Thematic Bible: Enunciates


Thematic Bible



Then He began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. At harvest time he sent a slave to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers. But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. read more.
Again he sent another slave to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. Then he sent another, and they killed that one. [He] also [sent] many others; they beat some and they killed some. "He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' "But those tenant farmers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!' So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. "Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. Haven't you read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes ?" Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.

"Listen to another parable: There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. When the grape harvest drew near, he sent his slaves to the farmers to collect his fruit. But the farmers took his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. read more.
Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. Finally, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. "But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance!' So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?" "He will completely destroy those terrible men," they told Him, "and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at the harvest." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes ? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruit. [ Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder!"] When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they knew He was speaking about them. Although they were looking for a way to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they regarded Him as a prophet.

Then He began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a slave to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent yet another slave, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. read more.
And he sent yet a third, but they wounded this one too and threw him out. "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.' "But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, 'This is the heir. Let's kill him, so the inheritance will be ours!' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others." But when they heard this they said, "No-never!" But He looked at them and said, "Then what is the meaning of this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected- this has become the cornerstone ? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and if it falls on anyone, it will grind him to powder!" Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on Him that very hour, because they knew He had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

Then He told him: "A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. At the time of the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who were invited, 'Come, because everything is now ready.' "But without exception they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.' read more.
"Another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.' "And another said, 'I just got married, and therefore I'm unable to come.' "So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!' " 'Master,' the slave said, 'what you ordered has been done, and there's still room.' "Then the master told the slave, 'Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will enjoy my banquet!' "

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out his slaves to summon those invited to the banquet, but they didn't want to come. read more.
Again, he sent out other slaves, and said, 'Tell those who are invited: Look, I've prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet. ' "But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the others seized his slaves, treated them outrageously and killed them. The king was enraged, so he sent out his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned down their city. "Then he told his slaves, 'The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore, go to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.' So those slaves went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests. But when the king came in to view the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding. So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

"But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'My son, go, work in the vineyard today.' "He answered, 'I don't want to!' Yet later he changed his mind and went. Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. " 'I will, sir,' he answered. But he didn't go. read more.
"Which of the two did his father's will?" "The first," they said. Jesus said to them, "I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you!

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers.