Thematic Bible: Malfeasance in office


Thematic Bible



Then he proceeded to address them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, fenced it round, dug a trough for the winepress, and built a tower; then he leased it to vinedressers and went abroad. When the season came round he sent a servant to the vine dressers to collect from the vine dressers some of the produce of the vineyard, but they took and flogged him and sent him off with nothing. read more.
Once more he sent them another servant; him they knocked on the head and insulted. He sent another, but they killed him. And so they treated many others; some they flogged and some they killed. He had still one left, a beloved son; he sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But these vinedressers said to themselves, 'Here is the heir; come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be our own.' So they took and killed him, and threw him outside the vineyard.

Then he proceeded to tell the people the following parable. "A man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went abroad for some time. When the season came round he sent a servant to the vine dressers to receive part of the produce of the vineyard, but the vinedressers flogged him and sent him off with nothing. He proceeded to send another servant, and they flogged him too, insulted him and sent him off with nothing. read more.
Then he sent still a third, but this one they wounded and threw outside. Said the owner of the vineyard, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the vinedressers saw him, they argued to themselves, 'Here is the heir, let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.' And they threw him outside the vineyard and killed him. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

He also said to the disciples: "There was a rich man who had a factor, and this factor, he found, was accused of misapplying his property. So he summoned him and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Hand in your accounts; you cannot be factor any longer.' The factor said to himself, 'What am I to do, now that my master is taking the factorship away from me? I am too weak to dig, I am ashamed to beg. read more.
Ah, I know what I will do, so that people will welcome me to their houses when I am deposed from the factorship.' So he summoned every single one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much are you owing to my master?' 'A hundred barrels of oil,' he said. The factor told him, 'Here is your bill; sit down at once and enter fifty barrels.' Then he asked another, 'And how much do you owe?' 'A hundred quarters of wheat,' he said. 'Here is your bill,' said the factor, 'just enter eighty.'