The Parable of the Wicked Tenants: A Story of Betrayal and Redemption

 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard.”

Matthew 21:33a

Dear Friends,

Who doesn’t love a good story? What better way to convey an important message than through a narrative. Jesus frequently employed this technique and the people listened with rapt attention. One purpose of the parables was to elicit changes in behavior, prompting each listener to examine their own heart and respond accordingly. As one commentator put it, “the very reading of these stories pricks the heart or comforts it.”  Jesus told the parable of the wicked tenants to prick the hearts of His adversaries. 

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Jesus regularly engaged the religious leaders of His day, confronting them with their sin. After telling the parable of the two sons, He called them to listen to another parable about some evil farmers who disrespected their landlord’s property. This story pointedly exposed the wickedness hidden in the leaders’ hearts, and they knew He was speaking directly to them.

He began, “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.” 

Time passed and the landowner sent his servants to collect the produce. Instead of respecting the messengers, the tenants seized, mistreated and even killed some of them. The landowner then sent other servants to collect the crop, but the tenant farmers treated them in the same way.

Finally, as a last resort, the landowner sent His own son, thinking that his tenants would surely respect him. Tragically, the wicked men plotted to kill the son and take away his inheritance. Acting according to their plan, they abducted the heir, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

Jesus ended the parable of the wicked tenants with a question. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he returns? 

The listeners replied, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end . . . and will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus’ Final Challenge

With a final challenge, Jesus asked the religious leaders if they had never read in the Scriptures the prophecy about the Messiah that says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

To ensure they didn’t miss the point, Jesus then prophesied that the kingdom of God would be taken away from them and given to a people who would produce its fruit. 

The parable hit home. The religious leaders clearly understood that Jesus was talking about them and their mishandling of God’s chosen nation. Instead of repenting, however, the chief priests and the Pharisees began looking for a way to arrest Jesus. 

Purpose of the Parable

In the parable of the wicked tenants, God, represented by the landowner, had entrusted the spiritual health of His nation – the vineyard – to the religious leaders. But they had mistreated all of the faithful prophets who preached the message of truth, and were now rejecting God’s Son. Soon, as prophesied in the Scriptures, these wicked men would arrest and murder the Messiah on a Roman cross. 

Today, this parable still either pricks the heart or comforts it. Those who are comforted understand that Jesus was not an unsuspecting victim of jealous and malicious men. Instead, He is the Son of God who intentionally gave His life so that all who believe in Him could have everlasting life. 

What do you think about Jesus?

Love,

Mama

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