The Stone the Builders Rejected

by LA UBF   05/21/2016     0 reads

Question

The Stone the Builders Rejected

Luke 20:9-19

Key Verse 13

“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’”

1. Read verse 9. To whom does “a man” refer to in this passage? Who do “some farmers” represent? What was the owner’s desire and expectation while he was away for a long time? (Isa 5:1-7)

2. Read verses 10-12. How did the tenants respond when the owner sent servants to collect some fruit from the harvest? (10) How did the tenants increase their hostility as the owner continued to send more servants? (11-12) What might have caused them to respond in such a way?

3. Read verses 13-15a. What did the owner do? (13) What does this reveal about the heart of God? How did this parable come to pass in and through Jesus? (14-15)

4. Read verses 15b-19. What would the owner do about these rebellious tenants? (16a) How did the people respond? (16b) What did Jesus mean by quoting Psalm 118:22-23? (17-18) How can we become good tenants in God’s vineyard?

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Message

THE PARABLE OF THE TENANTS

Luke 20:9-19

Key verse 20:13

"Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'"

Hello! Good Morning. How are you? The title of my message is “The Parable of the Tenants”. Sometimes, it is called as “the Parable of the Vineyard”.

Now Jesus’ earthly ministry is fast approaching toward the final week in this world. As we saw last a couple of weeks, Jesus made a triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding a colt. People in Jerusalem enthusiastically welcomed Him shouting Hosanna! When He entered Jerusalem, what had he done first? He cleansed the temple. He drove out those merchants who were selling all kinds of animals or exchanging the money. This was the direct challenge against the temple authority and their material interest. The crowd of the people were shocked and fearful and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were very, very irritated and upset by Jesus’ action. They were trying to kill Him, but they could not find any way to do it because all the people were hung on his words (19:48). Early in the next morning, Jesus goes to the temple courts to teach. While He is teaching, the chief priest and elders confront Him. They want to know by what authority He is teaching and doing these things. Do you have any license to teach or a license to sermon in the temple? Which seminary did you graduate or which rabbi school did you come from? Jesus did not answer them directly, instead, he asked them “Tell me, where John’s baptism came from-was it from heaven or from men? His words imply that John the Baptist and He received their authority from the same source; God in heaven. However, the religious leaders did not answer Jesus’ question because they did not want to acknowledge that John’s baptism came from heaven, so did Jesus.

Today’s passage is continuation of the last week’ message. Jesus went on to tell the people this parable. Here, Jesus further pointed out their wickedness plainly. This parable seems like a brief summary of the whole Biblical history and we can think about many things, but I’d like to think about first, God who prepared the vineyard for the men, second, the men’s failure to bear the good fruits, third, what is our fruits God want us to bear and Fourth, the stone the builders rejected. I pray that God may open our spiritual eyes to see.

I. God who prepared the vineyard for the men (19:1)

Look at verse 9. 9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.”

This parable is recorded in all three synoptic gospels. The Matthew gospel recorded much detailed picture of this parable.

Let’s look at Matthew 21:33. 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 moved to another place.”

In this parable, "a man or a landowner" refers to God, "some farmers," to his chosen people, the Israel or broadly speaking, to all mankind. In the Old Testaments, the Israel is often compared to the God’s vineyard. Let’s look at Isaiah 5:1-7, which is called the Song of the Vineyard. Let’s read it responsibly.

“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.3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 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? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.”

The landowner ordered the choicest vine stocks from France and planted them. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and even built a watch tower. This vineyard is now equipped with most up to dated machines and tools for wine making. Then, he rented the vineyard to some tenant farmers and went away for a long time, may be 5-6 years or more until the vine trees become mature and bear the best grapes for wine making.

Here, we know that God made the vineyard and everything in it, and gave it to his people Israel to take care of it so that they might bear good fruits to God. In short, God gave his people Israel everything they needed. Most of all, God chose the Israelites and trained them 430 years in Egypt and led them out of Egypt for the promised land of flowing mild and honey. Let’s look at Exodus 19:5-6. “5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” God gave them the privilege of taking care of the vineyard as a kingdom of priest and a holy nation to produce good fruits. In addition, God gave them the task to preach the gospel of salvation to all peoples of all nations. It was the best blessing God could give them.

