Parable of the Tenants

Jesus told a parable about a man who planted a vineyard and rented it out to tenants. Whenever he sent his servants to collect the rent, the tenants would beat the servant and send him away empty handed. Eventually, in desperation, he sent his son. The tenants seized the opportunity and killed the son and threw him out of the vineyard. Jesus asked,

What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others (Mark 12:9).

The chief priests and the teachers of the law held political power under the Romans. They knew that Jesus parable was directed against them and from that time on they began to look for ways to arrest him.

The point of the parable is that God will destroy the existing tenants. The tenants represent the political powers of that time and our time. When God brings in his kingdom, he will remove the existing political powers. A kingdom cannot have two kings. A nation cannot have two Presidents or two parliaments.

Before the Kingdom of God can become a reality, all other kings, governments, parliaments and political powers will have to disappear. They will not be changed by the Kingdom of God, but will be gone. This means that we need a way of living in human community that does not need governments and political powers.