And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.
The owner sent his servant to the vineyard to collect its fruit, but the tenants seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty without giving what was due. That violent rejection was the abuse of God's messenger, and it anticipated the rejection of Christ himself. The tenants who did this are the Jewish nation, specifically its priests and teachers, and their deed exposes contempt and injustice and cruelty toward the messengers God sent to them.
They had been entrusted to work faithfully every part of the vineyard and to return its produce and service to the Lord, for its advantages were given for service and not for selfish use. Instead they withheld the fruit they owed and refused the owner his share, using his goods for selfish gain rather than honoring their trust. By rejecting God's messengers and turning the people away from obedience to God's law, they withheld the fruits of the vineyard and acted as unfaithful servants.
This dismissal began a repeated pattern, for God sent other messengers afterward, but they too were rejected as the husbandmen's hatred grew more determined. The same course foreshadowed the rejection of Christ, since those leaders turned the people away from Christ, rejected His authority and warnings, and so bore responsibility for His rejection and the ruin that followed. The lesson reaches beyond Israel to the church today, which has received great privileges and blessings and from which God expects a corresponding return of fruit, so that religious leaders who repeat this course act as unfaithful servants.
The owner sent his servant to the vineyard to collect its fruit, but the tenants seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty without giving what was due. That violent rejection was the abuse of God's messenger, and it anticipated the rejection of Christ himself. The tenants who did this are the Jewish nation, specifically its priests and teachers, and their deed exposes contempt and injustice and cruelty toward the messengers God sent to them.
They had been entrusted to work faithfully every part of the vineyard and to return its produce and service to the Lord, for its advantages were given for service and not for selfish use. Instead they withheld the fruit they owed and refused the owner his share, using his goods for selfish gain rather than honoring their trust. By rejecting God's messengers and turning the people away from obedience to God's law, they withheld the fruits of the vineyard and acted as unfaithful servants.
This dismissal began a repeated pattern, for God sent other messengers afterward, but they too were rejected as the husbandmen's hatred grew more determined. The same course foreshadowed the rejection of Christ, since those leaders turned the people away from Christ, rejected His authority and warnings, and so bore responsibility for His rejection and the ruin that followed. The lesson reaches beyond Israel to the church today, which has received great privileges and blessings and from which God expects a corresponding return of fruit, so that religious leaders who repeat this course act as unfaithful servants.