The Kingdom Taken and Given: Matthew 21:43

Having heard the parable of the vineyard, the chief priests and elders condemned themselves, and Christ pronounced the sentence: “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43). The message is that privilege without fruit is forfeited. God entrusts His kingdom to those who render Him its fruit, and He is bound to no people by descent or position alone. The test is not heritage but harvest, and the Lord of the vineyard will come to reckon with His husbandmen. The sentence rests on the rejection of Christ Himself, “the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner” (Matthew 21:42).

This is no novelty. Isaiah’s song set the pattern: “the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,” yet “he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry” (Isaiah 5:7). Hosea lamented, “Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself” (Hosea 10:1). John the Baptist demanded “fruits meet for repentance” (Matthew 3:8) and warned, “think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father” (Matthew 3:9), and Christ foretold that “the children of the kingdom shall be cast out” (Matthew 8:12) while many come from east and west (Matthew 8:11).

The apostles saw the sentence carried out. Paul and Barnabas told the Jews, “seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). The vineyard is let out “unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons” (Matthew 21:41), and “through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy” (Romans 11:11). Judgment serves mercy, and the cause is plain: “because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear” (Romans 11:20).

The church is now “an holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9), but the warning abides for every congregation: Christ will “remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Revelation 2:5). The kingdom is received by grace through faith, yet it is shown by fruit: “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit” (John 15:8). No believer may presume, for the apostle adds, “if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off” (Romans 11:22). Profession without fruit stands under the sentence of Matthew 21:43, but faith that bears fruit abides in the kingdom.