The Religious Leaders Challenge Jesus - Part 2

We pick up where we left off last week as Jesus responds to the challenge from the religious authorities with two more parables. Like all of Jesus' parables they are overflowing with meaning, not only for those to whom Jesus spoke then, but also for we to whom he speaks today through the Scriptures. Let us be open to the challenge these parables.

• Read Matthew 21:33-46. How do we respond to messengers who tell us that we are doing wrong? Do we hear them out or respond as the tenants do in the parable?

• Read Matthew 22:1-14. Who today is rejecting God’s invitation (remember that this parable was originally directed to those who thought of themselves as insiders)? Who might God be inviting to come in instead?

• Compare Matthew’s version of this parable with the version we find in Luke 14:15-24. What differences stand out to you? Do the two versions of the parable have the same basic meaning? What distinctive interpretation does Matthew bring to the parable?