The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard

1999-04-23

The parable of the tenants in the vineyard, located in Luke 20:9-19, is a metaphorically rich tale with a deep teaching of Jewish history and Jewish reality. This parable is told in all the Synoptic Gospels; in other words, the three authors, Matthew, Mark, and Luke seem to find this parable of great significance, and quite worthy to be included on their highlights on the life of Jesus. The tale is told when Jesus was in Jerusalem, and more specifically, when he was in the Temple.

To set the stage for Jesus’ speech to the people, it is important to understand what happened moments before he told the parable, when Jesus first entered the Temple. The original purpose of the Temple was for the worship of the Living God who was worshipped in a tent in the days before Solomon’s reign. The switch from a tent to a Temple was the idea of King David, though it was his son Solomon who was to build it (2 Samuel 7:13). But as Jesus entered the Temple, which had been torn down and built again, he was horrified to see that his Father’s house was turned into a marketplace, and “a den of thieves” (Luke 19:46). People wanted to kill Jesus because he brought light to the truth of the matter, but they could not kill him in the presence of his many followers there (Luke 19:47, 48). This point is an important point leading into the parable, for the nature of this parable is on such suffering of the servants of God. Jesus was sent by God to bring back God’s light that was distorted by the teachers of the Law, and people wanted to kill him for this mission. Jesus was then approached by the chief priests and the scribes, who then questioned Jesus’ authority, and he used great wisdom in silencing them (Luke 20:1-8). The disbelief and rejection of the priests leads up to the lesson that is included in the parable.

The parable is generally the same for all three of the Synoptic Gospels, though there are some minor differences. The parable opens with Jesus addressing the people gathered in the Temple. First, he told of a man who planted a vineyard (Luke 20:9). Luke is least specific about the vineyard, for Matthew and Mark tell of a fence that was put around the vineyard, a winepress that was dug there, and a watch tower that was built (Matthew 21:33; Mark 12:1). The vineyard throughout the Scriptures has been a symbol for Israel, and this parable seems to be no different (New Interpreter, 380). Jesus, at this instance, moved on to tell of tenants that leased the vineyard while the owner was away. When production season came, the owner sent a slave to collect his portion of the produce. According to Luke, the slave was beaten and sent away with no produce, just as Mark records. Luke then writes that another slave was sent on the same task, but he is beaten and insulted, and then sent away. Mark states the same but specifies that the slave is beaten over the head. Luke tells of a third slave, but the slave came and was wounded by the tenants and thrown away. Luke speaks only of three slaves, none of which are mentioned to be killed. Mark writes of a third slave, and that there were many other slaves that were sent by the owner. Some of the slaves in Mark’s approach were said to be killed. Matthew, on the other hand, speaks of three slaves, one beaten, one killed, and one stoned, and that there were many other slaves that followed. These differences are not of significance to the story of the tenants, however.

After Luke writes about the tenants attacking the owner’s servants, the owner reasoned that his son might be more respected than a slave. He sent his son to collect the portion of produce that was rightfully his (Luke 20:13) on at least fifth year of renting to the tenants (Leviticus 19:23-25). The other two Gospels generally have the same text as Luke. When the son was sent, he was murdered, and the reasoning of the tenants, once again the same in all three accounts, was that if they killed the owner’s heir, they would perhaps instead get the inheritance of the owner. Jesus asked, in all three accounts, what will the owner do? He then answered himself immediately, that the owner would kill the tenants when he returns from abroad. Luke’s account is the only version of Jesus’ parable that has the response of his audience, “God forbid” (Luke 20:16). The audience, who was carefully listening to Jesus’ words, said this in fear, that they too could be cursed in the same way as the tenants are going to be (Interpreter, 699). This elicited Jesus’ response by quoting the Scriptures where it tells of “The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner” (Luke 20:17; Psalm 118:22-23). It is unusual that Jesus’ response to the people in the Temple is in all three accounts, where the people’s comments were not chronicled by Matthew or Mark. This, however, does not take away from the meaning of the parable, nor does it really seem significant in any other way.

In all three of the Synoptic Gospels, the authors tell of the chief priests’ and the scribes’ realization that the parable had been told against them. Mark went a step further to say that the priests and the scribes left the premises after the telling of the parable. Aside from this, all three Gospels state that the priests and the scribes feared the crowd that had been Jesus’ carefully listening audience, and this fear prevented them from surrounding him to have him arrested right there in the Temple.

The parable of the wicked tenants was told primarily to the Jewish nation (Halley, 444). Secondly, it was also told for those who were priests and scribes, especially since some of them were present as he told this parable (Luke 20:19). A third group this parable was told for was the audience that Jesus spoke to. The reason for telling this parable is twofold. First, it was to explain that God’s servants that do as God tells them will be persecuted. Secondly, it also explains there is a tendency for the Jews to persecute God’s servants because they are stubborn. The former reason is for the servants of God to know what will happen to them by conforming to God’s will, while the latter is for the Jewish nation and leaders who must evaluate what they have done to God’s servants in the past and be aware the consequences that brings.

