The Parable of the Tenant Farmers (Lk. 20:9-19)

Then he proceeded to tell the people this parable. “[A] man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and then went on a journey for a long time.  10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenant farmers to receive some of the produce of the vineyard. But they beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So he proceeded to send another servant, but him also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed.  12 Then he proceeded to send a third, but this one too they wounded and threw out.  13 The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I shall send my beloved son; maybe they will respect him.’  14 But when the tenant farmers saw him they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him that the inheritance may become ours.’  15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  16 He will come and put those tenant farmers to death and turn over the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they exclaimed, “Let it not be so!”  17 But he looked at them and asked, “What then does this scripture passage mean: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?  18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”  19 The scribes and chief priests sought to lay their hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people, for they knew that he had addressed this parable to them.

Jesus was teaching in the Temple and the religious leaders challenged his authority.  He asked them if JBap’s authority was from heaven or men and when they refused to answer he would not reveal the source of his authority to them (Lk. 20:1-8).  Then he told the Parable of the Tenant Farmers.

Jesus used a parable that Isaiah told to challenge the religious leaders.  Isaiah was also rejected by the religious leaders of his time,  The man who planted the vineyard is God.  He established His vineyard, the house of Israel, and granted them His blessings and the responsibility to follow the Law and live in accordance with His will (Is. 5:1-7).   The Son is Jesus.  The tenant farmers are the religious leaders whose responsibility was to care for and shepherd God’s people.  The servants were the prophets and messengers.

At harvest time, the tenant farmer sent his messengers to see if the vineyard had yielded produce.  The messengers were to remind Israel of their responsibilities and the produce should have been the fruits of righteousness God was expecting from them.  The vineyard had produced only wild grapes, actions contrary to the Law like violence, oppression, and injustice that the people experienced at the hands of the wealthy and powerful religious leaders.  

God continued to send messengers to the people, but the messengers were mistreated and sent back empty-handed.  The religious leaders would not repent and be obedient as God had instructed through the prophets.  God decided to send His beloved Son whom they threw out of the vineyard and killed.  They saw the Son as a threat to their authority and position “It is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish (Jn. 11:50).”  The religious leaders did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God but acted out of jealousy.  

Being killed outside the vineyard symbolized being killed outside the city of Jerusalem similar to what happened to many of the prophets.  It symbolized the rejection of God's message and authority by the people and their leaders.  Jesus who was the ultimate prophet and messenger of God suffered a similar fate outside Jerusalem, fulfilling the pattern established by the prophets who came before Him.  The religious leaders will face God’s judgment and the kingdom of God will be taken away from them and entrusted to others who will carry out God’s will and care for and shepherd God’s people.  

The people listening to Jesus were disturbed by what he said.  Jesus quoted a Psalm to them which spoke about the stone rejected by the religious leaders becoming the cornerstone (Ps. 118:22).  Jesus was telling them that he was the stone rejected by the religious leaders, but they did not know that he was destined to become the foundation of God's new covenant community, the reconstituted Israel, the Church.  Those who reject Jesus will face destruction.

Almighty God, help us to faithfully fulfill the responsibilities you have entrusted to us and to always recognize and honor your authority in our lives.  Grant us the grace to listen to your Son’s teachings and to bear abundant fruit for your kingdom.  This we pray through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

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References
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.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.