Fruitfulness or Forsakenness: Consequences of Our Choices
Notes
Transcript
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip.
34 When it was time for harvest, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit.
35 But the tenant farmers grabbed his servants. They beat some of them, and some of them they killed. Some of them they stoned to death.
36 “Again he sent other servants, more than the first group. They treated them in the same way.
37 Finally he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and we’ll have his inheritance.’
39 They grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?”
41 They said, “He will totally destroy those wicked farmers and rent the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruit when it’s ready.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the scriptures, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord has done this, and it’s amazing in our eyes?
43 Therefore, I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruit.
44 Whoever falls on this stone will be crushed. And the stone will crush the person it falls on.”
45 Now when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard the parable, they knew Jesus was talking about them.
46 They were trying to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, who thought he was a prophet.
Fruitfulness or Forsakenness: Consequences of Our Choices
Bishop N.T. Wright tells the following related to this passage:
Lent for Everyone: Matthew Year A Week 4: Thursday: Matthew 21:23–46; Focused on 21:33–45
I was taking a service in a local church when this passage was the second reading. Over at the side of the church was a family with a three-year-old boy who appeared to be playing with his toys, taking no notice of the service. But when the reader finished this parable, about the wicked tenants who beat up the owner’s messengers and finally kill his son, there was a momentary pause; and, in the silence, the boy’s voice stood out loud and clear: ‘That’s not a very nice story!’
I think would all agree, this isn’t a very nice story. That is sort of the point.
This parable is a continuation of the events that make up this chapter. Jesus has made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He’s cleansed the temple which has really ticked off the religious leaders because they feel he is stepping on their territory.
Jesus had told the parable of the man with the two sons that we looked at this week. He now tells another parable. He says to those around him “Listen to another parable.” Jesus frequently used parables to tell a story that most everyone could understand or possibly relate to in order to make a deeper point. The parable last week addressed obedience to God. This parable reflects the patience of God, and the consequences of our choices.
The title of this sermon encapsulates the core message of the passage and the point of this sermon. Choices have consequences, and these consequences can lead to either spiritual fruitfulness or forsakenness.
That word forsakenness means to leave behind, abandon, walk away from, or reject.
Israel had a bad habit of doing that. It began right after they crossed over from Egypt through the Red Sea. Moses is up on the Mountain getting the commandments from God. The people are at the base of the mountain rejecting God.
God says to Moses in Exodus 32:7–9 “7 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Hurry up and go down! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, are ruining everything! 8 They’ve already abandoned the path that I commanded. They have made a metal bull calf for themselves. They’ve bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it and declared, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 The Lord said to Moses, “I’ve been watching these people, and I’ve seen how stubborn they are.”
Keep that in mind as we look at this passage this morning.
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip.
So we find a landowner who decides to plant a vineyard. This is not a one season and done project. It generally takes 4 years for a new vineyard to begin producing any significant grapes. By year 5, the vines are mature and are at their peak production.
This landowner has the vineyard prepared. I want to believe that he hired this work out. He has the vines planted. He has a fence built around to keep out animals that would destroy the plants. He has a winepress put in so that wine can be made right there in the vineyard. That leads me to believe that this was a large vineyard. You wouldn’t build a winepress for a couple dozen vines. He even had a tower built. The tower would be used so that someone could look out over the vineyard to look for problems.
The final thing that the landowner did was to rent it out to a tenant farmers and he then packed his bags and took a trip. He had several years to enjoy his trip before there would be the beginning of the production of wine.
The landowner entrusted the care of the vineyard into the hands of these tenant farmers. They had a vested interest in the success of the vineyard because they would earn from the production at the harvest season.
These farmers were not the owners of the vineyard, they were stewards of it. Jesus I believe is introducing this idea of stewardship at this point.
Stewardship is the idea that God entrusts us with His resources, blessings, and responsibilities, and He wants us to faithfully manage them. It includes not only our money resources, but also our time, talents, relationships, and the influence we make on the world.
