Destroying Jesus

King James Version Chapter 20

9 Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.

10 And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.

11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.

13 Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.

14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?

16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

This mornings message is entitled “Destroying Jesus”

Pray

Messengers

Tension

On What Authority?

We have to take this parable in context, Jesus just finished telling the religious leaders that he would not tell them by what Authority he did the things that he did.

He alludes to as we discussed last week that his authority came form the same place as the authority of John the Baptist and essentially dared them to comment where they perceived John got his authority.

Knowing that if the Jewish leaders rejected John as having authority as a prophet of God, that the Jewish people would kill them. Jesus knowing that if he told them that he was the Son of God then the religious leaders would kill him. They arrive at this stalemate but Jesus point mas made.

He then went from addressing the Jewish leadership and spoke to the people a parable directly connected to this exchange that Jesus had with the chief priests, scribes and elders from verses 1-8.

God Sent Messengers

In Jesus’ parable he describes a situation that was relatively common then and still is today.

My grandparents owned at one point a lot of land in Indiana, outside of Oldenburg. They kept a small parcel to their self with a trailer and rented the property to tobacco farmers. There was a big barn I remember playing in as a kid and every so often we would visit and it would filled with tobacco leaves drying.

Apparently when my grandparents were younger they lived at the farm and tended to it, but they moved to Cincinnati for a more lucrative job than farming could offer and brought in people to tend the farm.

The same thing is happening in this parable. A man had a vineyard that he planted and he went away and allowed other people to tend to the land.

Three times when the lord of the vineyard sent servants to collect what was owed, the hired farmers beat the servant and then sent them on their way.

Finally the owner of the field sent his son. The Lord of the Vineyard reasons in v13: “it may be they will reverence him when they see him.”

This word reverence is an interesting word. The base for this Greek word ἐντρέπω entrepō is the idea not just of having respect for someone but to feel shame in their presence. A sense that you are not to their level and you know it, giving respect accordingly.

This is something that would have been instinctively understood in a culture that still employs the cast system. I don’t think this is a concept that we would have to explain to the Johns, they live in a country with casts and for the most part people are accepting of the cast they are in.

In America it is a bit different but if I am to be honest a couple time a year I am the guest of the owner of the company I work for at the Cincinnati Country Club for breakfast or lunch. We had our Christmas party for work there last year and Kate can tell you the place is amazing. Let me be clear that I don’t begrudge anyone of their success but when we go, my colleagues and I often make jokes about one of us becoming members, knowing that membership fee is probably around the price of our mortgages. In that environment you tend to be on your best behavior, not just that you are having lunch with the owner of the company but because the place reminds you at every turn that it is beyond your means.

This is the expectation that the lord of the vineyard had though. That he would send his son and because of that son’s place they would be humbled by his presence. The would heed the authority of this son and do as he requested. Instead they killed him with the intent of stealing his inheritance.

3 Times Rejected

Speaks to the People

The Heir Killed

Prophet Problems

Truth

This is an exact picture of the Jewish leadership. And to the point of this parable Israel had a pretty lousy track record in dealing with the prophets of God:

Prophet Problems

William Shakespeare in Henry IV, Part 2

Jesus says in Matthew 23:37

King James Version Chapter 23

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

And Paul reiterates as a point in 1 Thess 2:14-15

King James Version Chapter 2

For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:

15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:

There is clearly a pattern being commented on: God sends a prophet, and the people to whom the prophet had been sent respond by killing the messenger. Jesus comments on it and so later does Paul though it may not be immediately obvious which prophets were killed:

In the Talmud there are mixed accounts of what happened to Isaish, but what is most likely is that Isaiah had fled the pursuers of Kings Manasseh and hid inside of a hallow tree. The tree was then cut in half and Isaiah along with it. This is what is believed to be refered to in where in speaking of the heroes of the faith Paul writes “they were sawn asunder”

Sawed in 2

Isaiah - Sawed in 2

Jeremiah was said to have been stoned to death by his fellow countrymen in Egypt

Ezekiel - Killed by Israelite Exiles

In the 4th Century the Bishop Epiphanius related that Micah was thrown from a cliff and killed by Jehoram, the son of Ahab

There is an apocryphal book entitled The Lives of the Prophets which relates that either Amos was tortured by the priest of Bethel and then killed or that Ahaziah the son of Amaziah killed him with a staff.

