Mark 12:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He dispatched a servant first, which we can interpret as the prophets present during the era of Elijah, including Micah...

Through the same tributary discourse, the Lord further disclosed that due to their obstinacy and wicked resistance, not only were they, but the entire nation was deprived of the glory of entering the Messiah's kingdom. The new parable, directed not just at the Pharisees but also at the crowd (Luke 20:9-19), was drawn from the imagery of a vineyard, which the Lord entrusted not for cultivation but to certain workers, sent solely to gather the fruits, not just once but multiple times. However, the dishonest laborers beat some of the messengers, killed others, and stoned yet others. He then sent His Son, but they resolved to take His life as well, intending to seize by force the possessions of their Master. Consequently, they led Him away from the vineyard and put Him to death.

At harvest time, he sent a servant to the vinedressers to collect the produce from them. They recognized that God was sending His messengers, the prophets, to call upon them for the results of their leadership over the people. These prophets aimed to convey that this charge was not given for their own gain, but rather that they were to nurture the vineyard’s productivity and present its fruits to their Master. Their role was to instruct the people in the precise fulfillment of God’s desires.

He then urged them to "listen to another parable," the story of the disobedient vineyard workers who refused to yield the produce of the vineyard. This vineyard, belonging to the Lord Almighty, represented the house of Israel, with the Jewish nation as His cherished plantation. The leaders and teachers entrusted with the care of the people were expected to offer the fruits of the vineyard to the Lord. However, despite all His efforts for the vineyard, it yielded no fruit or perhaps only sour grapes. As the vinedressers failed to produce any good fruit and were unwilling to acknowledge their barrenness, they insulted, beat, wounded, and killed messenger after messenger sent by the owner of the vineyard.

At the appointed time: when the harvest was ready, a portion of which the caretakers were meant to present to the master of the vineyard. (Matthew 21:34). - 'Servant': in the Gospel according to Matthew - refers to the servants, which conveys the meaning of the parable consistently.

To obtain from the vineyard keepers the yield of the vineyard.