Matthew 21:28-41: Parable of the Landowner Part II: Who Exactly Does Jesus Think He is? God?

"[Next] he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'”  Jesus, speaking of the landowner, Matthew 21:37

“Now what does this parable tell us about Jesus’ self-understanding?  It tells us that Jesus thought of himself as God’s only, beloved son, distinct from all the prophets, God’s final messenger, and even the heir to Israel.  He did not think of himself as merely another human prophet.” 

(William Lane Craig, from his article, “Who Is The Real Jesus: The Jesus Of The Bible Or The Jesus Of The Koran?”)

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse.”  

(C.S. Lewis from his book, Mere Christianity)

As I write this it is Easter Week.  All over the world Christians are remembering and celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Therefore I believe another look at this parable is warranted; Jesus gives us some strong clues as to who He is.   “Christology” is the study of who Christ is; there is deep Christology in this parable.

Jesus teaches this parable about the landowner in the temple to the crowd and chief priests and elders; He is primarily teaching about the unfaithfulness of Israel.   Even though a parable teaches only one primary truth, Jesus says some things about Himself that cannot be glossed over.  In this parable the owner of a vineyard sends his slaves to collect the harvest.  But those who rented the vineyard kill the first and second group of slaves sent by the owner (vv. 33-36).    

Next the landowner sends his son thinking, they will respect my son (v.37).  But the vine-growers, wanting the son’s inheritance, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him (v.39).  There is something unique about the son in this parable.  First, he is different from the slaves; he is “the” son.  Second, he is the heir of the owner of the vineyard.   In New Testament times the oldest son receives all the inheritance; he carries on the family name.   He is unique among any other child, family member or any hired hand.   Jesus equates Himself with the son in this parable.

All by itself, this is not conclusive evidence from the New Testament about the deity of Christ.   But when taken with other Scriptures, this parable is a vibrant clue that Jesus saw Himself as more than a prophet or a good, moral teacher.

There are more clues in Mark 14:62.  Jesus is on trial before the very ones to whom He is speaking here in this parable in Matthew 21.   Jesus is asked by the high priest, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”  To which Jesus answers “I am” and then quotes from Daniel 7 about the Messiah with which His audience was very familiar: “and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN."  His accusers then cry “blasphemy!” and say He is worthy of death (Mark 14:64), consistent with the charge and punishment found in Leviticus 24:16.   Here you have both Jesus claiming to be God and His accusers recognizing His claim to be God. 

Furthermore, this is from Mark’s gospel.   That is important because Bible critics say that Jesus’ claims to be God were an addition of the early church; Christ never claimed to be God.  However, even the most strident critics of the Bible peg Mark’s gospel as the first one written.  Therefore it is more convincing to use Mark’s gospel to show that even with a “primitive Christology,” Christ claims to be God.  Myth or creative writing is not responsible for the deity of Christ.  For the same reasons it is good to use Mark’s version of Matthew’s parable of the landowner (Mark 12:1-9).

There are more clues: Jesus identified Himself using God’s name (John 8:58).   He received worship (John 20:28); He forgave sin (Matthew 9:2-3).   Yet the best clue for believing Christ is God is that He predicted (John 2:19) and did raised Himself from the dead (Luke 24:6).   Let’s kneel and worship Him as God, especially on Easter Sunday.  And every day.