Jesus taught His disciples using parables – short stories which explained spiritual concepts using familiar examples from the occupations and tasks of the day. In the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, recorded in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus drew from a previous parable told by the prophet Isaiah, almost seven centuries earlier.
Isaiah’s parable referred to God’s people as the fruit of a pleasant vineyard, planted and tended to by the Lord Himself. But despite God’s best efforts, the fruit of the harvest did not turn out well. People went their own way, with fruits that tended towards evil rather than good. God asked Himself what more He could have done to provide for His beloved vineyard.
4 What more could have been done to My vineyard
That I have not done in it?
Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes,
Did it bring forth wild grapes?
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant.
He looked for justice, but behold, oppression;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. Isaiah 5:4,7 (NKJV)
In Jesus’ later parable, His focus was not on the shortcomings of the people of the “vineyard”, but on those who were charged with “tending” to them. Instead of making it easier for people to turn to God, the religious leaders of the day added burdens and barriers between them, actually turning people away from the Lord.
This made Jesus quite upset. He had come not to condemn people, but to free them from the bondage of sin and death. The religious leaders of His day, fearing a loss of power and prestige, tried to block His way. They even sought to kill Him, which in the end, He permitted them to do as an atonement for sin.
Jesus confronted the leaders with this parable:
7 But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. Mark 12:7-8 (NKJV)
Jesus wanted to remove the sin which had placed a barrier between a holy God and all the people of the world, so He came to take on Himself the punishment and justice that our sin demands. Because of the cross, when we receive Him in faith, He is able to replace our corrupted nature with His own perfect holiness, allowing us to be reborn with an eternal life, empowered by the Holy Spirit. The religious leaders of the day were blind to this, perceiving Jesus instead to be nothing more than a threat to their own livelihood. They opposed and rejected Jesus, then turned Him over to the Romans to suffer the cruelest and most painful of deaths – severe beating followed by crucifixion.
Jesus laid down His life out of a deep love for all. This was the “more” He could do for His vineyard in Isaiah’s parable – to take on the suffering and death we deserve Himself, so that we may have eternal life with Him.
The Father raised Jesus from the dead after three days in the tomb, glorifying Him, and He would shortly thereafter ascend into heaven. In our future today, Jesus has promised to return in glory to reign over all the earth. Isaiah would go onto give us many other pieces of the prophetic puzzle. These come together to show a picture of a Messiah who would be born of a virgin, work divine miracles, experience a brutal suffering and death, yet see life again, returning to rule and reign over the entire world from His throne in Jerusalem, ushering in an era of global peace.
Jesus referred to the vine and the vineyard in several other of His parables. He especially instructs all of us to stay connected to Him each day in order to live a fruitful Christian life. Speaking of Himself, Jesus taught:
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5 (NKJV)
Reflection
The fifth chapter of Galatians talks about the good fruit that comes from being connected to the spiritual nourishment of the Holy Spirit. Our sinful and selfish characteristics are removed, a little at a time, as a holy and peaceful character slowly begins to takes their place. It is a lifelong process of progress, not perfection, with many failures along the way. But the Good Vinedresser is loving and patient with us, despite our missteps and poor choices, allowing us to face new and better days ahead in His grace.
Lord God, thank You for loving me. I need You today and every day. Help me to stay connected to the vine of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Forgive all of my sins and shortcomings and help me to repair the damage that I have done in the past and to forgive others who have hurt me. Prepare me to be a better citizen of heaven by reflecting Your grace, love, and charity to Your vineyard on earth today. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
May the grace, love, protection, and forgiveness of God be with you as He leads your way today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 