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Lent · Fifth Sunday in Lent · Year C

Luke 20:9-20

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

April 2, 2028

Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen (October), Marten van Valckenborch
Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen (October), Marten van Valckenborch, c. 1580–1590Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
From a series of the months. The parable is told in the middle distance of an October landscape full of people getting the harvest in.The parable is about a vineyard at harvest, and Valckenborch puts it where it belongs, in a working field in autumn.Marten van ValckenborchA Flemish painter who fled Antwerp for religious reasons and worked in Frankfurt, painting the months and seasons.Kunsthistorisches Museum, ViennaThe Habsburg collection, assembled over four centuries and housed in a purpose-built palace on the Ringstrasse since 1891.Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelLuke 20:9-20Lk 20:9-20
EpistlePhil. 3:8-14Phil 3:8-14
Old TestamentIsa. 43:16-21Is 43:16-21
PsalterPs. 126Ps 126

Overview & Insights

"The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." (Luke 20:17)

In the temple during Holy Week, Jesus tells a parable of tenant farmers who beat the vineyard owner's servants and finally kill his son, aiming the story squarely at the religious leaders standing in front of him. The leaders recognize themselves in the story and start looking for a way to arrest him, but hold back for fear of the crowd.

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Take it further: Luke 20:9-20

Commentary

Luke 20 CommentaryLk 20 Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Gives a clear verse-by-verse walk through the parable and the leaders' reaction.

Luke 20:9 CommentariesLk 20:9 Commentaries BibleHub

Collects classic commentators side by side on the opening verse of the parable.

Luke 20 CommentaryLk 20 Commentary Precept Austin

Offers a devotional, verse-anchored study of the whole chapter.

Luke 20 (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)Lk 20 (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) StudyLight

Adds a concise older commentary voice on the passage.

Luke 20:9 InterlinearLk 20:9 Interlinear BibleHub

Shows the underlying Greek word by word for close reading.

Background & Word Study

Luke 20:9-19: A Vineyard's Murderous TenantsLk 20:9-19: A Vineyard's Murderous Tenants Enter the Bible

Explains the vineyard imagery's roots in Isaiah and its force against the leaders.

Book of Luke OverviewBook of Lk Overview BibleProject

Situates the parable within Luke's larger narrative arc leading to the cross.

The Church Fathers

Luke 20:9 Patristic CatenaLk 20:9 Patristic Catena Catena

Gathers early church readings of the vineyard as a figure for Israel and the church.

Worship & Prayers

Fifth Sunday in Lent The Lectionary Page

Provides the day's collect and full set of appointed prayers.

Podcast

Fifth Sunday in Lent Working Preacher

The Sermon Brainwave team talks through the day's texts and preaching angles.

Art & Music

Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year C Vanderbilt

Curates public-domain artwork tied to the day's readings.

Study Hub

Luke 20:9-19Lk 20:9-19 Textweek

A long-standing hub of links for further study on this exact passage.

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