The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen and the Secret of Jesus' Divine Sonship in Matthew: Some Literary-Critical Observations

Mapping the Vineyard: Main Lines of Investigation Regarding the Parable of the Tenants in the Synoptics and Thomas

“…One such view is that the stone is a veiled messianic self-reference that serves as scriptural proof for Jesus' prior assertions that the Messiah/Son of Man would be rejected and suffer (Kimball 1993). Another is that the stone points forward to the death and resurrection of Jesus, either as a proleptic prophecy of Jesus or a vaticinium ex eventu (Kingsbury 1986). A third is that the stone depicts Jesus as the 'cornerstone'/'capstone' of a new people of God (van Eck and van Aarde 1989; Trimaille 1989; Doran 1983).…”

“…Some preserve the spirit of the Israel interpretation but tweak it, while others depart entirely. Key proposals for what the vineyard in PT corresponds to are as follows: the kingdom of God (Iverson 2012) or the people of God (Kimball 1993); the covenant relationship between God and his people (Snodgrass 2008;Aus 1996;Hubaut 1976); privileges of the people of God (Marcus 1998;Kingsbury 1986); the Jerusalem temple/cultus (Brooke 1995); all creation (Derrett 1963); and the gospel (Carlston 1975).…”

“…Some propose a modified form in which the tenants are 'unfaithful' Israel (Brawley 1995) or the broader Jewish multitude that turns against Jesus in his final week (Iverson 2012). The more common proposal is that the tenants refer to the religious leaders/authorities who oppose Jesus (Snodgrass 2008 ;Kingsbury 1986;Kümmel 1978). Some narrow the distinction further to a specific group of leaders, such as the Pharisees (Onyenali 2013;Weren 1998) or Sadducees (Cornette 1985).…”

“…7.14) as a messianic designation of some sort (O'Neill 1997), though Snodgrass notes this does not necessarily imply such a correspondence here in PT (2008). Alternatively, some take the use of 'beloved son' in the baptism and transfiguration scenes as an indicator that the PT is referring only to a special filial relationship this character (and, hence, Jesus) has with God (Kingsbury 1986;Hubaut 1976). Given the 'son' comes after the 'servants' in PT, it has also been suggested that the character refers to Jesus as the eschatological prophet (Dormandy 1989), perhaps even alluding to his pre-existence (Blank 1974;Jülicher 1920).…”

“…As noted in section 3 above, Matthew and Luke agree that the tenants cast the 'son' out of the vineyard and then kill him, while Mark reads the reverse. A large group of scholars, especially those holding 'Theory (i)' above on the synoptic issue, argue that Matthew and Luke are redacting Mark to reflect the sequence of Jesus' crucifixion and make clear that the 'son' is Jesus (Meier 2012;Kingsbury 1986;Drury 1973). Against this view, however, is the fact that Matthew and Luke do not explicitly allude to Jesus' crucifixion outside Jerusalem in their passion narratives (rather: Jn 19.17-20 and Heb.…”