Deliverance from the Cross — Page 13
him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, what shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, therefore, shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid'. (Luke 20:16- 19; Matt. 21:32-41; Mark 12:1-9) Those before whom Jesus had set forth this parable clearly grasped the warning of Jesus that if they rejected him, the bounty of prophethood would be withdrawn from them and would be transferred to another people, but they did not believe that this would happen, so their response was, God forbid. However Jesus did not leave the matter there; he went on to remind them: What is this then that is written, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the comer? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whosoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. ' (Luke 20:17-18; Matt. 21:42-44; Mark 12:10-11) 13