Bible Parables S3E7: The Parable Of The Wicked Vinedressers

This is a live session recording where we delve into the timeless wisdom of The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers from Matthew 21:33–41 (NKJV) and its practical application in our daily lives. This session is part of an ongoing series where we explore how biblical teachings can guide us in living fulfilling lives.

In this session, we will explore the deeper meaning behind the parable and offer practical insights for bringing more compassion and connection into our daily lives.

This session includes a guided reflective meditation that will gently lead you through a journey of inner reflection and healing.

Come prepared to reflect on your own journey, engage with thought-provoking ideas, and leave inspired to create a life filled with purpose and abundance. This session is welcoming to all, regardless of religious background or familiarity with the Bible.

Transcript

The parable of the wicked wine dressers.

The flow of the session is I start with the reading of the parable,

Then I will go into a line by line interpretation of the parable,

Then we will move into a guided meditation based on the same parable and finally we will end with looking at how we can live the message of this parable in our daily lives.

And for today's session as I start first with the reading of the parable,

I want you all to try to observe what goes on through your mind as I am reading this parable.

The parable of the wicked wine dressers.

Here another parable,

There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it,

Dug a wine press in it and built a tower and he leased it to wine dressers and went into a far country.

Now when vintage time drew near,

He sent his servants to the wine dressers that they might receive its fruit and the wine dressers took his servants,

Beat one,

Killed one and stoned another.

Again he sent other servants,

More than the first and they did likewise to them.

Then last of all he sent his son to them saying,

They will respect my son.

But when the wine dressers saw the son,

They said among themselves,

This is the heir,

Come let us kill him and seize his inheritance.

So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Therefore,

When the owner of the vineyard comes,

What will he do to those wine dressers?

And they said to him,

He will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other wine dressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.

And that's the parable of the wicked wine dressers.

So hearing this parable,

What are the first thoughts that come to your mind?

So it just seems like such a violent parable,

Right?

There's all this killing and all this stoning and all this beating going on.

At the face of it,

This can be a very confusing,

A very confusing parable.

But as we go now into it line by line,

I think it will become more relevant.

The parable becomes more relevant to us when we look at it from the spiritual angle,

From the psychological angle,

From practical wisdom.

It kind of becomes a metaphor for our own inner life,

Our relationships,

Our spiritual growth.

The parable starts,

There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it,

Dug a wine press in it and built a tower.

And he leased it to wine dressers and went into a far country.

Who is the landowner?

The landowner is divine source.

The landowner is your higher self.

The landowner is that creative intelligence that life has,

That creative intelligence that's running everything.

That's the landowner.

The vineyard is simply your life.

The vineyard is our life,

Our body,

Our mind,

Our energy,

Our relationships,

Our dreams,

Our potential.

That's the vineyard,

Our life.

The hedge and this symbolizes healthy boundaries,

The limits,

The protections that we put up that help us to grow.

That's the hedge.

The wine press,

The wine press that transforms grapes which is a simple fruit into something completely different like wine.

The wine press is our capacity for transformation.

To press experience into wisdom,

To press pain into purpose,

That's the wine press.

And the tower,

The tower is your highest perspective,

Your intuition,

Your vision,

Your ability to rise above fear.

So you see how each of each of those elements in that first sentence itself,

The landowner,

The vineyard,

The hedge,

The wine press,

The tower,

All these are symbolic of something and put together it is a picture of you being entrusted with something sacred.

Life has given you a field to tend.

What questions can we ask ourselves?

Am I treating my life as sacred?

Do I honour the miracle of my body or do I abuse it with stress,

With poor habits,

With neglect?

Do I invest my time with intention or do I let distractions run the show?

So if the vineyard is your creativity,

Are you cultivating your creativity?

Are you writing?

Are you painting?

Are you sharing?

Or are you letting the vines overgrow with self-doubt?

The next verse goes,

Now when vintage time drew near,

He sent his servants to the wine dressers that they might receive its fruit.

There comes a time when life asks something of you.

There comes a time when life asks something of you,

Not just to receive but to contribute.

The servants,

The servants may appear as opportunities,

The servants may appear as inner promptings,

The servants may even appear as challenges.

