Luke 20:9-12: Now he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty handed. He sent yet another servant, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully and sent him empty handed. And he sent yet a third, but they wounded this one too and threw him out.
In this parable, Jesus echoes God’s story of redemption through His selection of Israel as a beacon of light to the nations. He emphasizes how Israel responded to God’s messengers and His message. The man in this parable represented God who planted a vineyard (house of Israel) and He send His servants (the prophets) to get some fruits from the vineyard but instead of fruits the prophet received crop of violence and oppression, as depicted in Isaiah 5:1-7, where God appeared as the vine-dresser who cultivated His vineyard (Israel) but the vineyard produced only wild grapes instead of good grapes. God expected Israel to adhere to His precepts, statures, law and righteous judgment through the voice of His prophets, so that the surrounding nations will understand the wisdom of our God and come to the knowledge of truth but instead when He looked for Justice, He beheld oppression, and when he looked for righteousness, He beheld a cry for help.
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6-9)
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priest and a holy nation. These are the words, which you shall speak to the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:5-6)
Therefore, be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the people who will hear all these statues and say, surely this great nation is wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there has God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? (Deuteronomy 4:1-8)
Prophets are mouthpieces of God, who remind the people of God’s word and holds them accountable. However, the chief priest, the scribe, Pharisees, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy them by questioning their authority and message. God does nothing without revealing it to His servant the prophets. (Amos 3:7).
The 3 servants in this parable represent prophets. Through the lenses of scripture prophets are sent to the people to edify, exhort, encourage, comfort and to remind the people to heed to the word of God. From the voice of the Abel, a respected prophet of God, whose testimony still speaks about how he obtained a righteous witness (Genesis 4:1-17, Matthew 23:34, Hebrew 11:4, Hebrew 12:24) to Jeremiah who was kept in a dudgeon because of his faithfulness and witness of the truth (Jeremiah 38:1-13) to Zachariah who was stoned with stones in the court of the house of the Lord, because He spoke against the transgression of the people. The voice of the prophets still echo God’s redemptive plan for humanity in scripture. Prophets were also sent by God to His people to warn them of His impending judgment. (Chronicle 36:16,).
Pulse & Reflect
How was Abel a prophet?
How was Jeremiah saved from the dudgeon?
Why was Zachariah stone?
How are we supposed to respond to prophecy? (1 John 4:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21)
What are the dangers of ignoring God message through His prophets?
Voice of the Prophets:
He has shown you oh man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
Jesus said: “Therefore the wisdom of God also said ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation. From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah who perished between the altar and the temple .Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.”(Genesis 4:8, Luke 11-49-51)
Jesus said: “ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you are not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”! (Luke 13-34-35)
“Do not be afraid for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 King 6:15-17)
Luke 20:13-16: Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him, when they see him. But when the vine-dressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves saying, ‘this is the heir. Come; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those vine-dressers and give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it they said “ Certainly not!”
Christ in the shadow of the cross depicts God’s redemptive plan through His leaders (the vine-dressers) through His Son (the beloved Son) and His people (vineyard.) The responsibilities of the leaders- the chief priest, scribes and elders are to teach, guide and care for His people according to scripture but rather they put heavy burdens, hard to bear on the people, which led to shame, wound, violence and oppression –the leaders did not understand that inheritance was for all of them.
He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelist, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 3:11)
Jesus, the beloved Son of God, who is greater than Moses, greater than Elijah, greater than John the Baptist, redeems us through his blood and offers salvation to men through his death, burial and resurrection from the dead.
Jesus calls us to follow him from death to life when He said: “You must be born again.” God worked prophetically through Christ according to His determined purpose and foreknowledge to fulfill His redemptive plan. The leaders did not respect the beloved Son of God and implicitly did not respect God. Jesus said” “That all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. (John 5:23).
