There is a story—a parable—that feels ancient, yet it’s written for your life, right here and now. It’s the parable found in the Gospel of Thomas, Saying 65, a version of the familiar “Wicked Tenants” (or “Wicked Husbandmen”) story. In this telling, the owner of a vineyard leases it to tenants who reject the owner’s messengers, then finally kill his son. earlychristianwritings.com
And here’s the truth: everything in this story is yours. The vineyard. The lease. The tenants. The servant-messengers. Even the son. The question is: will you see who you are in this story — and who you are serving?
1. The Setting: A Vineyard, Tenants, a Master
In Saying 65 we read:
“He said: A good man had a vineyard; he leased it to tenants, that they might work in it (and) he receive the fruits from them. He sent his servant, that the tenants might give him the fruits of the vineyard. They seized his servant, beat him, (and) all but killed him … Then the owner sent his son: ‘Perhaps they will have respect for my son.’ Those tenants, since they knew that he was the heir of the vineyard, they seized him and killed him. He who has ears, let him hear.” earlychristianwritings.com+1
Simple. Sharp. A master entrusts something – a vineyard – into the hands of others. A lease. A contract. The expectation: fruit. The reality: rebellion. Rejection. Death.
In the ancient world, a vineyard was a symbol of life, livelihood, blessing. For someone to lease it meant it was not theirs in the ultimate sense—they were stewards. The master still owned it, but the tenants were trusted to produce the fruit. And yet they reject the very system of trust.
This is where the spiritual weight lies. It forces us to ask: who owns what I have? If God is the true Owner, then I am a tenant. A steward. Borrowing. Working. Bringing forth fruit.
2. Why This Story Speaks to Us
2.1 Everything is Borrowed
You have your life. Your days. Your relationships. Your work. Even your heart. It’s all been entrusted to you by Someone greater than you. When you begin to internalize that you’re not the ultimate owner—you’re the steward—everything changes.
The tenants in the parable treated the vineyard as if it were theirs. They abused the privilege. They ignored the messenger. They even killed the heir. The cost? Loss. Loss of blessing. Loss of position. Loss of purpose.
2.2 The Messengers Arrive
Notice the sequence: first a servant, then another; then the son. Each messenger represents someone or something coming to you with what belongs to the master. Maybe it’s a word of God, a prophet, a helper, your conscience, the Holy Spirit – “Here is the fruit. Bring it.” In Thomas 65, two servants were beaten, nearly killed. Then the son arrives and is murdered. westarinstitute.org
In your own life the “messengers” might take less dramatic shape—but the principle is real: opportunities come. Warnings come. Invitations to produce fruit. To honour the master. Do you receive them? Are they crushed? Ignored?
2.3 The Son Comes
When the son arrives, the tenants recognise him—“they knew that he was the heir to the vineyard” — and they kill him. Thomas 65 says that plainly. earlychristianwritings.com+1
In our lives the “son” might be the ultimate call of God on our life, the invitation to step into full ownership of our role, our calling, our inheritance. Do we honour that? Or do we kill it by ignoring it, resisting it, assuming we’re doing fine on our own?
2.4 A Warning and an Invitation
“He who has ears, let him hear.” The story ends with that. Not: go ahead and ignore it. Not: hope it doesn’t apply to you. It is a call. A beckoning. A warning: maybe you’re playing the tenant—but you should be the steward receiving what belongs to the Owner.
3. How This Parable Transforms Your View of Life
3.1 Your Time
Time is a vineyard lease. You don’t own unlimited time. It’s been entrusted to you. What you do with it matters. Do you invest it, produce fruit, or squander it?
3.2 Your Talents & Gifts
You weren’t born just to keep gifts to yourself. You were born to serve, to produce. The tenants kept the fruit—they denied the owner his due. Do you give back what’s expected: praise, service, love, obedience?
3.3 Your Relationships
People in your life—family, friends—they’re not yours to possess and control. They’re entrusted to you. How you treat the “vineyard” of relationships matters. Are you cultivating fruit, honour, trust? Or are you ignoring the owner’s investment and treating them as disposable?
3.4 Your Heart
At the deepest level, this parable speaks to the condition of the heart. Are you operating under the assumption “I own this, this is mine, I’ll do what I want with it”? Or do you recognise: “God owns this. I’m the tenant. I’ll live accordingly”? The shift from ownership to stewardship is radical.
When you realise God is the Owner, you stop exhausting yourself trying to be the master. You rest into your role as a steward. And you live differently.
4. Why This Version in the Gospel of Thomas Matters
Why do we refer to this version – Saying 65 of the Gospel of Thomas – rather than only the canonical Gospels? Because Thomas gives a crisp, raw version of the parable, with less allegorical unpacking and more immediate punch. Scholars note that Thomas 65 follows a triadic oral-structure (two servants, then the son) and seems to preserve an early form of the story. westarinstitute.org+1
Unlike the versions in Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke, Thomas doesn’t immediately plunge into extended allegory and context—there is simplicity, clarity, immediacy. Some scholars even argue Thomas is closer to the original spoken layer behind the canonical texts. Wikipedia
That’s important for you. Because when a parable is stripped of layers and starts speaking directly — “Here is your life. Here’s the vineyard. Here’s the owner. Here’s the messengers. Here’s the son.” — it hits home faster.
5. What Living as a Steward Looks Like
5.1 Humility
Recognise you are not the owner. Humility isn’t weakness—it’s truth. And truth empowers you to live responsibly.
5.2 Faithfulness
Leasing implies responsibility. Will you bring the fruit? Will you show up. Will you honour the master’s instructions? It may not always be easy—but it is expected.
5.3 Resilience
The owner in the story sends again and again. He doesn’t simply give up. That reflects God’s patience, God’s longsuffering. And for you: keep on working the vineyard even when the tenants around you are wild, unfruitful, destructive.
5.4 Anticipation
If everything is borrowed, one day you’ll return it. There will be an accounting. There is a day when what you’ve done will come into full view. “He who has ears, let him hear” means: listen now, live accordingly now.
5.5 Fruit-bearing
At the core: bring fruit. Not just activity. Not just busyness. But fruit—character, love, justice, mercy, kindness, faith. That’s the return on the lease.
6. A Prayer for the Vineyard-Stewards
Lord of the vineyard,
You have entrusted me with a lease—to live, to love, to labour, to care. Grant me ears to hear your voice. Grant me hands to work the fields you’ve given. Grant me a heart aligned with yours, that I might bring forth the fruit you desire. When I forget that you are the Owner, remind me with gentleness. When I neglect the messengers you send, let me repent and receive. And when you send your Son into the land of my heart, let me recognise him, honour him, and give him the fruit of a healed, surrendered life. Amen.
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Watch until the end for a prayer that will move your heart.
Watch the full talk on What the tenants must realize and allow the Master’s voice to sink in.
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7. Final Word
The parable of the wicked tenants isn’t just about the religious leaders of first-century Israel. It’s about all of us. It’s about stewardship. It’s about recognising who truly owns everything. It’s about whether you will bring forth fruit, or ignore the call, or worse, kill the Son by refusing his call on your heart.
You are the tenant. The vineyard is your life. The Owner is God. Lease wisely. Labour fruitfully. Honour fully. Because one day you’ll give it all back.
“He who has ears, let him hear.”
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