Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. 34 When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. 35 But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. 36 Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ 39 They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” 41 They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’? 43 Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. 44 [ The one who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.]” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
Jesus tells another parable about a vineyard. The details would have sounded familiar to his listeners. A vineyard was often used in Scripture as an image of the people of Israel. The description of planting the vineyard, building a tower, and digging a wine press echoes the well-known passage in Isaiah about God’s vineyard (Is. 5:1-7). In that earlier text the vineyard represents the “house of Israel,” carefully prepared by God but failing to produce good fruit.
In the parable, the landowner prepares the vineyard and leases it to tenants while he travels. When the time comes to collect the harvest, he sends servants to obtain the produce. Instead of giving the fruit that belongs to the owner, the tenants attack the servants. One is beaten, another killed, and another stoned. Even when the owner sends more servants, they are treated in the same way.
The story reflects the pattern seen throughout Israel’s history. God repeatedly sent prophets to call his people back to faithfulness, yet many of those prophets were rejected or killed. The servants in the parable represent these messengers sent by God.
Finally, the landowner sends his son, thinking the tenants will respect him. Instead, they recognize him as the heir and decide to kill him in order to seize the inheritance. They throw him out of the vineyard and kill him. The sequence—casting him out and then killing him—mirrors what would soon happen to Jesus, who would be taken outside the city and crucified.
Jesus then asks his listeners what the owner of the vineyard will do. They answer that the wicked tenants will be punished and the vineyard entrusted to others who will give the owner the produce at the proper time. Their response reveals the moral of the story before Jesus even explains it.
Jesus confirms this judgment by quoting Psalm 118: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (v. 42).”
The image shifts from a vineyard to a building. The stone rejected by the builders represents Jesus himself. Though rejected by the leaders, he will become the cornerstone—the essential stone upon which the new structure is built. The early Christian community saw this verse fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Christ.
Jesus then states the central warning: “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit (v. 43).” The point is not the destruction of the vineyard itself, but the removal of those who failed in their responsibility. The vineyard remains God’s, but it will be entrusted to others who will produce the fruit that God expects.
The leaders listening to Jesus understand that the parable is directed at them. They are the tenants who have rejected the prophets and are preparing to reject the Son. Yet even as they seek to arrest him, they hesitate because the crowds regard Jesus as a prophet.
This parable summarizes the history of God’s dealings with his people: God prepares the vineyard, sends his servants, and finally sends his Son. The responsibility of those who receive the vineyard is simple but demanding—to produce the fruit that belongs to the owner.
The warning also speaks beyond the first audience. The kingdom of God is entrusted to those who respond to God’s call with faithfulness. The vineyard remains the Lord’s, and he continues to look for the fruit of righteousness from those who have received it.
In Lent the parable becomes a call to examine our own response. God has entrusted us with the gift of his kingdom and has sent his Son to reveal his will. The question the parable leaves before every reader is the same: will we produce the fruit God seeks, or will we reject the Son he has sent?
Lord Jesus, you are the Son sent by the Father and the cornerstone rejected by many. Give me a heart that listens when you speak, repents when you correct, and obeys when you call. Help me to produce the fruit you seek, at the proper time, for the glory of God and the good of others. Amen.
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Sources and References
- New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Mt. 21:33-46 and notes.
- Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, New Testament, commentary on Mt. 21:28-46, p. 45.
- The Navarre Bible: St. Matthew, commentary on Mt. 21:33-46, pp. 121-122.
- Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990), p. 666, paras. 133-134.
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, commentary on Mt. 21:33-46, p. 952.
- John J. Collins, Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid, O.P., and Donald Senior, C.P., eds., The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century, 3rd fully revised ed., commentary on Mt. 21:33-46, p. 1217.
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