We have just heard the most fascinating gospel reading. It seems quite harsh in some respects but understanding the context will help us to understand better what it means. Jesus was telling the parable on what was only his second day in Jerusalem. In other words, this was the day after his triumphal entry into the city on a donkey and a few days before his arrest and crucifixion. He was in the temple and it was all just beginning to come to a head. In the verse immediately preceding the ones that we just had read, we heard how the chief priests and Pharisees were unhappy with Jesus and already wanted to arrest him, but they didn’t dare because they feared the crowd and the crowd regarded Jesus as a prophet. That is actually what we were told at the end of last week’s gospel reading.
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