Read Matthew 21:33-46
“Listen
to another parable,” Jesus said. “There was once a landowner who planted a
vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, and built a
watchtower. Then he let out the vineyard to tenants and went on a journey. 34When
the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to
receive his share of the harvest. 35The tenants seized his slaves,
beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again the man sent
other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same
way. 37Last of all he sent his son to them. ‘Surely they will
respect my son,’ he said. 38But when the tenants saw the son, they
said to themselves, ‘This is the owner’s son. Come on, let’s kill him, and we
will get his property!’ 39So they seized him, threw him out of the
vineyard, and killed him.
40 “Now,
when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” Jesus
asked.
41 “He
will certainly kill those evil men,” they answered, “and let the vineyard out
to other tenants, who will give him his share of the harvest at the right time.”
‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless
turned out to be the most important of all.
This was done by the Lord;
what a wonderful sight it is!’
43 “And
so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.”u
45 The
chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables and knew that he was
talking about them, 46so they tried to arrest him. But they were
afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.
Think
The commandments remind us
that we belong to God. We are his
vineyard. In this parable the people
have hijacked his vineyard. Are we
willing to give back to God that which is rightfully his?
Pray
Lord, help me to remember
that I belong to you.
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