The grapes of wrath...
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Intro
Intro
33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.
34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.
35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’
39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41 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.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
33 “Here’s another story. Listen closely. There was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a trip.
34 When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent his servants back to collect his profits.
35 “The farmhands grabbed the first servant and beat him up. The next one they murdered. They threw stones at the third but he got away.
36 The owner tried again, sending more servants. They got the same treatment.
37 The owner was at the end of his rope. He decided to send his son. ‘Surely,’ he thought, ‘they will respect my son.’
38 “But when the farmhands saw the son arrive, they rubbed their hands in greed. ‘This is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all for ourselves.’
39 They grabbed him, threw him out, and killed him.
40 “Now, when the owner of the vineyard arrives home from his trip, what do you think he will do to the farmhands?”
41 “He’ll kill them—a rotten bunch, and good riddance,” they answered. “Then he’ll assign the vineyard to farmhands who will hand over the profits when it’s time.”
42 Jesus said, “Right—and you can read it for yourselves in your Bibles: The stone the masons threw out is now the cornerstone. This is God’s work; we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it!
43 “This is the way it is with you. God’s kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life.
44 Whoever stumbles on this Stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed.”
45 When the religious leaders heard this story, they knew it was aimed at them.
46 They wanted to arrest Jesus and put him in jail, but, intimidated by public opinion, they held back. Most people held him to be a prophet of God.
Matthew 21:
There is a lot here my friends. Let’s pray.
[Pray]
Jon was gracious enough to take us through v 28-32 last week as we chatted about the two sons. And this week I will be taking us through the parable about the tenant farmers. It’s important to note that the context of these passages is a conversation that Jesus is having with the pharisees. He is condeming them for rejecting Jesus as the Christ. If you remember prior to v. 28, the pharisees are questioning Jesus’ authority. Jesus asks them a question, they refuse to answer, and so Jesus hits them with a parable.
The Pharisees play this game where they attempt to trip Jesus up over his words, they fail, and Jesus puts them into a position where they are afraid to answer because they fear ‘the crowd’ won’t be on their side.
So, just as last week Jesus pitted the repentant sinners vs the religious leaders who rejected Christ this week we will continue on the motif (theme) of the rejection of Christ by those who were supposed to be the city on the hill… the leaders of Israel (and this further represents the continued rejection of God’s first people).
The vineyard
The vineyard
The Vineyard Motif
Throughout Scripture we see that there are often symbols that repeat. I think we forget that the Bible is one unified story. Not only is the Bible Jewish Literature but it is meditation literature. Scripture is broken into poetry, narrative, and prose. We also have to remember that Jesus knew his Scripture:
What I mean by this…because I know that ‘agendas’ has a negative connotation is that, for example, Matthew’s point in this Gospel account is to get his Jewish audience to see that Jesus relived the experience of Israel but does it how it should’ve been done so in the beginning. In other words, (a) Jesus represents everything Israel should’ve been and constantly failed to be and (b) Jesus represents the hope that was laid out in the Old Testament.
So… back to the vineyard. We have a few moving parts in this story. We have the vineyard, the master, the master’s son, and the tenants. I think it’s important to be real explicit about our setting and characters:
Jesus draws from imagery throughout the OT when talking about vineyards but this can be tied to, most likely, Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard in
Jesus draws from imagery throughout the OT when talking about vineyards but this can be tied to, most likely, Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard in
1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!
Matthew’s point in this Gospel account is to get his Jewish audience to see that Jesus relived the experience of Israel but does it how it should’ve been done so in the beginning. In other words, (a) Jesus represents everything Israel should’ve been and constantly failed to be and (b) Jesus represents the hope that was laid out in the Old Testament.
Isaiah’s issue here is the lack of fruit in the vineyard, or more specifically, the lack of good fruit… the solution is to burn that bad larry down. In Jesus’ parable the issue is bad tenant farmers… the solution? Get some good tenant farmers.
The vineyard is alluding to the world where Israel has been set in. They were to be the city on the hill but they reject Christ.
