Mateus 21

Mateus 21

Vincent notes that pisteuo "means to persuade, to cause belief, to induce one to do something by persuading, and so runs into the meaning of to obey, properly as the result of persuasion. Pisteuo means to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence. To believe in with the implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted. Christ is the object of this type of faith that relies on His power and nearness to help, in addition to being convinced that His revelations or disclosures are true. PISTEUO IN THE GOSPELS - Matt. 8:13; Matt. 9:28; Matt. 18:6; Matt. 21:22; Matt. 21:25; Matt. 21:32; Matt. 24:23; Matt. 24:26; Matt. 27:42; Mk. 1:15; Mk. 5:36; Mk. 9:23; Mk. 9:24; Mk. 9:42; Mk. 11:23; Mk. 11:24; Mk. 11:31; Mk. 13:21; Mk. 15:32; Mk. 16:13; Mk. 16:14; Mk. 16:16; Mk. 16:17; Lk. 1:20; Lk. 1:45; Lk. 8:12; Lk. 8:13; Lk. 8:50; Lk. 16:11; Lk. 20:5; Lk. 22:67; Lk. 24:25; Jn. 1:7; Jn. 1:12; Jn. 1:50; Jn. 2:11; Jn. 2:22; Jn. 2:23; Jn. 2:24; Jn. 3:12; Jn. 3:15; Jn. 3:16; Jn. 3:18; Jn. 3:36; Jn. 4:21; Jn. 4:39; Jn. 4:41; Jn. 4:42; Jn. 4:48; Jn. 4:50; Jn. 4:53; Jn. 5:24; Jn. 5:38; Jn. 5:44; Jn. 5:46; Jn. 5:47; Jn. 6:29; Jn. 6:30; Jn. 6:35; Jn. 6:36; Jn. 6:40; Jn. 6:47; Jn. 6:64; Jn. 6:69; Jn. 7:5; Jn. 7:31; Jn. 7:38; Jn. 7:39; Jn. 7:48; Jn. 8:24; Jn. 8:30; Jn. 8:31; Jn. 8:45; Jn. 8:46; Jn. 9:18; Jn. 9:35; Jn. 9:36; Jn. 9:38; Jn. 10:25; Jn. 10:26; Jn. 10:37; Jn. 10:38; Jn. 10:42; Jn. 11:15; Jn. 11:25; Jn. 11:26; Jn. 11:27; Jn. 11:40; Jn. 11:42; Jn. 11:45; Jn. 11:48; Jn. 12:11; Jn. 12:36; Jn. 12:37; Jn. 12:38; Jn. 12:39; Jn. 12:42; Jn. 12:44; Jn. 12:46; Jn. 13:19; Jn. 14:1; Jn. 14:10; Jn. 14:11; Jn. 14:12; Jn. 14:29; Jn. 16:9; Jn. 16:27; Jn. 16:30; Jn. 16:31; Jn. 17:8; Jn. 17:20; Jn. 17:21; Jn. 19:35; Jn. 20:8; Jn. 20:25; Jn. 20:29; Jn. 20:31 Matthew 21:33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. Listen: In this parable, in its primary sense, the householder denotes the Supreme Being; the family, the Jewish nation; the vineyard, Jerusalem; the fence, the Divine protection; the wine-press, the law and sacrificial rites; the tower, the temple; and the husbandmen, the priests and doctors of the law. Mt 13:18 1Ki 22:19 Isa 1:10 Jer 19:3 Ho 4:1 There: Ps 80:8-16 Song 8:11,12 Isa 5:1-4 Jer 2:21 Mk 12:1 Lu 20:9-18 Joh 15:1 landowner: Mt 23:2 De 1:15-17 16:18 17:9-12 33:8-10 Mal 2:4-9 went: Mt 25:14,15 Mk 13:34 Lu 19:12 Related Passages: Isaiah 5:1-7+ Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard (Lxx = ampelon). My well-beloved had a vineyard (Lxx = ampelon) on a fertile hill. 2 He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. 3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard (Lxx = ampelon). 4 “What more was there to do for My vineyard (Lxx = ampelon) that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? 5 “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard (Lxx = ampelon): I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. 6 “I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.” 7 For the vineyard (Lxx = ampelon) of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. Jeremiah 2:21 (SPEAKING OF ISRAEL) “Yet I planted you a choice vine, A completely faithful seed. How then have you turned yourself before Me Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine? Psalm 80:8-16+ You removed a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground before it, And it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shadow, And the cedars of God with its boughs. 11 It was sending out its branches to the sea And its shoots to the River. 12 Why have You broken down its hedges, So that all who pass that way pick its fruit? 13 A boar from the forest eats it away And whatever moves in the field feeds on it. 14 O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, 15 Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted, And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself. 16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. Luke 20:9+ And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. Mark 12:1+ And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. Israel Was Symbolized as a Vineyard in the Bible LISTEN CAREFULLY TO THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD Listen (akouo aorist imperative) to another parable (parabole) - Jesus uses the aorist imperative commanding their immediate and full attention to this second parable in a series of three. Another is allos signifying another parable of the same kind. The preceding parable of the two sons had been about judgment and this parable will also be about judgment. Both parables reflect judgment on the hearers because they had rejected Jesus. Charles Swindoll comments "Jesus’ sharp denouncement left the religious leaders reeling, stunned that He would publicly call them out and accuse them of faithlessness and disobedience. But Jesus wasn’t finished with them yet. He followed the first jab with a second, taking a swing at them with a parable that outlines the big picture of God’s offer of salvation (Mt 21:33–41)." (See Insights on Matthew 16--28 - Page 161) Parallel parables are found in Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12 (see above). The fact that this parable is recorded three times makes it one of the most important in the NT. The only other parables in all 3 synoptic gospels are the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the soils. It is interesting that some have referred to this day (most take it as Tuesday, but as noted MacArthur thinks it is Wednesday) as "the Day of Antagonism." Jesus often told parables to hide truth, but not in this case. The players in Jesus' parable can be readily discerned: The Owner of the Vineyard = God the Father The Vineyard = The nation of Israel Vine-growers = The religious rulers of Israel entrusted with