Matthew 21:33-46

11:22-12:16 - 2:30 (2:36-2:38) 3:23

5:12 - 6:00 8:56- 9:47

Matthew 21:33–46

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 21

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 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, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

This is what the Lord has done

and it is wonderful 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 fruit. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet

Story about the Van - Things have a purpose - there is a goal. A car is meant to drive. A dog is meant to be cute. A house is meant to be lived in. Everything has it’s purpose

Oftentimes, people ask this question: what is my purpose? What am I meant to do? How would you answer that question?

Some of us know the theological answer - to glorify God and enjoy him forever - but let’s get more practical. How are you specifically meant to do that.

Because if we get that wrong. If we don’t answer this right. Then the default is to think that life exists to glorify ourselves. My spouse is supposed to make me happy. My kids are supposed to make me happy. More and more we use phrases like, “this isn’t working for me.” In fact, that word, “me” is by default the center of the universe in our hearts.

That was the first sin - you will become like God - that is what we really desire. We want to be the center and we want everything to revolve around us.

the me attitude is never fulfilling - if you live for your happiness you always fail. am I happy?

We have a purpose - we were made to live like God and for God - to be holy in our life to be on misison for God.

And that was the problem of Israel too. They lost the plot. They forgot that they were supposed to be on mission and they started to live for themselves and act like God revolves around them.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 21

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit.

Jesus is setting it up that Israel is the vineyard. He prepared it. And he wanted them to bear fruit.

to be like God and help others connect to God - holiness and mission

Adam- cultural

Abraham —-> Jesus

Abraham - all the nations will be blessed (make shorter)

Moses - Deuteronomy 4:6–7

“Carefully follow them, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, ‘This great nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god near to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him?”

Then the kings—> the prophets

1 Kings 8:41–43

41 Even for the foreigner who is not of your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— 42 for they will hear of your great name, strong hand, and outstretched arm, and will come and pray toward this temple— 43 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all the foreigner asks. Then all peoples of earth will know your name, to fear you as your people Israel do and to know that this temple I have built bears your name.

Exile —-> return ——-> greeks ——->romans

So let’s look at how Jesus address this:

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 21

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit.

Jesus is setting it up that Israel is the vineyard. He prepared it. And he wanted them to bear fruit.

He would send the prophets to remind them of their mission - but the people didn’t really respond well to the prophets

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 21

35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them.

So the servants that were being sent were the prophets. Remember, how often did they do the right thing? Just about never!

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 21

37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

Ok, so here we are. obviously this is a metaphor for Jesus. God had sent prophet after prophet. What was the end result? The people had never been more racist and closed off than they were in Jesus’ day. You couldn’t eat with a non-jew. They used the court of the gentiles as a walmart. They didn’t care.

So after all this - God sends his son. Jesus.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 21

38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’

How crazy is that? Think about their twisted logic. their own sense of entitlement

We become so deluded by our own entitlement -

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 21

39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

Jesus sets them up

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 21

41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”

What was the point of that? Jesus was looking forward to his own death

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 21

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

This is what the Lord has done

and it is wonderful 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 fruit.

So what was Jesus doing? He died to save you but not only to save you.

Gospel - invitation- go and live for him

It doesn’t end with you. You are called to produce fruit

The thing we were created for is to produce fruit for God. To expand his community.

We didn’t start Mercy Hill to just have another church. Or to have one that we liked a little more.

I am convinced of the fruit that God can produce through you.

I’m not calling you to live for Christ for myself.

I am calling you to do it for you. It is what’s best for you. It’s what you were made for!

You are God’s secret weapon!

The desperate question of people’s heart is not, big bang vs creationism. It isn’t questions noah’s flood or the intricacies of the new covenant.

What people are asking is how does a person like me find peace, joy, live with purpose. What Does being a christian mean for a person like me?

Reaching out to people

It’s not me- it’s you

God came to save us.

Ephesians 2:8-10

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus

That’s the point!

He has prepared fruit for me to harvest

But how do we do that? How does that work out?

pizza-

we do it in a way that’s restful - trusting God

You aren’t responsible for every soul - you are responsible to work in the power he provides

Hebrews 4:11

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.

Work vs rest

Vacation

Let’s be praying and inviting - so do, but work to do based on rest.

Its hard to rest because it can bring up the question?

But does this mean that we can lose our salvation? Covenant community vs individual

He has prepared fruit for me to harvest

First of course, is getting right with God:

Its time for me to give my life to you.

second, You haven’t concerned about his mission at all.

Third - you’ve been doing it on your own

Pray if you don’t know anyone - prayer card.

I don’t know the harvest he has planned for you but I am excited to find out together

We push into a deeper relationship with the Lord, relying on his spirit and his power rather than our own. We do that through prayer and our Bible reading. We have to be purposeful about resting on the Lord and not falling back to our default lives.

So let’s be prayerful. God has positioned you to produce fruit. Don’t go and try to do that on your own. Go and start to pray and ask the holy spirit to help open doors, empower you and give you strength.

We make effort to enter into rest so that we can do the good works that GOd has prepared for us.

Maybe you don’t have anyone in your life that you think you can witness. That’s ok. God has still prepared good works for you so pray that the lord would bring people into your life.

God created us to do good works.

Now there is one last question from this passage and that is, does this mean if I don’t do evangelism I am going to lose my salvation? Am I going to get cut off?

Community nature to what he said and the people he was talking and directing this towards, were none believers.

What is work did, was it expanded the community of God to gentile believers. This isn’t an individual warning it is a community warning. If as a church, then his spirit is going leave our church.

It’s a wake up call. High Cholestorol

And that starts with being a christian. We can agree that most people are seeking a purpose but they are having a hard time finding it. And you see even people with high powered positions wrestling with this - because our meaning can’t come from within. It has to come from outside. ANd it came from Christ. We were created to be his agents working with Christ to further the kingdom of Christ. And maybe you’ve been resisting that. And now is a good chance to get that right.

Let’s get after it in the power of Christ.