Matthew 21:22-46
The Parable of the Tenants
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 went away on a journey. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35"The 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.
38"But 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.
40"Therefore, 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."
42Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
" 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
43"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Jesus teaches us that a Landowner owned a vineyard and rented it out to farmers...He left His vineyard and went on a journey...As the harvest time approached He sent His servants to the tenant farmers to collect His fruit...The tenants killed the Landowner's three servants...The Landowner sent other servants to His farm...The tenants treated these servants the same way..Last of all the Landowner sent His Son to the tenants...The Landowner thought the tenants would respect His Son...
The tenants did not respect His Son...The tenants said to each other this is His heir, let's kill the Son, and take His inheritance...The took Him out of the vineyard and killed Him...When the vineyard Owner finally comes, what will He do with those tenants that rebelled?...Jesus tells us that the stone that the builders reject, will become the capstone, is the most important stone in the building...The LORD has done this and it will be marvelous in the eyes of the new tenants...The kingdom of God will be taken away from these old tenants and given to these new tenants, and they will produce fruit...The chief priests and Pharisees heard the parable and they knew He was talking about them...
In the parable, the vineyard is God's Kingdom, the landowner is God, the servants are His prophets, the tenants are the chief priests and Pharisees, and the beloved Son is Jesus...God is the Creator of earth and the universe ...God allows us to use His land...God leaves His land in our care...All of man will die, and the land will move on to another man, but it is still the Creator's land...We are to be fruitful when we are here on earth...The rent due is to be paid in this fruit we produce on His land...God not only wants to collect fruit, but wants good fruit...God kept sending us prophets and man killed them off...God is patient and sent more prophets and we killed them off...We do not want to listen to following the narrow path...Even the messenger and prophet John the Baptist came and was killed...God thought maybe we would listen to His Son and He sent Him...
Jesus is the Messiah...The Jewish leaders hear that He is the capstone...They get together and they crucify Him...They kill Him...They drag Him through the streets of Jerusalem and put Him on a cross outside the town...God would get new tenants...The Chief Priests and Pharisees would leave...The new and other tenants will the the Christians...The true Christians will give Him His share of the crop at the second coming...
We are given fair warning...On judgment day at harvest time, we will be held accountable...The fruit of the believer will be given to those who live righteously in His light, and believe in the Father and the One He sent...