1Then He began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 2Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. 3And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. 5And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. 6Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, "They will respect my son.' 7But those vinedressers said among themselves, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 8So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.
9"Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. 10Have you not even read this Scripture:
| 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 11This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'?" |
12And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.
I hadn't realized before that this is still in answer to their questions of where Jesus got the authority to do what He is doing. Jesus had replied to them that He will not tell them. Then He immediately told them a parable and quoted scripture that pretty much said where His authority comes from. The amazing thing is that even though they recognized that this parable was against them, they still didn't hear their answer!
I think there is more to this lesson here than the obvious lesson about God being like the owner of the vineyard, the chief priests and scribes being like these wicked vinedressers, Jesus being the son who was sent and killed, and Jesus being the rejected stone who becomes the chief cornerstone. Notice how Jesus is giving them the opportunity to understand? He doesn't just say I won't tell you and leave it at that. He tells them a parable so that if they open their hearts they would get the answer to the question they asked.
These are the chief priests and scribes that are supposed to condemn Him to death. Jesus needs them to do this, this is their destiny. But still, Jesus shows them the path that can change their destiny if they but recognize it. Yes, the chief priests and scribes actions were planned for the path that Jesus must follow. But I believe God would not force such a downfall on anyone who was seeking salvation. Jesus offers them the chance to redeem themselves. If they had taken it, I'm sure God in all His power would have found another way to continue Jesus toward the cross. Instead, they turned away from what was offered.
Do you ever feel like you are in such a terrible situation that there is no way out? Jesus will always give us a helping hand out of any situation whether we ask for it or not. There is no path that we are ever on that is so set in stone that it can't be changed without the help of Jesus. We just have to open our hearts to recognize what is offered us.