Matthew 21:33-43,45-46 | Abel Grimmer | The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Matthew 21:33-43,45-46   The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants, Painted by Abel Grimmer (1570-1619), Painted circa 1590, Oil on panel, © Private Collection, Europe Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone. This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see? ‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’ When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.   READ MORE     Reflection on the Painting Our painting today is very small, barely 20cm in diameter. So one needs to approach this differently than larger paintings. Small paintings carry an intimacy which large paintings rarely have. Physically, as viewers, we need to stand close to them and carefully look to see all the detail. So there is a tangible physical engagement which large paintings lack. This, combined with the fact that our painting is round, really enhances the feeling that we are almost looking at the scene through a small window or a camera lens. The small group on the hill is composed of Christ and His disciples. They are portrayed  in classical dress, rather than in 16th-century clothing like the other figures. So it splits Jesus as the narrator from the rest of the scene. The clothing splits the narrator and the story that is being told. The bottom right scenes show the abuse and killing of the servants. The vineyard is painted showing no fruit. Wickedness can’t bear fruit… Notice also in the bottom left corner the artist telling us he is painting Matt.21 - it is highly unusual for an artist to paint that. The landowner left the tenants to cultivate his land. He didn’t supervise them closely by setting rules or ways of cultivating the land. The master knows that cultivating the land is hard work. Even after some of his servants were abused or killed, he did not become angry. No, he sent his son to try and mend the situation. Sending his son would hopefully make them see their own egotism and inspire them with generosity. So did God send his Son into our world to help us… For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved… by Patrick van der Vorst