1Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”
12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
Question 1
Who are the various characters who appear in this parable?
Question 2
Have you ever thrown something away, only to realise it was more valuable than you realised?
Although he has refused to answer the leaders’ question, Jesus still tries to explain to them that he is the one God had promised he would send to save his people. It does this using parables. The picture of a vineyard was a very familiar one to them. It appears many times in the Old Testament as a symbol for Israel as God’s people. For example, Isaiah 5 describes how God planted Israel as a vineyard, but because it did not bear fruit, he punished the people and allowed them to be conquered by another nation.
In this parable, Jesus is using this illustration to show how Israel had lost its way. Even though God had done so much for these people, they turned away from true worship, relying on how well they could live. Like the man who sent his servants to receive the fruit, God sent prophets to lead his people, but they rejected every one of them. Finally, the man sent his son, but they treated him the same way because they wanted to hold onto their authority. Now God had sent his own Son, yet they still rejected him. This is a terrible warning to the people.
Jesus warned them that God’s kingdom is like a building. At first, they rejected him like a stone or a brick that didn’t look good enough. But in the end, they will realize that he is the most important part holding the building together. If they continue like this, just as the vineyard owner punished the tenants and gave what they had to others, God will punish them for rejecting his Son and give the kingdom to others.
Question 3
Why do you think the tenants in the parables behaved the way they did?
Question 4
Why is it great news to hear that the vineyard owner has given the vineyard to other people at the end of the story?
Pray
that God will help you to be faithful with what He has given to your care.
