Parable of the Vineyard Owner, Part 1 Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Parable of the Vineyard Owner, Part 1 Keywords: "vineyard" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Mark 12:1* And He began to speak to them in parables: "A man PLANTED A VINEYARD, AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. Questions 1. Why did the man in the story plant the vineyard? (I know the verse doesn’t tell you, so use your imagination).   2. What were the steps the man took to build this vineyard and why is each step important.   Practical help According to the Nelson Study Bible, “this parable represents God as carefully preparing the nation of Israel (a vineyard) and leaving it in the care of others (the vinedressers; Is. 5:1-7). Great care was taken to fence the vineyard, to prepare a wine vat for crushing the grapes, and to build a tower in order to keep watch and protect the property from thieves.” Two thousand years later, how can we in this generation apply this story to our own lives? In addition, how can this speak to the problem of Internet pornography? It is obvious that our God is involved with building up and creating life in the most positive sense of the word. In your life and mine, God is at work in this same process. In essence He seeks to develop a garden or vineyard in our souls. But what does this require? 1. Plant a vineyard. The right soil is brought in and an irrigation system is designed. Into this prepared soil is planted the best grape vines. The only soil for a spiritually valuable life is Scripture. More specifically, it is in the Bible that we learn the gospel story. Without this foundation, nothing of God will grow in our lives. 2. Put a wall around the garden. Once the garden is in place, it must be protected from varmints and thieves. God so loved you that He died for you (John 3:16), but that didn’t end the story. He loves you too much to leave you where you are. When you feel that your spiritual life is threatened by negative influences, ask God to put up a wall of protection. Moving away from temptation is a spiritual act that enables the good fruit in your life to mature and ripen. 3. Dig a vat under the wine press. The purpose of your fruit is for others, not yourself. As you see God working in your life, there will be times when He calls for good things to come out of you for the blessing of others. Many people are ashamed of their sinful pasts and desire to hide them. God uses our pasts as examples of His might as we concede to others that He delivered us from the enslavement of situations and habits we had walked ourselves into. 4. Build a tower. As you begin to enjoy the abundance of a fruitful life, you need to ask God to build for you a tower. This is a high place you can go to look out and see the terrain around you. From this place you can better see enemies and opportunities. Pornography keeps you low to the ground and thinking about immediate gratification, but a high tower will lift your eyes and give you the opportunity to see the world more from God’s perspective. To me, this speaks of daily quiet time for prayer and Bible reading — an easy thing to neglect until we see within it the source for incredible insight and energy to accomplish great things in our day. By the way, reading Bible studies certainly counts for good soul nourishment. Share this site with your friends. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2003 by eXXit *Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. ---