Time after Pentecost · Proper 22 · Year A
Matthew 21:33-46
The Parable of the Tenants
October 4, 2026
Overview & Insights
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (Matthew 21:42)
Two symbolic actions of Jesus—his entry as king into Jerusalem and his temple critique (21:1–22)—provoke a contest of authority with the chief priests and Jewish elders (21:23–27). Jesus refuses to answer their question about the source of his authority directly; instead, he tells three parables that provide an implicit claim of his messianic identity and implicate the Jewish leaders in their rejection of his identity and authority (21:28–22:14). In their rejection, Jesus contrasts them to those who have believed his message (and John’s): tax collectors and prostitutes (21:31–32; cf. 9:9–13) and people who produce fruit (21:43; cf. 3:8; 7:15–20; 12:33). It is at this point in Matthew’s story that the Jerusalem leaders begin the final plot to arrest and execute Jesus (21:46; see 26:3–4).
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Commentary
Commentary on Matthew 21:33-46 Working Preacher
The Lutheran home commentary on the vineyard, the rejected son, and the cornerstone.
Matthew 21:33-46 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching
A Reformed preaching commentary on the tenants, judgment, and the kingdom's fruit.
Matthew 21 - The Parable of the Vineyard Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse-by-verse evangelical study of the wicked tenants and the rejected stone.
Matthew 21 Commentary Precept Austin
An inductive study page gathering word studies and cross references on the chapter.
Matthew 21:33 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on the parable of the tenants.
Matthew 21:33 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight
A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the passage.
Background & Word Study
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
Who are the wicked tenants?
In the parable a landowner leases a vineyard to tenants who beat and kill the servants he sends, and finally his son (Matthew 21:33–39). Matthew presents it as an indictment of the Jerusalem leaders; the vineyard imagery draws on Isaiah 5. The cornerstone verse (21:42, quoting Psalm 118) turns rejection into vindication.
Where does this fall in the lectionary?
Proper 22 (Ordinary 27) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary, the Sunday whose date falls between October 2 and 8.
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