Mark 12
The parable of the tenants
And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.
Jesus tells of a man who plants a vineyard and leases it to tenant farmers. When he sends servants to collect his share of the harvest, the tenants beat or kill each one; finally he sends his beloved son, and they murder him. The owner will destroy them and give the vineyard to others. The leaders realise the parable is aimed at them.
What does this mean?
'Husbandmen' (KJV) are tenant farmers. A 'winefat' (KJV) is the vat beneath a winepress, where the grape juice collects. 'The head of the corner' is the cornerstone or capstone, in a quotation from Psalm 118:22–23.
Historical context
The details echo Isaiah 5:1–7, where God's vineyard represents Israel; Jesus' version targets the tenants rather than the vineyard. Absentee landowners and resentful tenants were a familiar part of rural life in first-century Galilee.
Why does it matter?
The 'beloved son' recalls the voice at Jesus' baptism and transfiguration (1:11; 9:7). The parable is widely read as an allegory, with the owner as God, the servants as the prophets and the son as Jesus. The quoted psalm moves from rejection to vindication.
Editorial notes, not scripture.
Told in three Gospels
Matthew 21:33–46
The parable of the tenants
How Matthew tells it
Only Matthew has the leaders pronounce the tenants' fate themselves, and has Jesus say the kingdom will be given to 'a nation producing its fruit'. As in Luke, the son is thrown out of the vineyard before being killed; in Mark he is killed first. Matthew sets it between two other parables against the leaders.
Continue reading in Matthew →Luke 20:9–19
The parable of the tenants
How Luke tells it
In Luke the owner goes away "for a long time," and all three servants are beaten but none killed before the son. Luke lacks the hedge, winepress and tower of Mark and Matthew. Only Luke has the hearers reply "God forbid" ("May that never be!" in the WEB); in Matthew the hearers pronounce the verdict themselves.
Continue reading in Luke →How Mark tells it
In Mark the servants are sent one at a time, with mounting violence, and the son is killed first and then thrown out of the vineyard (Matthew and Luke reverse the order). Jesus answers his own question about what the owner will do, where in Matthew the hearers answer. Mark lacks Matthew's saying that the kingdom will be taken away.