One of the parables of Jesus Christ, given in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, tells about evil winegrowers. As presented by all three authors, it sounds almost identical, with only minor differences in details. Jesus Christ told this parable in the temple, being there the day after His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Let us remember its text, because it contains a deep meaning that has not lost its relevance today.
A parable that has survived time
The parable of the winegrowers says that a certain owner, having planted a vineyard, took care to surround it with a fence, erect a tower and build a winepress - a reservoir for obtaining grape juice. Having entrusted further work to his workers ─ winegrowers, he retired. When the time came to harvest the harvest, the owner sent servants to the vineyard to bring him the fruits of the labors of his workers.
But the winegrowers, according to Jesus, stoned them and drove them out in disgrace. The owner tried to send other servants, but the same story repeated with them. Finally, he sent his beloved son to the vineyard, hoping that they would be ashamed of him and act properly. However, instead, the evil winegrowers killed him, hoping that, having dealt with the heir, they themselves would become the owners of the vineyard.
Having completed the parable of the evil husbandmen, Jesus asked a question to the crowd gathered around Him, among whom were the high priests and elders. He asked what, in their opinion, the owner would do with these workers, and received the answer that he would put the villains to a cruel death, and would entrust the care of the vineyard to his more worthy servants.
CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE BRANCHESTER
We find the parable of the evil vinedressers in the first three evangelists (Matthew 21: 33-41; Mark 12: 1-9; Luke 20: 9-16). This is how the Evangelist Luke conveys this parable:
“A certain man planted a vineyard and gave it to vinedressers, and went away for a long time. And in due time he sent a slave to the vinedressers so that they would give him fruit from the vineyard; but the winegrowers, having beaten him, sent him away empty-handed. He also sent another slave; but they beat and cursed him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent a third one; but they also wounded him and kicked him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard: What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; Maybe when they see him they will be ashamed. But the vinedressers, seeing him, reasoned among themselves, saying: This is the heir; Let's go, kill him, and his inheritance will be ours. And they brought him out of the vineyard and killed him. What will the lord of the vineyard do with them? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others” (Luke 20:9-16).
This parable was spoken shortly before the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross in the Jerusalem temple itself and was addressed to the Sanhedrin (the highest court located in Jerusalem and consisting of 72 members presided over by the high priest).
In the parable of the evil vinedressers, aimed at exposing the leaders of the people who rejected and beat the prophets and, most importantly, also rejected and crucified Jesus Christ Himself, the story of God's providence for the chosen people, God's long-suffering towards their leaders and the sad result of their bitterness against Christ and His teachings. Not suspecting at first that the parable applied to them, carried away by its logic, the high priests and elders of the people themselves pronounced a sentence: “These evildoers he will put to an evil death, and he will give the vineyard to other winegrowers, who will give him the fruit in their seasons” (Matthew 21: 41), expressed in the words of the Lord like this: “The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people bearing the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43).
For greater clarity of speech, Christ used, as an outline, the “song of the vineyard” of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 5: 1-7), known to the Pharisees and lawyers, which says that the “vineyard” is “the house of Israel,” i.e. . The Jewish people as a whole, together with their Old Testament Church, were given a lot of work and care by their Master, God. Indeed, God gave the chosen people everything for their successful development. God Himself was the Leader of the people upon their exit from Egypt, showing many miracles and signs, then the supreme power over the people was transferred to the spiritual leaders chosen by God.
The Evangelist Matthew adds to the parable some important details that are missing from the Apostle Luke. The Apostle Matthew reports that the owner of the vineyard “surrounded it with a fence, dug a winepress in it, built a tower...”.
