Who?    Jesus
What?   Teaching the Passover crowd through a parable
Where?  In the temple in Jerusalem
When?   The week of His crucifixion
Why?     To illustrate truth about God the Father and Himself
How did the people respond to this parable?  With understanding and this can be ascertained by their response – “May it never be!”

The Parable of the Vine-growers (Tenants)   
(NASB) Luke 20:9-16 “…‘A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.
10 ‘At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
11 ‘And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed.
12 ‘And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out.
13 ‘The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’
14 ‘But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’
15 ‘So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.  What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
16 ‘He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.’  When they heard it, they said, ‘May it never be!’”

  What are some of the lessons from this parable?
*Jesus was talking about God the Father as the owner of His vineyard
*God sent prophets time and again and again…and they were ill-treated by God’s people
*God sent the prophets to warn against unbelief and encourage His people to trust His words of truth
*God sent the prophets to warn of His judgment on their lack of faith
*Jesus – the beloved Son of God was sent to Israel – it was this Jesus, standing in their midst in the temple, teaching them God’s words of truth
*Jesus – would die on a cross outside the walls of Jerusalem
*Jesus warned these very people before they threw Him out and killed Him on Golgotha
*Jesus told this parable and the people understood His meaning – that God would come and destroy the vine-growers (entrusted with God’s truths)
*God would then give the vineyard to others (Gentiles)
*The response of the crowd proved they understood, “May it never be!”

How are you being a trustworthy keeper of God’s truths?