The Parable of the Evil Vinedressers

Another parable. Jesus was still in the temple, speaking to the chief priests and elders who had asked about His authority (21:23). He said, “Hear another parable” (21:33). A parable is a story that teaches one main lesson. A planted vineyard. “There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.” A vineyard is a field of grapevines. A hedge was a wall or fence that kept out animals and thieves. A winepress was a pit where grapes were pressed into juice. A tower gave someone a high place to watch over the vines. Nothing missing. The landowner gave the vineyard everything it needed. When the vinedressers arrived, the building work was already done. Their job was to care for the vines and give the owner his share. Leased. “And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.” Vinedressers are farmers who take care of grapevines. To lease means to rent. The vinedressers could work the land, but it was never theirs. It still belonged to the owner. An old song. Long before, the prophet Isaiah sang a song about a vineyard with a tower and a winepress, and he said the vineyard was God's people (Isaiah 5:1-7). What we learn. Everything you have comes from God: your life, your family, your breath, even the hours in your day. You are not the owner; you are a caretaker. God gives good gifts, and then He looks for good fruit, a life that loves and honors Him. Ask Him, Lord, what have You given me, and how can I give it back to You?

The same audience (21:33). Jesus is still answering the chief priests and elders who challenged His authority (21:23). “Hear another parable,” He says. This one is aimed even more directly at them, and by 21:45 they know it. A vineyard built with care. The landowner planted the vineyard, “set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.” Each detail shows how much he put into it: protection, a place to make the harvest useful, and a lookout to guard it. Isaiah's song. Jesus' hearers knew a song like this. Isaiah 5 tells of a vineyard with a tower and a winepress, and it ends by saying that the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel. The leaders were hearing a story built from their own Scriptures. Georgos. “And he leased it to vinedressers.” The Greek word is georgos (say: geh-or-GOSS), a farmer, one who works the ground. These men were tenants. They could live from the land and work it, but the vineyard and its fruit belonged to the owner. A far country. The owner “went into a far country.” His being away did not change who owned the vineyard. It gave the tenants time to show what they would do with what was not theirs. Stewards, not owners. Behind it all stands this truth: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness” (Psalm 24:1). God is the owner of every life and every gift. For you. Your life, your abilities, your time and your family are like a vineyard God has planted and handed to you. They are entrusted, not owned. The question the parable presses is whether you give God the fruit that belongs to Him.

Jesus was teaching the leaders in the Temple in Jerusalem. He told them another story, called a parable. A parable is a story that teaches a lesson. In this story, a man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it to keep it safe. He built a tower so someone could watch over it. Then he let farmers care for it while he was away. The vineyard still belonged to the owner. The farmers were supposed to give him some of the grapes. Everything we have comes from God too. Our lives, our families and our homes are His gifts. God wants us to use His gifts for Him.

Jesus told a story about a vineyard. The owner took good care of it. God takes good care of us too!

Vintage-time. “Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit” (21:34). Vintage-time is grape-picking time. The owner was not being greedy. The fruit was his, and he sent for his share. A cruel answer. “And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another” (21:35). The servants came peacefully, and the vinedressers answered with violence. They wanted to keep what did not belong to them. Again. “Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them” (21:36). The owner did not give up on his vineyard. He sent more servants, not fewer. God's patience. God is patient too. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8). He gives people many chances to turn to Him. Not ours to keep. The vinedressers' sin began with a selfish idea: the fruit should be ours. We can think that way too, about our time, our things or our lives. But everything belongs to God. What we learn. God is patient, but His patience does not mean He does not care. He keeps calling because He wants us to come to Him. When God speaks to you through His Word, a parent or a teacher at church, do not push the message away. Listen, and answer Him.

Karpos (21:34). “Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.” The word for fruit is karpos (say: kar-POSS). It comes back in 21:41 and 21:43. The owner wants one thing from his vineyard: the fruit that is his. Messengers refused (21:35). “And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.” Each servant came with the owner's authority. Refusing the servants was refusing the owner. More than the first (21:36). “Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.” The owner's answer to being refused was to send again, and to send more. Jesus' own words. Later that same day Jesus grieved over the city: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37). Those words show the heart of a God who sent His messengers again and again. Slow to anger. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8). The owner's patience in the parable is a small picture of that patience. The root sin. Underneath the violence is a claim of ownership. The tenants acted as if the vineyard and its fruit were theirs. Every sin carries a little of that: living as if our lives belong to us and not to God. For you. God's patience is meant to lead somewhere. Each time He speaks through His Word, a sermon, a parent or a friend, He is giving another chance to turn. Do not mistake His patience for a lack of concern. Answer Him while He is calling.

Harvest time came at last. The owner sent his servants to the farmers. The servants came for the owner's share of the fruit. Instead, the farmers hurt the servants. They even killed some of them. But the owner did not give up. He sent more servants than the first time. The farmers treated them the same cruel way. God is patient like that with people. He gives us chance after chance to turn to Him. The Bible says the Lord is slow to get angry. He keeps calling us because He loves us. When God speaks to you, listen to Him.

