Matthew 21:33-46 Lesson 43

Matthew 21:33-46 Lesson 43

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The wicked farmers and the rejected stone.

Study Tip:

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The Gospel According to St. Matthew

The King James Bible

Matthew 21:33-46
Two parables

33 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:

34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.

35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

38 But 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.

39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

41 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.

42 Jesus 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?

43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

Margin notes:

"There was a certain householder." (21:33) - "There was a certain landowner."

"Hedged it round about." (21:33) - "Put a hedge wall around it."

"Let it out to husbandmen." (21:33) - "Rented it to farmers."

"Render him the fruits in their seasons." (21:41) - "Give him his fruits at harvest time."

"Did ye never read in the scriptures." (21:42) - Jesus is referring to the prophecy in Psalm 118:22 about Himself. There are 360 predictions in the Old Testament that came to pass in the New Testament.

"Given to a nation." (21:43) - Means, "given to people."

"Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken." (21:44) - As prophesied in Isaiah 8:14-15; Daniel 2:35 and 44-45.

"It will grind him to powder." (21:44) - Means, sinners will be punished.

"They perceived that he spake of them." (21:45) - "They knew Jesus was speaking about them."

"When they sought to lay hands on him." (21:46) - "When they wanted to arrest Him."

"They took him for a prophet." (21:46) - The crowd believed Jesus was a prophet (John 7:40).

The parable of the wicked farmers can also be found in Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20: 9-19 and is reminiscent of Isaiah 5:1-7.

New Living Translation

Matthew 21:33-46
Parable of the Evil Farmers

33 "Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

37 "Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, 'Surely they will respect my son.'

38 "But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, 'Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!' 39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

40 "When the owner of the vineyard returns," Jesus asked, "what do you think he will do to those farmers?"

41 The religious leaders replied, "He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest."

42 Then Jesus asked them, "Didn't you ever read this in the Scriptures?

  'The stone that the builders rejected
      has now become the cornerstone.
   This is the Lord's doing,
      and it is wonderful to see.'

43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on."

45 When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them-they were the wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Questions:

1. What does the parable of the farmers mean? (21:33-40)

2. What does the parable of the rejected stone mean? (21:42-44)

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD.

Answers: (Do you agree?)

1. The parable of the wicked farmers was directed at Israel and illustrates how some will miss the kingdom of God
because they reject the Son. Remember, Jesus is only days away from being condemned by the very Jewish leaders (husbandmen/farmers) who have already rejected the Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist (servants) sent by
God (the householder) to the vineyard (Israel). When they kill Jesus (the householder's son) in verse 21:39, God's divine judgment can't be far off. These are the very farmers (Jewish religious leaders) who were commissioned by God to care for and tend His field. In verse 21:41, we see that this rejection of Christ by Israel opens the door of salvation to others (Gentiles).

2. The building stone represents Jesus (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6-7). Although He was rejected by those responsible for building the church (scribes and priests), Jesus becomes the foundation on which mankind's salvation rests (Acts 4:10-11). Christ is the cornerstone that unites Jews and Gentiles and supports the whole structure of Christianity.

Application thought for the day:

God offered the gift of salvation to mankind when He sent His son to die on the cross. All we need to do is accept this gift. To refuse is to reject God.

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; "The Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies"; "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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