IMMEDIATELY after answering the question of the priests and the rulers,
Jesus gave three parables, one directly after another; and all aimed at
his enemies. The first was "The Parable of the Two Sons."
"What do you think of this?" said Jesus. "There was a man who had two
sons. He went to the older son, and said to him, 'My son, go and work in
the vineyard today.' 'Yes, sir,' said the young man. 'I will go.' But
although he had given his promise to go, he broke it, for he did not go.
"Then the father spoke to his second son, as he had spoken to the first.
'My son, go and work today in the vineyard.' This one said to his
father, 'I will not go.' But afterward he was sorry, and went into the
vineyard to work. Now tell me, which of these two sons did as his father
told him to do?"
They answered him, "The second."
"I tell you truly," said Jesus, "that the tax-gatherers and the bad
women are going into the kingdom of God instead of you, who believe
yourselves to be better than others. For John the Baptist came and
showed you how to live, and you would not believe him nor do as he said.
But the tax-gatherers and the bad women believed him and turned from
their evil ways to God. And even when you saw them turning from evil to
good, you would not seek God after them and follow the words of John."
Then Jesus spoke to these rulers another parable, called "The Parable of
the Wicked Vine-dressers."
"Listen to another parable," he said. "A man who owned some land planted
upon it a vineyard of grape-vines. He put a fence around it, dug a
wine-vat inside it, and built a tower in the middle of the vineyard, so
that a watchman might be on the lookout against thieves. Then he let it
out to vine-dressers, to take care of it, and at the time of ripe grapes
to send him his share of the fruit or its worth in money. After leasing
the vineyard, he went away to another country.
[Illustration: Vineyard and watch-tower in Bethlehem]
"When the time for the vintage drew near, the time for gathering the
grapes, he sent his servants for his share of the fruit. But instead of
giving him what belonged to him, the vine-dressers seized his servants.
One servant they flogged and drove away, another they killed, and a
third they stoned. A second time the owner sent some other servants,
more than before; and the vine-dressers treated them in the same way.
And so it was with many others; some they beat and some they killed.
"The owner of the vineyard had one son, a young man, whom he loved very
dearly. Last of all he sent this son to them, saying to himself, 'They
will surely respect my son, and will not treat him as they have treated
the servants.'
"But those men said, as soon as they saw him, 'This is the one who is to
own the vineyard when his father dies. Let us kill him, and then the
vineyard will be ours.' So when he came, they seized him and killed him,
and flung his body outside the vineyard.
"Now, I will ask you," said Jesus, "when the owner of that vineyard
comes, what will he do to those vine-dressers?"
They answered, "He will utterly destroy those vile, cruel men, and will
lease his vineyard to other vine-dressers, who will give him every year
his share of the fruit."
"Have you never read this verse," said Jesus.
"The stone which the builders refused
Has now become the chief and corner-stone;
This is the work of the Lord,
And it is wonderful in our sight?"
"I tell you," added Jesus, "that the kingdom of God shall be taken from
you and given to a people that brings to God its fruits. Yes, and he who
falls on this stone shall be dashed to pieces; and whoever this stone
falls on shall be ground to powder!"
As the chief priests and Pharisees and rulers heard these parables, they
knew at once that they were spoken against them. They were eager to
seize Jesus, but were afraid of the crowds around, for all the common
people looked upon him as a prophet speaking God's word.
Jesus gave a third parable: that of "The Marriage of the King's Son."
This, given in the Temple, was in some parts like another, "The Parable
of the Great Feast," which he had already given in Perea; but other
parts of it, as we shall see, were different from that parable.
"There was a certain king," said Jesus, "who gave a great supper at the
marriage of his son. He sent out his servants to those who had been
invited to the feast, but they would not come. Once again he sent some
other servants, and told them to say to the guests:
"'Here is my supper all ready, the oxen and fat cattle have been killed;
everything is ready; come to the feast.'
"But they paid no attention to his words, and went off, one to his farm
and another to his shop. And some seized his servants, ill-treated them
and even killed them. This made the king very angry. He sent his army,
put those murderers to death and burned up their city.
"Then the king said to his servants, 'The marriage feast is ready; but
those who were the invited guests were not fit for it. Go out into the
streets of the city and the roads in the country, and ask everybody whom
you meet to come to the wedding.' The servants went forth into the
roads, and brought to the feast all whom they met, both the bad and the
good. So the marriage supper had plenty of guests.
"When the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man among them who
was not wearing a wedding robe. For as each guest came to the house, a
beautiful robe was given him, to be worn at the supper.
"'My friend,' said the king to this man, 'how was it that you came in
here without a wedding robe?'
"The man stood silent, for he had nothing to say. Then said the king to
his servants:
"'Tie this man hand and foot, and throw him out of doors into the
darkness. There men will wail and gnash their teeth. For I tell you that
many are invited, but few are chosen.'"
The Head on the Coin