“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35 The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37 But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41 They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone;
This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” — Matthew 21:33-44, NASB

In the parable of the wicked tenants (or vine-growers, husbandmen), Jesus rebukes the religious leadership of Israel for their spiritual disobedience through a vivid illustration of their responses, past and present, to God’s prophets and the Christ.

The setting is early in the crucifixion week after Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem and He is teaching in the temple. His authority has been challenged by the chief priests and scribes, and this parable is the second of three he gives (two sons, wicked tenants, wedding feast) condemning them for their hypocrisy and rejection of God’s holy truth. In contrast to the Lord’s kingdom parables in which the underlying truths were hidden from unbelievers, these rebukes were fully grasped as such by the Pharisee audience. In general, Jesus’s final public teachings were much more confrontational in nature as He hammered the Jewish establishment to the point that they finally plot His arrest, conviction and execution.

Addressing His opponents, He tells the story of a landowner who sets up a vineyard and rents it out to tenant farmers who would tend the grapevines and bring the harvest. The produce would be divided according to a prearranged agreement between the landowner and the tenants. When the harvest comes in, a group of slaves is sent by the owner to collect his share of the fruits. Instead of honoring their end of the deal the tenant farmers beat and stone the slaves, killing one. No doubt appalled, the owner sends another larger group of slaves and the same thing happens. Finally he decides to send his son, who he figures the tenants will respect and finally yield what is owed to him. Instead they see an opportunity to dispose of the heir and claim the vineyard for themselves, and they proceed to throw him out and kill him.

Jesus then asks the Pharisees and scribes what they think the owner is going to do when he arrives. Answering before the realization dawns that He’s talking about them, they tell Him that the owner will certainly kill those wretches and give the stewardship of his vineyard to obedient tenants. The Lord then cites Psalm 118:22-23, identifying Himself as the Messiah appointed by God who will be exalted after having been rejected, and tells them in so many words that they will be supplanted by those who produce true fruit for His kingdom.

The parable recalls the analogy from Isaiah 5 in which the Almighty carefully prepares a vineyard representing Israel, but eventually lays waste to it after it only produces worthless grapes. The vineyard’s unfruitfulness occurs despite having every advantage; God had repeatedly blessed Israel and lifted up its religious leaders to minister over the favored nation and serve as earthly stewards of His holy kingdom. However, they always responded with disobedience, persecuting and killing His prophets throughout history and soon, His only begotten Son, the Messiah they have supposedly been waiting for.

At the point that the vineyard owner decides to send his son, Mark’s version states that there was only one more to send, a beloved son, representing the highest authority and the last opportunity for the tenants to do right. Proclaiming God’s truth, the prophets paved the way for the One who was the truth incarnate. Jesus was the final prophetic word. Though Israel was given its Messiah, the Jewish establishment—blind to the truth and jealous of their domain—subsequently rejects and crucifies Him. What is God to do then?

Through His authoritative wisdom, extraordinary power and consistent fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, Jesus had laid down a clear messianic claim. But the religious leaders who had been raised up as the “builders” of God’s kingdom on earth were hard-hearted and skeptical. Their perception of the coming Messiah was that of a great military and political leader who would throw off the yoke of Roman oppression, reestablish Israel as a great and powerful nation, and certainly act in accordance with their application of traditional Judaism. In contrast to those expectations, Jesus had emerged from seedy Nazareth preaching a doctrine of grace, socializing with outcasts, snubbing the religious establishment’s authority and condemning their entire operation. Consequently He did not satisfy the requirements of the “cornerstone” they were looking for and was summarily rejected. Their failure to recognize Him as the true Cornerstone of the kingdom of God results in their destruction.

Therefore the story of the wicked tenants paints yet another picture of earthly judgment on disobedient Israel, one that this time would arrive in the form of the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. that destroyed the city, temple, and the entire Jewish religious system as it had previously existed. By their rejection of Christ, Israel was removed as the earthly custodian of God's kingdom.

The others who inherit the vineyard in verse 44 represent the church, the complete body of Christian believers. As explained in Romans 11, the covenant promises God makes to Israel, while irrevocable, are expanded in Christ to encompass all those believe in Him, whether Jew or Gentile. Gentiles have been grafted into the vine representing God’s planned redemption, favored status, and related promises originally bestowed on Israel. The scripture clarifies that Jewish ancestry alone does not allow one to inherit God's kingdom; instead it is faith in Christ alone that ensures the inheritance.

The parable recalls Isaiah 8:14-15 in its closing illustration of the short- and long-term fates for those who reject Christ. He is the chief cornerstone and the sole means of salvation for wretched humanity. Yet He remains “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” for many who—just like the Jewish nation—have broken themselves against it. They have prompted rapprochement and punishment through their lack of faith, disobedience, and persecution of those preaching His word. They are only harming themselves; God’s purpose remains and Jesus is the only way. Short of repentance and acceptance of Christ as the true cornerstone of their redemption, the full weight of that stone will eventually fall upon and crush them in eternal judgment.

The priests and scribes understand that Jesus is talking about them, but instead of embracing the truth they respond with hostility. Despite their history and knowledge of God they remain obtuse, viewing Jesus not as the awaited Messiah and the fulfilment of scripture, but simply as a threat to the status quo they preside over. Their inability to comprehend truth is even reflected in their decision not to dispatch Him on the spot; it is not God’s reprisal they fear, but that of the supportive crowds. To preserve their fiefdom they choose instead to plot against Him in secret; in doing so they seal their fate.

It is important for the Christian to understand that the parable not only convicts the Jewish leaders of Jesus’s day, but serves as a warning to everyone else as well, the professing church included. Only vine-keepers who produce fruit for God are worthy of His kingdom. How do we produce spiritual fruit? By abiding in Christ—repenting of our sins, striving for righteousness and purity, and surrendering to God with a sincere heart so that we might live a life that serves Him, testifies to His word, and glorifies His name. It is through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that a believer is enabled to do these things. Failing to build our lives upon the cornerstone of Christ condemns us as surely as the priests and scribes who rejected Him 2,000 years ago. To avoid judgment and receive everlasting life we must build our lives upon the rock. Anything else that we might put our faith in will ultimately fail us in the day of reckoning. Let us all consider the foundation upon which we build our eternal future.