Parable of the Tenants

As a property manager Nelson Escobar has plenty of horror stories involving bad tenants and renters. However there is none worse than what happened on the morning of March 14th 2014. One of Escobars renters, Clyde Newman, hadn't paid his rent in over three months. Escobar had no other choice but to evict Newman. Escobar would contact the Rochester police department, and inform them he needed an eviction notice to be served. The police were all too happy to assist. Hours later 2 uniformed officers approached the small duplex to serve the notice. One of the officers reached to knock on the door when suddenly a shotgun blast tore through the front door striking the officer at the door instantly killing him. His partner would also be struck and wounded. The ailing police officer would retreat to his car, take cover, and call for backup. Several squad cars would converge on the area. The arriving officers would immediately be met with automatic gun fire. Bullets would rip through the duplex and would begin striking the ground, the streets, and the police cars. The scene was absolute carnage. Surprised officers would scramble to find cover, in the midst of the carnage 3 more officers would be hit. One officer would sustain several gunshot wounds and die immediately. It became clear the police had a standoff situation on their hands. Escobar would be notified, he would be devastated to learn of the deaths of the police officer. Rather than place the lives of other police officers in danger, Escobar requested he send his son to de-escalate the situation. The police reluctantly agreed. So Nelson's son Raul would arrive on the scene. The police would use a bullhorn and asked Clyde if it was ok to send Raul inside to negotiate. Clyde would agree. Raul walked to the front door, however before he could open the door Cylde quickly opened the door and pulled Raul into the house. It happened so quickly it startled the police and they didn’t react. Suddenly Raul could be heard screaming in protest, followed by 4 gunshots. Raul’s body would be hurled outside, collapsing in the yard. What do you expect Escobar to do when he learns of his son's death? This story is dark, troubling, and violent. The violent nature of this story is meant to mirror the violence in the parable of the tenants. This is the parable we will be studying today. In the midst of this violent and dark tale, we’ll learn many important things regarding faith. The first deals with the dangers of a hardened heart which rejects Christ. The other lesson deals with the unbelievable nature of grace.

The dangers of a hardened heart: (READ Matthew 21:33-46

Matthew 21:33–46 ESV

“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. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 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.” 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’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Being a third party observer during this parable would have been really awkward. This parable would have occurred during the last week of Jesus' life, which he spent teaching in Jerusalem. During this week Jesus would have several tense encounters with the Pharisees, this is no exception. You could have cut through the tension with a knife. Why? Because Jesus let the Pharisees know that he was aware of what they were planning. Let’s break the parable down. The imagery Jesus is going for is quite obvious. Jesus tells a story of reprehensible tenants who refused to pay the owner his fair share of the profits. They would kill every messenger he sent. He resolved to send his son, believing they would respect him. However it wasn’t the case, as they killed him as well.

The tenants in this story represent the nation of Israel, and their hardened hearts towards God.

The messengers represent the prophets God had sent to Israel, to deliver his message to them regarding their worship of false prophets.

The son represents Christ, a messenger to Israel who should have been viewed with authority. Instead he would be killed by the very people whom he was sent to save.

The actions of the tenants would have been particularly reprehensible. Refusing to pay the landowner his fair share of the profits would have been bad enough. However killing the messengers the landowner sent would have been shockingly vile. In our culture, criminals who kill police officers are viewed with even more disdain than others. Killing the landowners' messengers would have been viewed in a similar light. However killing the landowners son would have been viewed as particularly cruel. So obviously when asked “what will become of the tenants” the Pharisees respond by saying “he will bring those wretches to an end.

Jesus turns the tables on the Pharisees. Jesus outright accuses them of being the tenants. Jesus quotes from a passage in Psalm 118, a messianic prophecy proclaiming how the messiah will be rejected by his people. The Pharisees wouldn’t have missed this accusation. They would have understood that Jesus was saying THEY were the builders who rejected the cornerstone. Jesus offers a stern warning of what will become of them should they kill and reject him. The kingdom of heaven will be taken from them. However, it didn’t matter. The Pharisees sought to arrest Jesus, sealing their intent to reject the messiah, and sealed their fate.

The unbelievable nature of grace? Are you aware of the term “jumping the shark?” It’s a Hollywood term. This term is most commonly used to describe a show that goes from being grounded in reality, to veering into unbelievable territory. The term was coined from a happy days episode in which Fonzie jumped over a shark with water skies. This was considered an unbelievable gimmick which strays from the original storyline. This parable “Jumps the shark.” The parable starts grounded in reality, but it veers into unbelievable territory. Did you notice? Would you send your child into the middle of a police standoff? I am guessing the answer is no, and no loving parent would put their Son in such jeopardy. The parable would become unbelievable, and that’s the point. When the parables become unbelievable, that’s when the grace of God enters the story. The matchless grace of Jesus doesn’t make sense to our minds. The world no doubt views the cross as God’s “Jump the Shark” moment. However we know it’s the truth. As the late great Rich Mullins would say. “We did not make it, but it is making us, it’s the very truth of God, not the invention of any man.” Praise God for the unfathomable, incomprehensible, unbelievable matchless grace of Jesus Christ our Lord. Praise be his name, as the unbelievable has become truth!