Wim J.C. Weren, «The Use of Isaiah 5,1-7 in the Parable of the Tenants (Mark 12,1-12; Matthew 21,33-46)», Vol. 79 (1998) 1-26

This article attempts to prove the following theses. The parable of the tenants in Mark 12,1-12 has been constructed on the basis of the vineyard song in Isa 5,1-7. There are connections with the Hebrew text as well as with the LXX version. The later exegesis of Isa 5,1-7 as it is found in the Targum and in 4Q500 has also left traces in the parable. The connections with Isaiah were already present in the original form and they are enlarged in the subsequent phases of the tradition. Matthew has taken almost all references from Mark but he additionaly made links to Isa 5,1-7 which he did not derive from Mark.

in the vineyard but does not act on his words. Since they are looking for an opportunity to eliminate Jesus they are like the tenants of whom they themselves, when the question is put to them, declare that they deserve to be killed. Also, they are continually contrasted with other groups who do make the right choices: the publicans and the prostitutes heed John's call to take the road to righteousness; the crowds, too, appear in a favourable light: in the eyes of the crowds John is a prophet (21,26) and they credit Jesus with the same capability (21,46). Because of their fear of the crowds, the leaders cannot straightaway execute their murderous plans.

      The fact that the moral ideal formulated in Matt 21,43 ("a nation that brings forth fruits") contains a negative assessment of the attitude of the chief priests and the Pharisees does not imply that the other characters (the publicans, the prostitutes and the crowds) thoroughly meet the requirements of this ideal. This view is contradicted in the parable of the wedding feast. According to the parable the slaves are requested, after the admonishment of the first group of invited guests, to collect everyone they can find (see o3souj in 22,9 and pa/ntaj in 22,10), without making a distinction between the good and the bad. Thus the company in the hall consists of people from all sections of the moral spectrum, and not exclusively of guests who come up to the ideal expressed in 21,43. The criticism directed at the chief priests and the Pharisees is therefore in principle also applicable to the second group of invitees. Matt 21,43 is not meant as a characterization of a particular, empirically definable group but describes the criterion that in the final judgment is applied to all groups ⁵⁵. This means that the criticism levelled at the chief priests and the Pharisees also contains a word of warning to disciples of Jesus who are just as unproductive as they are.