·  8 William Dwight Porter Bliss, Priest, 1926, and Richard Theodore Ely, Economist, 1943

·  9 Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, Medical Missionary, 1940

·  10 Vida Dutton Scudder, Educator and Witness for Peace, 1954

·  11 Philip, Deacon and Evangelist

·  14 Joseph Schereschewsky, Bishop of Shanghai, 1906

·  15 Teresa of Ávila, Nun, 1582 , was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun and author during the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer.

·  16 Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, Bishops, 1555/ was an English Bishop of London (the only bishop called "Bishop of London and Westminster"^[1]). Ridley was burned at the stake as one of the Oxford Martyrs during the Marian Persecutions for his teachings and his support of Lady Jane Grey.

OLD TESTAMENT:  Exodus 20: 1 - 4, 7 - 9, 12 - 20  (RCL)

Exod 20:1 (NRSV) Then God spoke all these words:

2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

13 You shall not murder.

14 You shall not commit adultery.

15 You shall not steal.

16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, 19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die." 20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin."

Isaiah 5: 1 - 7  (alt. for RCL, Roman Catholic)

Isai 5:1 (NRSV) Let me sing for my beloved

my love-song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,

and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

and hewed out a wine vat in it;

he expected it to yield grapes,

but it yielded wild grapes.

3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem

and people of Judah,

judge between me

and my vineyard.

4 What more was there to do for my vineyard

that I have not done in it?

When I expected it to yield grapes,

why did it yield wild grapes?

5 And now I will tell you

what I will do to my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge,

and it shall be devoured;

I will break down its wall,

and it shall be trampled down.

6 I will make it a waste;

it shall not be pruned or hoed,

and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;

I will also command the clouds

that they rain no rain upon it.

7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts

is the house of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are his pleasant planting;

he expected justice,

but saw bloodshed;

righteousness,

but heard a cry!

PSALM 19  (RCL)

Psal 19:1 (NRSV) The heavens are telling the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

2 Day to day pours forth speech,

and night to night declares knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words;

their voice is not heard;

4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,

5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,

and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them;

and nothing is hid from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the decrees of the LORD are sure,

making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the LORD is clear,

enlightening the eyes;

9 the fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the LORD are true

and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey,

and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

12 But who can detect their errors?

Clear me from hidden faults.

13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent;

do not let them have dominion over me.

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

19   Caeli enarrant      (ECUSA BCP)

1               The heavens declare the glory of God, *

     and the firmament shows his handiwork.

2               One day tells its tale to another, *

     and one night imparts knowledge to another.

3               Although they have no words or language, *

     and their voices are not heard,

4               Their sound has gone out into all lands, *

     and their message to the ends of the world.

5               In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; *

     it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;

     it rejoices like a champion to run its course.

6               It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens

and runs about to the end of it again; *

     nothing is hidden from its burning heat.

7               The law of the Lord is perfect

                        and revives the soul; *

     the testimony of the Lord is sure

                        and gives wisdom to the innocent.

8               The statutes of the Lord are just

                        and rejoice the heart; *

     the commandment of the Lord is clear

                        and gives light to the eyes.

9               The fear of the Lord is clean

                        and endures for ever; *

     the judgments of the Lord are true

                        and righteous altogether.

10             More to be desired are they than gold,

                        more than much fine gold, *

     sweeter far than honey,

                        than honey in the comb.

11             By them also is your servant enlightened, *

     and in keeping them there is great reward.

12             Who can tell how often he offends? *

     cleanse me from my secret faults.

13             Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;

let them not get dominion over me; *

     then shall I be whole and sound,

     and innocent of a great offense.

14             Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my

                        heart be acceptable in your sight, *

     O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Psalm 80: 7 - 15   (alt. for RCL)

Psalm 80: 8, 11 - 15, 18 - 19   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 80:1 (NRSV)

7 Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it.

9 You cleared the ground for it;

it took deep root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches;

11 it sent out its branches to the sea,

and its shoots to the River.

12 Why then have you broken down its walls,

so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?

13 The boar from the forest ravages it,

and all that move in the field feed on it.

14 Turn again, O God of hosts;

look down from heaven, and see;

have regard for this vine,

15 the stock that your right hand planted. 

18 Then we will never turn back from you;

give us life, and we will call on your name.

19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Note: Verse numbering is one higher in Roman Catholic bibles; Verse numbering may differ in your Psalter.

Psalm 80  Qui regis Israel  (ECUSA BCP)

7  Restore us, O God of hosts; *

 show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

 

8  You have brought a vine out of Egypt; *

 you cast out the nations and planted it.

9  You prepared the ground for it; *

 it took root and filled the land.

