But when the tenants saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize his inheritance.
All Commentaries on Matthew 21:38 Go To Matthew 21
John Chrysostom
AD 407
What then do these? When they ought to have run unto Him, when they ought to have asked pardon for their offenses, they even persist more strongly in their former sins, they proceed to add unto their pollutions, forever throwing into the shade their former offenses by their later; as also He Himself declared when He said, Fill ye up the measure of your fathers. Matthew 23:32 For from the first the prophets used to charge them with these things, saying, Your hands are full of blood; Isaiah 1:15 and, They mingle blood with blood; Hosea 4:2 and, They build up Sion with blood. Micah 3:10
But they did not learn self-restraint, albeit they received this commandment first, You shall not kill; and had been commanded to abstain from countless other things because of this, and by many and various means urged to the keeping of this commandment.
Yet, for all that, they put not away that evil custom; but what say they, when they saw Him? Come, let us kill Him. With what motive, and for what reason? What of any kind had they to lay to His charge, either small or great? Is it that He honored you, and being God became man for your sakes, and wrought His countless miracles? Or that He pardoned your sins? Or that He called you unto a kingdom?
But see together with their impiety great was their folly, and the reason of His murder was full of much madness. For let us kill Him, it is said, and the inheritance shall be ours.
And where do they take counsel to kill Him? Out of the vineyard.