Many servants of God have been persecuted for their faith, who are the “servants” of the parable. One that is readily portrayed by Luke is John the Baptist. John the Baptist spoke of Governor Herod’s sins, and John was jailed for this (Luke 3:20) and later even executed (Luke 9:9). John’s mission was to get people to repent and prepare for the coming of Jesus. He served God as the slaves served their master. Stephen is stoned for spreading the Good News, which is what God commanded him to do (Acts 7:58). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego held steadfast to their faith and risked being killed for standing strong for the Lord, though their faith did save them (Daniel 3). These examples are among many who suffered for following God’s command, who were beaten, jailed, stoned, and killed. That is what Jesus told the people, that persecutions will happen mercilessly because of him. While still in the Temple, he told those around him that they will probably be handed over to authorities (Luke 21:12). Much earlier while Jesus was still traveling to Jerusalem, Jesus stated that following him would be a reason for families breaking apart (Luke 12:51-3). Families will even betray their family members because of their belief in Jesus (Luke 21:16). Because of Jesus coming to bring the Good News, people will be persecuted, as believers and prophets have been persecuted in the past.

Secondly, the message is for the priests and scribes. The priests were always trying to trap Jesus in his words, and always wanted to have him arrested for his apparent blasphemous behavior (Luke 20:19). They did not believe in the teachings of John the Baptist just as they did not believe in the teachings of Jesus (Luke 20:5). The priests came to question Jesus in the Temple, but, in turn, Jesus turns the argument around and questions the priests, first by asking them a question, and then by telling a parable against them. It was later that the priests arrested Jesus when Judas led them to him (Luke 22:47-8).

The Jewish nation has had trouble for centuries because of how stubborn they were, especially beginning with the years of the split kingdom. They worshipped idols and did not listen to God’s prophets, a good example being Elijah. Almost every Old Testament prophet warned about Israel’s stubborn ways, and that punishment would follow if they did not repent from their sins. Jesus told this parable for just the same reason. Jesus is the owner’s son which, which he foreshadowed his own persecution, and his own death in chapter 23. When the owner finally would come home and see what had happened, he would kill the tenants, as Jesus said. This is what God is going to do to those who have rejected His Son. The Jews were the ones that turned Jesus over to the Gentiles to be killed (Luke 23:1-2). Jesus was rejected by Jews but warned those around him with his parable. Those who reject God through His mediator, Jesus said, will not be spared, and “rejection of Jesus means judgment upon Jerusalem” (Interpreter, 699).

The parable of the wicked tenants fits well into the Gospel of Luke because it foreshadows many future events, such as the crucifixion. This portrayal of the death of Jesus is in addition to the other three times Jesus spoke about his death to his disciples. Also, there he revealed about those who had persecuted God’s messengers and those who would persecute the Son of God. This parable also fits well in the Gospel of Luke because of its “role reversal” qualities. In the previous chapter, Luke had included the parable of the greedy and vengeful king. This parable of the tenants shows the audience not a greedy owner, but the greedy and vengeful tenants (New Interpreter, 380).

Just as it is full of Jesus’ portentous words, the parable is also deeply rooted in world history. All of what is said in Jesus’ words reveals what God has done for humankind, and how God’s people have responded (New Interpreter, 383). God has not only given His people great things, like victory over their enemies, saving them from the Egyptians, and performing countless miracles since the beginning of time, but He also has sent the promised Messiah that many of the prophets spoke about centuries before.

This parable’s special quality, told by Jesus Christ through Luke, is that no matter how many times the owner sent a servant to the wicked tenants, the tenants killed the servant. The owner gave the tenants chance after chance, but they would not comply with the legal agreement. God is just like that. No matter how many times Israel sinned against the Lord, He would save them if they would repent. Chance after chance he gave them, but as the parable suggests, there will be a time that the Owner will no longer tolerate the wicked without judgment.

The parable of the tenants in the vineyard is parable of many lessons. First it is written to three groups, Jews, their leaders, and Jesus’ followers, for two reasons, to show what happens to the followers of God through Jesus Christ, and to show how the Jews have persecuted many of God’s chosen followers for centuries. It is a parable about world history, what has happened, and it is a prophetic parable that warns the people of Jerusalem. Lastly, it reveals to all who listen to Jesus’ words that that God is a loving and forgiving God, because He has given the tenants chance after chance of paying to him what is rightfully His. This parable reveals the power of God’s word, how symbolic it is, and that it is rich with applications for the reader’s life.

Works Cited

The New Interpreter’s Bible: A commentary in Twelve Volumes. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995.

The Interpreter’s One Volume Commentary. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1971.

Halley, Henry H. Halley’s Bible Handbook: An Abbreviated Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965.

Throckmorton, Burton H. Jr. Gospel Parallels: A Comparison of The Synoptic Gospels. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989.