The “fence” of the vineyard is the Law of Moses, which, like a “wall of fire,” protected the Jews from the influence of the pagans and protected them from deviating from the norm of life, containing in itself, in prototypes, dogma, religious decrees and rituals that were supposed to give the people the true content of life . God continued to provide for the Jews after they entered the Promised Land. The “tower” in the vineyard served as a home for the guards who guarded the vineyard. In the parable, the “tower” meant, according to the interpretation of the Holy Fathers, the Temple of Jerusalem. The “press” - literally it was used for squeezing grape juice - in the parable meant an altar on which the blood of sacrificial animals was shed, which was a prototype of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
Having arranged everything, the owner of the vineyard left, leaving in it the winegrowers, who were supposed to give the owner the fruits they received at a certain time. So the Lord, having arranged everything in the Old Testament Church, entrusted the leadership of the religious and moral life of the people to spiritual leaders, first of all, to the high priests and priests, who were supposed to give the people the content of life in the spirit of the Law of God and cultivate in the people the fruits of life according to God’s commandments. The well-being of the “vineyard” depended on them, and they were responsible before God.
But, while ruling the people, the spiritual leaders did not care about their spiritual improvement, pursuing personal, selfish interests. The servants of God, the Old Testament prophets, whom, according to the word of the apostle. Paul, “the whole world was not worthy” (Heb. 11: 38), was cruelly beaten with anger because the prophets reminded the leaders of the people of their duty to God and demanded “fruits” from them, i.e. life according to God's will. So, for example, the prophet Isaiah was sawed through with a wooden saw, Jeremiah and Zechariah were stoned, many were tortured or, according to the word of the apostle. Paul, “experienced insults and beatings, as well as chains and prison, were... subjected to torture, died by the sword, wandered in mantles and goatskins, suffering disadvantages, sorrows, bitterness...” (Heb. 11: 36-37; Neh. 9 : 26, etc.). In the same way, the apostles and many followers of Christ were beaten, persecuted and tortured by the people's leaders.
“Finally” (Mark 12:6), the owner in the parable “sent to them” his only “beloved son” - in reality, God sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, “heir” (Heb. 1:2), “to whom all things are betrayed by His Father” (Matthew 11:27), but already at the time when the Lord spoke this parable, the spiritual leaders of the people decided to kill Him, fearing to lose their dominance over the Old Testament Church and their power over the people. The crime of deicide, which was being prepared by the high priests and the Sanhedrin, soon occurred as it is depicted in the parable: “The Savior was put to death outside the vineyard” (Matthew 21:39), i.e. “outside the gates of Jerusalem” (Heb. 13:12), which was the center of the Old Testament Church.
Having finished the parable, Evangelist Matthew writes that the Lord asked the high priests and members of the Sanhedrin the following question: “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these winegrowers?” To which he received the most logical answer: “He will put these evildoers to an evil death, and give the vineyard to others.” to the vinedressers, who will give him the fruit in their season” (Matthew 21:40-41).
Looking at his interlocutors, confident in the impossibility of depriving them of their inherent advantages, the Lord shaded His thought about excluding them from the newly established Kingdom of Christ, recalling the prophecies that they themselves attributed to the Messiah: “The stone that the builders rejected, that same one has become the head of the corner . This is from the Lord, and is marvelous in our eyes" (Matt. 21:42; Luke 20:17; Ps. 117:22-23; Isa. 28:16; I Cop. 3:11; Rom. 9:33 and etc.). The leaders were entrusted with the spiritual building of the Church of God, but they rejected the cornerstone of this temple - Christ. Despite their rejection, the Stone nevertheless formed the basis of the corner, and connected two “walls” in the New Testament Church: believers from the Jews and from the pagans. The fulfillment of prophecy in Jesus Christ proves that God the Father Himself sent Him into the world to found Churches and serve all believers, redeemed by Him, as an object of wonder and awe (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10-11). From the leaders of the people who rejected Christ the Messiah and did not want to understand the essence of His Kingdom, it will be taken away and given to all members of the Church of Christ who bear the fruits of true faith and virtue.
