Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Song of the Grape-Field

5 Let me sing for my loved one a love song about His grape-field: My loved one had a grape-field on a hill that grows much fruit. ² He dug all around it and took away its stones, and planted it with the best vine. He built a tower in the center of it, and cut out a place in it for crushing grapes. Then He expected it to give good grapes, but it gave only wild grapes.

³ “And now, O people living in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My grape-field. ⁴ What more was there to do for My grape-field that I have not done for it? When I expected it to give good grapes, why did it give wild grapes? ⁵ Now I will tell you what I am going to do to My grape-field. I will take away its fence and it will be destroyed. I will break down its wall and it will be crushed under foot. ⁶ I will make it a waste. It will not be taken care of, and thistles and thorns will come up. I will also tell the clouds not to rain on it.”

⁷ For the grape-field of the Lord of All is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the vines He planted. So He looked for what is right and fair, but He saw blood poured out. He looked for what is right and good, but He heard a cry of those in trouble.

⁷ O God of all, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

⁸ You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and You planted it. ⁹ You cleared the land for it. And its roots went deep and filled the land. ¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shadow. And the tall trees were covered with its branches. ¹¹ It sent out its branches to the sea, and its new branches to the River. ¹² Why have You broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its fruit? ¹³ The wild pig from among the trees eats it away. And whatever moves in the field eats from it.

¹⁴ O God of all, we beg You to return. Look down from heaven and see. Take care of this vine. ¹⁵ Take care of the root Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You have raised up for Yourself.

⁴ I could have reason to trust in the flesh. If anyone could feel that the flesh could do something for him, I could. ⁵ I went through the religious act of becoming a Jew when I was eight days old. I was born a Jew and came from the family group of Benjamin. I was a Jewish son of Jewish parents. I belonged to the group of the proud religious law-keepers. ⁶ I followed my religion with all my heart and did everything I could to make it hard for the church. No one could say anything against the way I obeyed the Law.

Christ Must Be Lord of Our Lives

⁷ But I gave up those things that were so important to me for Christ. ⁸ Even more than that, I think of everything as worth nothing. It is so much better to know Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for Him. And I think of these things as worth nothing so that I can have Christ. ⁹ I want to be as one with Him. I could not be right with God by what the Law said I must do. I was made right with God by faith in Christ. ¹⁰ I want to know Him. I want to have the same power in my life that raised Jesus from the dead. I want to understand and have a share in His sufferings and be like Christ in His death. ¹¹ Then I may be raised up from among the dead.

¹² I do not say that I have received this or have already become perfect. But I keep going on to make that life my own as Christ Jesus made me His own. ¹³ No, Christian brothers, I do not have that life yet. But I do one thing. I forget everything that is behind me and look forward to that which is ahead of me. ¹⁴ My eyes are on the crown. I want to win the race and get the crown of God’s call from heaven through Christ Jesus.

The Picture-Story of the Grape-Field ^(A)

³³ “Listen to another picture-story. A man who owned land planted grapes in a field and put a fence around it. He made a place for making wine. He built a tower to look over the grape-field. He let farmers rent it and then he went into another country. ³⁴ The time came for gathering the grapes. He sent his servants to the farmers to get the grapes. ³⁵ The farmers took his servants and hit one. They killed another and threw stones at another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants. He sent more than the first time. The farmers did the same to those servants. ³⁷ After this he sent his son to them. He said to himself, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ When the farmers saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the one who will get everything when the owner dies. Let us kill him and we will get it all.’ ³⁹ They took him and threw him out of the grape-field and killed him. ⁴⁰ When the owner of the grape-field comes, what will he do to those farmers?” ⁴¹ They said to Him, “He will put those bad men to death. Then he will rent the grape-field to other farmers who will give him the grapes when they are ready.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you not read in the Holy Writings, ‘The Stone that was put aside by the workmen has become the most important Stone in the building? The Lord has done this. We think it is great!’ ^{(B) 43} I say to you, because of this, the holy nation of God will be taken from you. It will be given to a nation that will give fruit. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on this Stone will be broken. And on the one it falls, it will make him like dust.”

⁴⁵ When the religious leaders and the proud religious law-keepers heard this picture-story, they knew He spoke of them. ⁴⁶ When they tried to put their hands on Him, they were afraid of the many people. The people thought He was One Who spoke for God.