The key to this parable is producing the fruit:
- It was the produce that the tenants wouldn't give to the landowner.
- At the end, Jesus says to the chief priests and elders: "The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."
What Jesus said must have had a dramatic effect on those who heard him.
For 2,000 years, the Jewish people knew that they were God's chosen people. They had separated themselves from other nations (at God's direction) and treasured the bond between God and themselves. God had taken them as his bride.
When you think of all that background, imagine the reaction when Jesus said that the vineyard (the Kingdom of God) would be taken from them and given to other people, like the Gentiles.
And now the focus of Jesus' words becomes more personal. The vineyard has been given to us. What we doing with it? What are the fruits that the Lord expects this vineyard to produce?
The Old Testament and New Testament have a lot to say about what God expects form his people - mercy, justice, care for those who are left out, and so forth.
So that is the question. What is the fruit that we're supposed to be producing for the Lord?
How are you using the gifts you've been given?
- Little Burgundy Book, Diocese of Saginaw