Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. 34 When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. 35 But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. 36 Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ 39 They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” 41 They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’? 43 Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. 44 [ The one who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.]” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
This parable was told from the perspective of the church after the resurrection. God is the landowner, the vineyard is the house of Israel, the servants are the prophets, and the Son is Jesus who was thrown out of the vineyard and killed (vv. 34-39). Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem at Golgotha (Mt. 27:33).
The parable is about God’s plan of salvation for Israel and by extension, God’s plan of salvation for all of the descendants of Abraham. In Old Testament times, if a Jewish landowner died without an heir, the tenants could claim the land. Jesus alluded to Isaiah’s song about his friend’s vineyard (Is. 5:1-7) so the chief priests and Pharisees would know he was speaking about Israel (v. 33).
In the allegory, the people of Israel killed the prophets sent by God and also killed the Son of God. Jesus posed the question, “What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes (v. 40)?” The religious leaders did not understand that the allegory was addressed to them, and they convicted themselves when they passed judgment; “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times (v. 41).” This was understood by the early Church to be an allusion to the destruction of the Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE. The “other tenants” would be the leaders of Christian communities. They will manage the vineyard so that at the judgment (harvest time) its righteous produce will be accepted into God’s kingdom.
Jesus asked his audience about an OT prophesy (v. 42), “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the Lord has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes (Ps. 118:22-23). He explained to the chief priests and Pharisees that the kingdom will be taken away from them and given to “a people that will produce its fruit (v. 43).” This has been interpreted to mean that the kingdom will be taken away from the leadership of Israel and given to the leadership of the Christian Church which was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles.
Almighty God, help us
to be good tenants in your vineyard and to be obedient to your will so that we
can produce good fruit that will be acceptable to you. This we pray through Christ, our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and
ever. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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