So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?
The beloved Son and heir sent as a last resort after the prophets were met with contempt and killing is Christ at His first advent to turn hearts back to God. The husbandmen entrusted with the Lord's vineyard are the Jewish priests, rulers and teachers who recognized Him as heir and deliberately cast Him out and killed Him to seize His inheritance. The closing question foretells His judgment, that the lord of the vineyard will come to destroy those husbandmen and give the vineyard to others who will render its fruit. In so answering, the priests, scribes and Pharisees condemned themselves, and the sentence declares the kingdom taken from the Jewish nation for its contempt of God's messengers and murder of His Son, leaving their house desolate. The parable applies not alone to that nation but to the church in this generation, whose guilt is withholding from the Lord the fruits of His vineyard — love, humility and self-sacrificing service — by setting human teaching and tradition above the plain requirements of God's word.
Parable Setting and Meaning
This parable is Christ's final warning to the corrupt temple leaders, given when He knew His efforts to reform the priesthood would be in vain. The husbandmen are stewards entrusted with the Lord's vineyard and responsible for returning its fruits. That trust had been given to the Jewish nation, which was required to work faithfully and unselfishly throughout the vineyard rather than keeping its advantages for only part of it.
As owner, God first sent prophets and messengers to ancient Israel to call those responsible for His vineyard to account and to claim what was His. Their message was not heeded, but was met with contempt, persecution and killing, with growing hostility toward each messenger sent. As a last resort He sent His Son so that hearts might be reached and the people turned back to God. The beloved son and heir who is cast out and killed is Christ at His first advent.
The husbandmen are the Jewish priests, rulers, teachers and religious leaders. They recognized the son as the heir and reasoned together to seize His inheritance. They then deliberately cast Him out of the vineyard and killed Him. That killing was Satan's work carried out by those gathered under his banner, with Satan working through disobedient people to oppose God and defy the Father in an attempt to cut off light and communication from God.
Judgment the Question Foretells
After the casting out and killing of the heir, the closing question turns to reckoning, asking what the lord of the vineyard will do to the tenants who killed his son. It points to judgment upon those who recognized the son as heir yet rejected and killed Him to seize His inheritance. The answer is given by the hearers themselves, that he will come to destroy those husbandmen and give the vineyard to others. Those others are tenants who will produce its fruit and obey its Ruler. In so answering, the priests, scribes and Pharisees pronounced judgment on themselves, for their sentence exposed their deceptions and condemned themselves, and then they cried God forbid.
The sentence declares that because the Jewish nation had treated God's messengers with contempt, injustice and cruelty and killed His Son, the vineyard would be taken from them. The kingdom would be taken from them and given to others who would obey its Ruler. They would face severe punishment, even punishment with fearful severity. Their house would be left desolate. For the rejection of Christ with the results that followed they were responsible, for a nation's sin and a nation's ruin were due to its religious leaders, the priests and teachers who misled the people and turned the nation away from Christ.
Guilt and Present Warning
The guilt of the husbandmen lies in refusing to return to their lord the fruit of his ground and in rejecting God's claim upon the fruit, and they are stirred to anger when God's messengers come at the Master's bidding demanding obedience to the word of God as Christ did. They robbed God of the service He claimed by misleading the people and turning the nation away from Christ. When Christ came presenting the claims of God, the priests and elders denied His right to interpose between them and the people, would not accept His rebukes and warnings, set themselves to turn the people against Him, and compassed His destruction. For that rejection of Christ with the results that followed they were responsible, for a nation's sin and a nation's ruin were due to its religious leaders.
They set human teaching and man-made commandments, human traditions, ordinances and customs, above the word of God presented as the great standard of obedience unmixed with human tradition and above its plain requirements. They turn men away from those plain requirements, educating them in transgression instead of obedience, teaching that the law of God is not binding and exalting human devices in its place. God's law embodies the principles of His kingdom, yet they would not give up pride of reason and praise of men to obey the truth, fostering pride and self-satisfaction because of the gifts of God while ignoring the claims of God.
By teaching the people to disregard God's commandments they prevent them from bearing fruit to His glory and withhold from the Lord the fruits of His vineyard, the fruits of love and humility and self-sacrificing service. Obedience to the laws of God in the spiritual as in the natural world is the condition of fruit-bearing, and he who refuses these principles places himself outside the channel where God's blessings flow. He forfeits the elevation of character and fulness of blessing on mind and soul and body, on house and field, for this life and for the life to come, which obedience alone makes possible.
The parable of the vineyard applies not alone to the Jewish nation but to the church in this generation. God has endowed the church with great privileges and blessings, and He expects corresponding returns from it. The husbandmen are religious teachers and leaders, first the Jewish leaders and now many in the church of today who follow in their steps and use their influence to lead men to reject the message. The verse reveals One who loved men to the laying down of His life, whose sorrow was not for Himself but for the sins of the people. His weeping over Jerusalem exposed that they would not, not could not, be gathered, and His treatment as Creator of the world and Majesty of heaven with contempt is a marvel to the angels of heaven and a condescension without parallel.