God gave us the best vineyard “campus mission.” Our church’s name is the University Bible Fellowship, which implies our vineyard of mission is the world campus and He expects us to take care of campus students as the first priority and serve them with 1:1 Bible study. This is a great vineyard because the campus has a great potential raising for the future leaders. I praise God who prepared the campus mission for us as our vineyard.

II. Men’s wickedness and failure (19:10a-16)

The tenants were blessed ones, but were corrupt. Look at verse 10a.

"At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give

Him some of the fruit of the vineyard." God did not abandon his people after giving them privileges and blessings. He watches over them to see if they are doing well. Let's see how the tenants acted when the owner sent some of his servants. Look at verse 10b. "But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed." Their act reveals that they were not thankful to the owner at all. Out of their ungratefulness, they committed rebellion against the owner.

We know the Israelites were not happy after they settled in the promise land. They thought that if they enter the promise land, which was a land of flowing milk and honey, everything would be fine, but it was not. Just as we go to the campus, we cannot expect the students to wait for us and be ready to respond to our invitation. We have to work hard to preach the word of God. It is too hard. The Israelites had to work hard and they were envious of their neighbors, Canaanites, or Philistines who are easy going and look better materially. After a while, they forgot their mission as a kingdom of priests and holy nation and they forgot why they live in the land of flowing milk and honey. We sometimes forget the real reason why we have to live this strange country as an alien. They thought that if they were materially wealthy like their neighbors, they would be happy. So instead of living a priestly nation, the Israelites worked hard to make money, so they began to worship Baal, who is the harvest god or the golden calf. They wish Baal would give them the better harvest. They abandoned their God, who guided and protected them. Prophet Hosea laments over the fallen Israelites. Look at Hosea 13:5, 6. "I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me"

The owner God wanted to remind them of their mission why they live in the land of flowing milk and honey. Look at verse 11. "He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed." The tenants were supposed to be the stewards of God. But they degenerated into gangsters. When they saw the first servant sent by the owner, their heart was sinking and outrageous. When the second servant came, they treated him with extreme cruelty and sent him back empty-handed. When the third servant came, they wounded him badly and sent him back to the owner. When we study the Old Testaments, we can see more than half of them written by the prophets depicting how God wanted the Israelites to come back to their Lord God. God had sent numerous his servants to send his messages and warnings, but they never accepted them wholeheartedly. They rejected or beaten them up or even killed them.

What did the owner of the vineyard do with them? Look at verse 13.

"Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'" In this verse, we see God's long-suffering patience toward sinful mankind and still have the benefit of doubt. He desired so much to have a right relationship with them that he was willing to do anything. Finally the owner decided to send his son. What is the tenants’ response?

Look at 14-15a. 14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.” They discussed this matter among themselves. They knew he is the heir, so if they get rid of him, they thought the vineyard would be theirs, so they plotted this wicked scheme and executed this plot with a cold blood. It was not a crime of passion or consequence by mistake. It is so to speak, the first degree murder, deserved for life imprisonment without possibility of parole or most likely, death penalty.

What was the owner’s response to their extreme wickedness? Look at 15b-16. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

Jesus prophesied that they will lose their privilege of God’s chosen people and they will be expelled from the promise land. They will be restless wanderers for 2000 years all over the world. This is Jesus’ direct indictment against the Jews and religious leaders, who do not take care of the vineyard and God’s sentence for their sinful rebellion against God. Look at verse 16b. “When the people heard this, they knew it is God’s indictment against their sins. When the people heard this, they said, “May this never be!” They knew its dreadful consequences, but if they don’t repent, it is unavoidable.

III. What is the fruit God wants us to bear?

Is it applicable only for the Jews? I don’t think so. God has prepared his vineyard for everyone. God entrusted the best vineyard for each of us and expected us to bear the best fruit. What is our vineyard? It may be our campus or our working place or our own home. Wherever we are, we must bear the best fruit and give them to the owner. Then, what is the fruit God want us to bear?

