Mark 12:1-12
The Vineyard and the Son
Read the passage
1Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.
2At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard.
3But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
4Then he sent them another servant, and they struck him over the head and treated him shamefully.
5He sent still another, and this one they killed. He sent many others; some they beat and others they killed.
6Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
7But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8So they seized the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.
10Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
11This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jesus tells the leaders about an owner who plants and equips a vineyard, then entrusts it to tenants. The planting, wine vat and watchtower recall Isaiah’s song about the LORD’s vineyard, identified there as Israel. Jesus develops the picture into a story about those responsible for its care.
At harvest, the owner sends servants for his share. The tenants beat some, shame others and kill some. The repeated sending recalls God’s messengers meeting resistance among His people. The tenants refuse both the owner’s claim and the people carrying it.
Finally, the owner sends his beloved son. The tenants recognize him as the heir and kill him, hoping to seize the inheritance. In Mark, the phrase beloved son has already been spoken over Jesus at His baptism and transfiguration. The parable now places that son within a story of rejection and death.
The owner will judge the tenants and entrust the vineyard to others. Jesus then quotes Psalm 118: the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone through the Lord’s doing. Rejection will not defeat God’s purpose for His Son.
The leaders understand that the parable is directed against them and seek to arrest Jesus, though fear of the crowd restrains them. Their response belongs to the warning He has just given.
This is a charge against faithless leadership, not permission to condemn an entire people. The vineyard remains the owner’s, and the rejected Son remains central to God’s purpose. Those entrusted with His work must receive His claim rather than treat it as their own possession.
How We Know
Isaiah’s vineyard includes planting, a tower and a winepress and is explicitly identified as Israel. Jesus adapts that setting to confront the tenants. He then quotes Psalm 118 about the rejected cornerstone, joining judgment on unfaithful stewards with the Lord’s vindication of the rejected One.
Questions
1 What earlier passage does the vineyard recall?
AnswerIsaiah 5, where the LORD’s vineyard is identified as Israel. Jesus uses related details while telling a distinct story about its tenants.
2 How do the tenants respond to the owner’s messengers?
AnswerThey refuse his share and mistreat or kill the servants. Their conduct rejects the owner’s rightful claim.
3 What hope follows the son’s rejection?
AnswerJesus quotes the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone by God’s doing. Human rejection cannot overturn the Lord’s purpose.
4 What responsibility does the parable place on those entrusted with service?
AnswerTreat the work and people as belonging to God. Receive correction, answer to His Word and refuse the temptation to protect our control at the cost of faithfulness.
What This Means for Us
Responsibility can slowly begin to feel like ownership. A role in a family or church may give us influence, but it does not make people or God’s work ours to control. The parable calls us to receive His rightful claim.
Ask where correction has begun to feel like a threat to your position. Listen carefully before defending yourself. Our hope is in the Son God vindicates, not in keeping a place secure against everyone who questions us.
Prayer
Father, thank You for sending Your beloved Son and making the rejected stone the cornerstone. Keep us faithful with what You entrust to us. Give us humility to receive correction and honor Your Son above our own position. Amen.