The Very Lutheran Project

33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. -Matthew 21:33-46 Most of Jesus's parables were hard to understand, and this was by design (Matthew 13:12-14). Here however, Jesus gives one that is easily understood. The landlord is God, the vineyard is Judea, and the tenants are the religious authorities. The fruits they were supposed to sow are righteousness, charity and evangelism. The servants who are mistreated or killed are the prophets from the Old Testament, and the son of the landlord is Jesus Himself. God established Israel by putting them in the Promised Land, giving them the Law to live by and show to the world. Israel responded by promptly apostatizing over and over again, her kings and priests being consistently unfaithful over the centuries. Once in a while there was a faithful leader like Josiah and Hezekiah, but their efforts for faithfulness were almost always undone by their replacements. So our Lord sent prophet after prophet to proclaim judgment, the need for repentance, and the coming Messiah to whom they should look. They were all persecuted in great measure by the authorities. Their descendants, the people Jesus is talking to in this passage, are continuing the trend; they will have Him crucified. This rankles the Pharisees to whom Jesus speaks. Ironically, their sense of justice tells them that such tenants in the parable should be killed and replaced. Just like Nathan speaking to David and saying "you are the man" (2 Samuel 12:5-7), Christ tells these men that it will be as they have said, and they are the guilty party to be punished. Their place will be upbraided, their authority tarnished, and all that will be left is the Gospel - which will be held by the Gentiles as the stewards of the Word. The priests and rabbis respond to this by... fulfilling exactly what Jesus said they would do. It is the clearest sign that they did not fear God nor worship Him, for they reflexively protect their institution - their place in the vineyard - instead of considering their faults.