BibleJoy
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BibleJoy
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Open a chapter and step inside. The well at midday. The boat in the storm. The garden before dawn. Every passage becomes a place you stand in, with the Scripture itself always in view.
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11 verses · 4 min · Tuesday in Jerusalem, the last week
9Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. 10And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 11And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
13Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. 14But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. 15So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.
17And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 19And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.
The son of the vineyard owner walks through the gate. The tenants look at each other. They know who he is. They whisper together, their eyes hard. "This is the heir. If we kill him, the vineyard becomes ours." They drag him outside the walls and murder him.
Jesus tells this story in the Temple courts, with the religious leaders listening. A man plants a vineyard and rents it to farmers. He travels far away and stays gone a long time. When harvest comes, he sends a servant to collect his share of the fruit. The farmers beat the servant and send him home with nothing. The owner sends a second servant. They shame him and beat him too. A third servant comes. They wound him and throw him out.
Then the owner asks himself a question. "What should I do?" He decides to send his beloved son. Surely they will respect him.
They do not. They kill him instead.
Jesus asks the crowd: what will the owner do now? He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others. The crowd gasps. "God forbid," they say. They sense what Jesus means. The vineyard is Israel. The tenants are her leaders. The servants are the prophets God sent for centuries. The beloved son is Jesus himself.
Jesus looks straight at them and quotes Psalm 118. "The stone the builders threw away has become the most important stone of all." Then he warns them. Fall on that stone and you will be broken. Let that stone fall on you and it will crush you to dust.
The chief priests and the teachers of the law understand. This story is about them. They want to arrest Jesus right there. But the crowd is watching, so they wait.
This is the heart of the story. The owner knew what those farmers had done. He knew the danger. Yet he sent his son anyway, hoping they would finally listen.
This is not foolishness. This is love that will not give up.
God sent prophet after prophet to Israel. Jeremiah was thrown into a muddy pit. Isaiah, according to tradition, was killed. Zechariah was stoned in the Temple courtyard. Second Chronicles 36:16 says Israel "mocked the messengers of God and despised his words and misused his prophets." Yet God kept reaching out.
When God sent Jesus, he was not trying one more thing. He was giving everything. Jesus calls himself the "beloved son." This echoes what the Father said at Jesus' baptism: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). God held nothing back.
The tenants thought killing the heir would give them the inheritance. They were terribly wrong. The rejected son became the cornerstone of everything God is building. What looked like defeat became victory. The cross became the way of salvation for the whole world.
God has reached toward you many times. Through Scripture, through friends, through quiet moments when you sensed him near. He does not give up on you.
The question the parable leaves with every listener is simple. What will you do with the Son? The religious leaders rejected him and lost everything. But you can receive him. You can build your whole life on that cornerstone.
He is still reaching toward you today. His patience is a gift. Rest in it.
Jesus turns from the priests and faces the crowd. "A man plants a vineyard," he says. "He builds a wall around it, digs a winepress, puts up a watchtower. Then he leases it out to some farmers, and he goes away to a distant country for a long time.
"When harvest comes, he sends a servant to collect his share of the fruit. But the farmers grab the servant and beat him, and they send him back with nothing.
"He sends another servant. They beat that one too, and mock him, and send him away with nothing. He sends a third. This one they wound and throw out of the vineyard.
"The owner sits with his head in his hands. 'What can I do?' he says. Then he thinks of his son, his only son, whom he loves. 'I will send him,' he says. 'Surely when they see my son, they will show respect.'
"But when the farmers see the son coming down the road, they know exactly who he is. They huddle together. 'This is the heir,' they say. 'If we kill him, everything will be ours.' So they drag him outside the vineyard and kill him."
Jesus pauses and looks around. "What do you think the owner will do now?" He answers his own question. "He will come and destroy those farmers, and he will give the vineyard to others."
A ripple runs through the crowd. "God forbid," people murmur. "May that never happen."
Jesus looks straight at them. "Then what does this mean," he says, "the scripture that says, 'The stone that the builders threw aside has become the cornerstone'? Everyone who trips over that stone will be broken. And anyone it falls on will be ground to dust."
The chief priests and scribes burn with anger, they see now that he told this story against them. They want to seize him right there, that very hour, but they look at the crowd pressing in around him, and they hold back. They are afraid of what the people will do.