Parable Of The Vineyard

12:1 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard.  He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ² At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

⁶ “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷ “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.¹⁰ Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
¹¹ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

¹² Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Mark observes that Jesus begins to teach in parables.  Parabolic teaching has not been a centerpiece of Mark so far.  While Luke and Matthew abound with parables, Mark seems to primarily orient his gospel around the parable of the soils.  Certainly, there are very few parables with extended narratives.  It seems that this extended parable may serve the same function as the one about the types of ground.  Just as the parable of the soils is told to interpret Jesus ministry, the parable that will follow is told to interpret the passion narrative that will follow.

An unidentified man plants a vineyard.  This is an effort with a large up front effort for a later pay-off.  Not only must the grapevines mature, the vineyard also is at risk from nature and from mischief.  The vineyard owner knowing this builds a wall around his project.  He digs out a pit where the juice of the grapes will be pressed to make wine.  Finally, he puts up a tower so that someone can be constantly on the lookout.

For whatever reason, the owner decides to go away.  Having already invested so much, it is no surprise that he finds farmers to care for his ground.  When the time for harvest arrives, he sends a servant to collect some of the fruit.  Perhaps the workers wages are paid with the fruit that is to be left behind.

The workers, however, are unwilling to part with any of the fruit of their labor.  Rather than give the servant what he has asked for they seize him, beat him and send him away with nothing.  Just verses earlier, the Jewish leaders have been asking about authority.  Clearly these vineyard workers reject the authority of the master and believe they are the ones who have authority.  They take the masters proxy and treat him like a thief who has come to take what does not belong to him.

The master behaves with an odd forbearance that strains credulity.  Another servant is sent and rejected with an emphasis that he is struck on the head.  This calls to mind the alternate meaning of the word for "head" that can also mean source.  It is clear that these tenants are striking out against not the servant but the authority that he represents.

The farmers continue to escalate against the series of messengers as they move from assault to murder.  The owner's patience is inexplicable in any human terms.  Why does he continue to send anyone other than the police as the workers essentially claim ownership over the vineyard?  Is he fair to the servants he continues to send?  Is he asking for volunteers?

The land holder continues with his unreasonable approach by finally deciding to send his son.  Why does he think that the treatment will be any different?  He convinces himself that this is a good idea by believing that the renters will respond to clear authority.

They do not.  In fact, they see the arrival of the son as their golden opportunity.  Their irrational thinking leads them to believe that they will become the vineyard's rightful owners.  Do they believe that the owner has died and the son is claiming his inheritance?  If that is the case, killing him will revert the land to those who have been present on it.  

Whatever the case, the son is killed and his body is not treated with any respect and is thrown outside the wall of the vineyard.  The rhetorical question is asked about what the vineyard owner will do.  Finally, Jesus tells us, the owner will act, kill the tenants and get some new ones.  The very action that the renters believe will make the property theirs is the one that removes it from their control and brings their demise.

This calls to mind part of Psalm 118 to Jesus who suggests that these tenants have rejected the stone that will be used by God to be the capstone to hold the span that crosses the gap between God and humanity.  Like those who have been entrusted with the vineyard, the Jewish religious leaders have shamefully treated all of God's true messengers and soon will kill even God's son in their attempt to wrest control of the world from God.

The religious leaders seem to miss most of what God is revealing, but they have 20/20 vision when it comes to the people.  They do understand that Jesus speaks the parable about them, but their fear of the crowd leaves them fuming and planning in private about how they will get Jesus.