The beginning of these verses says that Jesus told this parable for a specific reason, i.e., people thought that the kingdom of God was about to appear when Jesus reached Jerusalem. It was told to one crowd with two different groups.
To the disciples it was a parable of hope. Stay the course even if you don't understand or can't see me. Be faithful even when others are not and you will be rewarded. If you fail to do so, it will not go well.
To the opponents of the kingdom, the religious leaders who did not like the way things were going, the message was basically "too bad". They could try to oppose him but it would not work. If they did not join his faithful, the result would be death.
We don't talk about this parable very often; it is not a good North American church parable. It tells us to be patient, a very non-North American virtue. It tells us to work and be faithful even when we cannot see quick results; again, not very like us. It also says judgment will come to those who do not join with Jesus, a feature often downplayed to the point of silencing the concept all-together.
Silencing the concept was exactly what the opponents of Jesus were trying to do. Culture can sometime give us odd associates, whether we admit it or not.
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