Read: Mark 12:1-12
Jesus often taught in parables. Parables are realistic yet fictional stories told to make a point. In this parable, Jesus talks about a landowner and his workers/tenants. The story is true-to-life in that the land of Israel had a number of landowners who lived in different parts of the country. While they were away from their vineyards, they would hire workers to care for the land and produce the crop. After a time, the owner would come and receive the fruit of his field. In this parable, the workers/tenants rejected their landowner by killing those representatives who came in his name . . . even killing the owner’s son. In a similar way, God the Father sent prophets to Israel for years (who were rejected by the people . . . the most recent of which was John the Baptist). Jesus tells this story to foreshadow how He (the beloved Son of God) would eventually be treated — killed on the cross. The overarching point of the parable is that owners who are treated this way will fire the tenants and go get new workers. In the same way, Jesus was pointing out that the Jewish people’s rejection of Jesus will only lead to God including non-Jewish people (Gentiles) directly in His plans.
Question of the Day: Why do you think the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus (like the tenants rejected the landowner’s son in the parable)?