The Woman At The Well

“There was a landowner who planted a vineyard….Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey (Matt21:33)

This parable tells us much about Jesus and man and their relationship. Jesus is the landowner who gave to Israel everything needed to flourish to show other nations what God has done for them. Israel and man was to produce much fruit (goodness) during their tenure. Everything was in place to ensure good results-prophets, commandments, religious leaders to “till the soil.” Man was to become like vines in the vineyard reaching up to heaven, entwining goodness in all men, making the vineyard the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus entrusted to tenants one of his most precious gifts-the earth and creatures of the earth.

By leasing the vineyard to man, one knows the time to produce fruit is limited-limited to man’s lifetime, to earth’s lifetime; knowing one day the Lord, the landowner, will return to claim the bounty of the harvest. The relationship is landowner to servant, not equals; man is not entitled to a share of the profits without the landowner’s consent. Trusting man to treat the vineyard with respect is God’s prerogative. It is assumed the tenants will also treat the landowner’s delegates with respect too.

Tilling the soil of the soul is hard work; sometimes a winepress is used. The winepress can remind man that man may have to undergo physical suffering to produce fruitfulness.

Man sometimes regresses, he sleeps, he gets weak, he gets angry at the landowner, is contemptible. Man doesn’t always submit to the will of God. Man can forget the harvest- the possibility of inheriting the kingdom. He forgets God is a generous, merciful landowner.

Prophets were sent as messengers; sent to Israel, to the precious vineyard, to assess the harvest. They were ignored; they were killed; the religious leaders began to think of their own welfare and not of the goodness of the landowner. Man did not ask forgiveness for his terrible deeds. The covenant God made with Israel continued.