Book of Common Prayer

God’s patience

¹¹ Since everything is going to dissolve in this way, what sort of people should you be? You should live lives that are holy and godly, ¹² as you look for God’s day to appear, and indeed hurry it on its way—the day because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the elements will melt with heat. ¹³ But we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which justice will be at home. That is what he has promised.

¹⁴ So, my dear family, as you wait for these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, in peace. ¹⁵ And when our Lord waits patiently to act, see that for what it is—salvation! Our beloved brother Paul has written to you about all this, according to the wisdom that has been given him, ¹⁶ speaking about these things as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them which are difficult to understand. Untaught and unstable people twist his words to their own destruction, as they do with the other scriptures.

¹⁷ But as for you, my dear family, be on your guard, since you have been warned in advance. That way you won’t be led astray through the error of lawless people and fall away from your own solid grounding. ¹⁸ Instead, grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus the Messiah. To him be glory both now and in the day when God’s new age dawns. Amen.

The parable of the tenants

³³ “Listen to another parable,” Jesus went on. “Once upon a time there was a householder who planted a vineyard, built a wall for it, dug out a wine-press in it, and built a tower. Then he let it out to tenant farmers and went away on a journey.

³⁴ “When harvest time arrived, he sent his slaves to the farmers to collect his produce. ³⁵ The farmers seized his slaves; they beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other slaves, more than before, and they treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them.

“ ‘They’ll respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But the farmers saw the son.

“ ‘This fellow’s the heir!’ they said among themselves. ‘Come on, let’s kill him, and then we can take over the property!’

³⁹ “So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Now then: when the vineyard-owner returns, what will he do to those farmers?”

⁴¹ “He’ll kill them brutally, the wretches!” they said. “And he’ll lease the vineyard to other farmers who’ll give him the produce at the right time.”

⁴² “Did you never read what the Bible says?” said Jesus to them:

⁴³ “So then let me tell you this: God’s kingdom is going to be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the goods. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be smashed to pieces, and anyone it falls on will be crushed.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They tried to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who regarded him as a prophet.