Parable Of The Wicked Tenants Analysis

Jesus’ parable of the Wicked Tenants is the most significant, discussed, complicated, and debated parable in the Bible. For several people, the parable makes them uncomfortable because it reveals too much about the view of Jesus. This parable is about a landowner who leases his vineyard to tenants, but when he sends servants and finally his own beloved son to get the fruit from his vineyard, the tenants beat and kill them. Jesus ends the parable with talking about the rejected cornerstone and how the kingdom of God will be taken away and given to others. It seems simple and straightforward. So why is this such a debated and controversial parable with differing views? This parable is so complicated because it is directly attacking people in

This parable teaches modern Christians to not be rebellious to God and to not reject Jesus as the Messiah, the true Son of God. The tenants were rebellious and wanted the vineyard for themselves, even though it was not theirs to begin with. In the same way, people today should not want what is not theirs because it might be taken away. After all, all material possessions will be taken away, so do not get used to them without acknowledging where they came from first. This ties up directly with Matthew 6:19-24 where it says, “do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” In the same way, Christians should not be concerned when their material possessions are taken away because their real and only treasure lies in heaven, and God gave them what they needed, so he can surely take it away. Also, this parable closely resembles the parable of the wedding banquet in that a master punishes his subordinates who are rebellious and so replaces them with new ones. This parable warns Christians and non-Christians alike to not be rebellious to God otherwise they will be rejected, just like the owner rejected the tenants from the

In fact, the parable does not make sense unless it is an allegory. To start off, the fence and the tower are the temple and the wine-press is the altar. All three of these things point to the temple which makes perfect sense since the parable was given in the temple. Furthermore, God represents the owner who is abroad, which signifies God taking his presence away from Israel. This could represent the four hundred years of silence between Malachi and Matthew. Israel is the vineyard, which parallels Isaiah Five. In fact, Isaiah Five is almost the equivalent of this parable, especially in the accounts of Matthew and Mark. Moreover, the tenants are the priests and other Jewish leaders who refuse to give the landowner what is due signifies that they believe they are exempt from giving tithes. And after all, the priests and Jewish leaders were mainly responsible for the death of Jesus just like the tenants killing the son. It is evident that the son represents Jesus, especially when the landowner says he will send his only beloved son which parallels Isaiah 5:1, Matthew 3:17, and Colossians 1:13. From this, one can see the special relation between God and Jesus, the son. Additionally, the servants are Moses and the prophets. The killing of the servants parallels the killing of the prophets like Jezebel killing the Lord’s prophets in 1