Tenant Farmers
Tenant Farmers
Israel & the Pharisees are represented by the tenant farmers in this parable.
The tenant farmers would work the land and when it was time for the harvest they would send the master his due. The master is owed his due and has been gracious enough. The parable tells a story of an extremely patient master who gives the tenants multiple chances to get this thing right…
The tenant farmers then are the religious leaders of Israel who rejected Jesus. Jesus is now using this parable to highlight this to the Pharisees. All of Jesus encounters with the Pharisees is Jesus attempting to illuminate a very important truth to the Pharisees. This truth is that they believe themselves to be good because of all of the ‘laws’ and ‘rules’ they impose on others and that they ‘keep’ superficially. Christ exposes them for who they really are.
The servants & the Son.
The servants & the Son.
34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.
35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
As the story goes the Master sends forth his servants to go get his fruit. The farmers beat one, kill another and stone the third… the second batch of servants are dispatched and they receive a similar fate. The servants are believed to be the prophets that God sent in order for the tenant farmers to do the right thing and to obey the master. These servants probably represent the prophets sent by God to get Israel back on the straight and narrow. The different degrees of beatings or killings can also attest to this same point.
34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.
35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
I want to pause here before we go any further
Some of us will read this and say…golly jee willicker that Master sure is an idiot. But I want to sit here for a bit. The Master is God. His moves are not made because he’s an idiot or out of a position of folly. This idea of providing multiple batches of servants represents the chances that God has given the farmers and this comes out of the Lord’s crowning effort of divine mercy . These servants probably represent the prophets sent by God to get Israel back on the straight and narrow. The different degrees of beatings or killings can also attest to this same point.
Now this leads to the climax of the story…and quite a tragic climax. As the parable builds the master doesn’t go and take the farmers out he does something weird. He says, let me send my son they’ll respect him. Surely…they wouldn’t dare to disrespect him.
A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew Exegetical and Critical
that the only and well-beloved Son of God is here distinctly marked out as far above the prophets in dignity and rank, the sending of whom is the last and crowning effort of divine mercy, and the rejection of whom fills up the measure of human sin and guilt.
This comes out of the Lord’s sincere will that all should be saved.
37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’
39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’
The tenant farmers kill the son… they foolishly believe that by killing him they will get the inheritance. So, let that sink it… they figured, hey if we kill this kid we can get his inheritance. We will take his place at the table…
I love the Bible because it is a weird balance of important details and a lack of details. As meditation literature this is key. The farmers take the son out of the vineyard out of his father’s land and they kill him. Some scholars allude to the fact that this may be an allusion to Jesus being take physically on the outskirts to Skull Mountain to be crucified…but regardless, the son is killed by the tenant farmers that were supposed to be about the Master’s business.
A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew Exegetical and Critical
that the only and well-beloved Son of God is here distinctly marked out as far above the prophets in dignity and rank, the sending of whom is the last and crowning effort of divine mercy, and the rejection of whom fills up the measure of human sin and guilt.
This comes out of the Lord’s sincere will that all should be saved.
The Master
The Master
The master is GOD who is expecting his due from the vineyard. Jesus is systematically picking these guys apart. He is making a declaration on Israel for its wickedness and its rejection of him as the Messiah.
So… just to recap the parable:
The master has a vineyard that he has put in charge of the tenant farmers
It is now harvest time and the Master sends servants to get his fruits
now harvest time and the Master sends servants to get his fruits
They beat one servant, they kill the other, and then stone the third
The master sends a second group of servants who receive a similar fate
The master then says…shoot, I’ll send my son surely they’ll respect him (the story is still moving along as if this guy just wants his fruit)
As the story goes…the tenants kill the son.
We are left with a lingering question: what is the Master going to do to the tenant farmers?
Jesus tells the Parable and asks the Pharisees what they think the Master should do… little do they know that Jesus is talking about them.
40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41 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.”