First, God wants us to bear the spiritual fruit. Let’s look at Galatians 5:22-23. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Our inner being must be changed to bear these kinds of fruit after we received God’s grace because our owner demands them from us. This spiritual fruit do not bear spontaneously as the time goes by unless we cultivate and take care of with prayers, self-discipline and the word of God. Their outward appearance may change, but the inner being is not changed easily. My son, David tells me that he heard the word of God from his mother’s womb, but that does not mean anything unless his inner being is changed. Some people do not bear a good fruits even as they have got the vineyard more than 40 years like me, but others bear a delightful fruits after a few years. You have to take care of it day and night as the farmers take care of their vines. Laziness is the root of all evil. Lazy farmer is a wicked farmer. That’s why early morning prayer and dedication to the word of God are a very good way to bear the good spiritual fruit. God will be very pleased to see the farmers, who get up early and take care of his or her vines. I heard that Jeff has devoted early morning prayer last 6 months and God has slowly molded him from a man of flesh into a spiritual man. God blessed him abundantly and now he is engaged to the beautiful woman of faith.

Second, God wants us to bear the evangelical fruit such as 1:1 sheep from campus ministry because we are called for this. For the name’s sake, we are called University Bible Fellowship, which means we are expected to serve the campus mission. That’s why we are struggling to serve the student at each campus. We have to invite the campus sheep, though it is not easy. God will bless missionary Monica’s never give up spirit for the campus mission.

IV. Jesus is the capstone (17-19)

Jesus came to this world as a son of God, who would save the world as the Messiah, but the Jews and the religious leaders rejected and crucified Him. Our Jesus is the rejected stone by the builders, but he became the capstone of God’s salvation work. What was the response of those who heard what Jesus said? Look at verse 16b. "They said, 'May this never be!'" Look at verse 17. "Jesus looked directly at them and asked, 'Then what is the meaning of that which is written: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone"?'" This came from Psalm 118:22-23. Let’s look at Psalm 118:22-23. “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Jesus came to his own people the Israelites, but his own did not receive Him. Look at John 1:11. “11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” Instead, they killed him and threw him away like a rejected stone because Jesus was a stumbling block to their sinful desires, and He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering (Isaiah 53:2-3), so they did not accept Him as the Messiah, but God used Him as the cornerstone for his salvation work.

Jesus was abandoned, killed and buried in the tomb by the sinful men. But God raised him from the dead and make him the capstone of the church and the very foundation of all mankind. In verse 18 Jesus said, "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." In this verse, "stone" refers to Jesus. No one can stand against Jesus.

In conclusion, I thank and praise God who is the owner of the vineyard and we are his tenants. I pray that God may help us to bear the best fruit in our lives. I praise Jesus who is the capstone of God’s salvation work. I pray that God may use our UBF ministry as the cornerstone for God’s world campus mission. I pray that God may use our Downey ministry as the cornerstone for the West Coast campus mission. Amen.

One word: Good fruit of the Vineyard

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Biblenote

The Stone the Builders Rejected

Luke 20:9-19

Key Verse 13

“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’”

Introduction

Today’s parable is about the owner of the vineyard and the tenants. In a nutshell, it is compared to a summary of God’s history since he created the garden of eden. In this parable, Jesus is compared with the stone the builders rejected. Imagine! A builder’s yard, full of stones ready for the task of building. Workers sort out slabs of marble and granite and arrange them into different sizes and shapes. Then they haul them up to their places on the wall. There is one stone that doesn’t belong in any of the other groups of materials. They separate it from the other pieces, expecting to throw it out when the job is done. But when they have almost finished, they discover that they need a stone of a particular shape for the very last piece. There is the stone they rejected earlier. It wouldn’t fit anywhere else, but it will fit here as pictured above. Likewise, Jesus is the cornerstone for God’s holy redemptive work. We would like to delve into God’s deepest love for each us by sending His one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross to save us from eternal condemnation. May the Lord help us to love and welcome Jesus in our hearts.

1. Read verse 9. To whom does “a man” refer to in this passage? Who do “some farmers” represent? What was the owner’s desire and expectation while he was away for a long time? (Isa 5:1-7)

1-1, Read verse 9.

He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.

1-2, To whom does “a man” refer to in this passage?

He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.”

1-3, Who do “some farmers” represent?

He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.

1-4, What was the owner’s desire and expectation while he was away for a long time? (Isa 5:1-7)

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. 3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 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? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. will command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

  • A man here or a landowner refers to God.

  • The vineyard refers to his kingdom on earth. The farmers refer to the Israelites, but in a broader sense, to all mankind.

  • The landowner took the time and effort to plant the vineyard just as God planted the garden of Eden in Genesis 2.

  • According to Isaiah he planted this vineyard with the choicest of vines.

  • Now what did God decide to do with this precious vineyard? He decided to rent it out to some farmers.

