Parables and Persecution

"Later, when there was to be a grape harvest, the man sent a servant to the farmers to receive his share of the crop, but the farmers beat the servant and sent him back empty handed. The man sent another servant but they stoned him, wounding him in the head and sent him away with insults.

"The next one they killed.

"He sent many servants one after another but some were beaten and some were killed.

"Finally he sent his own son, saying, surely they will respect my son.

"But the farmers conspired together, 'This is the heir, let's kill him and then the vineyard will be ours.' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Now what do you suppose the owner will do to those farmers? He will swoop down on those villains, kill them, and lease the vineyard to others who will give him the fruits in due season."

When they heard this they said, "May this not come to pass," because they knew that the owner represented God, the farmers were the priests and other leaders and the servants were the prophets that their ancestors had killed.

Jesus replied, "Haven't you ever read the scripture, 'The stone the builders rejected has not become the head of the corner - this was marvelous in our eyes.'? I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of the Kingdom. Whoever falls on this stone will be broken and whoever this stone falls on will be crushed to powder."

They were furious because they knew He was talking about them; they wanted to kill Him but they were afraid of the people. Yet even among the leaders there were many who did believe in Him, but they wouldn't acknowledge it openly or they would have been put out of the synagogues. They loved the praise and flattery of men more than the glory and honor of God.

But Jesus called out to the crowd, "Anyone who believes and has faith in me does no just believe in me only, but in Him who sent me. Anyone who acknowledges me also acknowledges He who sent me. I have come as the light of the world so that everyone who believes and has faith in me will not remain in darkness. But if anyone hears my words and does not believe, I don't condemn them; I didn't come to condemn the world but to bring it salvation.

"Anyone who rejects me and does not receive my words will be condemned in the last day by the words I have spoken. I have not spoken of myself - the Father who sent me commanded me what to say. I know what the Father has given me to speak leads to eternal life, so I speak just what He commanded me."

Then He told them another parable on the same subject, "The Kingdom of God is like a wedding feast a king gave for his son. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they refused to come.

"Then he sent more servants to let them know that the meat and all the rest of the food for the feast was ready. 'Come to the wedding feast.' But they ignored the invitation; some went to their fields, some to their businesses. Others grabbed his servants and beat them and abusively insulted them and some they killed.

"When the king heard about it he was furious. He sent his army and destroyed the murderers and burnt their city to the ground.

"But the wedding feast was ready so the king told his servants, 'The invited guests were not worthy, so go out on the highways and byways and invite everyone you see. They did so and brought them, both good and evil, so the wedding feast was filled with guests.

"But when the king went to see the guests, he saw one who still had his ordinary clothes on and not the fine wedding garment the king had provided. He asked the man, 'Why did you come in to the feast without putting on the proper attire?' But the man was speechless.

"So the king told his servants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are called but few are chosen.

Life of Christ Part Forty-Five - The Leaders Try to Entrap Jesus

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