21:24-26
(Verse 24 onwards) But Jesus, answering, said to them: I will also ask you one question, which if you tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men? But they thought within themselves, saying: If we say, From heaven, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? But if we say, From men, we are afraid of the multitude: for all held John as a prophet. And answering Jesus, they said: We do not know. This is what is commonly said: A bad knot of a tree, a bad nail or wedge must be driven in. The Lord could have refuted the calumny of the tempters with an open response, but He wisely asks a question, so that they themselves, either by silence or by their answer, may be condemned. For if they had answered that the baptism of John was from heaven (as they cleverly handled in their malice), the consequent response would have been: Why then were you not baptized by John? If they had wanted to say that it was a human invention and had nothing divine, they feared the rebellion of the people. For all the crowds had received John's baptism in groups, and they held him as a prophet. Therefore, the most impious faction responded and, using the word of humility by which they claimed not to know, used it to plot deceit.
21:27
(Verse 27) He also said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. They answered and said to him: We don't know. Then Jesus also replied to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. But the Truth cannot lie, and he said: Neither do I tell you. From this, he shows that they know but refuse to answer, and he knows but refuses to say, because they keep silent about what they know. And immediately he tells a parable that not only condemns their impiety, but also teaches that the kingdom of God will be given to the Gentiles.
21:28-31
(Verse 28 and following) What do you think? A certain man had two sons; and going to the first, he said: Son, go today to work in my vineyard. But he, answering, said: I do not want to. Afterwards, however, moved by repentance, he went. Going to the second, he said similarly. But he, answering, said: Yes, sir, and he did not go. Which of the two did the will of the father? And they said to him: The first. Jesus said to them (Luke XV). Hi sunt duo filii, qui et in Lucae parabola describuntur, frugi et luxuriosus, et de quibus Zacharias propheta loquitur: Assumpsi mihi duas virgas: unam vocavi decorem, et alteram vocavi funiculum, et pavi gregem (Zach. XI, 7) . Primo dicitur Gentilium populo per naturalis legis notitiam: Vade, et operare in vinea mea: hoc est, quod tibi non vis fieri, alteri ne feceris (Tob. IV) . Qui superbe respondit: Nolo. But afterwards, upon the arrival of the Savior, the works of repentance were done in the vineyard of God, and the insolence of speech was corrected by labor. However, the second son, who is the people of the Jews, replied to Moses: 'We will do everything that the Lord has spoken' (Exod. XXIV), but he did not go into the vineyard because, thinking himself the heir after the son of the household had been killed. But others do not consider it as a parable of the Gentiles and Jews, but rather of sinners and the righteous, as the Lord Himself later expounded on the matter.
Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
21:32
(Verse 32.) For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. Now, which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
21:33
(Verse 33.) Listen to another parable: There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and then went on a journey. This is what the Lord meant by the proverb: It is hard to kick against the goads (Acts 9:5). The chief priests and the elders of the people, who questioned the Lord, said to him, 'By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?' And they desired to attain wisdom in words, they are surpassed by their own skill; and they listen in parables, because they did not deserve to listen with an open face. This man, the head of the household, is the one who had two sons; and in another parable, he hired workers for his vineyard; who planted a vineyard, of which Isaiah speaks most fully in the Song, bringing it to a conclusion: The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel (Isaiah 5:7). And in the Psalm: You have brought a vine out of Egypt, he says, you have driven out the nations, and planted it (Psalm 80:9). And he surrounded her with a hedge, or with the walls of a city, or with the help of angels: and he dug into her a winepress, or an altar, or those things for pressing wine, which are noted in the title of three Psalms: the eightieth, and the eighty-third. And he built a tower: no doubt the temple, of which it is said through Micah: And you, O cloudy tower, daughter of Zion (Mic. 4:8). And he placed it for the farmers, whom elsewhere he called vineyard workers: who were hired at the first, third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hour (Matt. 20). And he went on a journey: yes, not by a change of place; for how can God be absent where all things are fulfilled? And as it says through Jeremiah: I am a God who is near and not far away, says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:23). But he seems to be leaving the vineyard so as to leave the vine-dressers free will in their work.
21:34-36
(Verse 34 and following) But when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the vinedressers took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. And last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. We read the letter of Paul to the Hebrews (Heb. XI) ; and from it we learn in great detail the sufferings endured by the servants of the Lord.
21:37-38
(Verse 37, 38.) But lastly, he sent his son to them, saying: They will respect my son. However, the farmers, upon seeing the son, said among themselves: This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance. In the passage above, we read: Again, he sent other servants more than the previous ones, and they did the same to them. The patience of the householder is shown in that he sent them more frequently, in order to provoke the wicked tenants to repentance. But they treasured up wrath for themselves on the day of wrath (Rom. 2). Moreover, that which is joined: They fear for my son, he does not come from ignorance. For what does the head of the household not know, who in this place is understood as God the Father? But God is always said to be ambiguous, so that free will may be preserved for man. Let us ask Arius and Eunomius. Behold, the Father is said to be ignorant, and he tempers his judgement, and as far as you are concerned, he is proven to be lying. Whatever they may answer on behalf of the Father, let them understand it as being on behalf of the Son, who himself says that he does not know the day of consummation.
21:39
(Verse 39) And they apprehended him, cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. And the Apostle speaks, that Jesus was crucified outside the gate (Heb. 13). We can also understand it differently; that he was cast out of the vineyard, and there he was killed: so that when the gentiles received him, the vineyard would be given to others.
21:40-41
(Verse 40, 41.) When therefore the Lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to those farmers? They say to him: He will destroy those wicked men and will lease out his vineyard to other farmers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. The Lord asks them not because he doesn't know what they will answer, but in order to condemn them by their own response. And a vineyard has been leased to us, and it has been leased under the condition that we render to the Lord the fruits in their seasons, and we should know at all times what we must either say or do.
21:42
(Verse 42.) Jesus said to them: Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner? This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. (Psalm 118:22-23). Various parables and different teachings are woven into this story. For those whom he previously called workers, vine-dressers, and farmers, he now calls builders, that is, masons. Hence the Apostle says: You are God's field, you are God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:9). So just as bricklayers and vine-growers take possession of a vineyard, they also took possession of a stone, which they either place in the foundations, next to the architect Paul (Ibid.), or in the corner, to join together two walls, that is, both peoples (Ephesians 2), who were rejected by them, became the cornerstone. And this was done by the Lord, not by human strength, but by the power of God. Peter also confidently speaks of this stone of support: This stone, which was rejected by you builders, has become the cornerstone (1 Peter 2:7). And Isaiah said: Behold, I will send a chosen, precious, corner stone into the foundations of Zion: and he that believeth in him, shall not be confounded (Isa. II, 16).
21:43
(Verse 43.) Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and it will be given to a nation producing its fruits. I have said many times that the kingdom of God is to be understood as the holy Scriptures, which the Lord took away from the Jews and gave to us, so that we may produce their fruits. This is the vineyard that is entrusted to the farmers and winegrowers, and those who do not work in it, having only the name of the Scriptures, will lose the fruits of the vineyard.
21:44
(Verse 44.) And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. It is one thing to offend Christ through evil works, another to deny Him. Whoever is a sinner, yet believes in Him, falls indeed on the stone and is broken, but is not utterly crushed; for he is preserved through repentance for salvation. But on whomever the stone falls, that is, on whom the stone itself will crash down, and who completely denies Christ, it will grind him to powder, so that not even a shard remains, in which a little water could be poured.