Thematic Bible: Troubles
Thematic Bible
Labour » Troubles
Then He began to speak to them in stories. "A man once planted a vineyard and fenced it in and hewed out a wine-vat and built a watchtower; then he rented it to tenant farmers, and went abroad. At the proper time he sent a slave to the tenants to collect his part of the grape crop. But they took him and beat him and sent him back empty-handed. read more.
And again he sent another slave to them, and they beat his head and treated him shamefully. Then he sent a third one, and they killed him, and many others, some of whom they beat, some they killed. He had one more to send, his dearly loved son; at last he sent him to them, for he said to himself, 'They will surely respect my son.' But those tenants said among themselves, 'This is his heir; come on, let us kill him, and all that is coming to him will be ours.' So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come back and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.
And again he sent another slave to them, and they beat his head and treated him shamefully. Then he sent a third one, and they killed him, and many others, some of whom they beat, some they killed. He had one more to send, his dearly loved son; at last he sent him to them, for he said to himself, 'They will surely respect my son.' But those tenants said among themselves, 'This is his heir; come on, let us kill him, and all that is coming to him will be ours.' So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come back and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.
And as they received it, they began to grumble against the owner of the estate, and say, 'These last worked only one hour, and yet you have put them on the same footing with us who have borne the heavy burdens and scorching heat of the day.'
"Listen to another story. There was once an owner of an estate who planted a vineyard and built a fence around it, and hewed out a wine-vat in it, and built a tower, and rented it to tenant farmers, and then went abroad. But when the time for gathering grapes was near, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his rent. But the tenants took his slaves and beat the first one, killed the second, and stoned the third.