Posted by In the beginning, the Pharisees had been exemplary Jews. Zealously they upheld the Law of Moses in the time of the Maccabees, when rulers of other nations were determined to root out the Jewish religion and make the Jewish people conform to the customs of those who worshipped false gods. But after the time of persecutions, they became self-complacent; they turned into an elite group. No criticism of their way of life could be tolerated. Inside, they gave way to greed and lust, but outwardly they still paraded as pious persons. Those who spoke out and exposed them — namely, the prophets — were silenced. They preferred to kill the prophets rather than look into themselves and correct their ways.
Jesus exposed what the Pharisees really were, lest the people be led to imitate them. They acted pious, wore prayer shawls, and carried little boxes with quotes from Scripture on their forehead and wrist (cf. Deuteronomy 6:8), yet inwardly they were greedy for respect, money, and power. They had done away with the prophets, and they would do the same with Jesus.
The above is a historical rendition of today’s parable. The Pharisees — the tenants who had delusions of grandeur and self-importance; the messengers sent by God, the landowner — are the prophets; and the Son is Christ, who suffered the same fate as the prophets (cf. Matthew 21:33–39).
From a different angle, this parable can also be re-titled The Parable of Missed Opportunities. The Pharisees, and Jewish religious leaders in general, failed to see and respond to the messages of God in the persons of the prophets and finally His Son. They failed to seize the opportunities — those grace-filled moments of God’s invitation and visitation. Instead, they became opportunists who sought to grab and hold on to power. Worse, they cut down any threat against them: “They tried to arrest Him because they knew that He told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they went away and left Him” (Mark 12:12).
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