Matthew 21:23-46
23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
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43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Reflection
Much of Jesus’ teaching in the book of Matthew addresses the question, “Who belongs to the people of God?” Throughout the book we have seen that God’s true people are those who have a heart-change and turn from their sin (that is, “repent”) to put their trust in Jesus (see notes on Matt. 3:1–12). Jesus tells three parables in Matthew 21:28–22:14 that reveal the sad message that the leaders of Israel (21:23, 45) have failed to meet these requirements (see also Isa. 5:1–7). Instead, the people of God are those who respond to Jesus in repentance and faith, such as “the tax collectors and the prostitutes” (21:32). They are the new caretakers of God’s vineyard (v. 41).
As Christians, these parables remind us to “examine” ourselves to see whether we are “in the faith” (2 Cor. 13:5; cf. Matt. 7:21–23; 13:24–30, 36–43, 47–50; 25:11–12, 44–46; 2 Pet. 1:10). Are we truly turning from our sin and looking to Jesus for forgiveness and direction?
1 Corinthians 3:1-4
3: But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
Reflection
Paul has already implied that the Corinthians are acting like people who don’t have God’s Spirit (1 Cor. 2:6–16), and now he openly describes them as “people of the flesh” (3:1). This means that they are living in direct opposition to God (see Gal. 5:17), and the clearest indicator of this spiritual illness is their strife with one another.
Christians are still capable of profound spiritual immaturity, sometimes living as “people of the flesh” (vv. 1–4). However, because the Spirit is at work in us (2:14–15), we are capable of responding with repentance when confronted with our sin. Because of these truths, we neither deny our sin nor despair when it is revealed. Instead, knowing that we belong to Christ (3:23), we are free to take both sin and repentance seriously.
Psalm 32:5
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
The Christian life requires the habitual, regular confession of sin to God and to those whom we have offended. Keep short accounts by admitting your sin to God and turning to Christ to receive his fresh mercy. Pray also for the courage to make things right with those whom you have sinned against.