 The Pharisees of Jesus' time did not believe He was who He said, the Son of God, the Messiah. They tested Him with difficult questions, but He often answered with parables. Here is one that points to the Pharisees' rejection of Him:
There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another and stoned a third. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. Finally, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?" "He will completely destroy those terrible men," they told him, "and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest." A parable is a story with a spiritual meaning. In this parable, God the Father is the landowner and the Pharisees are the wicked tenants. The servants are the prophets whom the Jews mistreated and killed over the ages. The landowner's son is Jesus. In the same way the tenants threw the son out of the vineyard and killed him, the Jews beat Jesus and threw Him out of the city of Jerusalem and crucified Him. Think About It The Pharisees spoke their own judgment after Jesus asked what should be done with the wicked tenants. They said, "He will completely destroy those terrible men." If I choose to reject Jesus, that is what will happen to me too. Why should I reject Jesus? He has done everything to save me from destruction. In the parable, the landowner (God) did everything he could to provide a good crop and protect it. He planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. In the same way, God has loved me and sent Jesus, His only Son, to take on my punishment on the cross to provide forgiveness and eternal life with Him. I cannot reject my Lord and Savior. No! I will love and serve Him and others. Pray About It Thank you, Lord, for the gift of salvation and eternal life. I do not deserve it, but you give an abundant life to me, more than I could ever hope for. Thank you for peace and joy that come every day from knowing you are with me and that you will never ever leave me. Amen.
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