New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 21:40

The King Enters

Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?” Matthew 21:40 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Matthew 21:40, in plain English

Jesus asks, 'So when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what do you think he'll do to those tenants?'

Why it's here

Jesus lets them answer first. They're about to pronounce judgment on themselves without realizing it.

Who's speaking

Jesus asks a question that's really about them.

Where it sits in the story

It's a simple question with an obvious answer. But they don't yet realize they're the tenants in the story.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus poses the question to the leaders: what will the vineyard owner do to these tenants? — inviting them to pronounce their own judgment.

Language and setting

Like Nathan's parable to David (2 Sam 12), Jesus forces the leaders to condemn themselves before revealing the application.

Voice

Jesus asks the religious leaders to deliver the verdict on the wicked tenants.

Significance

Jesus asks the question whose answer will condemn the very people answering it.

In context

Matthew 21:38–42

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?”

41“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”

42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

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.

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