And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
When Jesus spoke the parables of the vineyard with its husbandmen and of the rejected stone, the chief priests and Pharisees perceived that He spoke of them, for the application was so plain that it could not be misunderstood. They recognized their own guilt in the picture as the wicked husbandmen who withheld from God the service He claimed, misled the people, and rejected His messengers and His Son, the Master of the vineyard. Their clear understanding did not lead them to repent and accept Christ, for pride and their claims as religious leaders led them to reject the Saviour. The plain truth sent home before the people cut them to the heart and enraged them with hatred and murder, so that they sought to seize Him and silence His voice, thus acting out the parable itself by killing the heir. They were kept from carrying out their designs only because they feared the multitude who took Him for a prophet, while God put His restraining power upon them and angels attended Him until His work was ended and the case of the Jews as a nation was decided. By rejecting Christ they pointed themselves out as the very ones on whom the sentence they themselves had pronounced would fall, making themselves responsible for the nation's ruin, for the Lord of the vineyard would punish them and take the kingdom from them to give it to those who would obey.
Setting and Plain Meaning
Matthew 21 records the journey of Christ to Jerusalem at the time of His triumphal entry and is a powerful chapter to study and understand, giving His final warning to the temple leaders who were corrupt and hardened by greed. Efforts to reform the priesthood would be in vain, yet an unbelieving people were still given evidence of His divine mission. The despised and rejected One presented in that chapter will be crowned and seated upon His throne.
The parables the chief priests and Pharisees perceived to be spoken against them were those of the vineyard with its husbandmen and of the rejected stone. They recognized that those parables described their own actions and guilt and exposed their rejection of God's messengers and of His Son, the Master of the vineyard. They understood themselves to be the wicked husbandmen, and condemned their own course in the picture held up before them.
The application was so plain that they could not misunderstand or misapply it. He taught truth in parables with striking figures that carried the hearers along, and then put questions for decision by which they pronounced judgment against themselves and condemned the course they themselves were pursuing. When He made the application of the Word to their own hearts and showed before the people that they were the ones He was illustrating, they recognized their own methods and practices, saw that He had rebuked them, and saw their sinful course exposed.
That exposure identified the priests and teachers as the guilty husbandmen who withheld from God the service He claimed, misled the people, turned the nation away from Christ, opposed His claims, and practiced deception. They were cut to the heart because they could not fail to see that He read every purpose of the soul, and His words were to them a sign of His divine character.
The verse belongs to the account of Israel's rejection of the promised Messiah when He came as prophecy declared, exposing the chosen people's sinful breach of trust. The vineyard image further shows Israel's rejection and mistreatment of the goodly vine, followed by the Husbandman's removal and replanting of it beyond their power to harm, while its branches remain accessible for grafting.
Rejection, Restraint, and Warning
They perceived that He spoke of them, yet that clear recognition did not lead them to repent or to accept the warning and accept Christ, for pride and hypocritical claims as religious leaders had led them to reject the Saviour. They understood themselves to be the wicked husbandmen condemned by the parables of the vineyard and the rejected stone, with their own actions exposed and their course condemned, but hatred filled them instead of contrition. The application was so plain that they could not misunderstand or misapply it, for they recognized their own methods and practices in the picture held up before them and saw their sinful course rebuked and exposed.
The plain truth thus sent home before the people enraged them with hatred, anger, mortification, madness and murder. They sought to seize Him and lay hands on Him, took up stones to cast at Him and kill Him, and were ready themselves to fill out the picture by saying, This is the heir, come, let us kill him. They would without further delay have laid hands on Him to silence His voice so He would no longer annoy them, for they dreaded to hear Him because He told the truth. They decided He knew too much of their base practices to be allowed to live, fearing He would lay their wicked deeds before the people and their popularity would cease, and they planned to entrap Him in His words. When He taught truth in striking figures that carried them along and then put questions for decision, they pronounced judgment against themselves and condemned the course they themselves were pursuing, and when He made the application to their own hearts and showed before the people that they were the ones He was illustrating, they were cut to the heart because they could not fail to see that He read every purpose of the soul, which was to them a sign of His divine character.
They were kept from carrying out their murderous designs only because they feared the multitude, who took Him for a prophet, regarded Him as a prophet, and had been impressed that His words were words of truth. God put His restraining power upon them, and heavenly angels attended Him so that His human life was kept by the power of God until His day of work was ended and the case of the Jews as a nation was decided. Again and again He would have been killed except for that keeping, which Judas had often seen, and therefore Judas expected Jesus would not allow Himself to be taken when betrayed.
By rejecting Christ the priests and teachers, identified as the guilty husbandmen who withheld from God the service He claimed, misled the people, turned the nation away from Christ and opposed His claims, made themselves responsible for the nation's sin and ruin. They pointed themselves out as the very ones on whom the sentence they themselves had pronounced would fall. The parable declared that the Lord of the vineyard would punish the Jewish nation with fearful severity because they had treated His servants with contempt, injustice and cruelty, and that the kingdom would be taken from them and given to those who would obey its ruler.
The chapter warns by the pretentious fig tree that bore no fruit, which represents those who profess to serve God and have their names on the church books but bear no fruit in their lives to the glory of God. The vineyard parable, which exposes the chosen people's sinful breach of trust, warns all who receive light from God that unless they obey Him He cannot bless and sustain them, and those who persist in sin and misrepresent Him will lose His favor and face judgment. The Man despised and rejected in that chapter will be crowned and seated upon His throne.
When Jesus spoke the parables of the vineyard with its husbandmen and of the rejected stone, the chief priests and Pharisees perceived that He spoke of them, for the application was so plain that it could not be misunderstood.
They recognized their own guilt in the picture as the wicked husbandmen who withheld from God the service He claimed, misled the people, and rejected His messengers and His Son, the Master of the vineyard.
Their clear understanding did not lead them to repent and accept Christ, for pride and their claims as religious leaders led them to reject the Saviour.
The plain truth sent home before the people cut them to the heart and enraged them with hatred and murder, so that they sought to seize Him and silence His voice, thus acting out the parable itself by killing the heir.
They were kept from carrying out their designs only because they feared the multitude who took Him for a prophet, while God put His restraining power upon them and angels attended Him until His work was ended and the case of the Jews as a nation was decided.
By rejecting Christ they pointed themselves out as the very ones on whom the sentence they themselves had pronounced would fall, making themselves responsible for the nation's ruin, for the Lord of the vineyard would punish them and take the kingdom from them to give it to those who would obey.
Setting and Plain Meaning
Matthew 21 records the journey of Christ to Jerusalem at the time of His triumphal entry and is a powerful chapter to study and understand, giving His final warning to the temple leaders who were corrupt and hardened by greed. Efforts to reform the priesthood would be in vain, yet an unbelieving people were still given evidence of His divine mission. The despised and rejected One presented in that chapter will be crowned and seated upon His throne.
The parables the chief priests and Pharisees perceived to be spoken against them were those of the vineyard with its husbandmen and of the rejected stone. They recognized that those parables described their own actions and guilt and exposed their rejection of God's messengers and of His Son, the Master of the vineyard. They understood themselves to be the wicked husbandmen, and condemned their own course in the picture held up before them.
The application was so plain that they could not misunderstand or misapply it. He taught truth in parables with striking figures that carried the hearers along, and then put questions for decision by which they pronounced judgment against themselves and condemned the course they themselves were pursuing. When He made the application of the Word to their own hearts and showed before the people that they were the ones He was illustrating, they recognized their own methods and practices, saw that He had rebuked them, and saw their sinful course exposed.
That exposure identified the priests and teachers as the guilty husbandmen who withheld from God the service He claimed, misled the people, turned the nation away from Christ, opposed His claims, and practiced deception. They were cut to the heart because they could not fail to see that He read every purpose of the soul, and His words were to them a sign of His divine character.
The verse belongs to the account of Israel's rejection of the promised Messiah when He came as prophecy declared, exposing the chosen people's sinful breach of trust. The vineyard image further shows Israel's rejection and mistreatment of the goodly vine, followed by the Husbandman's removal and replanting of it beyond their power to harm, while its branches remain accessible for grafting.
Rejection, Restraint, and Warning
They perceived that He spoke of them, yet that clear recognition did not lead them to repent or to accept the warning and accept Christ, for pride and hypocritical claims as religious leaders had led them to reject the Saviour. They understood themselves to be the wicked husbandmen condemned by the parables of the vineyard and the rejected stone, with their own actions exposed and their course condemned, but hatred filled them instead of contrition. The application was so plain that they could not misunderstand or misapply it, for they recognized their own methods and practices in the picture held up before them and saw their sinful course rebuked and exposed.
The plain truth thus sent home before the people enraged them with hatred, anger, mortification, madness and murder. They sought to seize Him and lay hands on Him, took up stones to cast at Him and kill Him, and were ready themselves to fill out the picture by saying, This is the heir, come, let us kill him. They would without further delay have laid hands on Him to silence His voice so He would no longer annoy them, for they dreaded to hear Him because He told the truth. They decided He knew too much of their base practices to be allowed to live, fearing He would lay their wicked deeds before the people and their popularity would cease, and they planned to entrap Him in His words. When He taught truth in striking figures that carried them along and then put questions for decision, they pronounced judgment against themselves and condemned the course they themselves were pursuing, and when He made the application to their own hearts and showed before the people that they were the ones He was illustrating, they were cut to the heart because they could not fail to see that He read every purpose of the soul, which was to them a sign of His divine character.
They were kept from carrying out their murderous designs only because they feared the multitude, who took Him for a prophet, regarded Him as a prophet, and had been impressed that His words were words of truth. God put His restraining power upon them, and heavenly angels attended Him so that His human life was kept by the power of God until His day of work was ended and the case of the Jews as a nation was decided. Again and again He would have been killed except for that keeping, which Judas had often seen, and therefore Judas expected Jesus would not allow Himself to be taken when betrayed.
By rejecting Christ the priests and teachers, identified as the guilty husbandmen who withheld from God the service He claimed, misled the people, turned the nation away from Christ and opposed His claims, made themselves responsible for the nation's sin and ruin. They pointed themselves out as the very ones on whom the sentence they themselves had pronounced would fall. The parable declared that the Lord of the vineyard would punish the Jewish nation with fearful severity because they had treated His servants with contempt, injustice and cruelty, and that the kingdom would be taken from them and given to those who would obey its ruler.
The chapter warns by the pretentious fig tree that bore no fruit, which represents those who profess to serve God and have their names on the church books but bear no fruit in their lives to the glory of God. The vineyard parable, which exposes the chosen people's sinful breach of trust, warns all who receive light from God that unless they obey Him He cannot bless and sustain them, and those who persist in sin and misrepresent Him will lose His favor and face judgment. The Man despised and rejected in that chapter will be crowned and seated upon His throne.