Matthew chapter 21 (part 2)

Jesus enters the Temple courts and begins teaching. There a group of chief priests elders came to him to question His authority. "By what authority are you doing these things?...And who gave you this authority?" Here they are questioning Jeusus about His right to be teaching in the Temple, about driving the corrupt market from the Temple the day before, and even about Him being able to perform miracles. They quetsioned His right to teach, a right these Saducees had, because Jesus was not a Priest, Scribe or Levite. He also had no 'proper' authority over their domain, the Temple. He had no earthly authority, rather Jesus' authority is a heavenly one, He was not merely the son of a carpenter from Bethlehem, but the Son of the Most High, and indeed Jesus is the Messiah, God Himself revealed to the world.

Jesus responds to this question by asking them to speak about John the Baptist. "John's baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?" Nither of their two alternatives are desirable for the Saducees as if John was acting upon the Lord's will then he would have been correct about Jesus when he said "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3:11), and they could not deny John's authority from the Lord as they feared the people would rebel against them as the people all knew John to be a prophet of God.

With the Parable of the Two Sons, Jesus makes a statement about the spiritual state of the teachers of the law who work in His name but do not know Him. The two sons represent the priests, elders and scribes on the one hand, and the dregs of society, "the sinners," on the other. Both classes were bidden to work in the Lord's vineyard. The sinners had refused, but repented at the preaching of John. The others professed to obey, but did not. The design of the parable is to show that the tax-collectors and prostitutes, whom the Saducees so much despised, were morally superior and more righteous than them. "For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him." The Greek word here translated "repent," is not the one which is used in all commands as, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," "Repent and be baptized," "Repent and be converted," etc. The term used here does not suggest a "change of your minds" or "hearts", rather, a regret or sorrow. It is the regret, or sorrow, for sin that leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). The Saducees and Pharisees did not regret their challenge and denyal of Jesus as the Messiah, when they saw sinners repenting, so that they could come into belief and eternal life.

The Parable of the Tenants inspires an intersting but not unique reaction from the chief priests and Pharisees. "When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet." We should be thankful for the Pharisees as whenever they react so strongly to Jesus' teaching it is a definite signal that he has said something profound and important.

In this parable the vineyard represents Israel, and that it was hedged had a winepress already built and a watchtower for shelter and protection represent all the special care and protection God had provided for the Israelites. However, the 'tennants' (Pharisees and Saducees) reject the 'servants' (prophets) sent by the 'landowner' (God). Instead of listening and obeying them they kill them. Finally God sent His Son, but He too was rejected and killed. Jesus then asks "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
To which the Pharisees reply "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end...and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time." Their answer is not only their own decree of judgment upon themselves, but an unconscious prediction. The nation was nearly destroyed in the Roman war; 1,100,000 perished in the siege of Jerusalem; the Jewish polity was destroyed, and "another people," the Church of Christ, mostly Gentile aliens before, received the inheritance and the kingdom.

Jesus confirms that He is the "The stone the builders rejected" from Psalm 118:22-23, then says that the Kingdom will be taken from teh Jews and given to a people who will bear fruit. This new people are not a particular race or tribe, but are the Body of Christ, called from every nation, tribe and tongue. He then describes the two outcomes for those who oppose Him. "He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." Their falling upon the Stone (Christ) was the ruin of their nation. When the Stone fell upon them, in the judgment He had predicted because they rejected him, they were crushed in the awful desolation that occurred about thirty-seven years later.