  • In this way he had compassion on the farmers and gave them a job - to take care of his vineyard.

  • After renting the vineyard out, he then went away for a long time. From this God first showed his trust in man.

  • Trust is the most important part of any relationship.

  • If I want to have a deep relationship with someone, the first thing I should work on is gaining their trust. When that trust is broken our relationship is broken.

  • God put us in charge of the garden and his vineyard and went away for a long time to show us that he trusts us so that we can build a right relationship with him.

  • Spiritually speaking God also expects us to bear fruit. He chose the Israelites to be his chosen people and treasured possession.

  • Though the whole Earth was His, the Israelites were to be for him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

  • What a privilege it was for the Israelites. He gave them his word and called them to be his witnesses so that all nations would be blessed through them.

  • He gave them a land overflowing with milk and honey, a prosperous life, a mission to guard God’s glory.

  • More fundamentally speaking, God has given each of us our very lives. No one created his own life; each person’s life is a gift from God.

John 1:3-5 reads,

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

  • In addition, God has given each one talents and abilities, personality traits, strengths and weaknesses of character, and many other things.

  • God did this for a purpose. It is essential for each of us to discover God’s purpose for our lives and to live for it, using the resources he has given to carry out that mission.

  • And we should be thankful, recognizing all the grace God has given us freely by his love.

  • Each person should be like a happy farmer who works hard each day with a thanks.

  • Sometimes like the Israelites, we are prone to forgetting. Thus we must go through some training to be reminded of our Lord God.

Deuteronomy 8:3 reads,

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

2. Read verses 10-12. How did the tenants respond when the owner sent servants to collect some fruit from the harvest? (10) How did the tenants increase their hostility as the owner continued to send more servants? (11-12) What might have caused them to respond in such a way?

2-1, Read verses 10-12.

At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

2-2, How did the tenants respond when the owner sent servants to collect some fruit from the harvest? (10)

At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

  • The owner of the vineyard desired and expected that the tenants would willingly give him some fruit out of their thanks and respect.

  • It was a reasonable expectation. By giving the servant some fruit they could acknowledge that the vineyard was not theirs, but the owner's.

  • They could maintain a proper relationship with the owner. Let us think for a moment what happens if we fail to pay the rent. Once we fail to pay our rent, the eviction process begins.

  • If we have a mortgage on our house and fail to pay it for 3 months, the bank would begin the foreclosure process as follows.

  • God, however is not like such lenders we must pay. God doesn’t need our fruit. He doesn’t need it to make a living off of what we pay Him.

  • Rather he uses this blessing to restore our relationship with Him and to remind us of how important it is to have a relationship with Him.

  • God sent His prophets to the people so that they would produce the fruit of justice and righteousness, but instead they rejected the prophet’s message and worshiped idols.

  • Because of their rejection and mistreatment of Jesus, the privilege to be his witnesses to all the nations is now for those of us who believe in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.

  • God didn’t save us only for ourselves, but God wants to use us to bless all people in this world by sharing the love of Jesus.

2-3, How did the tenants increase their hostility as the owner continued to send more servants? (11-12)

11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

  • The first servant came and perhaps got a slap on the face or a kick on the behind. Then he was sent away with nothing.

  • The second one came and got the same treatment, except he was also treated with shame. He was probably mocked, ridiculed, and spit on before he was sent away.

  • The third one was physically wounded and thrown out like the Tuesday trash.

  • God’s servants here refers to the prophets whom he sent to Israel to help them turn to God and produce the fruit of justice and righteousness.

  • By sending his servants he desired to bless them by helping them maintain the proper relationship with their Creator.

  • But because the tenants’ were blinded by sin, they couldn’t understand the owner’s intention.

2-4, What might have caused them to respond in such a way?

  • Their problem was their greed, they wanted everything for themselves. As such their hearts were darkened and they progressed in their evilness to become robbers and even murderers.

  • It reminds me of the relationship between parents and teenagers. The teens usually think they know what they want and misunderstand their parents intentions to help them by thinking of them as a big burden.

  • They don’t realize how much their parents really love them and actually want what is best for them.

  • Their actions hurt and wound many parents but we can only imagine God’s pain when his servants were rejected and wounded by those who misunderstood their intentions.

  • God’s wisdom, love, and life purpose for us is far greater than that of our own parents.

