<p>21:43&nbsp;<em>Therefore say I to you: The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you</em>- The whole vineyard system is spoken of as the Kingdom of God. The Jewish people were therefore not the Kingdom of God- because the Kingdom was taken&nbsp;<em>from</em>&nbsp;them and given to others. They had been instated as God's Kingdom at Sinai, but now, by implication, that status was being withdrawn from them.</p><p><em>And shall be given to a nation</em>- In the singular. The various nationalities of the new group of workers are irrelevant, we are seen as one new nation, a new people.</p><p><em>Bringing forth the fruits of it</em>- This is subtly different to 'rendering Him the fruits in their season' (:41). The new nation are no longer merely tenants, but are the vine themselves; the fruit is to be on them. And this is exactly the way the imagery of viticulture is used in Jn. 15. Spiritual fruit is the fruit of the Kingdom. The fruits of the Spirit in terms of personality traits, characteristics etc. are the fruits which will eternally be seen in the Kingdom. They are a firstfruits, a foretaste, of the Kingdom age. In John's terms, we are living the eternal life now, the kind of life which we shall eternally live.</p>