The King Enters
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’ Matthew 21:38 · Berean Standard Bible
When the tenants see the son, they say to each other, 'This is the heir. Let's kill him and take what's his!'
They know exactly who he is — and they kill him anyway. This is what's about to happen to Jesus.
The tenants reveal their true intent: greed and rebellion.
They recognized the son and chose murder. It's a chilling mirror of what the leaders are already planning to do to Jesus.
The tenants recognize the heir (klēronomos) and conspire to kill him to seize the inheritance — a premeditated act of murderous greed that parallels the leaders' plot against Jesus.
Under certain interpretations of land tenure, if an heir died without claimants, tenants might assert possession — the tenants act out of calculated self-interest.
The tenants plot together to murder the heir and claim the vineyard.
The tenants see the son and choose murder over submission — the ultimate rejection, driven by the desire to possess what belongs to another.
36Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them.
37Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’
39So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?”
Read all of Matthew 21 — Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey while the crowds shout hosanna. Within hours, he's overturning tables in the temple.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad