Luke 20:19

‘And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour, and they feared the people, for they perceived that he spoke this parable against them.'

The parable made the Scribes and the chief priests even more determined to arrest Jesus, and they sought to find ways of doing so, but always the people got in the way, for they would not leave Jesus alone. And while the people were there in such huge numbers they recognised that any attempt to arrest Him would simply cause excessive trouble.

We may, perhaps, conclude our comments on this passage by drawing from the application made of the parable by a well known scholar:

· It tells us of human privilege. God had given to His people an inheritance which all recognised as a blessing.

· It tells us of human sin. Man misuses what God has given and appropriates it for his own purposes.

· It tells us of human responsibility. The inheritance was given in order that man may pay his proper respects to God and show his proper respect to his neighbour.

· It tells us of God's patience. Over the long centuries, while God had chastened His people, He had preserved them through it all and had even brought them back to their land. And now He was still lovingly reaching out to them.

· It tells us of God's mercy. In reaching out to them He even gave His only beloved Son.

· It tells us of God's judgment. One day the consequence of this can only be that for those who have rejected His Son will come judgment.

· It tells us that Jesus knew what was coming and yet did not turn back from it. he suffered for us, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.

· It tells us that He never doubted God's ultimate triumph. He knew that in the end God's purposes would prevail and man's folly be revealed for what it is.

· It tells us that He is the only beloved Son of God, greater than Moses and all the prophets, even greater than John the Baptiser. They were beloved servants but He is the beloved Son. There is no other.