The Renter's Parable

33“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

41“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“ ‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’^h ?

43“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”ⁱ

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. (Matthew 21:33-46)

Thoughts: This could be called "The Parable of the Landlord and the Renters."  God is the landlord, and we are the renters.  God made the world, and designed it beautifully.  We as renters have not been giving the landlord His due- acting as if we own it ourselves.  God cares and wants us to pay Him homage- and He sends His prophets whom we kill, and then His Son whom we crucify.  The kingdom will be taken away from the Jews and given to the Gentiles.  Whether this was written in 80 AD or even 100 AD it doesn't matter.  The writer had no real inkling that the Gospel of Christ would go to every nation and have adherants in every nation.