Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
“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.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them,
thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
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.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”
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.”
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?
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.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
This is an amazing parable about the story of salvation and Gods love for us. The landowner is God the Father. The tenants are the Jewish leaders of the temple. The vineyard is Israel (this world). The Hedge is the barrier of protection surrounding and defending God’s Law. The wine is the good fruit that comes from us living a good life, and the winepress is the church that helps transforms the good things of this world into good fruit. Finally the tower is the watchful and protective eye of the Lord (the Law). In this one passage we see all the good that God has done for us, all that he has done to give us everything we might need to be happy and to do His will in this world.
But instead of revelling in God’s goodness, we humans revolt, and try to take from God the only thing that He can not give us, His omnipotent power. So He sent us prophets, telling us to be watchful of signs of the coming age. But instead of listening to them, we killed them. Then the Lord sent us even more prophets, and we killed them too. Then the Lord sent us His Son and we would also kill Him. Finally God will come and bring judgment for all of the wicked servants.
The passage sums up with the enigmatic line… “the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This whole parable was designed to remind the pharisees of the wickedness that they have done in Gods vineyard, while at the same time lettting Jesus predict His own death.
It is important to note here that the leaders of the jewish people were not rightfully allowed the have those positions that they controlled. The pharisees were not levites, and had no right to be priests of the temple, yet they, and the scribes had been given complete power over the temple, by King Herod, because he could control them. The Herod’s too were usurpers, they were not even jewish, and they too were given their power by the Romans, because the Romans could control them. So all of these jewish leaders (aka tennants), and had no right to be where they were.
Finally we come to the new temple. Herod the great started it, and the Herod of this reading (his son) was still finishing it at the time of this reading. But what most people don’t know, is that after the first temple was destroyed and the jewish people were scattered among the world. The temple was meant to lay in ruins until the new davidic king (Jesus) would come and rebuild it, in the form of His own body. Only a true son of the line of David had the right to undertake such a great endeavor, not the usurper Herod. So until the new king of david was crowned, there was not supposed to be a new temple built. And so when Jesus says “the stone that the builers rejected…” He is making references to these wicked tennants who killed the Son, and tried to steal His kingdom…, built their own temple and were essentially worshiping themselves as Gods. That is why Jesus says they will be severely punished. And that punishment will take the form of the destruction of their temple in 70 AD.
When Jesus died on the cross, He opened the gates of heaven, and has become the cornerstone on which the new temple of the kingdom God will be built in heaven. And every baptised soul that converts their heart to Jesus will become bricks of that same great temple. So, I ask you today… What are you doing in Gods vineyard? Are you making good fruit, or are you trying to steal Gods power and steal the good gifts that He has already freely given you. This is a very convicting thing to contemplate, and it should not be taken lightly. Ponder this today, and if you are not a good tenant, then get to confession, and get right with God, your eternity depends on it.
