33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.”
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.”
38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
Our Lord’s Words in the parable presented today are reminiscent of the Prophet Isaiah’s when he spoke of the nation of Israel being carefully prepared by God to be His fruitful vineyard yet they failed to acknowledge the Lord’s right over them treating His messengers and message with contempt. Interestingly, Henry Blackaby likens this passage in Isaiah to America which is – by the way - convicting to the core:
1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Isaiah 5:1-2 (NIV)
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Isaiah 5:4 (NIV)
God has established a church for Himself in this world – compared to a vineyard in the parable – furnishing it with everything advantageous for its growth and well-being. The church is to be the planting of the Lord for the “display of His splendor”. He protects it with a wall, digging a winepress and building a watchtower to promote its fruitfulness. God has reasonable expectations for His planting. He was and is not hasty but graciously gives time for the harvest even sending His messengers to remind them of their duty towards Him. Remember, everything in this world belongs to Him. The Prophet Haggai records God’s Words to us:
8 “‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.” Hag 2:8 (NIV)
God also tells blameless Job:
11 “Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.” Job 41:11 (NIV)
In our parable today, we are told God sent His messengers – His servants – to the tenants to collect His fruit. Passivity is never God’s call on our lives and does not pay off. Indeed, God empowers our efforts but does not do our work. He justly expects fruit from our lives – spiritual and emotional. Our lives are our responsibility. We are saved for a great purpose. God never rebukes our trying and failing rather our failing to try.
“We need to understand that salvation isn’t the ultimate objective. Salvation is the entrance into the Kingdom, not the final result. When we’re born physically, we enter a life full of promise and destiny. But many of us don’t see the same dynamic in being born again. We’re like babies constantly celebrating our birth rather than looking ahead to the great Kingdom exploits we’re called to do. And one of the main reasons for that shortsightedness is an obsessive focus on the darkness and death from which we were redeemed rather than the light and life into which we have been brought.” Chris Tiegreen
These messengers sent by God to the tenants endured beating, killing and stoning from their hands. People often do not like the light shining on their darkness – it’s convicting. It makes us uncomfortable. Yet God often speaks to us through others. Time after time in Scripture He sent His prophets to wake up and warn His people of their behavior and of the shortness of their time and more often than not these messengers were ignored, treated with contempt and disrespected. God bears long yet He will not bear always. I am reminded of the Prophet Ezekiel’s call:
3 He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ 5 And whether they listen or fail to listen--for they are a rebellious house--they will know that a prophet has been among them.” Ezek 2:3-5 (NIV)
Lastly, God sent His Son. Never did grace appear more gracious as when God sent Jesus – He sent Him last, the Pearl of great prize. If nothing else would work on them surely His Son would. Certainly they should have reverenced and respected the Savior as He came with more power and authority than the servants first sent. Surely, sin was at its height in their abusive treatment of the Lord Jesus. He was strongly hated for His influence over the people and out of jealousy and envy these religious leaders devised His murder. The Stone rejected became the Capstone.
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; 23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:22-24 (NIV)