In this parable, Jesus tells the story of Israel using the image of the vineyard. As we saw, this was not an invention of Jesus, but goes back to Psalms and Prophets who used the vineyard as an image of Israel. In these verses Jesus says that the vineyard is going to be taken from the leaders of Israel and given to another people, and that is the new Israel of the church. We are heirs of the vineyard, because we are with the Son, who is THE heir of the vineyard.
Why is the vineyard an image of Israel? There are many reasons for this no doubt. It is connected with the gift of the land, which is a land flowing with milk and honey. Israel as the vineyard is a fruitful new Eden. In Jesus?Eparable, the emphasis is on the tribute that Israel owes to the Lord and giver of the vineyard.
In making all these typological connections with the vineyard, we should not neglect the obvious. Vineyards are for growing grapes, and grapes exist so that they can be transformed into wine, and wine exists to bring joy. Psalm 104 speaks of the wine that gladdens the heart of man, and Judges speaks of the wine that gladdens both God AND man. Israel was given a vineyard to be a source of joy and delight.
And now this vineyard has been given to us, those of us who are in and with the Son who is the heir of the vineyard. We know that we have been given access to the vineyard because we have been given the wine of God, here at the Lord?s table. No other people than the church has been given this drink, for no other people is the true Israel. We are given the wine of gladness, so that we might have joy and delight in the presence of the Lord of the vineyard, the true God of the vine, the true Dionysus, Yahweh of Israel.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
