Matthew 21:38 records the moment the tenants of a vineyard see the owner’s son arriving and decide to murder him so they can keep the property for themselves. In Jesus’ parable, the vineyard owner has sent servant after servant to collect what is owed, and each has been mistreated. Now he sends his own son, and the tenants see in him a chance to seize the inheritance. Jesus tells this story to the chief priests and elders of Jerusalem during the final week before his crucifixion.
But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and seize his inheritance.’
Matthew 21:38 (WEB)
What Matthew 21:38 Means
The tenants reason aloud with one another, which shows they know exactly who this young man is. Calling him “the heir” means they recognize that everything in the vineyard will one day belong to him. Their words “Come, let’s kill him” reveal a sudden, deliberate choice rather than a passing temper. They have calculated that if the son is removed, the property becomes theirs by default.
The verse describes a motive more than a method. Greed and a sense of entitlement drive the farmers, and they convince themselves that their own profit justifies violence against the one person who has rightful authority over the land. The verse does not promise that wicked plans always succeed, nor does it explain how the owner will respond. It simply lays bare the logic of people who have decided that their desires outweigh the claims of the one who owns everything they use.
The Context of Matthew 21:38
Matthew wrote his Gospel for a community of Jewish believers who were learning to understand Jesus within the story of Israel. In this parable the vineyard is a familiar Old Testament image for Israel, found in passages such as Isaiah 5, and the farmers stand for the leaders who were supposed to care for God’s people. The earlier servants represent the prophets, who were often rejected and persecuted, so the sequence in the parable traces a pattern that Matthew’s readers would recognize.
Just before this verse, the owner sends his son with the hope that the tenants will respect him. Verses 39 through 41 show the tenants acting on their plan and the owner’s coming judgment being described. Read in this setting, Matthew 21:38 is the hinge of the story: it shows hope turning into hostility, and it prepares the listeners to see that the rejection of the son will bring serious consequences.
Key Phrases in Matthew 21:38
Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry of distress.
(WEB)
This verse explicitly identifies the vineyard with Israel and the owner’s expectation of fruit. Reading it alongside Matthew 21:38 helps you see that Jesus’ parable draws on a long prophetic tradition about God’s care for his people and the disappointment he feels when they fail to produce what he hoped for.
Mark 12:7
But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
(WEB)
Mark records the same parable and includes the same words of the tenants about the heir. Comparing the two accounts shows how the early church preserved this teaching and gives you a second angle on the tenants’ motive and the seriousness of their decision.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 21:38
Lord, you are the true owner of everything I have and everything I am. Forgive me for the times I have treated your gifts as though they belonged to me alone, and for the moments when I have wanted something so badly that I was willing to push aside what is rightly yours. Teach me to hold my time, money, and relationships with open hands. Help me respect the claims of others and the authority you hold over every part of my life. Amen.