10  The mountains were covered by its shadow *

 and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.

11  You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea *

 and its branches to the River.

12  Why have you broken down its wall, *

 so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?

13  The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, *

 and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.

14  Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven;

behold and tend this vine; *

 preserve what your right hand has planted.

NEW TESTAMENT:  Philippians 3: 4b - 14  (RCL)

Phil 3:4 (NRSV) If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Phar'isee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ {and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4: 6 - 9  (Roman Catholic)

Phil 4:6 (NRSV) Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

 h/t Montreal Anglican

Paul has warned his readers about those who try to convince them that being a Christian requires acceptance of Jewish law, including circumcision. True circumcision is of the heart – and not of the “flesh”, i.e. following legal precepts, as in Judaism. Inner circumcision is what is required of us.
He cites his own experience as an example. In early life, he was as true to Judaism as anyone could be: he was circumcised; he is from the elite tribe (“Benjamin”, v. 5), as Jewish as one can be (“a Hebrew born of Hebrews”); like other Pharisees, he knew the Law well and applied it in daily life. He zealously persecuted Christians and faultlessly kept the Law. And yet, knowing Christ has made him realize that a Jewish, law-based, approach to God is a “loss” (vv. 7-8) for Christians: it obstructs God’s free gift of love. True “righteousness” (v. 9) comes through “faith in Christ”, not self-assessment of godliness, per legal precepts. He has cast aside all his Jewishness in order to realize the gain Christ offers (v. 8).
He wants to “know Christ” (v. 10) as risen and living. This involves attaining oneness with him through sharing his sufferings and participating in his death. Out of this, he will come to know “the power of his resurrection”. He is still working on understanding Christ completely (v. 12), an obligation he has for Christ has chosen him (“made me his own”). He has made progress not on his own, but through God’s grace (v. 13); however he has left his past behind and eagerly seeks what lies ahead. As the winner in a Greek foot race was called up to receive his “prize” (v. 14), so he seeks God’s call to share in eternal life. (“Heavenly” is literally upward.)

Verse 1: Scholars think that Philippians is actually made up of several letters. A piece of evidence for this is the abrupt change in tone and content: one letter appears to end with v. 1a, and another to begin with v. 1b. This letter, which was probably written later, extends to 4:1b. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “the same things”: i.e. what Paul has written about in previous chapters which have caused disharmony in the community. [ NOAB]
Verse 2: “dogs”: Paul uses strong language in speaking of the Judaizers. In Jewish circles, this term was reserved for Gentiles, the unclean, and outsiders. [ NJBC] Paul’s attitude towards those who considered circumcision a requirement for being a Christian is clear: he writes in Galatians 5:12: “I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!”. It is likely that these people were Jewish Christians. The effect of their activities was to divide the community, by suggesting that those who were circumcised were elite.
Verse 2: “the evil workers”: Evidently those referred to in 1:15 (“Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill”), 1:17 (“the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment”) and 2:21 (“All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ”). [ CAB]
Verse 2: “those who mutilate the flesh”: As the NRSV footnote says, the Greek means literally the mutilation. Paul contrasts the mutilation with the circumcision. He may be thinking of what the prophets of Baal did to themselves in 1 Kings 18:28. [ NJBC] The reference to those who preach the necessity of circumcision is bitter and ironical. [ NOAB] The language is the same as in Galatians 5:12. [ CAB]
Verse 3: “the circumcision”: In Romans 2:28-29, Paul says: “real circumcision is a matter of the heart”. Paul thinks of the Old Testament: Jeremiah 4:4 (“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskin of your hearts”); 31:31 (“I will make a new covenant ...”); Deuteronomy 10:16 (“circumcise the foreskin of your heart”); 30:6; Leviticus 26:41; Ezekiel 44:7. The idea is also found in 1QS (Qumran Rule of the Community) 5:5, 26. Only inward circumcision is valid for the eschatological era. Circumcision of the heart is a new moral life. See also Galatians 6:14-15 and Colossians 2:11-13. [ NOAB]
1QS 5:4-5 says “... No one should walk in the stubbornness of his heart and his eyes and the musings of his inclination. Instead he should circumcise in the Community the foreskin of his tendency and of his stiff neck in order to lay a foundation of truth for Israel, for the Community of the eternal covenant.”
Verse 3: “the flesh”: i.e. outward states or rites.
Verses 5-6: In Galatians 1:14, Paul tells us about himself: “I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors”. [ CAB]
Verse 5: “on the eighth day”: Genesis 17:12 and Leviticus 12:3 state that a boy must be circumcised eight days after birth. [ JBC]
Verse 5: “Benjamin”: This tribe was elite because, of all the brothers, only Benjamin was born in the Promised Land. Also, Saul, Israel’s first king, was from the tribe of Benjamin. [ JBC]
Verse 5: “a Hebrew born of Hebrews”: There are three possible interpretations:

