Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 21:45

"And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them." — Matthew 21:45 (ASV)

The two principal voices of authority in the Judaism of Jesus’ day understood what this parable meant. The story ends with magnificent yet tragic irony (v.46). The religious leaders are told they will reject Jesus and be crushed (cf. v.44). But instead of taking the warning, they hunt for ways to arrest him, hindered only by fear of the people who accept Jesus as a prophet. Ironically, then, God foretells this very event; and these men, prompted by hatred, rush to bring it to pass.