Matthew 21:
Some of us will read this and say…golly jee willicker that Master sure is an idiot. But I want to sit here for a bit. The Master is God. His moves are not made because he’s an idiot or out of a position of folly. This idea of providing multiple batches of servants represents the chances that God has given the farmers and this comes out of the Lord’s crowning effort of divine mercy . These servants probably represent the prophets sent by God to get Israel back on the straight and narrow. The different degrees of beatings or killings can also attest to this same point.
A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew Exegetical and Critical
that the only and well-beloved Son of God is here distinctly marked out as far above the prophets in dignity and rank, the sending of whom is the last and crowning effort of divine mercy, and the rejection of whom fills up the measure of human sin and guilt.
This comes out of the Lord’s sincere will that all should be saved.
How do the tenant farmers respond? The cast the son out and kill him… they take him out of the vineyard and kill him. Many scholars this this nuance here is a reference to the death by crucifixion and how it happened ‘outside’ of the city.
Jesus asks the Pharisees what the Master should do/would do?
They say he will bring his wrath down on the wicked tenant farmers and get some tenant farmers who would ‘give him the fruits in their seasons.’
The tenants:
Jesus doesn’t stop here…he continues.
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Matthew 21:
Cornerstone
Cornerstone
We then move into the second part of these verses. Jesus switches gears, asks the Pharisees if they read the following passage from Scripture:
Jesus then quotes from :
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
Cornerstone talk:
14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
I
The stone that the builders rejected= Jesus.
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Jesus doesn’t hold back and he doesn’t pull any punches.
He says the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you…and he means the Pharisees but Israel.
The Kingdom will be given to a people who will bring forth fruit… the New Testament people. The new covenant people. The gentiles.
Jesus then makes a very confusing, yet powerful remark:
44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew Exegetical and Critical
Thus Christ also demonstrates that He is the Judge. The positive and punitive judgment has again its two sides. The stone falls on none who have not first fallen on it: that is, only the unbelievers, who have rejected Christ, will be by Him condemned and rejected. But it is a double form of punishment which is expressed by this antithesis. He who falls upon Christ, the corner-stone, or who runs against and falls over it, making Him a spiritual offence and stumbling-block, σκάνδαλυν (Isa. 8:14; comp. 1 Pet. 2:8), will be bruised. This is death through dismemberment of the body: spiritual death, reprobation, and demolition of Israel, or of the individual unbeliever. This is the judgment which falls upon the active enemy of the passive Christ, as subject.
He alludes to both
15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
and
16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
This is a very powerful truth:
Jesus is the tested cornerstone where the foundation of the church has been laid. In other words, Jesus is the foundation of the Church.
Now, there are consequences for coming into contact with a stone. If you trip over the edge of a rock and fall on it, you may break some bones. If a large enough rock falls on top of you, you may be killed. Jesus uses these truths to deliver a warning to the Jewish leaders.
The stone in verse 44 is also Jesus. In saying that those who fall on this stone "will be broken to pieces," Jesus is warning against opposing Him. Defying Jesus is like beating one’s head against a solid rock—a foolish action. In saying that those upon whom the stone falls "will be crushed," Jesus is warning against ignoring Him or trivializing Him. Apathy towards Jesus is like standing in the way of a falling rock—another foolish action. "I am here to do God’s work," Jesus essentially says. "The foundation for the church will be laid. It is unwise to oppose Me because God’s work is not inconsequential."
Rejection of the Savior is fatal. Unfortunately, many do reject Him. "He will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall" (). To persistently reject the Savior is to court judgment so severe that the only thing left will be dust. The prophet Daniel gives a similar picture of the Messiah, likening Him to a rock "cut out, but not by human hands," which smashes into the nations of the world and completely obliterates them ().
I’ll end here. Jesus makes a declaration that when he cracks the sky no one will oppose him. The stone will crush any in its wake. We talk a lot about the love of Jesus, his grace, his mercy… Jesus’ warning here is of his justice.
5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Jesus has risen and he will crush the head of the serpent.