The Father hoped the leaders would respect His Son when they saw him but they did not, rather, they resolve to killed him so that they may have complete control of the vineyard. Why did the leaders respond in this way? The leaders recognized the Son, but they did not accept Him nor get to know Him because they thought He was blasphemous. This Jesus, God’s gift of eternal life to the world (John 3:16) came not only to die to save us from sin, but to reconciled us to God. This Jesus, a blessing to believers, not only came to turn us away from our iniquities but also came to fulfill the covenant God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, “in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed” And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham seed and heirs according to the promise. (Acts 3:17-26, Galatians 3:29, Ephesian 1-2.) In this Jesus, both Jews and gentile and everyone who believes are reconciled to God through Him and become the righteousness of God through Him in a divine exchange; as new creation clothed in His righteousness to fellowship with God. (1 Corinthians 1:9, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.)
In this Jesus, these inheritances are available to all who believe He is the Son of God:
Just as He choose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be Holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will.
In Him, we have redemption through the blood and the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of His grace
In Him, we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who work all things according to the counsel of His will
In Him, you trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed, that you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise
In Him, we have the spirit of wisdom and revelation knowledge of God
In Him, we have exceeding great power, the same power that God worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.
In Him, we are alive and raised up together with Him and seated in heavenly places.
In Him, we are justified by faith and we have peace with God.
So what should the father do to a people, who refuse to accept His Son through whom He has given inheritances? The Father’s responses to the non-acceptance or murder of His Son are 3 fold:
- He would come: God, who at various time and in various way spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things through whom He made the world. Whoever believes in His Son has eternal life and whoever does not believe in His Son does not have eternal life. (Hebrews 1:1-2, 1 John 3-9-13)
Pulse & Reflect
What is eternal life? “This is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)
2.He would take an action: He would execute judgement on those who do not accept His Son and on those who murder His Son. Are you saying, God will execute judgement on anyone who does not accept His Son? Scripture say, you called God a liar if you do not believe in His testimony that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:10.) If you do not live in Christ, you will continue to live in sin, sin separates you from God, sin leads you into disobedience, and disobedience brings the wrath of God, which eventually leads to death –to be eternally separated from God. (Colossians 3: 1-10, Romans 6:23). So then, the question is what must you do to be saved? Just believe. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already because He has not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. (John 3-18-19)
Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24)
For it by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is a gift from God, not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesian 2:8-9)
3.He would give the vineyard to other-to everyone who believes and to everyone who abides in Christ. And I say to you that many will come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God. But the sons of the kingdom of will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be gnashing of teeth. Indeed there are last who will be first and first who will be last. (Mathew 7:11-12, Mathew 21:43, Mathew 8: 10-12, Luke 13:28-30). Jesus said: I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. This glorifies my Father that you bear much fruits, so that you will be my disciples. (John 15:1-8, 16).
Jesus choose His disciples to go and bear fruits, just as God choose Israel as His vineyard and expected them to bear good fruits. Believers are expected to bear fruits of the spirit, fruit of righteousness and fruits from evangelism- fruits that will last. (Galatians 5, Philippians 1:11, Mathew 28: 19-20, Mark 16:15-20)
If you do not accept God’s salvation through Jesus Christ, you bear the wages of sin, which is death. However, if you repent of your sin, turn from your old way to live a new life in Christ, you will be accepted in the beloved, partake of God’s inheritance and receive His many gifts which include salvation, eternal life, holy spirit, righteousness, grace, peace, wisdom and much more.
All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out. (John 6:37)
Pause & Reflect
What is the correlation between Isaiah 5 and John 15?
How is Jesus both the foundation of forgiveness and a source of Judgment at the same time?
Luke 20:17-19 – Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written
The stone, which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever, it falls; it will grind him to powder.
And the chief priest and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people-for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.
Jesus is the chief corner stone upon which the body of Christ is built. He is the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesian 1:22, 2:19-22) Christ is the foundation of our faith, we are justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. His blood justifies us; we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. We are justified by His grace, which save us from many offenses; we are justified by His righteous act, which justify us for life. Upon these truths we stand by faith – the just shall live by faith. Jesus is our rock and salvation. The stone (Jesus) which the builders (religious leaders) rejected has become the chief cornerstone (the head of the body, the church) upon which we are built. To some He is a rock and salvation but to others, He is rock of offense and stumbling stone because they do not obey God’s word.
May God who commanded light out of darkness shine His light in our hearts to remove any form of blindness the god of this age has place on our mind, to give us light in the knowledge of Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ for His glory. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with our spirit. Amen.