Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard: the beloved son is killed by the farmers; the lord of the vineyard will come and destroy them and give the vineyard to others. The stone the builders rejected becomes the head of the corner. Questions about taxes, resurrection, and the greatest commandment follow. The poor widow gives all she had.
1–12 He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine press, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went into another country. When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard. They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty. Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. Again he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some. Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes’?” They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.
13–17 They sent some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words. When they had come, they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don’t defer to anyone; for you aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give?” But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.” They brought it. He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Jesus answered them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They marveled greatly at him.
18–27 There came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no child, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’ There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring. The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise; and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.” Jesus answered them, “Isn’t this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But about the dead, that they are raised; haven’t you read in the book of Moses, about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.”
28–34 One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?” Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he, and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.” No one dared ask him any question after that.
35–37 Jesus responded, as he taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.”’ Therefore David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” The common people heard him gladly.
38–40 In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces, and the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts: those who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
41–44 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much. A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin. He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury, for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.”
Source: ebible.org
A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the winepress, built a tower, and rented it to farmers. He sent servants for his share of the fruit; they were beaten, wounded, and killed. He sent his beloved son last, saying they would respect him. The farmers said, “This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. The parable is transparent. The farmers are the leaders. The servants are the prophets. The beloved son is Jesus. They will kill him. The lord of the vineyard will come and destroy them. The transfer of the vineyard is the transfer of covenant stewardship away from the unfaithful tenants. The leaders perceive that he spoke the parable against them. The judgment announced is the same judgment that will leave not one stone of the temple upon another.
Haven’t you read this Scripture: the stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner; this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes? The builders are already rejecting. The exaltation of the stone is certain. The same leaders who will condemn him are the builders who reject the stone. The head of the corner is the position of the risen and vindicated Son. The parable and the psalm together announce both the murder of the heir and the judgment and replacement of the tenants. The coming of the lord of the vineyard is not a distant cosmic event. It is the judgment of that generation’s leadership and the giving of the vineyard to others.
The traps about taxes and the resurrection fail. Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. God is not the God of the dead but of the living. A scribe asks for the greatest commandment. Love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength; love your neighbor as yourself. The scribe agrees that this is more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. Jesus says, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.” The Kingdom is near enough that a wise answer places a man near it. The old sacrificial system is already relativized by the priority of love. The same generation that will kill the son is being told that the Kingdom is at hand and that whole burnt offerings are not the measure of nearness to it.
How is the Christ David’s son if David calls him Lord? Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet. The Christ is David’s Lord, destined for the right hand of Power — the same position from which the Son of Man will come with the clouds (14:62). Beware of the scribes who devour widows’ houses. A poor widow puts in two small coins — all she had to live on. She has given more than the rich. The contrast is complete: the tenants who will kill the heir, the scribes who devour widows, and the widow who gives everything. The vineyard will be given to others. The stone the builders rejected will become the head of the corner. The lord of the vineyard has come and judged. We live as those who love God and neighbor under the lordship of the rejected and exalted Stone.
The parable does not leave the coming of the lord of the vineyard in suspense for millennia. The farmers kill the son; the lord comes and destroys them and gives the vineyard to others. That sequence is the sequence of the generation that heard the parable. The beloved son was killed. The tenants were judged. The vineyard was given to others. The stone the builders rejected became the head of the corner. The certainty that the lord of the vineyard has already come and judged reshapes every other “coming” text in the New Testament. The coming is not an endless deferral. It is the vindication of the Son and the end of the unfaithful administration within the horizon of that generation.
The beloved son has been killed and has become the head of the corner. The unfaithful tenants have been judged. The vineyard has been given to others. We live as those who love God and neighbor under the lordship of the rejected and exalted Stone. Burnt offerings and sacrifices have given way to the priority of love in the Kingdom that was near and has come.
How does the certainty that the lord of the vineyard has already come and judged reshape the way you read the “coming” language of the rest of the New Testament?