Opportunities,

Inner promptings,

Challenges that call you to live from your highest self.

Reflecting on your life,

Have you ever felt nudged to speak a truth?

Have you ever felt an urge to start a certain project or to heal a relationship?

And this is vintage time,

Those nudges,

The season of the harvest.

A friend reaches out to you,

Will you offer love?

Will you offer your support or will you stay detached?

A business idea comes in a dream,

Will you act or will you doubt it forever?

The parable goes on,

And the wine dressers took his servants,

Beat one,

Killed one and stoned another.

The wine dressers,

This is that part of us.

The wine dressers are often our ego or a product of our old conditioning.

Our ego or our old conditioning that is resisting that call to grow.

When we have that intuition to do something,

We beat it with excuses.

When we have inspiration,

We kill our inspiration with fear.

Those dreams that we have of doing something,

Of growing,

Of moving in a certain direction,

We tend to stone our dreams with self-sabotage.

Where in your life are you rejecting your own inner messengers?

Because the messengers have been coming.

That intuition has been coming.

The ideas have been coming.

The opportunities have been coming.

Have you been rejecting them?

And what parts of you live in silence?

A very good example is when you feel that you need to rest,

But we override that thought with the guilt of productivity,

Or we sense the need to forgive,

But yet we cling to resentment.

And these are the ways we kill that truth which is inside us.

So beating our intuition with excuses,

Killing our aspirations with fear,

Stoning our dreams with self-sabotage.

The parable goes on,

Again he sent other servants,

More than the first,

And they did likewise to them.

The divine is relentlessly loving.

Life keeps offering chances,

New ideas,

Deeper wisdom,

Recurring lessons.

All these show up again and again until we awaken.

Notice life patterns.

Try to notice life patterns.

The same issues that you are seeing in different relationships,

Inner conflicts that keep recurring,

These are not punishments.

These are spiritual invitations that we keep deferring.

You keep moving your jobs,

But you always find that you have the same dynamic with your boss,

Or in every relationship that you have,

You find the same emotional wounds coming up.

These are simply signals that you're ignoring a servant.

Then last of all,

He sent his son to them saying,

They will respect my son.

Who is the son?

The son is your divine essence.

The son is your Christ nature.

The son is your true self.

The son is your unfiltered soul.

When the servants,

Those small nudges,

Don't work,

Life can send you a spiritual awakening,

A deep yearning,

Or a deep need for transformation,

A health scare,

A mystical dream,

A breakdown,

Reaching rock bottom in an addiction or in a relationship,

Having a mental breakdown,

Moving into depression.

These are the spiritual awakenings that life sends you because you have been ignoring those small nudges.

You have been ignoring the servants.

You have been killing the servants.

You have been stoning the servants.

So life gives you that opportunity to have a spiritual awakening,

And this may come in a health scare.

This may come in a mystical dream.

This may come in a breakdown.

All might be the son asking to be respected.

Have you had that wake-up call yet?

Have you had that crisis?

Have you had that breakthrough?

Have you had that moment of radical clarity?

And those moments are the son knocking.

Will you honour the son or will you do the same with the son as you did with the servants?

And the parable goes on.

But when the wine dressers saw the son,

They said among themselves,

This is the heir.

Come,

Let us kill him and seize his inheritance.

The ego,

The self,

The identity that we have created,

This panics when there's transformation taking place,

When there's growth taking place.

The ego fears losing control.

The ego fears losing its identity.

The ego fears losing that sense of self that it's created.

So what it tries to do is it tries to destroy that new self which is emerging.

You have an opportunity to do public speaking but fear sets in,

Fear of judgment,

Fear of criticism.

And so you sabotage yourself.

You sabotage your opportunities.

You sabotage your healing because it threatens who you've always been.

A person who has identified themself with being a sick person or the sick patient and has got addicted to the compassion or the pity that they receive from the people around them because they are sick may find it very difficult to get well because the ego,

The self,

The identity panics when there's transformation.

The ego tries to hold on to his identity.

So in your lives,

Where are you holding back from full self-expression because of fear of change,

Of fear of what others will say?

And where in your life does growth feel threatening?

In your relationships,

In your career,

In your education,

In your hobbies,

In your aspirations,

Where does growth feel threatening?

