Matt 21:33-46 (NRSV)
Read Matt 21:33-46 on biblegateway.com
Verse 33"Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. Verse 34When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. Verse 35But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Verse 36Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Verse 37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' Verse 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance." Verse 39So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Verse 40Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" Verse 41They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time." Verse 42Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? Verse 43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. Verse 44The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls." Verse 45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. Verse 46They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
Devotion
Today’s text is a reprise of Monday’s Isaiah 5 vineyard text. Here, Jesus applies the familiar theme to his upcoming passion and death. It was his final appeal to the religious leaders in Jerusalem to repent and change their ways.
The parable is a message to the leaders of the church today, as well. The Lord looks for “fruit” from his vineyard in every generation. The fruit he seeks is for his people “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). God’s kingdom will continue, despite the resistance of unbelief to it in every age. The question is whether it will continue among us. We are accountable for the gift of the kingdom. God’s Son, Jesus Christ, continues to come to us through the proclamation of his kingdom. He is the “cornerstone” on which all depends. “In him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).
Prayer
Holy God, grant that your kingdom may always abide among us, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.