“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.” —Matthew 21:43

Jesus’ parable of the wicked tenants is not an easy one.

A landowner plants a vineyard, carefully prepares it, and leases it to tenants. When harvest time comes, he sends servants to collect the fruit that belongs to him. The tenants beat one, kill another, and stone another. Finally, the owner sends his son—and they kill him too.

It is a violent story. And throughout Christian history, it has sometimes been given a troubling interpretation: the vineyard represents Israel, the wicked tenants represent the Jewish people, and the vineyard is eventually taken from them and given to Christians.

Jewish New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine cautions us against that reading.

Matthew himself tells us that Jesus’ words are directed particularly toward the religious leaders who recognize that “he was speaking about them.” Jesus is not rejecting Judaism. He is speaking as a Jewish teacher in the tradition of Israel’s prophets, calling religious leaders to account for how they have cared for what God has entrusted to them.

And that means Christians should be careful about assuming that we are simply the “good tenants” in this story.

Perhaps the better question is: What kind of tenants are we?

After all, the vineyard does not belong to any of us. Our lives do not belong to us. Our abilities do not belong to us. Our possessions do not belong to us. Even the church does not belong to us.

They are gifts entrusted to our care.

That is the heart of stewardship.

Stewardship begins when we stop asking, “What do I own?” and begin asking, “What has God entrusted to me—and what fruit is it producing?” Jesus says that God desires a people who “produce the fruits of the kingdom.”

Fruit like compassion. Fruit like justice. Fruit like generosity. Fruit like forgiveness. Fruit like welcome. Fruit like love of neighbor.

This year at Redeemer, our stewardship theme is Blessed to Be a Blessing. It reminds us that God’s blessings never end with us. God entrusts the vineyard to us so that it might bear fruit for the world.

We have been blessed with faith, community, resources, buildings, music, ministries, relationships, and countless individual gifts. None of them are simply possessions to protect. They are gifts to cultivate and share.

So perhaps Jesus’ parable leaves us with a question worth carrying into the week:

What has God entrusted to me, and how can I help it bear fruit?

We have been blessed so that, through us, God’s blessing might continue to grow.