Two Parables of the Kingdom (Matthew 21:33–22:14)

Jesus continues to confront the chief priests and Pharisees about their opposition to his kingdom. In the parable of the tenants, he speaks about how they responded to him and the in the parable of the wedding feast he describes how people will respond to the message of the kingdom delivered by his servants.

The Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-45)

In this parable, Jesus speaks about a vineyard, its tenants, a series of servants sent by the owner of the vineyard, and the son of the vineyard owner. It is not difficult for us to work out who is being depicted here. The owner is God the Father, the vineyard is Israel, the tenants are the Israelites, the servants are the prophets, and the Son is Jesus. What is said about them?

Regarding God the Father, he created a vineyard with all that was necessary for it to be a fruitful place. He did not relinquish ownership of the vineyard, which is a reminder that it never belonged to the tenants, the Israelites. The vineyard was always his property, which means that he could do what he wished with it.

The tenants failed to provide fruit for the owner. This was the consistent contribution of the Israelites down the centuries towards the Lord. Although God had been very good to them in letting them live in the Promised Land, they usually forgot that it came from him through his grace.

The owner in the parable continued to send messengers to the tenants about their responsibilities. Prophets were usually in the public eye during periods of great backsliding in Israel and they delivered a message of warning as well as an invitation to repent and turn back to God. The response of the Israelites was to reject the messages of the true prophets that God sent to them. Moreover, they often responded violently towards those prophets.

Eventually, the owner sent his son, and the implication in the parable is that he is the only son, which is a reminder of the dignity of Jesus. The tenants knew who he was and killed him, imagining that if they did so they would receive the inheritance. The obvious consequence would be that the tenants would be punished by the owner. 

With this consequence the Pharisees and chief priests agreed, even saying that the tenants would be replaced by others. They did not realise that they were saying that the Israelites would lose the kingdom and that it would be given to other peoples who would treat God’s vineyard differently.

Jesus the cornerstone (Matthew 21:33-45)

Jesus took the Pharisees and others to a verse in Psalm 118. This psalm probably was being discussed by the people because it was sung at Passover time and because it had been referred to by the crowd when they happily followed Jesus into the city on Palm Sunday, a short time previously.

When the temple was being built, a stone which had previously been rejected turned out to be suitable as the cornerstone that held the foundation together. The people at the time regarded this as a wonderful evidence of the Lord’s provision for his people because obviously the cornerstone was very important. Jesus takes that incident and says he is the fulfilment of the rejected stone.

In his application, he says that God will take the kingdom away from the Israelites and give it to those who will bring forth fruit for God. This is what happened. Since Calvary, and it was only a few days away, and the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the kingdom of God has taken on a new appearance. Now it is found everywhere on earth and in it Jews and Gentiles are equal membership. They are the stones held together by the cornerstone and they produce the fruit that the God desires.

Moreover, those who reject Jesus will be damaged – such are likened to those who fall on a stone and suffer injury, and who will also be punished by him (Isa. 8:14-15) – he will fall on them in a manner like to what occurs when a large stone crushes a person. The Pharisees recognised that he was speaking about them, but that did not mean they recognised he was God’s Son. Instead they wanted to get rid of him, but they were wary of the people because they regarded Jesus as a prophet. They could not get rid of him easily as long as the people had this attitude. 

Obviously, the primary focus of this parable is Israel and its religious leaders at the time of Jesus. Yet there are some applications that can be extended to other times and places. 

First, there is only one vineyard. At that time, it was Israel, but now it has extended beyond that place and people. Second, the workers are only tenants and if they don’t do what the Owner wants, he can replace them, which has happened in numerous places down the centuries. Third, the patience of God is revealed in the number of servants he sends to where his kingdom is found and it is common for them to be mistreated. Fourth, what always matters is the response to Jesus and his message. 

The parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1-10)

In this story, Jesus refers to a king, his son, a wedding feast, servants of the king, several invitations, and an inappropriately dressed person who experiences severe punishment. Matthew say that Jesus spoke in parables, so maybe we are meant to see two parables here, one about the wedding feast and one about the clothing to wear at the feast.

The kingdom of heaven is compared to invitations to a royal wedding. The date of the wedding has been fixed, but the participants at the feast are uncertain. This uncertainty is part of the parable and does not mean that God does not know who will be in heaven. Instead, the occasion is being viewed from the perspective of those invited.

