After the Lord Jesus had dealt with the chief priests and elders in such a wise manner, He gave them a parable about a man who had two children (vv. 28-32). The man told the first child to work in the vineyard. At first the child refused, but later he regretted it and went. The man told the second child to do the same. But after saying that he would go, he eventually did not go. The Lord Jesus then asked His hearers which of the two did the will of the father. When they said the first, the Lord said to them, “Truly I say to you, that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God before you” (v. 31).
In Luke 15:1-2, 11-32, the Lord likened the leaders of Judaism to the firstborn son, and the tax collectors and sinners to the second son; but here the Lord likened them in the opposite order. This indicates that the Jews were the firstborn of God (Exo. 4:22), having the birthright, but due to their unbelief the birthright was shifted to the church, which has become God’s firstborn (Heb. 12:23). Thus, the Lord’s word here implies a shifting of the birthright. In God’s economy the birthright was taken from Israel and given to another people, a people composed of saved sinners and tax collectors. This means that the birthright of God has been transferred from Israel to the church.
Verse 32 says, “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and you, when you saw it, did not later regret it so as to believe him.” The Lord seemed to be saying, “You chief priests and elders are the second sons. Apparently you obey God, but actually you disobey Him. In the eyes of God, the sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes are much better than you, because they received the preaching of John the Baptist. Because they received John’s way of righteousness, they will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but you will be shut out.” This means that the birthright was taken from Israel and given to the saved, repentant, and forgiven sinners who constitute the church.
Verse 32 speaks of the way of righteousness. The Gospel of Matthew, as the book on the kingdom, stresses the matter of righteousness, for the kingdom life is one of strict righteousness, after which we must seek (5:20, 6; 6:33). John the Baptist came in the way of such righteousness, and the Lord Jesus was willing to be baptized by John to fulfill such righteousness (3:15).
In verses 33 through 46 the Lord continues with another parable concerning the transfer of the kingdom of God. Verse 33 says, “There was a man, a householder, who planted a vineyard and put a hedge around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and leased it out to husbandmen, and went into another country.” The householder is God, the vineyard is the city of Jerusalem (Isa. 5:1), and the husbandmen are the leaders of the Israelites (21:45).
When the householder sent his slaves to the husbandmen to receive his fruits, the husbandmen flogged them and killed them (vv. 34-36). These slaves were the prophets sent by God (2 Chron. 24:19; 36:15). The flogging, killing, and stoning mentioned in verse 35 were the persecutions suffered by the Old Testament prophets (Jer. 37:15; Neh. 9:26; 2 Chron. 24:21).
Later, the householder sent his son. The son, of course, was Christ. When the husbandmen saw the son, they said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his inheritance” (v. 38). This word indicates that the Jewish leaders were jealous of Christ’s rights and wanted to maintain their false position. Thus, “they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him” (v. 39). This refers to Christ’s being killed outside the city of Jerusalem (Heb. 13:12).
Verses 40 and 41 say, “When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen? They say to Him, He will miserably destroy those evil men, and will leave the vineyard to other husbandmen, who will render the fruits to him in their seasons.” Verse 41 was fulfilled when the Roman prince, Titus, and his army destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The other husbandmen spoken of in this verse were the Apostles.
In verse 42 the Lord Jesus says, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the cornerstone; this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” The stone here is Christ for God’s building (Isa. 28:16; Zech. 3:9; 1 Pet. 2:4), and the builders are the Jewish leaders, who were supposed to work on God’s building. In this verse the Lord said that the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone (Gk., the head of the corner). Christ is not only the foundation stone (Isa. 28:16) and the topstone (Zech. 4:7), but also the cornerstone.
Verse 43 says, “Therefore I say to you that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation producing the fruits of it.” The kingdom of God was already there with the Israelites, whereas the kingdom of the heavens had only drawn near (3:2; 4:17). This proves that the kingdom of the heavens is different from the kingdom of God. In this verse the Lord says that the kingdom of God will be given to another nation, which is the church.
The first part of verse 44 says, “And he who falls on this stone shall be broken to pieces.” This refers to the Jews who stumbled at Christ and were broken to pieces (Isa. 8:15; Rom. 9:32).