Parable of the Wicked Tenants | Bob's boy's Christianity blog

In Luke 20, the chief priests and scribes challenge Jesus’ authority in verses 1-8. Then in verses 9-18, he tells the parable of the wicked tenants, citing Psalm 118:22 in verse 17: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” It is obviously about the rejection of the Son of God by the Jewish leaders, and that perception is not lost on those present. Verse 19 says that they “sought to lay hands on him that very hour.”

English: Statue of Pontius Pilate in Bom Jesus, Braga, Portugal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In verses 19-26, they try to trap him into saying that they should not pay taxes to Caesar, so they could use that against him. He, of course, said exactly the opposite, noting whose face was on their coins. Yet they would later lie to Pilate, making the accusation that he really did say that.

Luke 21 has the story of the widow who gave all that she had at the offering box, saying that she had done more than any of those who had given larger amounts. He then begins telling them in great detail in most of the remainder of the chapter about the persecution, war and famine that awaited them because of him, along with the ultimate destruction of Jerusalem. He gives them many signs, so the Christians would know what to look for. it is because of this that many of them escaped and survived to continue to spread the gospel.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Colossians and Luke

Luke 17, Luke 18, Luke 19, Luke 20, Luke 21

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

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All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Concerning the parable of the Wicked Tenants in verses 9-18, we commented extensively in this previous post. To summarize, the owner of the vineyard equates to God. The tenants are God’s people. The servants that He sends are His prophets. After the servants have been treated violently, the owner sends His son, with whom they should be respectful. This of course is Jesus. The tenants killed the Son. Jesus asks them what they think the owner will do. He says that he will destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.

A vineyard with bird-netting. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Note that those hearing this parable did not have any trouble understanding what it meant because verse 16 says “When they heard this, they said, ‘Surely not!'” But Jesus answers quoting from Psalm 118:22: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This also was not lost on His listeners. The builders were the religious leaders of the day, and Jesus was the cornerstone. Then He added “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Here, Jesus has turned up the rhetoric, knowing that His time is coming soon; and the scribes and Pharisees were already plotting against Him. But His goal is not simply to anger them. The Lord is giving them fair warning and every chance in the world to see what should already have been obvious – this is the Messiah, the Son of God, in their midst.

(This year’s reading plan for Luke, Acts, and 1 and 2 Chronicles averages just 15 verses per day – 5 days per week!)
Schedule for this week
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from Luke here
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from 2 Chronicles here

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog. All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility. When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.