The method of invitation is for the king to send his servants to invite people to the wedding. Obviously, a royal invitation carries a great deal of authority. Nevertheless, those invited refuse to attend. Those initially invited are asked twice, but they put their own interests ahead of the king’s invitation and killed his servants. Those initially invited are the people of Israel.

Between those set of invitations and the later set, Jesus says that the king will punish those who first refused their invitations by punishing their city. While this detail may not have been noticed by the original listeners as being of any significance in the story, it is hard for us not to think of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and note that Jesus was giving a prophecy here inside the parable. 

Then the king sent the invitation to the wedding to everyone that his servants could find. Clearly, the invitation is the gospel and in the gospel there is an invitation to come and experience the love of the Saviour. We should note that the invitation is given to both the good and the bad. In other words, all could be given the invitation. Unlike the response of the Israelites, the response of the Gentiles will ensure that the wedding reception will be full of guests.

In many ways, the meaning of this parable is obvious. But we can observe a few details. First, all the refusals will not prevent the wedding reception being full. Second, the invitation is given genuinely. The Son will be delighted by all who accept his Father’s invitation, which can be summarised in John 3:16. Third, it is the duty of those with the invitation to go to where the people are. We can and should invite people that we know and don’t know. Many are Christians today because people who did not know them spoke to them about Jesus.

The foolish guest (Matthew 22:11-14)

Jesus speaks about a man who was inappropriately dressed at the wedding feast. The point of the special garment is that clothes at a wedding were provided by the host. When they were provided by a king we can be sure that such clothes would be the best to wear. For someone to choose their own clothes instead of the host’s provision is a statement of defiance and an indication of no love for the king or his son. We can imagine someone coming who thought his or her attire was just as good as what they thought the king would provide. 

It was obviously a serious offence that the man had committed, which we can see was the case from the punishment meted out to him. The point is that the man was dressed for the wrong place but he found himself sent to the location for which he was dressed.

The questions that arise from this section of the parable are (1) ‘What did Jesus mean by a wedding garment?’, (2) ‘What alternative garment could we choose?’ and (3) ‘What did Jesus mean when he was speaking about the punishment that the king would give?’ 

The punishment is what the Bible often refers to as the destiny of the wicked. From the parable, we can see that it is a deprivation of liberty (tied hand and foot), it is loneliness (cannot see someone else in a place of complete darkness), it is distant (outer darkness), and it is sorrowful where the only sounds are expressions of remorse and despair (weeping and gnashing of teeth). We must remind ourselves that it is Jesus who says that this is their destiny.

What garment is a person liable to think good enough for wearing at the Son’s wedding? Something he spent a long time putting together himself such as a life of good works, and this a garment that many people imagine will be suitable for being allowed into heaven. But it will not.

The garment that the man should have been wearing is the righteousness of Christ. Often salvation in the Bible is depicted in the form of new clothing. This garment of righteousness is personal (given to us), perfect and permanent. At an earthly wedding, no-one expects the guests to wear for the rest of their lives the clothes they wear to the wedding. At the heavenly wedding, the garments given are designed to be worn for ever.

The explanation of Jesus (Matthew 22:14)

Jesus, in this verse, mentions that ‘few’ are chosen. He probably is not referring to the final number of the saved because they will be a number that no-one can count (Rev. 7:9). So it looks as if he is referring to the number of people who accepted the gospel around the time of his ministry on earth. 

Whether that is the case or not, we can see that Jesus was prepared to speak about the doctrine of election and not hide it from the consideration of his listeners. At other times, he mentioned election when he was giving an invitation to trust in him, such as in John 6:37.

Why do so many people refuse the gospel? In the parable, all kinds of people were invited to the wedding and they illustrate those who are called through the gospel message. Many answers could be given to the question as to why they refuse, but a better question is, ‘Why do some accept the gospel?’ Jesus tells us that those whom God has chosen beforehand will believe the gospel.

What does this mean for us? It does not mean that we should assume we or others are not chosen, because that is information that is impossible for us to know. Nor does it mean that we should become fatalistic about the possibility of salvation. Instead, it is another reminder from the Bible that we are responsible to make our calling and election sure, as Peter reminded his readers in 2 Peter 1:10.