Using images common to the ordinary life of the people, Jesus tells of an anonymous householder (God) who planted a vineyard (Israel), then “set a hedge [His protection] around it, dug a wine press in it [symbolic of the expectation of ‘fruit’ from the grapes], and let it out [rented it] to tenants [the religious leaders of Israel].”
When the season of grape harvest came, the owner sent servants [prophets] to the tenants, “to get his fruit [obedience, godliness].”
However, the tenants, instead of heeding and honoring these servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Upon receiving this news, God sent more prophet-servants to warn and to induce the tenants into ‘producing’ the righteous obedience He sought. However, hating their message, the tenants not only again turned a deaf ear, treating these servants worse than the first.
Reasoning that if His tenants would not pay heed to servants, surely they would respect His Son, God sent His son, Jesus. They had Him killed by Roman decree, indirectly (or so they thought) avoiding blame for His death. Their reasons are interesting: “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.” (Mt. 21:28) They rejected Jesus, not because He did not ‘fit’ Messianic prophecies, but because He did not match their self-serving expectations of a militant who would overthrow Rome and restore the borders, power, and glory Israel had enjoyed under Solomon. Such a restoration would end the religious leaders’ current subservience to Roman infidels, and would give back to them the great wealth from the Temple coffers, now shared with Rome through Temple taxes.
It is also interesting how they engineered the Son’s death: “And they took him [from their trumped up charges and fake trial] and cast him out of the vineyard [turned Him over to Roman authorities] and killed him.” (Mt. 21:29) His place of death was outside the walls of Jerusalem, also “out of the vineyard.”
Jesus doesn’t focus on what they did to the Son (who was Himself, of course). Rather, His focus is on them: “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?” (Lk. 20:16b) Completely missing the point, their answer is prophetically correct: “They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” (Mt. 21:41) Only then, in a withering ‘blast from the past’ of prophecy, does Jesus reveal clearly their identity—and their fate: “Therefore I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.” (42)
Furious now, the religious leaders would have killed Him on the spot, in fact did try to arrest Him, but “feared the multitudes.”
Jesus’ cunning expose of the ‘church folk’ of His day was biting and bitter. But what would be His reaction to us ‘church folk’ of today?
Are we good tenants of the ‘good land’ He has given us? Are we obedient to His Word? Do we live in ways pleasing to Him, reflective of Him? Do we respect the ‘servants’ He sends to call us to repent? Do we give Him the ‘fruits’ He is entitled to in our lives? Do we seek His glory, or ours?
How do we—you and I—treat His Son? Would His Son’s enemies “fear” us?
Have a good—and fruitful—week!
Post a Comment