The beloved Son and heir sent as a last resort after the prophets were met with contempt and killing is Christ at His first advent to turn hearts back to God. The husbandmen entrusted with the Lord's vineyard are the Jewish priests, rulers and teachers who recognized Him as heir and deliberately cast Him out and killed Him to seize His inheritance. The closing question foretells His judgment, that the lord of the vineyard will come to destroy those husbandmen and give the vineyard to others who will render its fruit. In so answering, the priests, scribes and Pharisees condemned themselves, and the sentence declares the kingdom taken from the Jewish nation for its contempt of God's messengers and murder of His Son, leaving their house desolate. The parable applies not alone to that nation but to the church in this generation, whose guilt is withholding from the Lord the fruits of His vineyard — love, humility and self-sacrificing service — by setting human teaching and tradition above the plain requirements of God's word.
Parable Setting and Meaning
This parable is Christ's final warning to the corrupt temple leaders, given when He knew His efforts to reform the priesthood would be in vain. The husbandmen are stewards entrusted with the Lord's vineyard and responsible for returning its fruits. That trust had been given to the Jewish nation, which was required to work faithfully and unselfishly throughout the vineyard rather than keeping its advantages for only part of it.
As owner, God first sent prophets and messengers to ancient Israel to call those responsible for His vineyard to account and to claim what was His. Their message was not heeded, but was met with contempt, persecution and killing, with growing hostility toward each messenger sent. As a last resort He sent His Son so that hearts might be reached and the people turned back to God. The beloved son and heir who is cast out and killed is Christ at His first advent.
The husbandmen are the Jewish priests, rulers, teachers and religious leaders. They recognized the son as the heir and reasoned together to seize His inheritance. They then deliberately cast Him out of the vineyard and killed Him. That killing was Satan's work carried out by those gathered under his banner, with Satan working through disobedient people to oppose God and defy the Father in an attempt to cut off light and communication from God.
Judgment the Question Foretells
After the casting out and killing of the heir, the closing question turns to reckoning, asking what the lord of the vineyard will do to the tenants who killed his son. It points to judgment upon those who recognized the son as heir yet rejected and killed Him to seize His inheritance. The answer is given by the hearers themselves, that he will come to destroy those husbandmen and give the vineyard to others. Those others are tenants who will produce its fruit and obey its Ruler. In so answering, the priests, scribes and Pharisees pronounced judgment on themselves, for their sentence exposed their deceptions and condemned themselves, and then they cried God forbid.
The sentence declares that because the Jewish nation had treated God's messengers with contempt, injustice and cruelty and killed His Son, the vineyard would be taken from them. The kingdom would be taken from them and given to others who would obey its Ruler. They would face severe punishment, even punishment with fearful severity. Their house would be left desolate. For the rejection of Christ with the results that followed they were responsible, for a nation's sin and a nation's ruin were due to its religious leaders, the priests and teachers who misled the people and turned the nation away from Christ.
Guilt and Present Warning
The guilt of the husbandmen lies in refusing to return to their lord the fruit of his ground and in rejecting God's claim upon the fruit, and they are stirred to anger when God's messengers come at the Master's bidding demanding obedience to the word of God as Christ did. They robbed God of the service He claimed by misleading the people and turning the nation away from Christ. When Christ came presenting the claims of God, the priests and elders denied His right to interpose between them and the people, would not accept His rebukes and warnings, set themselves to turn the people against Him, and compassed His destruction. For that rejection of Christ with the results that followed they were responsible, for a nation's sin and a nation's ruin were due to its religious leaders.
They set human teaching and man-made commandments, human traditions, ordinances and customs, above the word of God presented as the great standard of obedience unmixed with human tradition and above its plain requirements. They turn men away from those plain requirements, educating them in transgression instead of obedience, teaching that the law of God is not binding and exalting human devices in its place. God's law embodies the principles of His kingdom, yet they would not give up pride of reason and praise of men to obey the truth, fostering pride and self-satisfaction because of the gifts of God while ignoring the claims of God.
By teaching the people to disregard God's commandments they prevent them from bearing fruit to His glory and withhold from the Lord the fruits of His vineyard, the fruits of love and humility and self-sacrificing service. Obedience to the laws of God in the spiritual as in the natural world is the condition of fruit-bearing, and he who refuses these principles places himself outside the channel where God's blessings flow. He forfeits the elevation of character and fulness of blessing on mind and soul and body, on house and field, for this life and for the life to come, which obedience alone makes possible.
The parable of the vineyard applies not alone to the Jewish nation but to the church in this generation. God has endowed the church with great privileges and blessings, and He expects corresponding returns from it. The husbandmen are religious teachers and leaders, first the Jewish leaders and now many in the church of today who follow in their steps and use their influence to lead men to reject the message. The verse reveals One who loved men to the laying down of His life, whose sorrow was not for Himself but for the sins of the people. His weeping over Jerusalem exposed that they would not, not could not, be gathered, and His treatment as Creator of the world and Majesty of heaven with contempt is a marvel to the angels of heaven and a condescension without parallel.