Thursday, October 1, 2026
[Jesus said:] “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, … “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.” … When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him to be a prophet. (Matthew 21:33-42a, 43, 45-46)
On the face of it, this is a ridiculous story. Whoever heard of a landowner like this one, who would keep sending servants to get attacked and killed—and then finally send his own son? People aren’t like that. Any sensible landowner would have called the police the minute he heard about his first servant getting attacked!
But then, the story of Jesus is also a ridiculous story, on the face of it. Whoever heard of a God who would send His only Son into the world, knowing that we would treat Him exactly the way we treated all God’s prophets? And what kind of a person must Jesus Himself be, to come willingly into our world, knowing that death was waiting for Him?
Because it’s a true story. God really is that patient, that merciful, that unbelievably loving, in spite of all our rebellion against Him. And Jesus Himself is no helpless victim—He chose to come to us, knowing that we would kill Him. But He also knew that His death for us would transform us—would take away our sin and change us into true children of God. Because Jesus goes beyond the parable—He not only dies, but He rises from the dead for our sake. And now that He lives forever, He has shared His own everlasting life with us—and given us the Holy Spirit.
Yes, it’s a ridiculous story. But it’s ridiculous in the best possible way—because God is unbelievably good to us. He loves us that much.
WE PRAY: Dear Lord, it’s hard for me to believe You loved me that much. Strengthen my trust in You, and make my heart like Yours. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions: