9 He went on to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
Both Matthew and Mark add the following insight regarding our verses for today allowing us to gain deeper clarity into the Parable of the Tenants:
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 went away on a journey. Matt 21:33 (NIV)
1 He then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. Mark 12:1 (NIV)
These verses of Scripture are reminiscent of the words the prophet Isaiah wrote:
1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Isaiah 5:1-2 (NIV)
Scripture compares the kingdom of God on earth to a vineyard furnished with all the necessities necessary for its management, improvement and advancement. We must note that the church is the planting of the Lord for the displaying of His splendor, falling under His watchful, protective eye. It was He who planted the vineyard with the choicest of vines; it was He who cleared the soil of the stones, and it was He who built the watchtower and the winepress – all towards the goal of promoting its fruitfulness.
"Sing about a fruitful vineyard: 3 I, the LORD, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. Isaiah 27:2-3 (NIV)
Those of us who enjoy all the privileges of being a child of the King also have pleasant and profitable duties which accompany this position – we are to about bringing forth much fruit – of this we are held accountable. Proverbs tells us:
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. Prov 11:30 (NIV)
Righteous, Christ-like behavior attracts and points others to the wisdom and the knowledge of the Truth while fools bring trouble even to their own families.
7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jer 17:7-8 (NIV)
“Grant, O Lord, that I may earnestly seek to bring forth fruits, and may grow in fruitfulness as I grow in years; and never cease from yielding fruit; hereby proving myself to be a tree of the Lord’s planting, whose leaf is green, and whose branches are flourishing and fruitful. Yet bless me also with deep poverty of spirit, that I may see myself still nothing, have nothing of my own to glory in, or to justify me; and thus esteem Christ my all, and rest upon Him wholly. K.H. Von Bogatzky
According to our parable for today (and many other places in Scripture as well), it has often been the lot of God’s faithful servants to be abused and treated wrongly by those who are resolved not to do their duty to God. They not only refuse to acknowledge God’s rightful authority but also disdain those who do.
“Christians shouldn’t be surprised when, in seeking to do God’s will, we find ourselves trapped in painful, frightening, difficult, or impossible situations. Life is hard – especially for Christians.” Robert J. Morgan
“Though assaults be many, and my enemies mighty, if God strengthen me, I have enough to comfort me; for the greater my enemy, the more glorious my victory; and the more glorious my victory, the more triumphant my glory.” K.H. Von Bogatzky