The vineyard is a powerful image for God's kingdom. Just as a vineyard must be carefully nurtured and managed to yield a plentiful harvest, God's kingdom necessitates our careful attention and responsible management. We find not just lush vines and ripening fruit in this vineyard, but also the resources, possibilities, and duties that God has graciously handed to us. Our time, talents, spiritual gifts, relationships, and the unique roles we play in the expansion of God's kingdom on earth are examples of these resources.
The vineyard symbolizes God's redemptive plan and His desire to produce spiritual fruit in the lives of His people. It represents a place where God's grace, love, and truth might be nurtured, shared, and multiplied. Just as a vineyard necessitates effort and attention, God's kingdom necessitates our commitment and devotion. This kingdom teaches us the profound responsibility of stewardship – faithfully managing God's resources for His glory. Our job as stewards is one of service, not ownership, as the heavenly Landowner has entrusted us with cultivating and nurturing the spiritual fruits of righteousness, faith, and love.
This parable serves as a powerful reminder that our actions and choices have repercussions, leading to either fruitfulness or forsakenness within God's holy vineyard.
Now fast forward 4 or 5 years, it is time for the first harvest from this vineyard. Jesus says
34 When it was time for harvest, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit.
35 But the tenant farmers grabbed his servants. They beat some of them, and some of them they killed. Some of them they stoned to death.
He sends his servants to collect his fruit. Note that it was not the fruit of the tenant farmers. It would seem that somewhere along the way that these tenant farmers began to think of the vineyard as their own. Maybe they thought that the land owner had been gone for such a long time that he had abandoned it.
I like to read between the lines here and think that the landowner had to have had servants checking on the vineyard because he knew when to send his servants to collect his fruit.
I believe that is a picture of God the Father. God is active and involved in our lives. The Holy Spirit and the angels watch over us. God knows what is happening in our lives.
Sadly these tenant farmers were not faithful stewards. They beat some of the landowners servants, others they killed, and others they stoned to death.
At least one of them must have gotten away and reported to the landowner what happened.
Jesus said
36 “Again he sent other servants, more than the first group. They treated them in the same way.
The landowner sends even more servants than he sent the first time and the same thing happens. I don’t know about you, but if I was that landowner I would have sent servants with weapons if they had done what they did to that first group.
The landowner seems incredibly patient. He is after what belongs to him.
One of the most striking characteristics is the landowner's incredible patience and enduring love. Despite the wicked tenants' continuous maltreatment, rejection, and even violence toward his staff, the landowner continues to send messengers to collect the fruit. He does not quickly react with rage or condemnation. Instead, he extends his grace and provides opportunities for them to modify their ways. The parable's patience and love serve as a significant portrayal of God's character. God, our heavenly Landowner, is infinitely patient and lavishes us with love. Even when we have fallen short or rejected His will, He gives us opportunities for repentance, transformation, and reconciliation.
Consider times when you may have strayed from God's path or failed to bear the fruit of righteousness. Can you think of a time?
Yet, despite your imperfections, God did not give up on you. His patience has endured through trials, temptations, and times of spiritual drought. His love has remained steadfast and unconditional.
This parable underscores the importance of responding to His patience with repentance and faithfulness, and it inspires a desire to bear the fruit of righteousness as a testament to His enduring love.
The landowner has sent two different groups of servants to collect the produce, the fruit. Both times servants are beaten or killed.
Jesus says
37 Finally he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and we’ll have his inheritance.’
39 They grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
There are a number of different ways to view this final piece of the parable. It is most certainly about Jesus.
One thing that stood out to me was there in verse 38 where Jesus says that the farmers said “we’ll have his inheritance.”
As I reflected on that I thought about the encounter of the serpent and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
The serpent said to Eve
Genesis 3:4–5 “4 The snake said to the woman, “You won’t die! 5 God knows that on the day you eat from it, you will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””
How did God create mankind? Man was created in God’s image. The serpent said “you will be like God.” It was a grand lie. Adam and Eve were already like God because they were created in the very image of God. They weren’t god’s, but they possessed the image of God. They didn’t lack anything.
