Mat 21:38 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord continues His teaching. He adds another parable to it to make their position clear. With the words “listen to another parable” He commands that they should continue listening. This parable is not only about their behavior toward God as in the previous one, but also about God’s behavior toward them. Three charges against Israel come to light in this parable: 1. no fruit for God; 2. the abuse and killing of God’s slaves, the prophets; 3. the rejection and murder of the Son. The presentation of all that the landowner does to his vineyard is based on the parable in which Israel is compared to a vineyard to which God has tried everything to make it produce fruit ( ). In this we see the special favor of God for Israel. As those knowledgeable in the law, they must have recognized this. When all the work with an eye to obtaining fruit has been done, the landowner rents out his vineyard to vine-growers. He himself goes abroad, but remains closely involved with his vineyard while abroad. He knows exactly when it is harvest time. At that time he sends his slaves to receive “his” fruits. The produce is his, it belongs to him. But the vine-growers have no intention of giving the landowner his fruit. They see the landowner’s slaves as intruders on their property and act accordingly. One slave they beat, the other they kill and yet another is stoned by them. Because the landowner wants to receive fruit, he sends even more slaves. But when they come to the vine-growers, they suffer the same fate. While the landowner knows what they have done with his slaves, he is making one last attempt to receive the fruits. He sees one more possibility to move the vine-growers to give him his fruits. He will send his son. They will certainly have respect for his son and spare him. But what turns out to be the case? When the son appears, destruction and selfishness are expressed in the most terrible way imaginable. The vine-growers know that he is the heir. Because they want his inheritance themselves, they deny him his right to it. To make this evil scheme succeed, they decide that they will kill the heir. They turn words into action. They knowingly kill the heir, the son of the landowner and owner of the vineyard. This is the end of the experiment with man. The question of his true condition has been answered. God’s attempts to get fruit out of His vineyard are over. The natural man has shown his complete hatred of God and what comes from Him. Further testing is useless. The situation is hopeless. What remains is judgment. The presence of a Divine Person in love and goodness, a Man among men, ultimately only gives them the opportunity to insult God in the most wicked way. Now it appears fully that man is lost. The proof of man’s wickedness is undeniable.

‏ Matthew 21:38

Parable of the Vine-Growers

The Lord continues His teaching. He adds another parable to it to make their position clear. With the words “listen to another parable” He commands that they should continue listening. This parable is not only about their behavior toward God as in the previous one, but also about God’s behavior toward them. Three charges against Israel come to light in this parable:

1. no fruit for God;

2. the abuse and killing of God’s slaves, the prophets;

3. the rejection and murder of the Son.

The presentation of all that the landowner does to his vineyard is based on the parable in which Israel is compared to a vineyard to which God has tried everything to make it produce fruit (Isa 5:1-2). In this we see the special favor of God for Israel. As those knowledgeable in the law, they must have recognized this.

When all the work with an eye to obtaining fruit has been done, the landowner rents out his vineyard to vine-growers. He himself goes abroad, but remains closely involved with his vineyard while abroad. He knows exactly when it is harvest time. At that time he sends his slaves to receive “his” fruits. The produce is his, it belongs to him.

But the vine-growers have no intention of giving the landowner his fruit. They see the landowner’s slaves as intruders on their property and act accordingly. One slave they beat, the other they kill and yet another is stoned by them. Because the landowner wants to receive fruit, he sends even more slaves. But when they come to the vine-growers, they suffer the same fate.

While the landowner knows what they have done with his slaves, he is making one last attempt to receive the fruits. He sees one more possibility to move the vine-growers to give him his fruits. He will send his son. They will certainly have respect for his son and spare him.

But what turns out to be the case? When the son appears, destruction and selfishness are expressed in the most terrible way imaginable. The vine-growers know that he is the heir. Because they want his inheritance themselves, they deny him his right to it. To make this evil scheme succeed, they decide that they will kill the heir. They turn words into action. They knowingly kill the heir, the son of the landowner and owner of the vineyard.

This is the end of the experiment with man. The question of his true condition has been answered. God’s attempts to get fruit out of His vineyard are over. The natural man has shown his complete hatred of God and what comes from Him. Further testing is useless. The situation is hopeless. What remains is judgment.

The presence of a Divine Person in love and goodness, a Man among men, ultimately only gives them the opportunity to insult God in the most wicked way. Now it appears fully that man is lost. The proof of man’s wickedness is undeniable.