Day 2: Jesus Rebukes the Pharisees
Read Matthew 21:23-46
23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?" 24 Jesus answered them,“I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him? ’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone considers John to be a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
THE PARABLE OF THE TWO SONS
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go work in the vineyard today.’ 29 “He answered, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he answered, but he didn’t go. 31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.
THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD OWNER
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?" 41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”
42 Jesus said to them,“Have you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is what the Lord has done
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.
23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?" 24 Jesus answered them,“I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him? ’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone considers John to be a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
THE PARABLE OF THE TWO SONS
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go work in the vineyard today.’ 29 “He answered, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he answered, but he didn’t go. 31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.
THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD OWNER
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?" 41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”
42 Jesus said to them,“Have you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is what the Lord has done
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.
Jesus knew that God the Father had given Him the authority to do everything He had done up to this point in His life and ministry (John 5:19- 29). Matthew 21 has already presented several aspects of this authority: Christ came to Jerusalem and received praise and worship from the people, cleansed the temple, and taught in the temple courts. These actions led the religious leaders to ask, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?” (v. 23). The religious leaders were questioning Jesus’ authorization to do what He did. They essentially asked, “Is it from God or from man?” Today people still wonder whether Christianity is from God or whether it is just another man-made religion.
More than just innocent questions…
Lest we think these were just innocent questions by the religious leaders, remember that they had already rejected John the Baptist’s message (v. 32); these questions often come from unbelief. They had already rejected earlier revelation from God, so their rejection of Jesus was not altogether unexpected.
Will we let unbelief and the opinions of others control us?
Unbelief isn’t the only reason people question Jesus’ authority. These questions often come from misplaced fear, which is what we see in verse 26. Instead of fearing God, which the Bible says is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7), these leaders had an unhealthy fear of man. This misplaced fear is what led them to question Jesus, and it leads many people to question Jesus’ authority today. The question for us is, will we let unbelief and the opinions of others control us, or will we submit to God and His Son Jesus Christ?
Their professed agnosticism was a smoke screen.
Jesus responded to the questions of the chief priests and the elders by posing a question of His own. To force their hand, He asked them whether John’s baptism was from heaven or from man (v. 25). John had made Jesus’ identity as the Messiah clear, and the people respected John as a prophet. Therefore, the religious leaders couldn’t reject John, or the people would turn against them. However, if they claimed that John’s authority was from heaven, then they would be guilty of rejecting God, since they denied that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus knew that His question would uncover their hearts. Their professed agnosticism—“We don’t know”—in verse 27 was simply a smoke screen.
Devotional from https://csbible.com/holy-week/
Family Discussion Questions:
More than just innocent questions…
Lest we think these were just innocent questions by the religious leaders, remember that they had already rejected John the Baptist’s message (v. 32); these questions often come from unbelief. They had already rejected earlier revelation from God, so their rejection of Jesus was not altogether unexpected.
Will we let unbelief and the opinions of others control us?
Unbelief isn’t the only reason people question Jesus’ authority. These questions often come from misplaced fear, which is what we see in verse 26. Instead of fearing God, which the Bible says is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7), these leaders had an unhealthy fear of man. This misplaced fear is what led them to question Jesus, and it leads many people to question Jesus’ authority today. The question for us is, will we let unbelief and the opinions of others control us, or will we submit to God and His Son Jesus Christ?
Their professed agnosticism was a smoke screen.
Jesus responded to the questions of the chief priests and the elders by posing a question of His own. To force their hand, He asked them whether John’s baptism was from heaven or from man (v. 25). John had made Jesus’ identity as the Messiah clear, and the people respected John as a prophet. Therefore, the religious leaders couldn’t reject John, or the people would turn against them. However, if they claimed that John’s authority was from heaven, then they would be guilty of rejecting God, since they denied that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus knew that His question would uncover their hearts. Their professed agnosticism—“We don’t know”—in verse 27 was simply a smoke screen.
Devotional from https://csbible.com/holy-week/
Family Discussion Questions:
- What is something you know for sure to be true? Why?
- Why didn’t the religious leaders of this day not want to believe that Jesus was the Son of God?
- Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the one who wants to save us?