They say to him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to other farmers, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
they say.
He will.
Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Matthew 22:6,7 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them…
Matthew 23:35-38 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar…
and will let out.
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.
Matthew 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Isaiah 49:5-7 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength…
they replied,
The response comes from the listeners of Jesus' parable, likely the chief priests and Pharisees. Their answer unwittingly pronounces their own judgment, as they fail to see themselves in the story. This interaction highlights the blindness and hardness of heart that Jesus often confronted in the religious leaders.
and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants
This signifies the transfer of God's kingdom from Israel to a new people who will be faithful. The "other tenants" symbolize the Gentiles and the early Christian church, which would bear fruit for God's kingdom. This shift is echoed in passages like Romans 11:11-24, where Paul discusses the inclusion of the Gentiles into God's plan.
who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.
The expectation of fruitfulness is a recurring biblical theme, representing the righteous deeds and faithfulness expected from God's people. The "harvest time" alludes to the final judgment when God will assess the faithfulness of His people. This is consistent with the teachings of Jesus in other parables, such as the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), where accountability and fruitfulness are emphasized.
• Jesus affirms that God’s justice is certain; stubborn rebellion does not go unnoticed (Isaiah 5:5-6; Romans 11:21).
• The “wretches” are the tenant farmers—Israel’s religious leaders—who rejected the Owner’s servants and are about to kill His Son (Matthew 21:35-39).
• God’s past dealings with unfaithful stewards (2 Kings 17:13-18; Jeremiah 12:10) prove that literal judgment falls when privilege is abused.
• The double use of “wretched” underscores that their end matches their deeds—justice fully proportional (Hebrews 10:29-31).
• Jesus guides His listeners, much like Nathan did with David (2 Samuel 12:5-7), to pronounce the verdict on themselves.
• Their answer shows that even hardened leaders know what righteousness demands; their blindness is willful (Luke 19:22).
• The vineyard—God’s kingdom purposes—will not lie fallow. If one group refuses faithfulness, the Owner finds others (Mark 12:9; Luke 20:16).
• After the cross and resurrection, stewardship shifts to those who receive the Son:
– The gospel turning to the nations (Acts 13:46; Romans 11:11-15).
– A people made up of both Jew and Gentile who confess Christ (1 Peter 2:9-10).
• The Owner seeks fruit, not mere occupation of His field (John 15:5, 8).
• Fruit includes:
– Genuine repentance and obedience (Matthew 3:8).
– The character of Christ produced by the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
– Multiplication through witness and disciple-making (Colossians 1:6).
• Faithful tenants recognize that everything belongs to God; they gladly return what is His (1 Chronicles 29:14).
• Harvest pictures a set moment of reckoning when rewards and judgments are distributed (Matthew 13:39-43).
• Until that day, patience prevails, but the season of grace has an endpoint (2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 14:15-16).
• The certainty of harvest urges believers toward diligent, God-honoring labor while time remains (Galatians 6:9).
Matthew 21:41 reveals the righteous character of God: He judges unfaithful stewards, transfers privilege to willing servants, and expects fruitful partnership until the final harvest. The verse calls each reader to embrace the Son, tend His vineyard faithfully, and joyfully return the Owner’s rightful fruit when He comes.
(41) They say unto him . . .--The fact that the answer to the question came, not from the speaker, but from the hearers of the parable, is peculiar to St. Matthew. On the assumption that those who gave the answer were the scribes and Pharisees, we may see in it either a real unconsciousness that they were as the men on whom the punishment was to fall (see Note on Matthew 21:31), or, more probably, an affected horror, by which they sought to disguise the conviction that the parable was meant for them. They would not admit, in the presence of the multitude, that they winced at this intimation that their designs were known.Those wicked men.--Better, those miserable men, the adjective being the same as the preceding adverb. Their answer, like the speech of Caiaphas in John 11:49-51, was an unconscious prophecy, in which were wrapt up at once the destruction of the Holy City, and the transfer of the privileges that had belonged to Israel to the Gentile Church, which was to grow into Catholic Christendom. The Lord of the vineyard would not be robbed of its fruits, and sooner or later would find faithful and true labourers.
Verse 41. - They say unto him. The Pharisees probably made the reply, not at the moment apprehending the sense of the parable. Or the words were spoken by some of the bystanders, and taken up and emphatically repeated by our Lord with an unmistakable application (ver. 43). The conclusion was a necessary consequence, and this will account for Mark and Luke apparently making them a part of Christ's speech. By their answer they blindly condemn themselves, as David did at hearing Nathan's parable (2 Samuel 12:5). He will miserably (kakw = ) destroy those wicked men (κακοὺς, miserable men); or, he will evilly destroy those evil men; Vulgate, Malos male perdet. He will make their punishment equal their crime. The slaughter and mortality at the siege of Jerusalem accomplished this prediction to the letter. Unto other husbandmen; i.e. the Christian ministry, which took the place of the Jewish priests and teachers. As the husbandmen in the parable were rather the rulers and rabbis than the whole nation (which, indeed, only followed their guides), so these others are not the whole Gentile world, but those who sustained the ministerial offices in the Christian Church. Which (οἵτινες); of such kind as, denoting a class of servants. The clause is peculiar to Matthew. The speakers did not clearly apprehend the bearing of this detail of the parable. In their seasons. The times when the various fruits are ripe and ready for harvesting. These would vary in different climates and under differing circumstances; but the good husbandmen would be always ready to render to their Lord the fruits of faith and obedience, at every holy season and in due proportion. This parable, spoken originally of Israel, applies, like all such similitudes, to the Christian Church and to the human soul. How God dealt with individual Churches we see in his words to the seven Churches of Asia (Revelation 1-3.). Ecclesiastical history furnishes similar examples throughout all ages. God gives privileges, and looks for results worthy of these graces. He sends warnings; he raises up apostles, preachers, evangelists; and if a Church is still unfaithful, he takes away his Spirit, and lets it lapse, and gives its inheritance to others, In the other case, the vineyard is the soul of man, which he has to cultivate for his Master's use. God has hedged it round with the law, external and internal, given it the ministry and sacraments and the Scripture, and looks to it to bring forth the fruits of obedience, service, worship. He sends times of visitation, teaching, warning; he speaks to it by secret inspiration; he calls it in loving tones to closer union. If it hearkens to the call, it walks in the way of salvation; if it refuses to hear, it casts away the hope of its calling, and must share the lot of Christ's enemies.