The people's teachers finally understood that the parable applied to them. Some “who heard this said: Let it not be!” (Luke 20:16), i.e. Let it not happen to them that the Church is taken away from them and given to others.
St. John Chrysostom writes that the pronouncement of the sentence by Christ’s enemies on themselves “was clear proof that it was not the Punisher, but the punished themselves, who were the perpetrators of the execution sent down on them.” This most of all angered and embittered the high priests and Pharisees, and at that time they tried to “lay hands on Him” (Luke 20:19; Matt. 21:46). Only fear of the people, who revered the Lord as a prophet, stopped them from this atrocity for a while.
Christ's prophecy about punishing the evil vinedressers and handing over the vineyard to others was fulfilled exactly 35 years after Jesus spoke this parable. The Roman general Titus ravaged Jerusalem and all of Palestine, and the Jews were scattered throughout the world.
It was good for the vinedressers to stay and work in the vineyard - so good that they began to consider this place theirs. Everything that they had, everything that the Master gave them for maintenance, they began to take for granted. All this captured them so much that they completely forgot that all this was temporary, and that years would pass, and the hour would come when they would have to leave the vineyard and hand it over to others. They distorted their spiritual life and lived only according to the flesh. They have silenced their conscience. It got to the point that the workers of the vineyard also killed the heir of the Owner, just so as not to give up the contents of the vineyard.
The Word of Christ is eternal. The parable of the evil vinedressers relates not only to the national leaders of the time of Christ, but also to us, people working in the new vineyard of Christ - in the Church. If the new leaders of the believing people, the princes of the Church - patriarchs, metropolitans, bishops and priests - behave like the vinedressers in the parable, the same fate awaits them: they will be rejected by the Master God, and the vineyard will be transferred to other, worthy workers.
This parable applies equally to every Christian believer. In the parable of the evil vinedressers, Christ warns us so that it does not happen to us, so that the earthly beauty in which we live turns into a tributary vineyard and does not allow us to forget that the Lord of the vineyard is coming and will demand an account of our work.
Let us work in the vineyard and bring its fruits to its rightful Owner - God.
©V.Potapov
Interpretation of the images of the owner, vineyard and fence
Many Christian theologians and holy fathers of the church devoted their works to the interpretation of the above parable of the winegrowers. Based on their work, it became a tradition to endow the images used in it with meanings, disclosed below.
By the owner of the vineyard, Jesus means God ─ the Creator of the world and everything in it. The Vineyard is nothing other than the Jewish people themselves, who are entrusted with preserving the faith. Subsequently, the image of a bunch of grapes or a vine was firmly established in Christian symbolism, becoming the personification of the community of people who made up the earthly Church of the Lord.
The fence is the Law of God, received by the chosen people through Moses. At the very beginning of the forty-year wandering in the desert, the Lord on Mount Sinai communicated to His prophet, who led the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, a set of instructions concerning religious and social life.
Image of a winepress, tower and vinedressers
The winepress is the altar, and the grape juice is the blood shed on it. The ancient Jews traditionally sacrificed various animals and birds, the blood of which was believed to help cleanse people from their sins. In this case, interpreters of the parable see a prophetic prediction about the blood shed by Jesus Himself on the cross.
The tower is nothing more than a temple built in Jerusalem. At the time when Jesus spoke the parable of the vinedressers, the Second Temple stood in the capital of the Jewish state, the construction of which began in the period following the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity (516 BC), and ended only two decades before Christmas Christ's. The first temple was built by King Solomon in 950 BC. e. Its destruction in 598 BC. e. marked the beginning of the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, which lasted almost 60 years.
By vinedressers Christ means the high priests and all the elders of the Jewish people. It is to them that He addresses His diatribe. On the pages of the Gospel they are called scribes and Pharisees and are characterized as people who, although they had knowledge of the Law of Moses, but for the sake of their own interests reduced serving God only to the formal fulfillment of instructions, while ignoring the essence of the teaching. Subsequently, the word “pharisaism” became a common noun, meaning hypocrisy and hypocrisy.
