Matthew 21:28-22:14

Amplified Bible

Parable of Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the man came to the second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of the father?” The chief priests and elders replied, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you [walking] in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even change your mind afterward and believe him [accepting what he proclaimed to you].

Parable of the Landowner

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey [to another country].^{(A) 34} When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his [share of the] fruit. ³⁵ But the tenants took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first time; and they treated them the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his own son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son and have regard for him.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This [man] is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took the son and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to Him, “He will put those despicable men to a miserable end, and rent out the vineyard to other tenants [of good character] who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

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

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to [another] people who will produce the fruit of it. ⁴⁴ And he who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”^(C)

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was talking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were trying to arrest Him, they feared the people, because they regarded Jesus as a prophet.

Parable of the Marriage Feast

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. ³ And he sent his servants to call those who had [previously] been invited to the wedding feast, but they refused to come. ⁴ Then he sent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ The rest [of the invited guests] seized his servants and mistreated them [insulting and humiliating them] and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding [feast] is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ So go to the main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed [appropriately] in wedding clothes, ¹² and he said, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes [that were provided for you]?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’ ¹⁴ For many are called (invited, summoned), but few are chosen.”