It is easy to look back and feel complacent about the condemnation of the leaders of the Jews in today’s parable. Its meaning is clear. The servants were the prophets, like Jeremiah, who was thrown down a well (Jer. 38:1-6), and Zechariah, who was stoned to death (Chron. 24:21). The son was Jesus, who was brutally killed outside his city of Jerusalem. Isaiah, writing in a time when Assyria was threatening both kingdoms, had his predictions fulfilled in 722 BC when the Northern Kingdom fell, and later in 701 BC when the Assyrians overran the Kingdom of Judah, devastating the land.
However, the vineyard can also represent God’s creation, his wondrous gift to mankind. We are its tenants, and great destruction is taking place. Living things are becoming extinct, the planet is heating up and untold wealth is hoarded by the few, who even cut off meagre funding to the poorest of the world. His gift is meant to be shared.
There are, however, the prophets of today who are trying to make their voice heard. There are creative people who experiment with new methods of green farming, those who strive to provide new forms of energy, those who patiently make new habitats for wildlife and those who cherish the poor.
We need to take heart from the Book of the Apocalypse that tells us that good will always triumph in the end.