Matthew 21:28-22:14

Names of God Bible

A Story about Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go to work in the vineyard today.’

²⁹ “His son replied, ‘I don’t want to!’ But later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “The father went to the other son and told him the same thing. He replied, ‘I will, sir,’ but he didn’t go.

³¹ “Which of the two sons did what the father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Yeshua said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² John came to you and showed you the way that God wants you to live, but you didn’t believe him. The tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. But even after you had seen that, you didn’t change your minds and believe him.

A Story about a Vineyard^(A)

³³ “Listen to another illustration. A landowner planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip.

³⁴ “When the grapes were getting ripe, he sent his servants to the workers to collect his share of the produce. ³⁵ The workers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned a third to death. ³⁶ So the landowner sent more servants. But the workers treated them the same way.

³⁷ “Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’

³⁸ “When the workers saw his son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him and get his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those workers?”

⁴¹ They answered, “He will destroy those evil people. Then he will lease the vineyard to other workers who will give him his share of the produce when it is ready.”

⁴² Yeshua asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ That is why I can guarantee that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce what God wants. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken. If the stone falls on anyone, it will crush that person.”^[a]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his illustrations, they knew that he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowds, who thought he was a prophet.

A Story about a Wedding Reception

22 Again Yeshua used stories as illustrations when he spoke to them. He said, ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who planned a wedding for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the wedding, but they refused to come. ⁴ He sent other servants to tell the people who had been invited, ‘I’ve prepared dinner. My bulls and fattened calves have been butchered. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding!’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went away. Some went to work in their own fields, and others went to their businesses. ⁶ The rest grabbed the king’s servants, mistreated them, and then killed them.

⁷ “The king became angry. He sent his soldiers, killed those murderers, and burned their city.

⁸ “Then the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited don’t deserve the honor. ⁹ Go where the roads leave the city. Invite everyone you find to the wedding.’ ¹⁰ The servants went into the streets and brought in all the good people and all the evil people they found. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “When the king came to see the guests, he saw a person who was not dressed in the wedding clothes provided for the guests. ¹² He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without proper wedding clothes?’

“The man had nothing to say. ¹³ Then the king told his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him outside into the darkness. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.’

¹⁴ “Therefore, many are invited, but few of those are chosen to stay.”