The owner sent servants to get his grapes. The farmers hurt the servants. But the owner was patient and sent more.

Last of all. “Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son’” (21:37). After all the servants, the owner sent the one closest to his heart. Mark tells us he had “one son, his beloved” (Mark 12:6). Respect. To respect someone is to honor him and listen to him. The owner believed his son would be treated differently from the servants. The heir. “But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance’” (21:38). An heir is the one who will receive everything his father owns. The vinedressers wanted the vineyard for themselves, and they thought getting rid of the son would give it to them. Cast out. “So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him” (21:39). The son was thrown out of his own father's vineyard. A picture. Many Christians see the landowner as a picture of God the Father and the son as a picture of Jesus. Jesus knew. Jesus told this story only days before the cross. He knew the leaders would reject Him. A few days later He was led outside the city of Jerusalem and crucified, and He went willingly. What we learn. God did not send His Son because people deserved it. He sent Him because He loves us: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God wants every person to honor His Son. Will you?

Last of all (21:37). “Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’” The son is the owner's final messenger. After him there is no one else to send. Dearly loved. Mark records that the owner had “one son, his beloved” (Mark 12:6). The Greek agapetos (say: ah-gah-pay-TOSS) means dearly loved. It is the word the Father spoke from heaven at Jesus' baptism: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Kleronomos (21:38). “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.” The word for heir is kleronomos (say: klay-ROH-noh-moss), the one who receives the family's property. The tenants knew exactly who he was. Their plan was not a mistake; it was a choice to take what belonged to the son. Outside the vineyard (21:39). “So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.” Within days Jesus would be led outside the walls of Jerusalem to be crucified. Hebrews 13:12 says that He suffered outside the gate. A picture. Many Christians see the landowner as a picture of God the Father and the son as a picture of Jesus, the beloved Son whom the Father sent last of all. He knew. Jesus told this story to the very men who would hand Him over. He was not caught by surprise. Of His own life He said, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself” (John 10:18). For you. The Father sent His Son to a world that had refused His messengers. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). Receiving the Son is the answer the vinedressers refused to give.

Last of all, the owner sent his own son. He said, “The farmers will respect my son.” To respect someone means to treat him with honor. But the farmers did not respect him. They wanted to take the vineyard for themselves. So they threw the son out and killed him. Many Christians see the owner as God and the son as Jesus. God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, into the world. He sent Jesus because He loves us so much. A few days later, people rejected Jesus too. They took Him outside the city and put Him on a cross. Jesus came to give His life for us.

Last, the owner sent his own son. The farmers killed the son. God sent His Son, Jesus, because He loves us.

Their own verdict. Jesus asked, “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” (21:40). The leaders answered, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons” (21:41). They judged the story rightly. The rejected stone. Then Jesus quoted Psalm 118: “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes” (21:42). A cornerstone is the main stone at the corner of a building that keeps the walls in line. The builders tossed this stone aside, but God made it the most important stone of all. Rejected, then raised. Jesus is that stone. People rejected Him and put Him to death on a cross, but God raised Him from the dead and gave Him the place of highest honor. The kingdom. Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it” (21:43). God's kingdom belongs to people who receive His Son and live for Him. They knew. “Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them” (21:45). The leaders were the vinedressers in the story. They wanted to seize Jesus, but they feared the crowds, who thought He was a prophet (21:46). What we learn. The leaders understood the story and still did not turn. When God's Word shows you your sin, do not harden your heart or push Jesus away. Turn to Him. The Stone that people rejected is the Savior God has given.

Their own verdict (21:40-41). “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” The leaders answered that he would destroy those wicked men and “lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” As with the two sons (21:31), they gave the verdict before they saw that it was about them. Psalm 118 (21:42). “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?” The stone they rejected is the Son. Rejected by men, He was raised by God and given the place of highest honor. Kingdom and fruit (21:43). “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” Karpos returns: the issue from the start was fruit. God's kingdom belongs to those who receive the Son and bear the fruit of a life given to Him. A plain warning (21:44). Jesus added that whoever falls on this stone will be broken, and whoever it falls on will be crushed. Rejecting Him is never a small thing. He warned the leaders plainly because there was still time for them to turn. They perceived (21:45-46). “Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.” They understood the story. Yet understanding did not lead them to turn; it led them to look for a way to seize Him. They held back only because “they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.” The door stayed open. After Jesus rose, a great many priests in Jerusalem believed (Acts 6:7). For you. It is possible to understand what God is saying and still refuse it. When the Bible shows you yourself, let it lead you to Jesus, not away from Him.

Jesus asked the leaders what the owner would do. They said he would punish those evil farmers. Then Jesus talked about a stone from the Psalms. The builders did not want that stone. But it became the cornerstone, the most important stone. Jesus is like that stone. People would soon reject Jesus and put Him on the cross. But God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus said the kingdom would go to people who do God's will. The leaders knew Jesus was talking about them. They wanted to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. God's Word shows us our sin too. When it does, we can turn to Jesus.

The leaders knew the story was about them. People did not want Jesus. But God raised Jesus from the dead!