Matthew 21:45-46 meaning

The Sadducees and Pharisees have understood that Jesus was speaking against them. They desire to arrest Him for what He said. But they do not do so at this time, because they are afraid of how the many people who believe Jesus is a prophet will respond if they tried to seize Him.

The parallel gospel accounts of Matthew 21:45-46 are found in Mark 12:12 and Luke 20:19-20.

Matthew wrote When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them (v 45). The parables that He was speaking of were the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-30) and the parable of the vine-growers (Matthew 21:33-41). Both parables were unflattering portraits of the chief priests and Pharisees (v 45).

In addition to these parables, Jesus also explained their meaning to the priests and the people as He taught in the temple. This too was critical and exposing.

Jesus said the chief priests and Pharisees were like a hypocritical son who promised one thing to his father but did the opposite (Matthew 21:30). They were like hired vine-growers who killed the son of the vineyard-owner in order to steal his inheritance (Matthew 21:39-39). They were the builders who rejected the chief cornerstone of God’s kingdom (Matthew 21:42). They were the ones this same stone falls on and will scatter like dust (Matthew 21:41).

They understood that Jesus said all these things about them (v 45).

They also understood that Jesus said how the despised sinners, such as tax collectors and prostitutes would enter God’s kingdom before they would (Matthew 21:31). They understood how Jesus said that God would give their place of honor in the kingdom to these sinners (Matthew 21:44).

These things that Jesus said about them angered them. They wanted to arrest Jesus for saying these things about them in the temple. But when the chief priests and the Pharisees sought to seize Him they did not do so (v 46).

The reason they did not arrest Jesus was because they feared the people who considered Him to be a prophet (v 46). The people were amazed at Jesus and openly proclaimed Him as the Messiah (Mark 11:18; Matthew 21:15). If they arrested Jesus now, it would likely cause a riot in the temple. The people would take His side and be against them. The riot might even spill out into the city and cause the Roman officers to intervene. This would be a disaster for the chief priests and Pharisees (v 45). And so, they did not seize Him at this time.

Instead “they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor” (Luke 20:20). By the phrase “deliver Him to the rule and authority of the governor” Luke means that they intended to have him executed by crucifixion. The Jews had been delegated authority to judge most matters within Judea, but they were not allowed to issue capital punishment. Therefore, their strategy was to find or invent a premise by which they could get the Roman authorities to crucify Jesus.

Biblical Text

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. ⁴⁶When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

The Gospel of Matthew was written to demonstrate to the Jews of Jesus, the Messiah’s generation that He was indeed the Christ. Matthew thematically substantiates the Messianic identity of Jesus beginning with the genealogy of Jesus, which ran from Abraham, the father of Israel’s people through King David who was promised to have a son who would be on Israel’s throne forever. Throughout his Gospel account Matthew makes use of numerous prophecies both explicitly stated and by way of subtle allusion to support his thesis. Matthew further makes use of parallel events in Jesus’s life to those of Messianic figures from the Old Testament (Moses, Joseph, David, etc.) to bolster his argument.

Jesus came to offer the Jews the chance to participate in the inauguration of the Messianic Kingdom. To do this, they would have to receive and follow Him as their Messiah. Jesus’s message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Ultimately, they rejected Him as their Messiah and condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion. The Jews’ rejection of the Messiah opened the door for Gentiles to enter the kingdom (Matthew 8:11-12, 22:1-10). Matthew’s Gospel is therefore a call for the Jews repent of their murder of Jesus and to embrace Him for the divine Messiah He is.

Matthew shows how their rejection of Him and His brutal death was predicted not only by Jesus Himself, but also was foretold in the Jewish scriptures of the Messiah.

The main proof that Jesus was the Messiah was “the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 12:39, 16:4). This was Jesus’s death and resurrection from the dead. “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

Because Matthew’s Gospel was written to people who were already members of God’s eternal family by virtue of their faith in God’s promise to send the Messiah, Matthew emphasizes the “reward of eternal life” (aka “The Prize of Eternal Life”) rather than “the Gift of Eternal Life”. In other words, Matthew’s Gospel focuses on how to “enter the kingdom” rather than how to “be born again”.

Matthew’s Gospel demonstrates how Jesus came to fulfill the law and open a way for God’s people to participate in the Messianic kingdom if they would follow His example of worshiping God from the heart by forgiving and serving others.

For “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). If we have faith to follow the example set forth by the resurrected Messiah, whom all authority on heaven and earth has been granted (Matthew 28:18) and take up our cross for His sake (Matthew 16:24-25), then we will become great in His kingdom (Matthew 20:26).

Finally, Matthew provides extensive samples of Jesus’s teachings including “the Sermon on the Mount”, “the Little Commission”, and “the Olivet Discourse” and many parables, alongside accounts of numerous miracles and wonders, personal moments with His twelve disciples, interactions with seekers, and increasingly as his Gospel account progresses: challenges and confrontations with His adversaries – the Pharisees, Scribes, and Priests.

Chapter Context

Jesus enters Jerusalem as the Messiah riding on a colt to shouts of “Hosanna” from the crowds. But despite this promising entrance, the rest of this chapter chronicles how leading Jews reject Jesus as their Messiah. He enters the Temple and drives out the moneychangers and heals the sick. The chief priests are upset and accuse Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus cites Psalm 8 and departs for Bethany for the night. On the walk back into the city the next morning Jesus curses a fig tree and it withers, and talks about faith to His disciples. Jesus reenters the temple area and debates with the Sadducees and city elders who reject Him as the Messiah.

Matthew 21:45-46 meaning

Check out our other commentaries:

Deuteronomy 1:16-18 meaning

Proverbs 8:4-9 meaning

Genesis 8:18-22 meaning

Deuteronomy 16:21-22 meaning

Romans 3:9 meaning

Additional Resources

Book Theme

Chapter Context

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Videos

The Bible Project - Matthew Summary Pt. 1

The Bible Project - Matthew Summary Pt. 2

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