Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went away.
When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed.
He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?”
When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away. (New Revised Standard Version)
Jesus was at the temple in Jerusalem. While there, the religious leaders confronted him over his supposed ministerial authority. Jesus, rather than become defensive, took the initiative by telling a parable.
The parable’s imagery comes directly from the second chapter of the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. It, too, was a parable concerning a vineyard. Isaiah leveled an accusation against the entire nation of Israel.
Jesus picked up the same imagery and directed his accusation against the people in front of him, the Jewish religious leaders. The connection between the parable of Isaiah and the parable of Jesus would not have been lost on those leaders.
In many ways, I can relate to the parable’s setting in the land. I grew up on a farm, and appreciate the deep connection of working the land and caring for it. I know something of owning land and having renters work it, since that it was my family did in my parent’s later years.
Anytime there is a relationship between owners, and renters or tenants or servants, it is an unequal relation. And whichever situation you relate to will affect your perspective of the parable.
If you understand what it means to be a landowner, with all of the rights and responsibilities of that ownership, and with the people who work that land, then you likely resonate with the landowner in Christ’s parable. You also will likely detest what the tenants in the parable do.
Perhaps you relate more to being a renter or a tenant. Having an understanding of what it means to rent from another, you may likely see the how the tenants in the parable think, and why they do what they do.
Having personal experiences on both sides of the owner/renter situation – for both good and bad – I can easily see how the violence in the parable could happen. I have my own stories of justice and injustice when it comes to each, the owners and the renters/tenants.
Much like today, ancient power dynamics were a fundamental part of life for many people. And those relations were, and are, fraught with all sorts of inequality.
Christ’s parable is a rather violent story. It’s not really bedtime reading. Notice that the owner has slaves, whom he sends to collect what is due him. Several of them are beaten and/or killed.
There is no backstory to the tenants situation. Yet, at the time of Christ’s ministry, there were many lower class folk who lost their land to unscrupulous owners, in a system of inequity. It’s possible that some of the men Jesus was talking to owned some land. And the religious leaders in the Gospels are rarely presented in a positive light.
Even today, there are violent struggles regarding land, especially in the Middle East. And the power dynamics and inequities are rife with injustice which is claiming to be justice. There are no easy answers to quelling the constant violence.
Feelings of hatred, anger, and fear are common. The desire to kill too often overcomes the desire for life. A group of people are outraged for being the brunt of murder, killing, and evil. Another group already feels neglected and have been the victims of unjust usury and death. They feel justified in their violence toward those they view as perpetrators.
Imagine how people on this earth, such as Palestinians, Israelis, Native Americans, and Ukrainians – just to name a few – feel about land. Land involves life, because the land has water, the potential for farming, trees, and a place to live. Thus, whoever controls land, in many ways, controls life. Agribusiness owns large chunks of land in the United States – and not the smaller family farms. Ah, but that is a topic for another time….
In Christ’s parable, everybody suffered in some way. Servants died. The landowner’s son died. The tenants were destroyed. Life was permanently altered for all involved.
Is that how any of us really want to live?
If we take a theological perspective, God owns everything. But we think we own the land and its resources. We believe we have the right to do whatever we want with it. And that is where the problem arises.
Until we truly hold to the notion that we humans are a society of equals, and that we are all subject to a God who owns everything, then we will continue to experience the effects of injustice, war, and death.
Can we, at least, change our minds? Yes, we can. And Christians are called to do just that:
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:2-3, NRSV)
The religious leaders of Christ’s day needed to change their minds about Jesus. Yet, no matter what they did, he would still become the cornerstone, if they rejected him as just one of the stones in the edifice of God’s kingdom.
Today, the parable is still meant to speak to people, to you and me. We have the chance to embrace the Prince of Peace, and walk in the way of peace, not violence. We still yet have the opportunity to be peacemakers, and live in a way that promotes human flourishing, and not human carnage.
If, like the parable of the prophet Isaiah, Christ’s parable is meant to speak to everyone, then it is most necessary that we heed the words of Jesus.
Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them peace, which is the fruit of righteousness, so that they may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 