Kill the heir (Lk 20:14-20:14)

“But when the tenants

Saw this beloved son,

They discussed it

Among themselves.

They said.

‘This is the heir!

Let us kill him!

Thus,

The inheritance

May be ours.’”

 

ἰδόντες δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ γεωργοὶ διελογίζοντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος· ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν, ἵνα ἡμῶν γένηται ἡ κληρονομία.

 

Luke indicated that Jesus said that when the tenants saw this beloved son (ἰδόντες δὲ αὐτὸν) of the vineyard owner, they discussed it among themselves (οἱ γεωργοὶ διελογίζοντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους).  They decided or said (λέγοντες) that this was the heir (Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος) to the vineyard.  If they killed him (ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν), the inheritance would be theirs or go to them (ἵνα ἡμῶν γένηται ἡ κληρονομία).  This parable about the wicked tenants planning to kill the heir of the vineyard can also be found in Matthew, chapter 21:38, and Mark, chapter 12:7, almost word for word.  Mark said that Jesus continued his story by saying that instead of respecting the son of the landowner, these tenants saw this son as an heir to the vineyard.  They said to themselves (ἐκεῖνοι δὲ οἱ γεωργοὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς εἶπαν) that he was the heir (ὅτι Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος).  They were going to kill him (δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν), thinking that they would get his inheritance (καὶ ἡμῶν ἔσται ἡ κληρονομία).  Matthew indicated that when the tenants saw the son of the landowner (οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ἰδόντες τὸν υἱὸν), they said to themselves (εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς) that he was the heir (Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος).  They were going to kill him (δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτὸν), thinking that they would get his inheritance (καὶ σχῶμεν τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ).  They were really dumb.  Would you ever think of getting rid of someone?

Kill the heir to the vineyard (Mk 12:7-12:7)

“But those tenants

Said to one another.

‘This is the heir.

Come!

Let us kill him!

The inheritance

Will be ours.’”

 

ἐκεῖνοι δὲ οἱ γεωργοὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς εἶπαν ὅτι Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος· δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἡμῶν ἔσται ἡ κληρονομία.

 

This parable about the wicked tenants planning to kill the heir of the vineyard can be found in Matthew, chapter 21:38, and Luke, chapter 20:14, almost word for word.  Mark said that Jesus continued his story by saying that instead of respecting the son of the landowner, these tenants saw this son as an heir to the vineyard.  They said to themselves (ἐκεῖνοι δὲ οἱ γεωργοὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς εἶπαν) that he was the heir (ὅτι Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος).  They were going to kill him (δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν), thinking that they would get his inheritance (καὶ ἡμῶν ἔσται ἡ κληρονομία).  They were really dumb.

The tenants kill the landowner’s son (Mt 21:37-21:39)

“Finally,

The landowner sent

His son

To them.

He said.

‘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!

We will get

His inheritance!’

They seized him.

They cast him out

Of the vineyard.

They killed him.”

 

ὕστερον δὲ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων Ἐντραπήσονται τὸν υἱόν μου.

οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ἰδόντες τὸν υἱὸν εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος· δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτὸν καὶ σχῶμεν τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ·

καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὸν ἐξέβαλον ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος καὶ ἀπέκτειναν.

 

This parable of the killing of the landowner’s son can be found in Mark, chapter 12:6-8, and Luke, chapter 20:13-15, almost word for word.  Finally, this landowner sent his own son to these wicked tenants (ὕστερον δὲ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ).  He said to himself that they would respect his son (Ἐντραπήσονται τὸν υἱόν μου).  Instead, when the tenants saw the son of the landowner (οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ἰδόντες τὸν υἱὸν), they said to themselves (εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς) that he was the heir (Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος).  They were going to kill him (δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτὸν), thinking that they would get his inheritance (καὶ σχῶμεν τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ).  They were really dumb.  Thus, they seized his son (καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὸν) and cast him out of the vineyard (ἐξέβαλον ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος), where they killed him (καὶ ἀπέκτειναν).  The meaning of this parable was becoming clearer.  The landowner was God the Father.  The tenants were the Jewish religious leaders.  The slaves were the Israelite prophets.  Jesus was the son of the Father.  He was killed outside of Jerusalem, the vineyard.  Clearly, Jesus would not have to explain this parable to his disciples and apostles.

