Jesus often used parables to both illustrate God’s truth and to drive that truth into the hearts of his listeners. As you read this parable, pay attention to the questions it raised in your mind and the emotions it raised in your heart.
Read Matthew 21:33-40
“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
- What questions do you find yourself asking?
- Why would any tenant think he could get away with such behavior?
- Why would the owner of the vineyard send his son after seeing what happened to the servants?
- What emotions do your find yourself feeling?
- Do you feel outrage at the disrespectful and violent actions of the tenant farmers?
- Do you feel compassion for the servants and the son who lost their lives in faithful service?
- Have you ever wondered how God can be so patient with all the sin and evil in the world?
- Have you ever felt outrage over the way Jesus is treated or talked about in your school, in the media, or in mainstream culture?
The purpose of a parable is to provoke a reaction by penetrating the heart of the listener. As you close your time with God, ask him to use this parable to stir your heart – to provoke a deeper level of appreciation for the grace of God and the sacrificial love of Jesus.
Brian Coffey
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