Curse of the Fig Tree
And now - an incredible miracle that must be accepted, despite all this improbability. After spending the night in Bethany, Jesus returns to Jerusalem. Hungry on the road, He approaches a fig tree. And there are only leaves on it. And He says: “Let there be no fruit from you forever.” And the fig tree withered, which surprised the disciples: until then they had seen only life-giving miracles, and suddenly... And the Savior said: “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even If you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea,” it will happen; and whatever you ask in prayer in faith, you will receive.”
But in fact, there are many more questions here, and over the past millennia they have been asked many times. It was spring, the figs simply could not ripen by this time - so why? But perhaps it would be more correct to ask why. And remember at the same time how the Great Penitential Canon describes the event of the Annunciation: “If God wants, the order of nature is defeated.” But He does not act by force, but only by consent. That is why we magnify the Virgin Mary, because She agreed with the will of God regarding Herself. Likewise, every creature, if it does not rush to God in response to His call, risks destruction. Like a fig tree.
Let us also note that they respond to God’s call instantly, because the power of love requires it. Here, too, Christ’s calls to “fear not” and “dare,” which we often find in the Gospels, are in full force. And there is something else here: what Pasternak called “a moment of freedom,” that is, an instant detachment from external vanity and trifles, an instant turn to the great and the highest. Here is an excerpt from his poem:
I hunger and thirst, and you are a barren flower, And your proximity is more homeless than granite. Oh, how offensive and untalented you are, Stay like this until the end of your years. A shudder of condemnation passed through the tree, Like a lightning spark through a lightning rod, The fig tree was incinerated to ashes. If at this time there was a moment of freedom among the leaves, branches, roots, and trunk, the laws of nature would have time to intervene. But a miracle is a miracle and a miracle is God: When we are in confusion, then in the midst of confusion It overtakes instantly, by surprise.
Yes, the presence of God in the world gives many opportunities - but it also obliges us to do a lot. And if you think about how much courage is required in order, according to the words of the Apostle Paul, to always rejoice, pray unceasingly, and give thanks for everything (see 1 Thess. 5:17) ... Therefore, Christ, answering the bewilderment of the Apostles, speaks not about guilt and retribution, but about the possibilities that faith gives.
The symbolic meaning of the absence of the master, his servants and fruits
The absence of the owner, according to interpreters, is the time that has passed since the Lord led His chosen people out of Egyptian slavery. According to the Holy Scriptures, this historical event dates back to approximately 1400 BC. e. Consequently, in the parable the Lord means a period covering almost one and a half millennia.
The servants sent to the vinedressers are prophets, who, as we know, were persecuted by the high priests or killed. Throughout their history, the Jewish people and their rulers repeatedly retreated from the fulfillment of the Law given to them by God, and even fell into paganism more than once. In these cases, the Lord singled out from among them the most worthy people (prophets), through whose mouths he denounced the iniquities being committed. Many of them were killed or suffered various persecutions.
The fruits that the owner expected to receive from his workers are the spiritual growth of the people and their knowledge of God. Coming out of Egyptian captivity, the people of Israel were full of remnants of paganism, and the duty of the priests was to educate them in the spirit of the Laws of Moses.
What to do to inherit eternal life
(Matthew 19:16) And behold, someone came and said to Him: Good Teacher! What good thing can I do to have eternal life?
Here we are talking about a young man who was rich and did not want to leave his wealth for Jesus’ sake. Peter asks Jesus:
(Matthew 19:27) Then Peter answered and said to Him: Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what will happen to us?
The Lord then answers Peter:
(Matthew 19:28-29) Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the future, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And whoever leaves houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
The word "everyone" clearly refers to us. “Leave” does not mean divorce or anything else. This means that priority must be set.