Yahweh responds to Jonah (Jon 4:9-4:11)

“But God

Said to Jonah.

‘Is it right

For you

To be angry

About the bush?’

Jonah said.

‘Yes,

Angry enough to die.’

Yahweh said.

‘You are concerned

About the bush

For which you did not labor.

You did not grow it.

It came into being

In a night.

It perished

In a night.

Should I not be concerned

About Nineveh,

That great city,

In which there are more

Than a hundred

And twenty thousand persons,

Who do not know

Their right hand

From their left hand.

There are also many animals.”

Thus, the story of Jonah ends with a reprimand for Jonah.  Jonah continued to argue that he had the right to be mad.  At times, he sounded like Job and his complaints.  God, not Yahweh, asked him if he had a right to be angry.  Jonah insisted that he was so angry that he was willing to die.  Then Yahweh asked him about the bush.  It appeared one day and was gone the next day.  Jonah did nothing to make it grow, so why was he so angry about the dead bush.  On the other hand, Yahweh was concerned about the great city of Nineveh with 120,000 people and lots of animals.  Yet, there was a parting shot at the people of Nineveh.  Apparently, they were so dumb that they could not tell their right hand from their left hand.

Reversal of fortune (Isa 35:5-35:7)

“Then the eyes of the blind

Shall be opened.

The ears of the deaf

Shall be unstopped.

Then the lame

Shall leap like a deer.

The tongue of the speechless

Shall sing for joy.

Waters

Shall break forth in the wilderness.

The streams

Shall be in the desert.

The burning sand

Shall become a pool.

The thirsty ground

Shall become springs of water.

The haunt of jackals

Shall become a swamp.

The grass

Shall become reeds or rushes.”

Isaiah seems to indicate that there will be a reversal of fortune, a change in the ways that things happen. The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The lame will run. The dumb will speak. Waters and streams will be in the wilderness desert, as the burning sand will turn into a pool of water. The jackals will be in a swamp. The grass will become reeds or rushes along the streams. Everything will be reversed or different.

Slaves and servants (Sir 7:20-7:21)

“Do not abuse slaves

Who work faithfully.

Do not abuse hired laborers

Who devote themselves to their task.

Let your soul love intelligent slaves.

Do not withhold from them their freedom.”

Sirach continued with his recommendations about slaves. First, you should not abuse slaves. However, this is only for those who work faithfully. It might be okay to abuse the ones who are not working. Secondly, you should not abuse the hired laborers either. But once again there is a caveat that this applies only to those who do their tasks. Otherwise, it was okay to abuse the stragglers. You should love intelligent slaves like yourself. In fact, you should free them. This seems to indicate that the smart slaves should be set free, but the dumb ones should remain in bondage.

The sin of Job is rebellion (Job 34:31-34:37)

“Has anyone said to God?

‘I have endured punishment.

I will not offend anymore.

Teach me what I do not see.

If I have done iniquity,

I will do it no more.’

Will he then pay back to suit you

Because you reject it?

You must choose!

Not I!

Therefore declare what you know.

Those who have sense will say to me.

The wise who hear me will say.

‘Job speaks without knowledge.

His words are without insight.’

Would that Job were tried to the limit,

Because his answers are those of the wicked.

He adds rebellion to his sin.

He claps his hands among us.

He multiplies his words against God.”

If only Job had said that he would not offend God anymore, he might have been all right. If only he had asked God what he did wrong, so that he could learn the right way. Those with any knowledge at all would say that Job spoke without knowledge. He was dumb. His words had no insight. He answered like a wicked man. He seemed to be rebellious against God in a lot of what he said. This is the accusation of Elihu against Job.