Parables -
Parable of the Tenants
Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-18
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God’s love in sending His Son — What would tempt you to give the baby out of your cradle? Is there anyone you love on earth, mother, that would tempt you to give your baby for that? But what if the child had grown up and had come to man’s estate? Say it had bloomed into fruition and all your hope was on it. What do you love in this world that would tempt you to give this child up as a sacrifice? You might for the country in hours of heroism. Many and many a mother has done a work that was divine when she consecrated her only son and sent him forth into the war, believing that she should never see him again. How many hearts are touched with the thought of this remembrance. But, oh, is there language that can expound such heroism, such zeal, such enthusiasm, as must inhere in the hearts of everyone that can do such work as that? And yet our hearts are small comparatively, and pulseless and shallow, and our human senses, as compared with God, are like a drop of water in comparison with the ocean. And what is the love of God, the Infinite, whose flowings are like the Gulf Stream? What are the depths, and the breadths, and the lengths of the love of God in Christ Jesus, when, looking upon a world that was so degraded and animal like, He gave His only begotten Son to die for it that there might be an interpretation of the love of God to the world.
Christ ungratefully treated —Surely a servant of the government may risk himself in the very heart of a convict prison alone, if he is the bearer of a royal pardon for all the inmates. In such a ease it would not be necessary to look out for a man of rare courage who might dare to carry the proclamation to the convicts. Give him but the message of free pardon, and he may go in unarmed, with all safety, like Daniel in the den of lions. When Christ Himself came to the world-the great convict prison of the universe-came the Ambassador from God, bringing peace-they said: “This is the heir; come, let us kill Him!” He came unto His own, and His own received Him not; and the servant is not greater than his Lord.
Christ ungratefully treated —Surely a servant of the government may risk himself in the very heart of a convict prison alone, if he is the bearer of a royal pardon for all the inmates. In such a ease it would not be necessary to look out for a man of rare courage who might dare to carry the proclamation to the convicts. Give him but the message of free pardon, and he may go in unarmed, with all safety, like Daniel in the den of lions. When Christ Himself came to the world-the great convict prison of the universe-came the Ambassador from God, bringing peace-they said: “This is the heir; come, let us kill Him!” He came unto His own, and His own received Him not; and the servant is not greater than his Lord.
Opening Questions — Get Us Thinking:
· If you were an absentee landlord and had to find trustworthy tenants, what would you seek?
The Parable of the Tenants—Matthew 21:33-46
33“Listen to another parable: 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. 34When 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. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last 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.’ 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
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.”
“ ‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
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. 44Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”i
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Research Questions — “Dig Deeper” to find God’s Will
1. What is the main point of this parable?
2. Why is a husbandman? What is a watchtower?
3. In this parable, who is represented as the landowner? The vineyard? Tenants? Servants? Son?
4. What was Jesus prophesying by telling this parable? What does it say about Jesus’ authority?
5. How do tenants respond? Why?
6. What corresponds to the son’s death? To the removal of the wretched tenants?
7. What is ironic about verses 42-44? What verse is this a quotation from?
8. How does the parable and the quote affect the religious leaders?
9. At whom does Jesus direct the parable? Why don’t they arrest him? Why don’t they repent and follow Jesus? Why don’t they take action?
10. Why choose this time to tell such a parable?
11. Who will be given the kingdom of God (v. 43)?
Reflective Questions — Live it today.
1. Have your rejected Jesus at a point in your life?
2. How do you handle rejection in your life?
3. How do you make Jesus feel welcome in your life each day?
4. Have you ever felt as though you deserved God’s kingdom?
5. In your life, is Jesus like a capstone (the highest point in your building)? Or is he like a millstone (a weight that drags you down)? In what ways?
6. With whom do you identify in this story? Why?