You feel called to share your voice but you fear being seen.

You start to heal but then something happens and you stop because your old identity,

It depended on being broken and the parable goes on.

So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

And this is that moment of disconnection where we exile our true self in favor of fitting in,

In favor of feeling safe or maintaining the illusion.

We give up our art to take the practical job.

We hide our spirituality to fit into community.

We abandon love because there's that fear of loss.

Something to think about is where have you silenced your soul simply for approval or for comfort and what beautiful part of you have you banished,

Have you cast out of the vineyard,

Have you killed?

It could be a talent that you have.

It could be a passion that you wanted to pursue.

It could be a relationship.

What part of you have you cast out and killed?

And the parable goes on.

Therefore,

When the owner of the vineyard comes,

What will he do to those wine dressers?

And this is the question.

Interestingly,

This isn't about vengeance.

It's universal law.

It's the law of cause and effect.

It's karma.

Whatever is out of alignment will collapse.

What is misused will be reclaimed.

The soul will ultimately correct cause.

The soul will ultimately correct cause.

So are we building our life based on truth or are we protecting the illusions that we have created?

And we all have that deep knowing.

Are we aligning our daily choices with that deep knowing?

If you ignore your health,

Your body will break down.

Cause and effect.

Karma,

Cause and effect.

Universal law.

If you live out of fear,

Life will mirror that fear back to you.

And this is not punishment.

This is not vengeance.

This is not revenge.

This is simply reflection.

What you see within or what you see without is a reflection of what is within.

It's simply reflection.

And the parable ends with,

They said to him,

He will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other wine dressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.

Ultimately,

Whatever does not serve truth will fall away.

Life will reassign power and purpose to those parts of you that are willing to live in alignment.

This last sentence simply is telling you that you always have a chance to become a new wine dresser.

You always have a chance to start anew.

Evicting the tenants.

What beliefs,

What conditioning,

What behaviors do you need to evict from your life?

And what is the new truth that you are willing to live by?

You can release the victim's story and you can take ownership.

You can stop numbing your pain and you can finally begin that healing.

You can honor your calling even if it scares you.

The last sentence simply tells us that there is this opportunity to start again.

Life is always giving you these opportunities.

Take them.

So the parable teaches us that we are both the vineyard,

We are both the vineyard and the wine dresser.

We are entrusted with the sacred.

We are all given gifts.

We are all given talents.

We all have something that we are special at and we are accountable for how we respond to truth,

To love,

To our life's calling.

So as a daily practice,

Tend to your soul.

Tend to your soul's calling.

Listen to your inner guidance.

Respect what is sacred to you and others.

So this parable,

When we first read it or when we first read it,

It seemed like this parable is about judgment.

But this parable is not about judgment.

This parable is not about revenge.

This parable is about conscious stewardship.

Because we are the vineyard and we are the vine dresser and we are the servant and we are also the son.

We are both the one who resists and the one who returns.

Every day,

Every day when we wake up,

It is a new season.

Every day when we wake up,

We get a new chance to plant,

A new chance to listen,

A new chance to honor what is sacred to us.

So as a daily practice,

If you are doing journaling,

A good question to ask in the morning is,

What truth is life asking you to live today?

In the evening,

A simple question,

Did you honor the divinity which is within you and others?

And something to reflect on is,

Which part of you is trying to emerge?

What is that part of you that is trying to come out,

That is trying to grow?

And which is that part of you that is trying to stop it?

And that's the interpretation,

That's a metaphysical,

A practical,

A spiritual interpretation of this parable.

We will now go into a guided meditation based on the same parable titled the inner vineyard.

So get yourself into a comfortable position.

Close your eyes and let your breath become your anchor.

Let your breath become your anchor.

Inhale deeply through the nose and exhale gently through the mouth.

Let go of the day.

Let go of effort.

Let go of needing to understand.

Simply be here.

And imagine that you stand at the edge of a vast sunlit vineyard.

The land rolls gently over green hills.

There are rows of vines stretching out before you.

They are heavy with ripening fruit.

The air is rich and there is this beautiful scent of the earth that's filled with promise.

This vineyard is your soul,

Your consciousness,

The field of your life.

Every thought,

Belief,

Intention is a seed you've planted.

