In the parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus took up the Old Testament metaphor of the vineyard, and in much the same vein as Isaiah, paints a picture of the rejection of God's loving gift. There is no response to what he has given, instead he and his messengers are treated like one of the absentee landlords who often afflicted Jesus' fellow Galileans.

This rather depressing view of the lack of response to God's favours is in line with Old Testament prophetic criticism of the people. (eg. In Jer.7:25-26 they continually reject the prophets, God's messengers). It can be argued that Jesus finally came to see His own mission ending in the same rejection that befell many of the prophets before Him, a view He expressed in the original parable.

However, His rejection is not the end of the story. The early Church's faith in the resurrection of Jesus sees hope beyond the rejection. By the marvellous action of God, the rejected one becomes the head of a new people who will produce the fruit of God's love.

This hope-filled addition to the original parable should not blind us to the warning note of Isaiah and Jesus - the vine that does not produce fruit is to be cut down as fuel for the fire (Jn. 15:2, 6). This applies to all God's people in the twenty-first as much as in the first century.