Then he leased the vineyard to tenants and went abroad. In due time, he sent a servant to
receive from the tenants the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized the servant, struck
him and sent him back empty-handed. Again, the man sent another servant. They also struck
him on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent another, and they killed him. In the same
way they treated many others: some they beat up and others they killed. One was still left, his
beloved son. And so, last of all, he sent him to the tenants, for he said, ‘They will respect my son.’
But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let’s kill
him and the property will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the
vineyard. Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants
and give the vineyard to others.” And Jesus added, “Have you not read this text of the
Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected has become the keystone; this is the Lord’s
doing, and we marvel at it?” They wanted to arrest him, for they realized that Jesus meant this
parable for them, but they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Reflect

“The One sent by the Father.” Mark’s Gospel presents Jesus to be the Messiah who offered
himself for the salvation of the world. However, the people surrounding Jesus, including those
in his inner circle, did not know this. Consequently, there would be those who rejected Jesus’
offer of redemption. In today’s Gospel, Jesus narrated a parable – the parable of the wicked
tenants. The parable tells of a man who planted a vineyard and then leased it to tenants.
But the tenants did not want to share the fruits of the vineyard when harvest time came.
The wicked tenants shamed, struck, killed the servants sent by the owner of the vineyard.
They also killed the son of the owner whom the owner also sent to take the fruits of the
vineyard. The son in Jesus’ parable refers to himself as the one sent by the Father and
whom the wicked tenants rejected. Jesus further explained that the stone rejected by the
builders would become the keystone, and it is the Lord who did such marvelous thing. We
are merely tenants of the life entrusted to us. Whatever fruits our present life might produce
must be given back to God. To do so is to accept Jesus’ offer of redemption.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2024