The image of the owner's son, his murder and subsequent retribution
By son and heir, Jesus undoubtedly means Himself, sent by the heavenly Father to save people. One of the fundamental dogmas of Christianity is the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, representing three hypostases of the One Divinity. In it, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were united inseparably and inseparably. The embodiment of the second hypostasis is Jesus Christ.
The murder of his son is a prophecy of His own future execution on the cross, which He had to endure as a redemption for all the people of the world who were stricken by original sin and, as a result, doomed to eternal death.
The arrival of the owner himself is interpreted as the Second Coming of Christ, when each person will be rewarded according to his deeds. On this day, the archangels of God will sound the trumpet and call people to the Last Judgment of the Heavenly Father.
The meaning of the parable of the vinedressers
As mentioned above, many theologians devoted their works to this gospel story. From the interpretation of the images given in the parable of the evil winegrowers, it becomes clear that in his words Jesus Christ denounced the high priests, elders, and all those who had been entrusted by God with the care of preserving and increasing the faith. Presenting their own words as the will of God allegedly revealed to them, these people beat and killed the prophets sent by the Lord to admonish them. Having done their dirty deed, they planned reprisals against the Son of God Himself.
It is characteristic that, having heard from the lips of Jesus the parable of the vinedressers, the priests and elders who were present understood its meaning, and nevertheless involuntarily exposed themselves with exclamations that the workers to whom the vineyard was entrusted are evildoers. Thus, they pronounced a sentence on themselves, speaking about the inevitable retribution that the Lord would bring down on them.
Let us note that most interpretations of the parable of the evil vinedressers indicate that, speaking of the wrath that the owner will bring down on his evil workers, Jesus allegorically predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, committed in 70 by Roman troops, and the innumerable misfortunes of the Jewish people that resulted from it.
Many are called, but few are chosen
All these workers are called, but few are chosen. Whom does God choose?
God chooses those who trust Him and give the opportunity to show His heart in goodness. Who trusted more in His goodness? Those who worked in the morning or the one who came at the end? Those who came at 9 am? They thought they would get more because they had done more. Some have more grace, and those who have worked to earn salvation by their works have less grace. Therefore, the Lord says that many are called, but few are chosen.
Important! The owner of the vineyard himself came out to the workers. The Lord himself comes out to everyone.
(Matthew 20:4) And whatever follows I will give you.
This was said to a group of workers who were standing in the marketplace at 9 am.
(Matthew 20:7) And whatever follows, you will receive.
“Receive” is said to the last workers.
“I will give you” and “Receive” there is a difference. It is one thing for God to give, another for us to receive. The end-time generation will receive. God told Israel: “A land flowing with milk and honey will I give you.” But they didn't take it. It is possible that God gives blessings, but we do not accept. Those who accept fullness have the most grace.
It is necessary to see God as a giver, providing all the time. You can't refuse.
Sermons on the Feast of Pentecost
Like all other passages from the Gospel, this parable is heard during services, and then explained from the church pulpit. According to the tradition established many centuries ago, it is customary to read a sermon about evil winegrowers on the 13th Sunday after Pentecost.
To avoid any errors in understanding this dating, we note that in the Church Slavonic language the word “week” does not denote the seven-day period from Monday to Sunday (it is called “week”), but only Sunday. It is the seventh in a row, and its ordinal number, as is known, is not divisible by anything except itself or one. This is where the word “week” comes from. Therefore, it should be understood that the sermon about evil winegrowers is heard from church pulpits on the 13th Sunday after Trinity - a holiday also called Pentecost.
Birth of the Church of Christ
The holiday was established in honor of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since this event is traditionally considered the birth of the Church of Christ on earth, it is important for all its members on this day to once again think about the meaning of the parable of the evil winegrowers.
Paintings and engravings created on this subject by various artists help to more clearly imagine what Jesus Christ told within the walls of the temple the day after His Entry into Jerusalem. Some of them are presented in our article.