• NOAB suggests: though living in Tarsus, a Greek city, Paul’s family spoke Aramaic, the language of Palestine. Acts 21:40 tells us that “he addressed them in the Hebrew language”, i.e. Aramaic. See also Acts 22:2. [ NOAB]
• Paul is speaking of his lineage, i.e. he is a Hebrew of Hebrew parents, rather than a convert or a son of a convert
• He is using a Semitic superlative, meaning roughly the ultimate (or superlative) Hebrew. (Recall the Broadway play Fiddler on the Roof and the song Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles, and note “king of kings” in Ezra 7:12; Ezekiel 26:7; Daniel 2:37; 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16.) While this interpretation is the most likely, one cannot be completely certain because the Greek translated “born of”, ex, does not occur in Revelation 17:14. [Alan Perry]

Verse 6: “persecutor”: The ultimate in zeal! See also Acts 8:3; 9:1-2 (Paul’s conversion); 22:4-5; 26:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13. [ NOAB]
Verses 7-8: Paul puts it in book-keeping terms. [ NJBC]
Verse 8: “knowing Christ”: Such knowledge and personal experience transforms a person into the likeness of the one who is known. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul writes: “... all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit”. [ NJBC]
Verse 8: “suffered the loss of all things”: See also Matthew 13:44-46 (the parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price). [ NJBC]
Verse 8: “rubbish”: The Greek word can mean excrement . It is something disposed of irrevocably. [ NJBC]
Verse 9: See also Romans 3:21-31: “But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe ...”. [ CAB]
Verse 9: “be found in him”: i.e. to be identified with Christ at the eschatological judgement. [ NJBC]
Verse 9: “in Christ”: Per the NRSV footnote, another rendering is of Christ, meaning either Christ’s faithful obedience until death (Romans 5:18-21 and Philippians 2:6-8) or the entire ministry of Jesus. [ NOAB]
Verse 9: “the righteousness from God based on faith”: To Paul, in living by the Law one attempts to achieve one’s own righteousness: in Romans 10:3, he says of Jews: “being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God's righteousness”. True righteousness is a gift received in faith: in Genesis 15:6, we read that Abraham “believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness’. [ CAB]
Verses 10-11: To know Christ as risen and living is to have “power”: to suffer like him and to possess the sure hope of rising and living with him. [ NOAB]
Verse 10: “to know Christ”: i.e. to experience him as life-giving Spirit. See 1 Corinthians 15:45; 2 Corinthians 3:17. [ NJBC]
Verse 10: “by becoming like him in his death ...”: In Romans 6:3-5, Paul asks: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his”. [ CAB]
Verse 12: Though we have God’s gift, we still need to work towards true godliness. [ NOAB]
Verse 12a: Perhaps Paul’s adversaries claimed that perfection can be achieved in this life.
Verse 14: “the prize”: Paul thinks of himself as being like an athlete in a Greek footrace. The winner received a victor’s crown at the finishing post. [ NOAB]
Verse 14: “the heavenly call”: It is to ascend and join with Christ in eternal life. This is the moment of perfection. [ NJBC]
Verse 15: “mature”: Mature Christians realize that they have not already attained perfection in their knowledge of Christ. [ CAB]
Verse 17: :join in imitating me”: i.e. in centring Christian life in the cross of Christ: see vv. 10, 18.
Verse 18: “many”: NOAB presumes these to be professing Christians but not the Judaizers of v. 2 because the description in v. 19 scarcely fits them; however NJBC sees those who preach circumcision for Christians as being “enemies of the cross” for they deny the efficacy of the cross and thus void Christ’s self sacrifice. See also Galatians 2:21.
Verse 19: “Their end is destruction”: i.e. at the Last Day.
Verse 19: “their god is the belly”: To NJBC, either a reference to Jewish food laws or to self-centeredness.
Verse 19: “their glory is in their shame”: Normally the penis is kept modestly covered, but the “enemies” “glory” in it. [ NJBC]
Verse 19: “on earthly things”: i.e. things of the age superceded by Christ. [ NJBC]
Verse 20: “our citizenship is in heaven”: We are already citizens, although the new era has not yet arrived. See also Galatians 4:24-27 and Ephesians 2:19. Recall that the citizenship of the Philippians was in Rome. [ NOAB]
Verse 21: See also Romans 8:23 (“... we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies”); 1 Corinthians 15:47-57; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Colossians 3:1-4.
Verse 21: “the body of our humiliation”: NJBC offers lowly body. The physical bodies of Christians will be transformed in order to enter eternal life. See also 1 Corinthians 15:20. [ NJBC]
Verse 21: “to make all things subject to himself”: An allusion to Psalm 8:6 (“You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet”), to Paul a psalm telling of the messianic reign of Christ. See also 1 Corinthians 15:25-28; Romans 8:20; Ephesians 1:22; Hebrews 2:6-9; 1 Peter 3:22.

