Slices
Prepare
Invite the Holy Spirit to work in you now, to grow you in both faith and fruitfulness.
Bible passage
The parable of the tenants
33 ‘Listen to another parable: there was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall round it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When 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. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them in the same way. 37 Last 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.” 39 So 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.’
42 Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous 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. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.’
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Explore
If you rent out your house, you expect the tenants to look after your property. If they fail to do so, you will end the agreement and find new tenants who will take proper care of what belongs to you. Essentially, the same principle applies to God and his dealings with his people.
Deliberately evoking the imagery of Isaiah 5:1–7, Jesus’ story speaks of Israel’s historical mistreatment of the prophets (vs 35–36), and her impending rejection of him (vs 37–39). This is a people that has failed to bear the fruit required by God, and of religious leaders, who – especially culpable for this failure – will have their tenancy terminated (v 43). Fruitlessness is not without consequences.
However, there’s something more than régime change here. God is going to renew the whole ‘house’ of his people to fulfil their covenant calling to be a light to the nations – all through Jesus, the Messiah, and his disciples! He is the once-rejected but resurrected Son in whom God’s people will hold together (vs 39,42). He is also the stone that will ultimately crush all kingdoms that refuse to submit to his reign (v 44) – including that which the chief priests and Pharisees had built for themselves around the Temple and its traditions. Fruitlessness is not without consequences.
Respond
Reflect on Jesus’ description of himself in verse 44. Might this change your view of Jesus and his kingship?
Deeper Bible study
‘Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever.’1
Jesus continues challenging the leaders with a third vineyard parable.2 This story envisages the process of building a vineyard and tenanting it – pointing to God’s care in forming Israel. A series of servants comes to take the owner’s fruit, but they are beaten, killed and stoned. These are the prophets summoning Israel to produce the fruit of the covenant. The son who is killed clearly alludes to Jesus, a statement of his divine authority and another prediction of his death. In the ancient world, such a situation would shame the owner and demand retribution, which comes as the tenants die and others take their place.
Crowds had sung from Psalm 118 as Jesus entered Jerusalem.3 Now (v 42) Jesus cites the same psalm,4 showing its messianic import. He is the rejected stone who is the cornerstone of God’s new Temple of people from the world. How marvellous! Because Israel’s leaders reject God’s Son, the kingdom will go to others who will produce its fruit. Where rejected, the stone that holds together God’s people becomes a stone of crushing – a vivid warning that to reject Jesus brings God’s wrathful judgement (a dominant Matthean theme).
Those who believe in God and Jesus are to recognise the marvellousness of Jesus, the stone of our salvation. Praise God, Amen! We are to produce the fruit of lives of praise, loving service and witness. We are warned to sustain this commitment because, if we lapse, the kingdom will be gifted to others. Is this happening in our world, as we in the Western church fail in our tenancy and the gospel blooms in the Majority World? How sad we have become – but how marvellous what God is doing!
Let the apathetic among us repent, rise up and be fruitful. Let us rejoice in the cornerstone whose name is exalted throughout the world.
1 Ps 118:1,29 2 See also Matt 20:1–16; 21:28–32 3 Matt 21:9; Ps 118:26 4 Ps 118:22,23
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Genesis 26,27; Matthew 10
Pray for Scripture Union
We are running online workshops for holiday and mission leaders to help equip them for the year ahead. Please pray that good connections will be made and that everyone will be inspired and excited for the coming year.
