Jesus told the parable of a vineyard owner who sent servant after servant to collect the fruit that was his due, only to have his tenants beat, insult, and eventually kill them — and finally kill his own son. The parable exposes Israel’s religious leaders, who mistreated God’s prophets and would soon reject His Son.
Because the tenants refused to give the owner what belonged to him, the vineyard was taken from them and given to a people who would produce its fruit. Jesus applies this to Himself as the stone the builders rejected, now become the very cornerstone, and warns that those who stumble over Him will be broken. Jerusalem’s coming judgment, He says, is the direct consequence of rejecting the Son who was sent to it.