Hey everybody! Thank you for joining me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
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Day 244, Matthew 21:42-46 — Parable of the Landowner Matthew 21:42-46 (NASB1995) “Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’? 43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46 When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.” Context Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem has roused the religious leaders into questioning His authority since He is not associated with the Sanhedrin and holds no position of human authority. Teachers in ancient Jerusalem often lectured in the temple courts and those who experienced public dishonor would attempt to regain it by publicly confronting their opponent. This is what the Sadducees do to Jesus. However, Jesus knows they intend to discredit or accuse Him further instead of having a productive debate. Therefore, Jesus responds with His own question about John the Baptist’s authority and teaches multiple parables to show the Sadducees their error. Review Yesterday, we started reading the parable of the landowner. This parable cites Isaiah 5:1-7, which describes God as the landowner and the vineyard as Israel. The tenants of the vineyard in Jesus’ current parable are the religious leaders. Jesus is using this parable to show how the religious leaders (vine-growers) have tended to the spiritual state of Israel (vineyard). In the parable, a landowner rents out his vineyard to vine-growers while he leaves on a journey. While he is gone, he sends servants to collect the produced fruit from the vine-growers, but the vine-growers kill the servants. This describes how the religious leaders killed God’s Old Testament prophets and other special messengers. Just like the vine-growers rejected the servants, Israel's leaders rejected the messengers of God. After the death of his servants, the landowner sends his son to collect the harvested fruit. However, the vine-growers do not receive him either, as they kill the son and attempt to steal the land. This foreshadows what the religious leaders will do to Jesus in the coming days, as they reject His message to repent and believe. The Sadducees then condemn themselves, saying the vine-growers should face a dreadful death for their evil behavior—ignorant that they represent the vine-growers in the parable. Discussion Today, we conclude the parable of the landowner and read one of Jesus’ most famous ‘mic-drop’ statements. Jesus responds to the Sadducees, saying, “42 Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?” This statement references Psalm 118:22-23 verbatim. These verses come just before the praise verses (Ps. 118:25-26) referenced in Matthew 21:9 during Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus applies this prophetic statement to Himself, revealing that He is the stone the builders rejected. The builders in this passage are Israel’s failed leaders, which include the listening Sadducees and Pharisees. Notably, Peter also references Jesus as the rejected chief cornerstone in Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:4-6. In its cultural context, the ‘cornerstone’ was the most important part of a structure. Thus, Jesus is calling Himself the ‘chief cornerstone’ of a new temple, which poses a threat to the builders of the old one—Israel’s ruling class of religious leaders.[1] The ‘cornerstone’ could refer to the stone in the foundation's corner or to the capstone of an arch.[2] However, scholars are undecided on which Jesus is referring to exactly.[3] Regardless, the point Jesus makes here is a shot at Israel’s shaky leadership that is established in Jerusalem. Because they have a shaky foundation, the temple will fall. But Jesus comes as the chief cornerstone of a new temple that will never fall, which is “marvelous.” The latter part of the statement reveals that Jesus’ coming to establish a new eternal foundation came from God. God planned the coming of Christ from the foundation of the world, and it is a marvelous and amazing work that mere men could never create. Yet, they reject Him. Jesus adds, “43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.” This statement is a direct reference to the fruitlessness of the religious leaders. As this parable stated, the vine-growers produced ‘worthless grapes’ which led to the vineyard's destruction. This parallels the destructive and fruitless teachings coming from the Sadducees and other religious leaders throughout history. These leaders held significant power and authority over Israel for hundreds of years, yet repeatedly led them into self-destruction and spiritual futility. Because these failed leaders rejected God’s prophets and now God’s son, He will take away the hope of the kingdom from them and give it to those who remain obedient and trust in Jesus as the chief cornerstone of the new covenant. Jesus continues, “44 And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” This is a reference to Isaiah 8:14-15. It says, “Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught.” In short, Jesus will crush those who do not accept Him as the chief cornerstone. Thus, these religious leaders will get crushed, or face eternal judgment, since they reject Christ. They stumble and ensnare themselves because of their blatant unbelief. Isaiah 28:16 and Daniel 2:34, 44 also reference this idea of crushing unbelieving Israel. Furthermore, ancient Jewish texts contain a similar saying: “If a stone falls on a pot, woe to the pot! If the pot falls on the stone, woe to the pot! Either way, woe to the pot!”[4] The meaning here is in the religious leaders (pots) challenging Jesus’ authority to ‘do away with Him.’ However, their evil plot will fail. Regardless of whether Jesus lives or dies at their hands, they will face rejection from God for rejecting His Son, just as the landowner will destroy the vine-growers who killed his servants and son. Matthew then concludes this parable, writing, “45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46 When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.” Following Jesus’ ultimate statement, the religious leaders realize He is speaking about them. This infuriates them to the point of seizing Jesus to kill Him. But the multitudes of people see it happening and drive them away. Notably, the scribes and priests similarly feared the people when they refused to discredit John the Baptist’s authority. They likewise do the same here, as they fear what the people will do to them for trying to seize Jesus. We will read another of Jesus’ parables tomorrow. Application The application here is much of the same, as we read about God’s judgment against the unbelieving and fruitless religious leaders. It is amazing to see how often Jesus references Old Testament passages to make His points. Furthermore, these passages always reveal Christ as the Messiah, further quieting His critics. The sin of the religious leaders was not just their rejection of Christ but their fruitlessness. This does not mean producing fruit earns salvation, but that fruitlessness reveals unbelief. This is the same concept as saying you believe something, yet your actions reveal otherwise. The religious leaders were not just ‘unbelievers’ but hypocrites. They were religious pretenders who truly did not follow God, nor sought to. This concept is an applicable self-reflection point for us all. Do we truly believe what we say we believe? You may know Jesus died for the sins of the world, but do you truly know it? Do you truly believe that you are saved from your sins? If so, does your life prove this? What fruits are you producing? Good fruit leading to salvation or worthless fruit that leads to judgment like the religious leaders? This is a question we must all ask ourselves. May we genuinely come to the LORD with humble hearts yearning to know Him more while turning from the lusts of this world. May we repent of fruitlessness and ask the LORD to help us become more fruitful as we faithfully serve Him and live holy as He is holy. May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Next, we read Matthew 22:1-7. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, you can reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together. References [1] Craig Keener, “IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition.” [2] Ibid. [3] Ibid. [4] Doug O’Donnell, “New International Greek Testament Commentary.”
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