PARABLE OF THE WICKED TENANTS

He went on to tell the people this parable, “Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it around, dug out a trough for the winepress in it, and built a tower. He then leased it to tenants and went abroad for a long while. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. However, the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next, he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. He still had someone left: his beloved son. Then the owner of vineyard thought, “What am I to do? I will send them my own beloved son.” He sent his son to them last of all, thinking, “They will respect my son.” However, when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” Therefore, they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.” Hearing this they said, “God forbid!” However, he looked hard at them and said, “Now when the owner of vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They answered, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to them at the proper time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read the scriptures? Then what does this text in the scriptures mean: The stone, which the builders rejected, has become the cornerstone; this is Yahweh's doing, and we marvel at it. (Psalm 118:22-23) “I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realized he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet. Therefore, they left him alone and went away.

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