In the Parable of the LORD’S VINEYARD [Matthew 21:33-46] we gain much insight into how the Lord dealt with the Jewish people of His day, regarding their rejection of not only Him, but of the prophets through the ages. This parable was given by the Lord Jesus Christ, the creator of the world, almost two thousand years ago: 

Matthew 21:33
Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

The householder in this parable is the Lord God Almighty, and the  husbandmen are the gardeners who were responsible for the vineyard.  In this case the husbandmen [gardeners] are the children of Israel who were entrusted with the Word of God down through the years.  The children of Israel were the ones who were instructed by the Lord, and they often had His prophets sent to them. In fact the book of Isaiah shows us clearly that the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel. 

Isaiah 5:7-8
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.  Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

Matthew 21:34-36
And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 

In this part of the parable the Lord is describing the history of the children of Israel and how they treated the sevants of the Lord.  These servants were beaten, persecuted and even killed at times.  In fact if you read chapter seven in the New Testament book of Acts you will hear Stephen, a man of faith and power, rehearse the history of Israel in great detail. In fact this chapter is one of the clearest testimonies in the whole New Testament of how the Jewish people were confronted regarding their rejection of JESUS their MESSIAH.

At one point Stephen addressed the Jewish leaders who were standing before him and said the following:

 Acts 7:51-52
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.  Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One [Jesus Christ]; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:  Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.  When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

Stephen told the Jewish leaders that they were resisting the Holy Ghost just as their fathers did. Stephen also made a point of telling these Jewish leaders that they were responsible for killing the prophets who prophesied of the coming Christ [MESSIAH].  We know the Messiah is Jesus. Stephen was stoned to death a short time later like so many others of the Lord’s faithful witnesses. [Acts 7:55-60] 

Matthew 21:37-39  

But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

This part of the parable describes what happened when Jesus Christ arrived on the scene. He was rejected by the majority of the Jewish people, especially the chief priests and the elders, and they wanted Jesus Christ to be put to death. The scriptures below testify to the truth that they were surely involved in putting Christ [MESSIAH] to death.

Matthew 27:1
When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:

The Lord was not surprised by what was coming and He told His own disciples that His death was the fulfillment of prophecy. The Word of God is truly amazing in its accuracy regarding the prophetic word.  The scriptures foresaw what took place here, and declared it hundreds of years before.

Luke 18:31-33
Then he [Jesus] took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.  For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

Matthew 21:40
When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

Here the Lord Jesus Christ asks the Jewish religious leaders, who were listening to Him tell this parable, what should be done to those who did all of those things to the Lord’s servants. Jesus was now getting to the very heart of the matter, as He always did, and He wanted them to give Him the answer to His question.

Matthew 21:41
They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

The Jewish religious rulers responded and told Jesus, that those who did those things were wicked and they should be destroyed! Not only that, but they said that the vineyard should be let out [given over to] to other husbandmen [gardeners] who would bring forth the fruits in their seasons. They had no idea that their answer played right into the meaning of the parable.  They were able to see the unrighteousness of what was done to the servants in that parable, but they did not realize that they were the very ones whom the Lord was describing.

Matthew 21:42
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

The Lord Jesus Christ then quoted Psalm 118:22 regarding Himself as being that STONE which the builders [Israel] rejected and who had become the head of the corner [or cornerstone]. The Lord was basically telling the leaders of Israel that the very one standing before them was the very one whom they needed. The Lord was and is the chief cornerstone in the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom which would be made up of Jewish and Gentile believers. 

Matthew 21:43
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

Could Jesus Christ, the creator of the earth, [John 1:1-3], have been any clearer in His pronunciation against the leaders of Israel.  The Lord made His point that Israel had rejected the prophets who were sent to them, and they would end up killing Him too.  Yes, the Lord was prophesying of His very own death, but He was also telling Israel that the Kingdom would be taken from them, and it was! The nation that the Lord said would be given the Kingdom is simply that “holy nation” of believers described by Peter. [1 Peter 2:9-10] 

This gospel is not about Israel but it is all about Jesus Christ. 


The prophets prophesy about Jesus Christ because it is all about HIM. The Lord is going to have a people who serve Him and worship HIM with all of their heart, and those people are going to come from every part of this large world in which we live.  If a person has not been born again then they are not part of the Kingdom of God [John 3:1-8] because entrance into this Kingdom is only through Jesus Christ. Do not let anybody replace the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a false gospel, because a curse comes along with a false gospel. [Galatians 1:8-9]

WHO ARE GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE? 

They are those who believe the testimony that God gave of His Son Jesus Christ! [Jewish and Gentile]

WHO IS THE APPLE OF GOD’S EYE? 

It is those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! [Jewish and Gentile]

God is not a respector of persons, and any person who desires salvation in Christ will not be turned away. Does that mean that a person who has led a life without the Lord, and who has lived in absolute decadence their whole life can be saved? Absolutely YES.  That very same person can also be called the apple of God’s eye, and one of God’s chosen people as much as any person who has received the Lord since the beginning of the world.  This gospel is not about Israel, but it is all about Jesus Christ!

 Do you remember what the Lord Jesus Christ told that  Gentile woman of Samaria concerning the worship of God?

John 4:21-26
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias [Messiah] cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.  

Jesus told this Gentile woman that He was in fact the Messiah that she was looking for, which clearly shows us that the Lord will reveal Himself to anyone who truly desires to know Him.  This woman had been married many times, and she was living with a man at the time, but the Lord offered her mercy. Do you remember what the angel said to the apostle John, in the book of Revelation, when John went to bow down and worship him?

Revelation 19:10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

If a person does not have the testimony of Jesus in their heart, and on their lips, then they are not true worshipers of God. The angel made that very clear to John. The angel also let John know that the spirit of prophecy will put the testimony of Jesus within a persons heart. If a person truly wants to know what the Word of God is about, then they will find out very quickly that it is Jesus Christ who is the central figure in the Bible, and the redeemer whom they need.

Matthew 21:44
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Jesus Christ did not mince words when He spoke, and here he tells the Jewish leaders that those who reject Him would end up as powder.  The word of God still stands true today for both Jew and Gentile. It is either Christ or nothing, and there are no back doors, side doors, or any other door you might think of in this plan of salvation. Jesus said this:

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Matthew 21:45-46
And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

At this point the Jewish priests and the Pharisees caught on to what Jesus was telling them, and they realized that He was speaking about them. They would have grabbed Jesus right then and there but they feared for their own lives so they did not take Him at this point.

ACTUAL QUOTE FROM JESUS CHRIST

John 3:16-18
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

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PARABLE OF THE LORD'S VINEYARD!