August 18 - Proper Week 16

Parable of the Wicked Tenants - Who are those church leaders?

Mark 11:12-33 (CEB)

Parable of the tenant farmers

12 Jesus spoke to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip. 2 When it was time, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants his share of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again the landowner sent another servant to them, but they struck him on the head and treated him disgracefully. 5 He sent another one; that one they killed. The landlord sent many other servants, but the tenants beat some and killed others. 6 Now the landowner had one son whom he loved dearly. He sent him last, thinking, They will respect my son. 7 But those tenant farmers said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 They grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 “So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this scripture, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 11 The Lord has done this, and it’s amazing in our eyes?”[a]

12 They wanted to arrest Jesus because they knew that he had told the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

Reflection Notes:

Jesus tells a parable to the religious leaders and it is pointed directly to them. They truly do not understand what Jesus has been about and they will proceed to kill him because they fear what he is doing. Religious leaders over time have had a hard time following God and time and time again God has provided leaders and continues to provide leaders. So we ask how can we be the best leaders, most faithful leaders, be good listeners and followers of God’s ways. We are called to be constant learners of God’s ways.