GOSPEL:  Matthew 21: 33 - 46   (RCL)

                    Matthew 21: 33 - 43   (Roman Catholic)

Matt 21:33 (NRSV) "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 34 When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. 35 But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, "They will respect my son.' 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 41 They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."

42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures:

"The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord's doing,

and it is amazing in our eyes'?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

45 When the chief priests and the Phar'isees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

The Sanhedrin members who first heard this parable would recall Isaiah 5:1-7, where God tells what will happen to his unfruitful “vineyard”, “the house of Israel, and the people of Judah”. In vv. 33-39, Jesus tells the parable: the landowner plants the vineyard, leases it out, and leaves. At harvest time, he sends successive sets of slaves “to collect his produce”; all are mistreated. When he sends his son, he is killed. If a landowner died without an heir, the land passed to the first claimant, so by killing the son (presumably the only one), the tenants become landowners. Jesus’ hearers answer his question: the first tenants will suffer “a miserable death” (v. 41) and other tenants will be found who will deliver.
Here, the landowner stands for God, the first tenants for Israel’s leaders, and the time the landowner is away for their period of stewardship of God’s chosen people. So the second tenants are replacements for Israel, probably those who follow Christ. Is Jesus “the son” (v. 38, Aramaic: ben) and the “stone” (v. 42, ‘eben)? Then v. 43: to oppose God will be disastrous; his patience will be exhausted. The leaders of Israel recognize his reference to Isaiah; were it not that Jesus was widely accepted as God’s “prophet” (v. 46), they would have arrested him.

The parallels are Mark 12:1-12 and Luke 20:9-19.
NJBC offers a different interpretation from the one in Comments (which is based on Blomberg): to him the slaves are the prophets killed by Israel, culminating in Jesus as the son, the “other tenants” (v. 41) and “a people” (v. 43) are the Church (which for Matthew is believing Jews plus converted Gentiles), the true Israel.
Verse 35: “beat one, killed another, and stoned another”: Matthew’s source, Mark, lacks the stoning of a slave, so NJBC wonders whether the stoning of James is in view.
Verse 37: “his son”: Matthew omits beloved from his Marcan source.
Verse 38: “This is the heir”: The tenants leap to a conclusion. In fact, the landowner is alive and can punish them. [ NJBC]
Verse 39: In Mark 12:8, the son is seized, then killed, then thrown out. NJBC notes that Matthew changes the order – perhaps to fit the view that Jesus died outside the city. See also John 19:17; Hebrews 13:12-13.
Verse 41: Jesus says in 8:11-12: “‘I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’”. See also Acts 13:46; 18:6; 28:28.
Verse 42: Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23 to support his teaching. [ NOAB] These verses are also quoted in Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7. This was a favourite early Christian proof text. [ Blomberg]
Verse 43: Jesus’ conclusion is milder than the chief priests and elders expect. The wicked tenants will not be destroyed but will lose the promise. [ NJBC]
Verse 43: “the kingdom of God”: In this context, probably the full end-time blessing. [ NJBC]
Comments: the landowner stands for God, the first tenants for Israel’s leaders, ... the second tenants are replacements for Israel: That v. 33 almost directly quotes the opening lines of Isaiah’s parable ( 5:1-7, the Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard) makes these equations certain. [ Blomberg]
Blomberg sees this parable as making three points:

• God is patient and long suffering in waiting for his people to bear the fruit which he expects of them, even when they are repeatedly and overtly hostile in their rebellion against him.
• A day will come when God’s patience will be exhausted and those who have rejected him will be destroyed.
• God’s purposes will not thereby be thwarted, for he will raise up new leaders who will produce the fruit the original ones failed to provide.

While elements in most parables approach the absurd (causing the first listeners to break into hearty laughter) such hostilities as described here were not uncommon in first-century conflicts between absentee landlords (especially Roman ones) and their tenants – so this parable may look extreme but it is not. [ Blomberg]
Blomberg notes that there is nothing in the text to identify the son as Jesus. In Jesus’ telling of the parable, this is true, but I consider that in Matthew’s hands (and to his audience), the son is Jesus.