Matthew 21:33–43, 45–46
Jesus said: "Listen to another parable. There was a
landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in
it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another
country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to
collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed
another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first;
and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying,
'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to
themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his
inheritance." So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and
killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and
lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the
harvest time." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the
scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? Therefore I tell
you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that
produces the fruits of the kingdom. When the chief priests and the Pharisees
heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted
to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a
prophet."
Reflection
How does this parable relate to me?
What does Jesus expect of me?