Home > Jesus is God in Mark's Gospel
This parable is also mentioned in Matthew 21:33–46 and Luke 20:9–19. In the Parable of the Tenants, Jesus describes the history of Israel’s rebellion against God's messengers. Jesus describes a vineyard (Israel) where the owner (God) sends servants (the prophets) who are rejected. Finally, he sends his "beloved son.
Mark 12:1–12:
And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture:
“ ‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
“beloved son” - Jesus uses the Greek word agapētos ("beloved"). In the Septuagint, this often translates the Hebrew yachid, meaning "unique" or "only." This is the same word used by the Father at Jesus's Baptism and Transfiguration.
Matthew 3:17:
and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”Matthew 17:5:
He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Confirmed also be Peter in his second letter.
2 Peter 1:16–19:
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
"They will respect my son" - Jesus distinguishes Himself from the "servants" (the prophets). While the prophets were God's messengers, Jesus is of the same nature as the Owner. He is the "Heir" of the Vineyard (Israel/Creation). In a polemic context, this identifies Jesus as the unique, monogenēs Son—not a servant by office, but a Son by essence.
Prophets are employees (servants); Jesus is the Heir and the Owner’s Son. The Son possesses the same authority and "vineyard" as the Father.
| Element in Parable | Jesus View | Islamic Error |
|---|---|---|
| The Servants (v. 2-5) | The OT Prophets; honorable but subordinate. | The exact same status as Jesus (all are Islamic prophets). |
| The Beloved Son (v. 6) | Ontologically unique, divine Heir (). | A mortal prophet/messenger only; no divine heirship. |
| The Killing of the Son (v. 8) | Crucial historical reality and catalyst for judgment. | Explicitly denied; Jesus was rescued from death. |
| The Cornerstone (v. 10) | The Resurrected Jesus as the basis of the New Covenant. | Muhammad claimed to be the "last brick" in the wall of prophets. |
The absolute proof that Jesus was claiming unique, non-prophetic authority is found in the reaction of His enemies in verse 12: "And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them."
If Jesus were merely saying, "I am a prophet telling you to reform," the Sanhedrin would have dismissed Him as a nuisance. They wanted to kill Him because He accurately identified them as the wicked tenants and Himself as the Sovereign Heir who possessed the lawful right to the entire inheritance of Israel.