Those farmers said that they would have the son’s inheritance.
Jesus finishes the parable by asking the question
40 “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?”
He’s asking the question the Pharisees, the members of the Sanhedrin, those ruling religious leaders.
The thing about hearing a story for the first time you are drawn into it and not really thinking of the long term implications. I like to think that is how the religious leaders were acting by their answer, they say:
41 They said, “He will totally destroy those wicked farmers and rent the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruit when it’s ready.”
Jesus reels them in when he makes the application. A story is just a story if we don’t apply it. We can apply this story to our lives just like Jesus applied it to these religious leaders.
Jesus uses the scriptures to apply it to them. He quotes from Psalm 118:22-23
22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
Jesus then says Matthew 21:43–44 “43 Therefore, I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruit. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be crushed. And the stone will crush the person it falls on.””
Jesus is telling them that there is consequences of their rejecting Jesus.
The transfer of the kingdom is the first consequence of rejecting Christ. In his message to the religious leaders, Jesus makes the point that if they reject Him as the cornerstone, they will lose their place in God's kingdom. It will instead be given to those who bear fruit, indicating that God's kingdom is not limited to a single group or nation, but is open to everyone who respond to Him in faith.
The image of tripping over a stone and being broken or crushed is a strong illustration of the consequences of rejecting Christ. Those who trip over Jesus but do not repent and turn to Him will suffer the judgment of God. They will be "broken to pieces" or "crushed," which represents the spiritual and eternal repercussions of their unbelief.
The consequences experienced by the parable's wicked tenants and the costs of rejecting Christ are inextricably linked. The tenants in the parable reject the landowner's authority and mistreat his employees, eventually killing the landowner's son. Their acts have resulted in their eviction from the vineyard and harsh punishment.
Individuals who reject Christ are also rejecting the authority of the actual Landowner, God. Their rejection could include rejecting His messengers or rejecting His Son, Jesus. The consequences include exclusion from God's kingdom and judgment. This judgment, as represented by the imagery of tripping on the stone, emphasizes the gravity of rejecting Christ.
This acts as a warning and a call to reflection in the context of our faith journey. It forces us to examine our own hearts and decisions. Is Christ the cornerstone of our faith, and are we living our life in accordance with His teachings, or are we abandoning Him in favor of our own interests or worldly values? The story and these verses underscore that our decisions have eternal ramifications. They challenge us to respond to Christ in faith, acknowledging that He is the foundation of our salvation and the path to bringing fruit in God's kingdom. It serves as a reminder of the importance of faith and of living out our beliefs with sincerity and devotion.
So how can we apply this parable and warning to our lives today? Certainly there are still consequences of us not being faithful to Jesus.
The first way that I feel that we can apply this to our lives is to take a moment to pause and reflect on their lives. Consider the ways in which you and I have been living out our faith and serving God's kingdom.
Use God’s word to help in this. The psalmist wrote Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Let me give you a few questions to ask yourself:
In the past week or month, can I recall specific instances where I actively lived out my faith?
Have I recently shown love, kindness, or compassion to someone in need?
Have I been growing spiritually and seeking a deeper relationship with God?
Are there areas of my life where I've neglected opportunities to bear fruit for God?
We love to here about the love and mercy and grace. When it comes to judgement we often don’t want to hear about it.
Jesus parable of these wicked tenant farmers reminds us that there is consequences to our actions. Those questions invite us to review and reflect on our own lives. This parable invites us to reflect on am I being fruitful or forsakenness?
John in the Revelation wrote
11 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who is seated on it. Before his face both earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Another scroll was opened too; this is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged on the basis of what was written in the scrolls about what they had done.
13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and the Grave gave up the dead that were in them, and people were judged by what they had done.
What is being written about your life right now?