Joad - Killed by a Lion ()

Of Zechariah ben Jehoiada -41 Reads

King James Version Chapter 24

20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.

21 And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.

And of course the last of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist was beheaded because he spoke out against Herod divorcing his wife and marrying his brother wife.

Why Did they Kill the Prophets?

Why did Israel kill the prophets? In the parable the servants of the land owner were delivering a message that they didn’t want to hear. And when the son of the Lord of the Vineyard came, not only did they reject his message, they then killed the son expecting to rob him of his inheritance.

John’s Message

Israel had done this over and over. Prophets were sent and prophets were rejected. The prophets were even beaten and killed on many occasions.

You have to appreciate what Israel is saying when they do this, God puts it into perspective in

King James Version Chapter 8

And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

While they on the surface claim to follow God, the reality is that they have rejected him and his reign over them. It is no wonder Jesus compared them to robbers when he cleansed the temple, they were all thieves trying to rob the glory of God.

How to Get Rejected

Application

How can we understand this parable, and understand the history of Israel and the things that would come to pass during this final week before Jesus was crucified. How can we understand all of that and not see a little bit of a parallel where we are today.

To one sense we need to understand that the number one problem we have in winning the lost to Christ it their rejection of having any outside authority over their life. We do we have atheism and evolution? It is solely because if man does not invent a cause for existence differing from that of being created by a divine being, then they would have to submit themselves to the authority of whatever greater power created them.

But this is a conversation that Jesus is having to Jewish people. Religious people. Not only that, these are the religious people who unlike the pagans, worship the True and Living God. They are the ones who are rejecting the prophets, ultimately killing the Son.

But how many people who go by the name Christian hear the words of God spoken, or read the word of God and reject what it says because they are rejecting God’s authority over their lives. I could tell you of cases where people deny forgiveness, or that lie, that gossip or that treat others unloving. I could tell you of these cases but you know as well as I do that this stuff goes on and if we are to be honest we could probably have a gut-check about ourselves on these subjects and more.

reads:

King James Version Chapter 4

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

And one of the most miserable truths I can share with you is this. Standing firm on what the bible says and not wavering from it won’t just isolate you in the world, but it will isolate you more so from people who call themselves Christians that acknowledge the authority of God with their lips but reject the authority of God’s word in practice.

An Obedient King

Inspiration

As we read through the Old Testament it begins to seem like book after book of Israel having a prophet sent to them and them rejecting the words of God delivered by the prophet. For every high point like David or Moses it seems there are a dozen golden calves, high places or Ahab’s filling the scripture.

But a guy named Josiah became king. And the bible says of him something we read too seldom in scripture: says “And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD”.

One day the book of God’s law was brought before King Josiah and the bible said upon hearing it that “He rent his clothes”

Kings Josiah heard the word of the Lord and immediately sought God, afraid knowing that his fathers before him did not hearken unto the word of God.

Gods answer can be found in :

Reads

King James Version Chapter 22

16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read:

17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard;

19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.

20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.

Because thine heart was tender

Josiah, the King of Judah had a heart tender to the words of God. When he heard the word he obeyed and humbled himself before God and sought to please the Lord. Our Bible says that God granted that no evil would befall him and that he would go to his grave in peace.

It is easy to see God as some cosmic principle ready to wrap our knuckles with the heavenly ruler every time we make a mistake. But God has made incredible effort: From sending messengers in the prophets, to his own son; in order to show us how to see peace.

Like Josiah, if you hear the word of God and heed it. God will give you peace. What does that peace look like? Jesus says this in

King James Version Chapter 14

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

It’s a peace that allows our hearts to be untroubled and unafraid. No greater peace can be offered.