The Parable of the Tenants
(From the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 21, verses 33-46)
A few days before he died, Jesus told this parable in the Temple in Jerusalem. Some of the people who heard the parable were important leaders in the Temple. They didn't like Jesus. They wanted Jesus to stop teaching and go home and mind his own business – and let them do their jobs.
Here is Jesus' story:
"A man bought a very big field and planted many grape vines in it. He put a fence around the vineyard. He also put in a grape press so that he could make grape juice when the grapes got ripe. The last thing he did was build a watchtower so that someone could always keep track of what was happening in the field.
The man decided to take a vacation. So he hired some people called "tenants" to take care of his field while he was away.
The grapevines grew strong and healthy. By summer's end, they were loaded with big bunches of delicious, juicy grapes.
Because he was still on his trip, the man told three of his servants to go to the vineyard, gather up the grapes, and take them to the marketplace. But the tenants grabbed the three servants. They beat one, killed another, and threw stones at the third.
The man tried again. This time he sent more servants. But the tenants treated them the same way.
Finally he sent his son to the vineyard. 'They won't hurt my son,' he thought to himself. 'Surely the tenants will respect my son and let him take my grapes to market.'
But when the tenants saw the owner's son, they said to themselves, 'This is the boss' only son. Someday he will get everything that belongs to his father. But if we kill him, then maybe we will get some of the owner's riches.' So they grabbed the man's son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him."
Everyone in the crowd had listened carefully to Jesus' story. So he asked this question: "
"When the owner of the vineyard comes back, what do you think he will do?"
Someone called out, "He will punish those awful tenants. He will give the vineyard to people who will do what he wants."
Jesus said, "God's kingdom will be given to people who produce the fruits of the kingdom."
The Temple leaders realized that Jesus' parable was about them. They wanted to have him arrested and taken to jail. But they knew that many, many people liked Jesus and thought he was speaking for God, so they did nothing.
Questions to think and pray about:
Have you ever wanted something so much that you considered hurting someone else to get what you wanted?
Has anyone ever hurt you when you were just trying to do what you were supposed to do?
What do you think are the "fruits of the kingdom"?
Are you producing "fruit" in God's kingdom? How?