The Parable of Wicked Tenants

Planting vines in vineyards has been a common daily experience in Palestine since Biblical times. There have been a lot of stories and romances building around vineyards. If you want to, you may even impute sexual encounters to stories in vineyard settings.
When Isaiah sang his vineyard song, he understood the vineyard of God to be the house of Israel.
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness, but behold, a cry! (Isaiah 5:7)
God has done a lot, liberating Israelites from the slavery in Egypt; driving out pagan tribes in Canaan, to settle down Israel, to build her a home. However, with prosperity came idolatry and exploitation of the poor. Israelites had failed God. In disappointment, God made use of Assyria and Babylon to chasten them. This is the Vineyard Song of Isaiah.
Some 700 years later, with the same vineyard experience among his listeners, Jesus made use of the Vineyard Song of Isaiah and extended its meaning. Now, the vineyard was no longer the house of Israel. Rather, it is the Kingdom of Heaven which is open to all,
who will give him the fruits in their seasons (Matthew 21:41c)
The Kingdom of Heaven is no longer the exclusive rights of the Israelites or Jews. Anyone who does God's will will be admitted.
For Jesus, the vineyard also meant Jerusalem. Just as the tenants killed the owner's son outside the vineyard, Jesus was crucified on the hill top Calvary outside Jerusalem.
It has been nearly 2000 years since Jesus' time. Though we don't share the same vineyard experience with Jesus, it is still meaningful to ask what relevancy this parable has to modern life, what application we can find with this parable. Fortunately, Jesus is our Final Revelation. There is nothing beyond Jesus and his teachings. We can rest assured that Jesus' interpretation is already the final interpretation of the Vineyard Song. Therefore, baptism does not guarantee the admission into heaven. Only actions count.
The quotation of the Psalm about the stone came from the Septuagint. The text is identical.
λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες,οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας·παρὰ κυρίου ἐγένετο αὕτη καὶ ἔστιν θαυμαστὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν; (Matthew 21:42, Psalm 117:22-23 LXX; Psalm 118:22-23 MT)
The way Matthew reports this parable is slightly different from that in Mark. In Mark, it was Jesus who gave the verdict.
He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others (Mark 10:9b).
Matthew put these words in the mouth of the priests and elders instead (Matthew 21:41).
This was significant for the readers of Matthew who were Jewish Christians. Among them there might be converts from priests and elders (Acts 6:7).

My dear Advocate, we are grateful to be able to live in the vineyard of God. May we draw life from the True Vine, Jesus, grow in closer union with him and produce good fruits. Amen