Some with love,

Others in fear.

And now you are here to walk among what you've grown.

What have you been planting in the soil of your life?

Have you been cultivating peace,

Gratitude,

Faith?

Or have you been planting worry,

Judgment,

Resistance?

Your inner vineyard,

What does it look like today?

In the distance,

You see a small tower,

A watchtower,

Just as the parable described.

From this tower,

The landowner once looked out over the vineyard.

The landowner is your higher self,

Your divine essence who lovingly planted this life and then stepped back,

Trusting you,

The caretaker,

To tend it with wisdom.

You were not left alone.

You were entrusted,

Empowered,

Blessed.

Have you honored the life you've been given?

Have you tended to your inner world with care?

Or have you let it run wild with old patterns,

With painful habits?

Suddenly,

You sense the presence of messengers entering your vineyard.

Figures of light,

Quiet and insistent.

These are the inner promptings you've received over the years.

Intuitions,

Dreams,

Lessons,

Painful truths,

Sacred invitations to grow.

Some you welcomed.

Some you ignored.

Some you resisted.

Some you denied.

But always,

They came with the same request.

Give us the fruit.

Live your truth.

Let the vineyard bear what it was meant to bear.

What sacred messages have you been resisting?

Is there something you know deep down within you but you have not acted upon it?

What truth are you avoiding?

Not out of malice but out of fear.

And then comes one last figure.

The one you know.

Not from the outside but from within.

This is your true self,

The radiant Christ nature within.

The spark of divinity that carries your full inheritance.

Love,

Purpose,

Peace,

Creativity.

This son walks through your vineyard as if he owns it.

Because in truth,

He is you.

The part of you that knows you are not separate from the creator.

Yet the old self,

The fearful ego,

The part that clings to control,

Sees this presence as a threat.

Let us kill him,

It whispers.

Let us keep control.

Let us cling to the familiar even if it hurts.

Where in your life have you rejected your divine identity?

Where have you betrayed your highest self by choosing safety over soul?

And what part of you is afraid to awaken?

And why?

Why is that part of you afraid to awaken?

And as the parable unfolds,

The owner returns.

Not with vengeance but with clarity.

There is a great reckoning,

Not as punishment but as a moment of alignment.

Every soul must return to the truth.

The vineyard must be tended rightly.

The law must restore balance.

What must you release to realign with truth?

What old mental tenets must you evict from your vineyard?

Fear,

Guilt,

Shame,

Judgment.

Are you ready to become a new wine dresser?

Are you ready to become one who renders fruit in the season?

And now see yourself receiving a new lease from the divine.

You are not cast out.

You are chosen again as you always are.

The vineyard is still yours to tend.

The tower is still yours to climb.

The fruit is still possible.

Your task is clear.

Tend to your thoughts with reverence.

Welcome the messengers of spirit.

Receive the sun within.

And give back to life the fruits of your love.

Your wisdom.

Your truth.

And you can repeat inwardly or speak softly.

I am the conscious steward of my life.

I honour the divine within me and in all beings.

I release old patterns and welcome truth.

I am willing to bear fruit in season.

My life is a sacred garden.

I tend it with love.

And take a deep breath in through your nose.

And release through your mouth.

Wiggle your fingers.

Wiggle your toes.

And let the image of the vineyard remain in your heart.

You are the wine dresser.

And you have been entrusted once more.

And when you are ready,

You can open your eyes.

So this parable is not just a story about some ancient tenants.

This parable is a living mirror.

Every day you are given life.

You are given inner guidance.

You are given the chance to awaken to your divine self,

To your highest self.

What you do with this vineyard,

What you do with your consciousness,

Becomes the harvest that you will experience in life.

Reclaim your role as the conscious wine dresser.

Listen to those messengers within.

Listen to intuition.

The tenants that no longer serve you,

Uproot them.

And give back to life.

Give back to life what is due.

Bear those fruits.

You have been given a talent.

Use that talent.

You have a passion.

Pursue that passion.

You're living in fear.

Question that fear.

Move past it.

Drop that conditioning.

And yeah,

That's the parable of the wicked wine dressers.

Thank you everyone for being here.

Love,

Light,

Blessings.

Namaste.