The

kingdom of God will be taken from you and be given to a nation producing its fruits.—Matt. 21:43.

Jehovah spoke of his people, the ancient nation of Israel, as a collective servant. “‘You [plural] are my witnesses [plural],’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘even my servant [singular] whom I have chosen.’” (Isa. 43:10) All members of the nation were included in that one servant class. However, it is important to note that only the priests together with the nonpriestly Levites were responsible for teaching the nation. (2 Chron. 35:3; Mal. 2:7) Was the nation of Israel the slave about whom Jesus spoke in Matthew 24:45? No. We know that from the words of today’s text, which Jesus said to the Jews of his day. Clearly, a change was to occur. Jehovah would use a new nation. Nevertheless, when it comes to spiritual instruction, the work of the slave in Jesus’ illustration does follow a pattern similar to that of God’s “servant” in ancient Israel