Mark 12: 1-12

The Parable of the Tenants

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’[fn]?”

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.

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Now, let’s discuss this in the comments below. Or, simply answer the following questions:

What did I learn about God?

What did I learn about people?

What does God want me to do?

For deeper study: David Guzik Commentary