Jewish Leaders Accused – Matthew 21:41-46
Have you ever been confronted by an attitude or behavior you are unwilling to believe is wrong? There are times we have adopted a belief and hold it so strongly that we are unable to listen to any alternate position. That is what Jesus was facing as He told parables to the Jewish leaders during Holy Week. The Parable of the Vineyard Owner, Matthew 21:33-46 is a story Jesus used to answer the question posed by the chief priests in Matthew 21:23 about where His authority came from for His teachings and things He was doing. This is the second of two parables He shared to answer their questions.
He began the Parable of the Vineyard Owner describing the events that had taken place when it was time for the workers to give the owner his portion of the crops that were ready to be harvested. The owner sent two different groups of servants to collect the owner’s portion of the harvest, and the workers beat and killed the servants. Then the owner sent his son who they should have respect for and yet they killed him as well. When Jesus completed this portion of the story, he asked what should be done to these men. The chief priests replied that they should be destroyed.
41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told Him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at the harvest.”
It didn’t take long for them to discover that Jesus had ‘set them up’ with this parable because He revealed to them that if they had ever really read and understood the scriptures, they would have known who He was. These men were the Bible scholars of their day, yet Jesus questioned their understanding of the scripture
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This came from the Lord
and is wonderful in our eyes?
He quotes from Psalm, Isaiah, and Daniel. They must have recognized the passages. Have you ever been confronted with something that, after an open-minded consideration, became clear and obvious? Psalm 118 is the Psalm about the Messiah, the cornerstone that was rejected referred to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The prophet Isaiah in chapters 8 and 28 describes Him as the stone some will stumble over yet He is the corner stone on which God will build His church. Daniel declares Him to be the stone that destroys the world’s rebellion against Him in chapter 2.
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruit. [44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whoever it falls, it will grind him to powder!]”
He had their attention now. He assured them that the Kingdom of God will be taken from the nation that doesn’t produce Kingdom fruit. It will be given to a nation, the Kingdom of God made up of those who place their faith in Jesus Christ the one true Son of God. He presents them with a choice, they can humble themselves before Him and have their sinful nature broken or they can remain rebellious and be ground into powder by His judgement.
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they knew He was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they regarded Him as a prophet.
They did realize He was speaking about them. However, they remained rebellious and were ready to get rid of Him. But the crowds who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover were large and many considered Him to at least be a prophet. They didn’t want to create a riot and have the Roman commanders to come down on them, so they began looking for a more ‘politically correct’ way to get rid of Jesus.
There are a few questions we need to examine and ask ourselves. Do I see the truth of who Jesus is and the Authority His has in my life? Or am I rebellious and seek my own will rather than His? Do I want the Kingdom of God to be where I live? Have I made obedience to Him a priority and way of life as a daily practice?
As we celebrate the ‘once for all’ sacrifice Jesus made for those who will believe, let’s commit our trust, hope, and submission to Him alone.