3. Read verses 13-15a. What did the owner do? (13) What does this reveal about the heart of God? How did this parable come to pass in and through Jesus? (14-15)

3-1, Read verses 13-15a.

“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

3-2, What did the owner do? (13)

“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’

3-3, What does this reveal about the heart of God?

  • Despite the ill treatment of all of his servants, the owner of the vineyard didn’t give up. He asked himself if there was anything else he could still do? He then decided that he would send his son, whom he loved.

  • At first glance this may not sound very realistic. The tenants kept persisting and progressing in their sin by rejecting, beating, and wounding servant after servant.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 reads,

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

  • God’s decision to send his son was an act of mercy that showed how much he loved the tenants despite their actions. His love was unconditional.

  • He even knew what would happen to his son, but he sacrificed his son in hopes that the people might turn to him and experience that love themselves.

  • Love heals and restores our soul. It is God’s desire for his love to do this for us.

  • We pray for all people to learn of the sacrificial heart and love of God.

3-4, How did this parable come to pass in and through Jesus? (14-15)

“But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

  • The owner’s actions to send his son should have touched the tenant’s hearts but they treated him badly.

  • They killed him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

  • They thought they could gain their inheritance by rejecting God and killing the heir, his son.

  • Their refusal to give thanks to God by giving him some fruit from the vineyard caused their thinking to become futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Romans 1:21-23 reads,

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

4. Read verses 15b-19. What would the owner do about these rebellious tenants? (16a) How did the people respond? (16b) What did Jesus mean by quoting Psalm 118:22-23? (17-18) How can we become good tenants in God’s vineyard?

4-1, Read verses 15b-19.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!” 17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” 19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

4-2, What would the owner do about these rebellious tenants? (16a)

16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

  • Because God is just he will eventually fulfill his justice. People who reject God and their duty to him never want to accept this outcome.

  • They don’t think God could do this. They are blinded because they fail to recognize his authority.

4-3, How did the people respond? (16b)

When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

  • Upon hearing this word from God they should have fallen on their knees and repented but instead they just said “God forbid.”

  • Just by saying these two words they thought they could stop Almighty God who created all things from carrying out this just punishment.

  • We must pray for ourselves and for all people to bear fruit and help them to restore a proper relationship with their Creator.

4-4, What did Jesus mean by quoting Psalm 118:22-23? (17-18)

17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

  • Jesus looked directly at those whose hearts were still hard and kept patiently teaching who he was.

  • He quoted Psalm 118:22 to refer that he himself was the capstone which God exalted though the people did not acknowledge him.

  • Jesus is often likened unto a stone or a rock in the Bible. He is the rock of provision that followed Israel in the desert

1 Corinthians 10:3-4 reads,

They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

1 Peter 2:8 reads,

“A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

Daniel 2:45 reads,

This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

  • The cornerstone, "designated in antiquity the stone used at the building's corner to bear the weight or the stress of the two walls.

  • It would have functioned somewhat like a 'keystone' or 'capstone' in an arch or other architectural form.

  • It was the stone which was essential or crucial to the whole structure.

  • Likewise Jesus is the foundation and the head of the church and the Father’s kingdom. Jesus fulfills salvation and he is also the judge.

  • Whoever rejected him will be broken or crushed.

  • After Jesus had finished speaking, the teachers of the law and the chief priests immediately looked for a way to arrest him, for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.

  • They were the very tenants in this parable who killed the son, Jesus.

  • Jesus himself told this parable to reveal what they would do to him a few days later. But it didn’t change his love for them.

4-5, How can we become good tenants in God’s vineyard?

  • Let us think about how to be a good tenant.

1. Read Your Lease agreement carefully - Read the Bible carefully

2. Don’t Break the Lease - Put into practice what is written in the Bible

3. Pay your rent on time - Spending our time, money, and energy in maintaining our relationship with the Lord

4. Treat your rental like you would treat your own property - Take care of God’s resources for God’s interest

5. Get to know your neighbors - Love our coworkers and Bible students.

Conclusion

This parable shows that God deeply loves us and knows what’s best for us. When we make him the authority of our life we don’t lose anything but are blessed with more than we could possibly imagine. May each of us make Jesus the Lord of our life, that we would trust in his word and guidance always and experience his perfect love. May we love him back through our absolute obedience. In particular, may we not miss the world mission command of our Lord Jesus and put our priority on serving His interest despite some inconvenience.

One word: What shall I do?

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