He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’
But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?’ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest Him immediately, because they knew He had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.
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Jesus tells this parable…and it says that the religious leaders KNEW He was speaking about them. They understood the parable! They knew He was saying He was sent by God. But instead of believing in Jesus they became angry and plotted to kill Him. Can you imagine? Understanding what Jesus was teaching and refusing to believe? Don’t our lives reflect that sometimes? We know what God has required of us in scripture, and yet we pick and choose what to follow and what to ignore. We say I won’t murder but I may hate. I won’t steal but I won’t give. I believe but I won’t talk about it. We become no different than the Pharisees when we believe this way. It’s all or nothing. What’s it going to be?
A Journey With Jesus 