Thematic Bible: Of the vineyard


Thematic Bible



I will sing about the one I love, a song about my loved one's vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted it with the finest vines. He built a tower in the middle of it and even hewed out a winepress there. He expected it to yield good grapes, but it yielded worthless grapes. So now, residents of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard. read more.
What more could I have done for My vineyard than I did? Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes, did it yield worthless grapes? Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or weeded; thorns and briers will grow up. I will also give orders to the clouds that rain should not fall on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, the plant He delighted in. He looked for justice but saw injustice, for righteousness, but heard cries of wretchedness.

On that day sing about a desirable vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it regularly. I guard it night and day so that no one disturbs it.


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. They watched closely and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, so they could catch Him in what He said, to hand Him over to the governor's rule and authority.


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