The theme of fruitfulness is found throughout the scriptures. Isaiah chapter 5 tells the story of a landowner who carefully cultivated a vineyard, anticipating a rich harvest of good grapes. But the landowner was deeply disappointed; his vineyard produced only bad fruit.
Of course, Isaiah’s story was really about God, Israel & creation. God rescued the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and planted them in the promised land. The goal was that Israel would produce a harvest of righteousness & justice. Through covenant obedience, Israel could enjoy divine blessing. Moreover, they would serve as a light to the nations. Through Israel, the one true God would reveal himself to all people. In this way, God’s blessing would flow out to all the world. The whole creation would be set right again.
With this background in mind, we can now consider a crucial story told by Jesus just before his suffering – the parable of the wicked tenants. This story is recorded by all the synoptic gospels. Here is Matthew’s version:
“There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.” (Matthew 21:33-36)
Jesus’ imagery would have been unmistakable. He’s obviously alluding to Isaiah 5. God is the vineyard owner; the people of Israel are the tenants who’ve rented the vineyard. The owner sent multiple servants to the tenants, expecting to receive his share of the harvest. These servants are clearly a reference to the long succession of Old Testament prophets. Again and again, God’s messengers exhorted Israel to bear the fruit of righteousness by obeying the covenant. But Israel instead produced only the rotten fruit of injustice, violence & immorality. Jesus levels the same accusation, and offers the same warning, to the Israel of his day that Isaiah had made to his generation over 7 centuries before!
But Jesus adds a twist to the story: “Last of all, [the vineyard owner] sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.” The wicked tenants obviously had nothing but contempt for the vineyard owner. Hoping to seize possession of the vineyard for themselves, they murder the son in cold blood.
In telling this story, Jesus makes a thinly veiled claim about his own identity. He is the Son of God – a title for the Messiah, the rightful king of Israel. Jesus also makes a dark prediction about his own forthcoming death.
Jesus posed a crucial question to his audience: “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
John the Baptist reminded the people of Israel that they couldn’t rely on the fact that they were Abraham’s physical descendants. They needed to repent & bear the fruit of righteousness. He sternly warned, “every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Jesus reiterates this same warning but adds a note of urgency. The vineyard owner’s son will be the last messenger. If they reject the son, their doom will be sealed. God’s wrath will certainly come crashing down upon their heads.
Within a generation, Jesus’ prophetic words came to fulfillment. In 66 AD, the Jews staged a massive revolt against their Roman overlords. The Roman legions crushed this rebellion with their characteristic brutality. Jerusalem & the temple were totally destroyed in 70 AD. Historians estimate that as many as one million Jews were slaughtered or sold into slavery during this cataclysm. Indeed, those wretches came to a wretched end.
Jesus quotes a curious passage from Psalm 118:22-23: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”
How does this verse shed light on the parable? It’s helpful to know that the Hebrew words for son (ben) and stone (eben) are very similar. The parable of the wicked tenants focuses on the rejection of the vineyard owner’s beloved son. Psalm 118 speaks of a stone which at first was rejected as unsuitable by the builders. But eventually, this stone finds the most honored place as the cornerstone.
In his typical cryptic manner, Jesus suggests that the rejection of the vineyard owner’s son will not be the final word. Just as the rejected stone was given the place of highest honor, so the rejected son will be given the highest honor as God’s anointed king.
But the son perishes at the hands of the wicked tenants! How could he possibly be vindicated? Those listeners who were willing to ponder Jesus words long enough might have come to the realization that his shameful, unjust murder could only be rectified if he was given given new life after death.
Jesus concludes with these words: “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” This oblique language is confusing to many Bible readers. What is Jesus getting at?
Israel had been chosen by God so that they might bear the fruit of righteousness, bringing blessing upon themselves while also serving as the channel through which God’s blessing would come to the whole world. But even though Israel had failed, this did not mean that God’s purposes had been permanently thwarted. Remember, God had solemnly promised that his covenant with Israel would be the vehicle by which all creation would be rescued. As Jesus himself once said, “Salvation is from the Jews.”
But how will exactly would that work out? The passage of the wicked tenants points us in the right direction.
First, the rejected son will be given the place of highest honor. By raising him from the dead, God marked out Jesus the rightful king of Israel, the one who would establish God’s kingdom over all the earth.
Second, there will be a radical reordering of God’s covenant people. Although some Jews responded to Jesus in loyal obedience, the nation of Israel as a whole had rejected her own Messiah. As the Apostle John wrote: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” The kingdom of God would be taken away from these hard-hearted people. They were wicked tenants who would soon be destroyed.
But God was about to do something new & marvelous. The kingdom of God would pass to a group of people who would succeed in producing the right kind of fruit.
But who exactly is this mysterious group of people? The clue is found in Jesus final statement: “Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” As we’ve noted, the stone is the son, the Messiah. He will become the cornerstone of the new temple which God will build. He will be the standard by which all else will be measured. All the dark forces which stand against him will be obliterated.
But the Messiah’s loyal people will share in his status as the true Israel. Israel will no longer be defined by ethnicity but by allegiance to Jesus. The king will lead his people in righteousness & justice. The vineyard owner will at last reap the good fruit which he always wanted.
You simply cannot comprehend the story of the Bible without recognizing that the church is the true Israel. Israel is no longer defined by physical descent but by the fruitfulness which comes from following Jesus.
All this has nothing to do with the modern state of Israel, where the vast majority of ethnic Jews reject Jesus as king. Of course, the Apostle Paul would insist that (despite their present rejection) ethnic Jews are always welcome to join the new covenant people. But membership in the true Israel comes only through loyalty to the king of the Jews.
