Do you ever get frustrated when you see injustice in the world around you?
No matter your nationality, your background, your religion, or your political views, you’re likely familiar with the sense of righteous anger that wells up when evil seems to triumph over good.
And what makes it worse is that we all see injustice perpetuated again and again. How do we maintain a sense of hope and continue fighting for what’s right when it feels like the injustice will continue forever?
Jesus felt this same frustration when He saw injustice in His world 2,000 years ago. Let’s take a look at what Jesus had to say about God’s patience and commitment to justice in the parable of the tenants.
What Is a Parable?
A parable is a simple story that uses everyday imagery to reveal deep spiritual truths. Jesus didn’t invent parables, but He was a master parable teller, using them to teach timeless lessons about God’s kingdom.
Parables invited listeners to lean in, reflect, and wrestle with what Jesus was really saying. For those with open hearts, these simple stories revealed deep spiritual truths. But for those who resisted, the meaning remained hidden.
Explore the Ultimate Guide to the Parables of Jesus.
Where Does the Parable of the Tenants Appear in Scripture?
The parable of the tenants appears in the three synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. You can find those accounts in Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, and Luke 20:9-19.
A Parable of the Tenants Summary
- A landowner plants a vineyard.
- Before leaving on a long journey, the landowner leases his vineyard to tenant farmers.
- When harvest time arrives, the landowner sends a servant to collect his share of the produce. But the tenant farmers beat the servant and send him away empty-handed.
- The landowner sends more servants to collect his produce. But the tenant farmers beat (and sometimes even kill) these men as well.
- Finally, the landowner sends his son, believing that, surely, the tenant farmers will show him the respect he deserves.
- But the tenant farmers kill the son, believing that doing so will allow them to take possession of his inheritance.
- Jesus ends the parable with a question: “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
- The answer? “He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
Who’s Who in the Parable?
Every parable contains people, objects, or animals to which Jesus gives spiritual meaning. This parable is no different. So before we explore what this parable means, we need to find out who and what each thing in this parable represents.
- The landowner: God.
- The tenants: Humanity.
- The vineyard: The world, which God created and left in the care of humanity.
- The landowner’s servants: God’s prophets. In the centuries before Jesus’ time, the prophets were ordinary men and women who would bring God’s Word to His people and the surrounding nations. When God’s people didn’t like what the prophets had to say, they sometimes reacted violently.
- The landowner’s son: Jesus, the Son of God, sent by His Father to humanity with a message of good news. He was ultimately killed by them as well.
The Parable of the Tenants Explained
The parable of the tenants makes two things clear.
First, God cares about humanity. This truth is seen through the landowner’s patience with the tenant farmers. Despite their bad behavior, the landowner cared about them enough to give them repeated chances to do the right thing. Likewise, God gives all of us repeated opportunities to follow Him and do the right thing, despite our continued bad behavior.
Second, God cares about justice. This truth is seen through the ending of this parable. While the landowner was patient with the tenants, his patience didn’t last forever. Justice was coming for the tenants who murdered his servants and son. Likewise, God is holy and just, and He’ll only allow humanity’s continued bad behavior and injustice to a point. Eventually, He will return to avenge injustice and make all things right.
The Context of the Parable of the Tenants
This parable wasn’t written to us, but it was spoken to real people in a real moment. Understanding that moment helps us see what Jesus meant more clearly.
The parable of the tenants took place at a high-stakes moment in Jesus’ life. In all three gospel accounts, Jesus told this parable shortly after His triumphal entry, the moment in which He entered Jerusalem on a donkey, welcomed by crowds of Jewish people as their future king.
Religious Leaders Question Jesus
This reaction to Jesus’ arrival provoked mounting pressure from the religious leaders of the time. As Jesus taught His followers at the temple, the religious leaders questioned Jesus’ authority, asking Him where He received His power. This exchange served as a springboard into the parable of the tenants—the story of another son whose authority was questioned by people in service to his father.
Jesus made it clear that the religious leaders were the tenant farmers in the parable, and that “the kingdom of God would be taken away from them and given to a people who would produce its fruit.”
Following the parable of the tenants, Jesus didn’t mince words with the religious leaders. Jesus made it clear that the religious leaders were the tenant farmers in the parable, and that “the kingdom of God would be taken away from them and given to a people who would produce its fruit.” In this statement, Jesus foretold something that wouldn’t happen until after His death, resurrection, and ascension—that non-Jewish people would one day be welcomed into the family of God, as well.
Naturally, the religious leaders were angered by Jesus' words. They ramped up their questions for Him, searching for a way to trap Him with His words so they could call for His arrest. But Jesus, knowing their hearts, was always able to find a wise response to their questions.
Jesus Responds With Wisdom
The religious leaders asked Jesus questions like “whose son is the Messiah?” and “what is the most important commandment?” and “what will marriage look like in the resurrection?” But they eventually realized that trapping Jesus in His words wasn’t going to work. And all three gospel accounts include an interesting detail—from that day on, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.
At this point, the religious leaders knew they only had one option left if they wanted to be rid of Jesus. An option that would involve drumming up false charges and enlisting the help of one of Jesus’ 12 closest disciples.
Jesus knew this was where His story was headed. He said as much during the parable of the tenants. But He also knew that, one day, all things would be set right. And it was the joy of that future day that gave Him the strength He needed to endure the cross and save humanity from their sins.
What the Parable of the Tenants Means Now
Injustice is all around us. But it won’t last forever.
The parable of the tenants speaks to both of these truths. It recognizes that terrible things happen in the world around us, and sometimes those things happen again and again. There’s nothing sugarcoated about it.
But those injustices won’t happen forever. A day is coming when God will return to make all things right. And just like Jesus, the joy of that future day can propel us to continue doing the right thing, even when the odds don’t look great.
This parable also encourages us to trust in God’s patience as we wait for His return. None of us will live a perfect life, and God doesn’t expect it of us. Instead, He simply wants us to follow Him to the best of our ability, and ask Him for help and forgiveness when we mess up. When we live this way, we’ll be met with God’s mercy and grace. His judgment is reserved for unrepentant hearts who seek to perpetuate injustice in the world around them.
2 Truths to Hold On to From the Parable of the Tenants
1. God cares about you.
That’s why He’s patient with you, even when you mess up and sin. He knows your heart and knows the extent to which you want to follow Him. If you trust Him and continue to do your best to love Him and others, He will slowly but surely make you more and more like His Son, Jesus.
2. God cares about justice.
God is holy and just, and He will only allow injustice to continue for so long in the world. Eventually, He will return to make all things right. The joy of this future day can help us continue to seek justice in the present, even when injustice feels overwhelming.
Next Steps
Reflect: How have you experienced God’s patience? What does His patience tell you about how much He loves you? Spend some time meditating on God’s patience.
Pray: Father, thank You for Your patience and Your justice. Knowing these truths about You gives me hope for the future—hope that You’ll continue walking by my side, even when I mess up and have to start over. And hope that one day, You’ll make all things right. Would You show me ways I can bring this hope to the world around me? In Jesus’ name, amen.
Take Action: What injustices get you the most fired up? How could you do something about that injustice, trusting that God will one day make all things right?
Read the Parable for Yourself 📖
He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’
But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:
“‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people. Luke 20:9-19 NIV