leading Israel - chief priests, scribes and Pharisees, and the elders. Slaves = The prophets of God that were persecuted and killed. Son = The Lord Jesus It should not surprise us to hear that liberal theologians deny that this passage was spoken by Jesus, claiming it was added by the early church. Why would they do this? Simply because while it is a story, it is also an incredibly accurate prophecy by Jesus not only of His death, but also of the destruction of Jerusalem. Liberals don't like predictive prophecy that comes true (as it always does!) because they know to accept it as literal truth means that there is a "Literal God" to Whom they will one day have to give an account! Amen! Grassmick gives us some background to help set the parable in context, explaining that the Jews knew about this system of someone supervising the vineyard of a rich person - This parable reflects the social situation of first-century Palestine, especially Galilee. Wealthy foreign landlords owned large land estates which they leased to tenant farmers. The tenants agreed to cultivate the land and care for the vineyards when the landlords were away. A contract between them designated that a portion of the crop was to be paid as rent. At harvest time the owners sent agents to collect the rent. Inevitably tension arose between the absentee owners and the tenants. (See The Bible Knowledge Commentary) R. T. France: The story of an absentee landowner reflects a familiar economic situation at the time; some of the chief priests and elders to whom Jesus is speaking would probably have owned land away from Jerusalem. The landowner must be a wealthy man, because a newly planted vineyard could not be expected to produce fruit for at least four years, during which he would have no return on his capital outlay. Once the vines began to fruit there would be an agreed proportion of the crop due to the owner, leaving the tenant to derive their living from the rest. The fault of the tenants in withholding the due produce (and in the violence perpetuated on the slaves) is massively compounded by their decision to murder the owner’s son and so to attempt to take over the property. At this point the story has moved away from everyday reality, and, as often happens in parables (notably in 22:7), the intended symbolism has apparently invaded the tory-line: the murder of the son represents the forthcoming execution of Jesus. (See The Gospel of Matthew - Page 260) There was a landowner (oikodespotes) who PLANTED (phuteuo) A VINEYARD (ampelon) AND PUT A WALL (phragmos) AROUND (peritithemi) IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS (pix below) IN IT, AND BUILT (oikodomeo) A TOWER (see pix above) - In this parable it is easy to see that the vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT. Isaiah 5:7 says "For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel" The nation of Israel and its leaders are the tenants, the vine-growers. The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period. Ancient Winepress (Source: Logos.com) Israel is hilly and vineyards were planted on the hillsides which were terraced. They would surround the vineyard with a hedge or wall for protection. The vineyard would usually have a winepress (picture and description of ancient wine press) as well as a tower for protection. John Schultz: The question is what this vineyard stands for. It does not represent all of creation, at least not initially. It is the mandate that God had particularly entrusted to the people of Israel, which, after the rejection of the Son, would be given to the Gentiles. In Mt 21:43, Jesus identifies it as “the kingdom of God.” It represents God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. Israel had been given the task of being the guardian of God’s righteousness. God’s intention had been that Israel would not keep this treasure to itself but that, by becoming a kingdom of priests, it would demonstrate this riches for the benefit of the whole world. Israel failed completely in the carrying out of this task, both as far as the keeping of the mandate and the testimony of God’s righteousness. It used the fruits of the vineyard for its own consumption. Brooks rightly emphasizes that "No attempt should be made, however, to identify the wall, the pit, or the tower as the law, the altar, and the temple, respectively, as did the medieval church in its excessive allegorical interpretations....In Isaiah the problem is a fruitless vineyard, i.e., a nation that failed to produce the fruits of righteousness. In the present parable the emphasis is on the wickedness (greed, dishonesty, violence, murder) of the tenants, who seem to represent the leaders of the nation." (Ibid) And rented it out to vine-growers (georgos) and went on a journey ("for a long time" - Lk 20:9) - In other words the vineyard was rented out by the "absentee landlord," the owner who was not present. The ones who cultivated the vineyards were in effect tenant farmers who rented the owner's land, produced a crop and gave the owner his share of the proceeds when the crop was sold. A vine-grower was a "contract laborer" who was given the benefit of working the owner's land, which was a wonderful opportunity for those to poor to own their own land. Who are the vine-growers? These are the religious leaders (cf "the chief priests and the scribes with the elders" who confronted Jesus in Lk 20:1+) These mean are those who God had puts in charge of caring for His vineyard, the nation of Israel, especially providing for their spiritual nourishment, in the true way of God. Notice that these leaders are never called "owners" but serve only as stewards (including all their previous leaders - kings, priests and prophets) who were given responsibility for the spiritual welfare of the people of Israel. C H