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Read 11:27-12:12
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27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?" 29 Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me." 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 32 But shall we say, 'From man'?"—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."
1 And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 7 But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11 this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" 12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
One image consistently used as a picture of Israel is a vineyard. In the parable we read today, Jesus speaks a clear judgment upon the religious leaders for their past negligence, not to mention their looming participation in the ultimate rejection of the Son. By telling this parable, Jesus clearly points out the hardheartedness of the religious leaders who cannot see him for who he is. However, Jesus also shows us the patience of the Father who prepared all things and sent servant after servant until finally, after continuous rejection, he sent his very Son.
That rejection will take place in just a couple short chapters when Jesus will be put to death on the cross. As only the patience and mercy of the Father can do, Christ, rejected by some, becomes the cornerstone of life for others. In Jesus (through the cross) we are now Israel, God’s vineyard, his chosen people. Not only are we recipients of his grace and mercy, but we have been given the privilege and responsibility to care for his word of promise, the good news of Jesus Christ, by cherishing it in our own lives and sharing it with others.
Prayer
Gracious Father, you place your Word in my life for my learning. Grant that I would gladly hear, learn, and meditate on it so that I may hold fast to Christ and the hope of everlasting life. Amen.