This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.
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Lesson Icebreaker Question
Have you ever taken care of something that belonged to someone else? What was it, and how did it go?
Lesson Highlight
In this lesson, we will hear a story Jesus told about a vineyard and the people who worked in it. We will learn what happened when they did not listen to the owner. We will see that Jesus is the Son of God, sent to save us.
Vocabulary List (GNT)
- Beat — To hit someone again and again.
- Builders — People who make buildings, houses, or walls.
- Crushed — To be broken into tiny pieces.
- Dear — Very loved and special.
- Dust — Tiny, dry bits of dirt or powder.
- Falls — To drop down from a higher place.
- Gather — To collect things or bring them together.
- Harvest — The time when fruits and vegetables are picked from plants.
- Important — Very needed or special.
- Kill — To make someone die.
- Owner — The person who something belongs to.
- Parable — A simple story that teaches a lesson about God.
- Pieces — Small parts of something bigger.
- Property — Land or things that belong to someone.
- Rejected — Not accepted or wanted.
- Rented — Paid money to use something that belongs to someone else.
- Respect — A good feeling you show toward someone you think is important.
- Scripture — Holy writings from the Bible.
- Shamefully — In a bad or mean way.
- Share — A part of something that someone gets.
- Slave — A person who is forced to work for someone else without pay.
- Stone — A small or large rock.
- Tenants — People who live in or use land or a house that belongs to someone else.
- Threw — Sent something through the air by moving your hand.
- Turn the vineyard over — To give the vineyard to other people to take care of.
- Vineyard — A field where grapes grow.
- Worthless — Not useful or valuable.
- Wounded — Hurt by being cut or hit.
Summary of the Passage
This passage is a story Jesus told to help people learn about God. In the story, a man planted a vineyard. A vineyard is a place where grapes grow. The man rented the vineyard to other people called tenants. Then the man left for a long time.
When it was time to gather the grapes, the man sent a servant to collect his share. But the tenants hurt the servant and sent him away with nothing. The owner sent two more servants, but the tenants hurt them too. Then the man decided to send his dear son, thinking they would respect him. But the tenants decided to kill the son because they wanted the vineyard for themselves.
Jesus asked the people listening what the owner would do next. He said the owner would punish those men and give the vineyard to others. The people were shocked to hear this story.
Jesus then reminded them of a verse from Scripture about a stone that builders rejected. He explained that the stone, which seemed unimportant, became the most important one. Jesus was talking about himself.
This passage teaches us that God sent Jesus, his Son, to save people. Some people did not believe him, hurt him, and killed him, but God’s plan was not stopped. Jesus is like the important stone in the story, and people must decide if they will follow him.
Read The Passage
The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard
Luke 20:9-18 (GNT)
9 Then Jesus told the people this parable: “There was once a man who planted a vineyard, rented it out to tenants, and then left home for a long time.
10 When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest. But the tenants beat the slave and sent him back without a thing.
11 So he sent another slave; but the tenants beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him back without a thing.
12 Then he sent a third slave; the tenants wounded him, too, and threw him out.
13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my own dear son; surely they will respect him!’
14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the owner’s son. Let’s kill him, and his property will be ours!’
15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to the tenants?” Jesus asked.
16 “He will come and kill those men, and turn the vineyard over to other tenants.”
When the people heard this, they said, “Surely not!”
17 Jesus looked at them and asked, “What, then, does this scripture mean?
‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.’
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be cut to pieces; and if that stone falls on someone, that person will be crushed to dust.”
Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:
- Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 20:9-18 (NIRV)
- Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 20:9-18 (GNT)
- Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 20:9-18 (NLT)
- Hard: New International Version: Luke 20:9-18 (NIV)
- Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 20:9-18 (ESV)
Comprehension Questions
- What did the man plant in the story?
- Who did the man rent the vineyard to?
- What happened to the first servant the man sent?
- How did the tenants treat the other two servants?
- Who did the man send after the servants?
- What did the tenants decide to do to the man’s son?
- What did Jesus say the owner would do to the tenants?
- What was the stone in the Scripture Jesus talked about?
- Who was Jesus talking about when he told this story?
Application Questions
- Why do you think the tenants hurt the servants and the son?
- How does this story help us understand God’s love for us?
- What does this story teach us about listening to God?
- How can we show respect and love to Jesus in our own lives?
Theological Insights
- Jesus told stories to help people understand God’s truth.
- God sent many people to share his message, but not everyone listened.
- God sent his Son, Jesus, to save us, but some people rejected and killed him.
- Jesus is the most important one sent by God.
- We must decide if we will listen to God’s message and follow Jesus.
Closing Prayer
Dear Father, thank you for sending Jesus to show us your love. Help us listen to your words and follow you every day. Give us hearts that trust you. Amen.
ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke
More ELL Resources
You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.
Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Joyful Moments in Christ 