He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. 2 At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. 5 He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. 6 He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What [then] will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this scripture passage: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11 by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’?” 12 They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.
Using a parable, Jesus told the delegation from the Sanhedrin that Israel has repaid God for his favors, grace, and mercy by disobedience. They killed the prophets and will kill His son, but they will face severe consequences, and the Kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to the Gentiles. The owner of the vineyard is God; the vineyard is Israel (Is. 5:1-7); the tenant farmers are the religious leaders; the servants are the prophets and those who spoke in God’s name; the Son is Jesus. The hedge was designed to keep animals out, the winepress was used for pressing grapes into wine, and the tower was a shelter and place for the watchmen to keep watch. God had carefully prepared the vineyard before he leased it to the tenant farmers.
Landlords often leased out their vineyards to tenant farmers in those times so those whom Jesus was addressing would understand what he was telling them. God encouraged the chosen people to bear fruit for the kingdom, but they refused to do so. God constantly sent his servants to warn the House of Israel that they should remain faithful to the covenant and obey the Mosaic Law, but they ill-treated some, and others they killed. God sent his beloved son and heir (Mk. 1:11; 9:7; Heb. 1:1-4) whom they also killed. God then gave his vineyard to those chosen by His Divine Son. Jesus quoted the Psalms (Ps. 118:22-23) to indicate that he will be rejected by the House of Israel and killed but will be restored by the Father and become the cornerstone of the Messianic Kingdom. He will build both Jews and Gentiles, who accept his teaching and bear fruit, into the Christian Church. The delegation was afraid to arrest him because they feared the crowd.
Almighty God, you invite us to participate in the Kingdom of God on Earth. Help us, we pray, to respond to your call and be ready to account for all the underserved mercy and grace you have given us through the Holy Spirit. This we pray through Christ our Lord. 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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