Discovery BoxMatthew 21:34-40 
Context21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves 1 to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. 2 21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, 3 killed another, and stoned another. 21:36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. 21:37 Finally he sent his son to them, 4 saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 21:39 So 5 they seized him, 6 threw him out of the vineyard, 7 and killed him. 21:40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
1 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.
sn These slaves represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.
2 tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”
3 sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.
4 sn The owner’s decision to send his son represents God sending Jesus.
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son in v. 38.
6 tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.
7 sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.
