The Parable of the Tenants: Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-18 - Part 2. - The Three Parallel Parable Accounts

 Hello, hello! I'm back again! I hope you are well! 

This section of my study is focused on the three parallel accounts of this parable found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I may or may not include Jesus speaking of the Cornerstone in this reading. I'll see how much time it takes to get through these passages.

Now, Matthew was an eye witness, and Mark and Luke obtained their information through other eyewitnesses, and faithfully recounted the details as they had been passed on to them. You might notice that some of the details vary between the Gospels in some of their recountings of what occurred, but don't let that be a discouragement, as it would be far more disturbing if they were exactly the same. When different people recount a story, there will always be minor differences between their accounts, as one will hear one thing that another might miss, another will notice something that the others did not think significant, and all three might omit things based on what their focus was. What would be far more disturbing is if all three recounted the events in the exact same way, with the exact same wording, as it would indicate that they had rehearsed what they were going to say and possibly colluded with each other. As it is, minor differences in accounts tends to lend credence that these were the accounts of individuals who were speaking from memory, not people who had worked together to make up a story and had corroborated so that every detail was the same. That being said, let's take a look at these passages. 

Highlighting: 
Owner of the Vineyard
Servant
Tenant
Chief Priests/Pharisees/Scribes/Religious Leaders

Matthew 21:33-46
33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord's doing,

    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark 12:1-12

12 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone;

11 this was the Lord's doing,

    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke 20:9-18

9 And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone’?

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

~~~~~~~

First off, we see a few players on the stage of this parable: the Owner of the vineyard, the vineyard itself, the tenants, and the servants and the Son. The two primary players in this are the Owner and the tenants. Let's dive into it.

The Owner, same as in Isaiah, is God. The same basic description of the Owner is in all three passages; He plants a vineyard, makes a wine vat (not in the Luke passage), and gets it all ready, similar to the Isaiah 5 passage. And then Jesus elaborates more on the original parable by the owner then renting out the field to tenants and then going out on a long journey. Like any landowner, He expects the rent to be paid on the land He has rented out, and the ensuing story tells what happens when He tried to get payment.

The vineyard is still Israel, but in this parable, they do very little. They simply exist in this parable. The tenants are the key players in this story, and they are actually the Jewish religious leaders. If you're wanting to know how I know that, look at Matthew 21:45, Mark 12:12, and Luke 20:19. They all say that they perceived that it was against themselves. They are the tenants in this story. 

And the final players in this parable are the servants, which are the prophets and Christ, who is the Son. The Jewish religious leaders had long persecuted the prophets and had beaten and killed many of them. 

It's very helpful to read through the passage again with these key players in mind and who they actually are.

Now to the breakdown of the parable. 

The Owner, that is God, established Israel, and left it in the care of the religious leaders. However, when He sent His servants to receive the produce, or the prophets, to call His people back to Himself, the Jewish religious leaders persecuted and killed them. You can see this through 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, all throughout the major and minor prophets, and even in Jesus' on testimony in Matthew 23:37a;

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!..."

and again in Luke 13:34; 

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!..."

 Finally, after the prophets, the Son, that is Jesus is sent, and the tenants knowingly kill Him, seeking to usurp His position. The Jewish religious leaders did not kill Jesus to protect the people. They knew He was righteous and sent from God. They were jealous to protect their own power and killed Him to take what was rightfully His. They were not leading the people to God, but were keeping the people's praise and focus on themselves. 

The crux of the parable is what the Owner of the vineyard will do. In Matthew, the Jewish religious leaders indict themselves, in Mark, Jesus utters the judgement upon them, and in Luke, they all gasp at what Jesus tells them the Owner will do. In each passage, they get it; God will come against them, and will utterly punish them for refusing to give Him His due, and the care of His people will be given to others. 

This is a terrifying warning for any religious leaders who seek to keep the people of God away from Him, choosing to reject His Word, and making a religion of their own to stay in power. Pastors should be very cautious of how they handle the Word of God, and be guarded against being the center of worship in their church. 

And even the lay people must remember, God expects fruit from us. We're not in authority like Pastors, but God still expects us to bear fruit. We must be diligent to have righteousness, justice (Isaiah 5), love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galations 5:22-23), as well as not neglecting to give God the glory due His Name. 

But, all that being said, the actual judgment in this parable was literally fulfilled in in A.D. 70, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, leaving not one stone upon another. Many Jews starved in the siege, others were killed when the Romans broke into the city and burned down the temple, and the remaining people were enslaved or scattered throughout the known world. 

It was not until 1948 when God miraculously worked behind the scenes to recestablish the nation of Israel, bringing His people back to the promised land after nearly 2,000 years. Even in their disobedience, God is still for them, and He still holds them precious. It is His right alone to judge them, and a terror for anyone who would lay a hand against them, for they are still the apple of His eye. 

Next post will be diving into the small section on the Cornerstone.