Faith Daily Lectio Monday, November 2, 2026 Gospel
Monday, November 2, 2026 · Monday in the week of the Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 26)
Gospel
Oratio (prayer)
Lord Jesus, You speak with the Father's own authority. Send Your Holy Spirit as I read Matthew 21, that I may hear Your voice, repent, and trust You as the Son the Father sent for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Meditatio (meditation)
Matthew 21:23-46
23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
24And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
26But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
27And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
29He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
31Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
34And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
35And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
36Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.
37But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
38But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
39And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
40When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?
41They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
42Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
43Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
44And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
45And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
46But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.
Consider even rereading in another translation.
You could also consider listening to this chapter, narrated:
KJV (Max McLean) · ESV (Max McLean) · NIV (dramatized)
You might read the whole reading slowly, aloud, more than once.
Consider this verse, for example:
“The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner” (Matthew 21:42)
What other lines speak to you?
In the temple the chief priests and elders ask Jesus by what authority He acts. He answers with a question about John's baptism, and they will not say. Then He tells of two sons. One refuses to work in the vineyard but afterward repents and goes; the other says he will go and does not. Next comes the parable of the householder who plants a vineyard and lets it out. The husbandmen beat and kill his servants, and at last they cast out his son and slay him. Jesus points them to the Psalm about the rejected stone, and the leaders perceive that He speaks of them.
The Law The leaders ask, "By what authority doest thou these things?" (v. 23), but they will not bow to the answer. We are often the second son, who says, "I go, sir: and went not" (v. 30). Like the husbandmen, we want the vineyard without its Lord. Jesus warns, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you" (v. 43).
The Gospel Yet the Father still sends. "But last of all he sent unto them his son" (v. 37). The Son lets Himself be cast out and slain, and by His death He wins the vineyard for sinners. "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner" (v. 42). The door is open to the first son too, who "repented, and went" (v. 29). Even "the publicans and the harlots" (v. 31) enter the kingdom. That mercy is for you.
Prayer Lord Jesus, I confess that I have said yes to You with my lips and no with my life. Forgive me for Your sake, the Son who was cast out for me. Build me on You, the chief corner stone. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tentatio (trial)
It can be hard when faith is mocked or Christ's authority is brushed aside, as it was in the temple. Under trial it may help to remember that the rejection of Jesus was not the end of the story: "this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes" (v. 42). What men threw away, God made the head of the corner.
Prayer Lord, when I am tempted to give up, or to hide my faith, hold me fast to You, the living stone. Turn my refusals into repentance, and send me into Your vineyard today. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.
My church home: Peace Lutheran Church, McMurray, PA. Looking for a church? See About Daily Lectio.
