The Tale Of The Terrible Tenants

The Tale of the Terrible Tenants

Matthew 21:31, 33-41, NIV

Jesus said to them, . . . 33“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Setting the Scene

In this parable, a certain landowner created a fully equipped vineyard. Then he turned it over to tenants under an arrangement where they agreed to give him a share of the produce of the farm in exchange for the privilege of living and working there. The characters in the story are easily identifiable: God is the landowner and his vineyard is Israel (see Isaiah 5:2); the tenants are the religious establishment; the landowner’s servants are the prophets and all those who remained faithful to God; the son is Jesus; and the “other tenants” are new spiritual leadership that will include the Gentiles.

At harvesttime, the landowner sent servants to collect his share. The tenants emphatically and cruelly rejected the landowner’s right to his share of the products of his land. And when the landowner sent his son to collect, the tenants figured they could claim total ownership of the vineyard if they killed the heir.

Jesus’ story ends with a question: “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” In the book of Matthew his listeners know the answer; in Mark and Luke, Jesus supplies it. The terrible tenants will receive a terrible fate and the vineyard will be turned over to others. The consequences may be delayed, but they are inevitable. When it comes to God, getting away with something is never more than a temporary success. God will not be mocked, ignored, or disobeyed by his creatures without eventual consequences.

Getting Personal

In what ways have you rejected Jesus’ advice or control of your life?

Why do we tend to take God’s blessings for granted?

Accepting the vineyard of life without humbly acknowledging the Giver is possible. People do it all the time. But their apparent success and, at times, even prosperity must be seen from the perspective of the brevity of life and the length of eternity. Squandering the opportunity to trust God in this life is no way to prepare for eternity.

Talking to God

Recall your status as a privileged steward and ask the Lord to make you a faithful one. Ask him to fill your understanding with who he is, as ultimate authority.