Matthew 21:39
Saturday, 1 August 2026
So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Matthew 21:39
“And having taken him, they ejected from the vineyard, and they killed.” (CG)
In the previous verse, the agronomists saw the son and plotted to kill him and take his inheritance. Following through with their plot, it next says, “And having taken him, they ejected from the vineyard.”
As has been seen, the vineyard represents the economy (a cultural expression) where God is dealing with man in order to bring about a result. Therefore, this refers to Jesus being handed over to the Gentiles for sentencing. It was essentially an act of excommunication from them by doing this.
Barabbas was under the Gentile’s full authority. The leaders of Israel asked for him to be returned to them and for Jesus to go under their full authority to be crucified. This is what happened. Thus, Jesus’ next words, “and they killed.”
Whether they actually did the killing or not, the guilt of it was theirs –
“When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.’
25 And all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’
26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.” Matthew 27:24-26
Through the parable, Jesus is already speaking of His death as a certainty. It is certain that the handing of Jesus over to the Gentiles is what is being referred to in being ejected from the vineyard because Mark reverses the two thoughts, saying they killed him and cast him out. This remains true because they did kill Jesus, and they disavowed Him as the Messiah.
As such, being cast out is not a reference to Jesus’ death outside the city walls. It is a reference to being cast out of the cultural expression where God is dealing with man. Instead, Jesus has been a part of the Gentile-led cultural expression since then. Israel has no national dealings with Him to this day.
Life application: Of this verse, Ellicott says –
“Cast him out of the vineyard.—The minor touches of a parable are not always to be pressed in our interpretation of it; but we can hardly help seeing here a latent reference to the facts (1) that our Lord was delivered over to the judgment of the Gentiles; and (2) that He was crucified outside the Holy City, (John 19:20; Hebrews 13:12), which was, in a special sense, as the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts.”
The minor touches of a parable are a part of the parable. If God is giving it to us, every touch of it has meaning. Because Ellicott misunderstood the typology of the vineyard, he incorrectly evaluated the meaning of the vineyard. Jerusalem may be the seat of power in the vineyard, but it is not the vineyard.
Jesus is building on the words of Isaiah. The vineyard is referred to in Isaiah 1:8 and 3:14. From there, Isaiah 5:1-7, a song of His Beloved “regarding His vineyard,” is given. The words of verse 7 say, “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel.” It is the cultural expression that defines the vineyard.
Jesus’ words remain in accord with this typology. Therefore, the metaphors being used are understandable and should be consistently maintained. When they are, there is no need to worry about the “minor touches” of a parable, as if they are unimportant. They will fit seamlessly with the larger details.
Someday, Israel will again be the cultural expression in which Jesus is proclaimed. The world is being readied for that today. After the rapture, things will go into hyperdrive as the world begins to tear itself apart. However, God’s plan will unfold as the pages of Scripture detail. Israel will be saved, and Jesus will return to them at that time.
Be firm in your convictions concerning Israel. Many are turning from them today, and that is fine in regard to their unholy practices. But it is not fine if we reject what God is doing to bring them back to Himself. We don’t have to like the things they do, but we should pray for God’s will to be done in and through them. And because the pages of Scripture are written, we know it will be.
Lord God, we pray for Your plan of redemption to continue to unfold, knowing that it will because You have spoken. We pray for deliverance at the rapture, safety for Israel through the tribulation, and a great reunion of them with Jesus, whom they have for so long rejected. May these things come about according to Your word. Amen.
