The Parable of the Wicked Tennant Farmers
Parables: Jesus the Storyteller • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Dr. B’s birthday
Series: Parables: Jesus the story teller. We all know a story teller … for every conversation they have a story … (which reminds me of a story, JK) This is not all together bad … Once in a while there needs to be a point to the story.
Prophets use parables of all sorts to veil and unveil truth, to bring hearers to the point of recognizing their own self-judgment, and to produce a response to God.
Parables were meant to jolt people out of their complacency. Grab our attention!
The word “parable” (παραβολε) comes from two Greek words, para which mean“alongside”, and ballo which means “to throw”. It literally means “throw alongside”.
Invite people to turn to the text: Matthew 21
**Joke - 2 guys and a grizzly
Goal: Think more Kingdom minded.
Set the stage for today’s text:
A couple of days after the Triumphal Entry, Jesus cleanses the Temple. (Matthew 21:12-13)
John’s Gospel records Jesus doing this at the beginning of His ministry just after His first miracle at the wedding in Cana …
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
Later returns and while teaching (Matthew 21:23-27) is confronted by the religious leaders with this question: “Who gave you this authority?” These religious leaders did not want to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. So Jesus told them 2 parables, both dealing with a vineyard, to get them thinking and to teach them about Himself.
The Parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32)
After this Jesus tells them another parable that sounded all too familiar to them … I’ll show you why as this message progresses.
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. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
This parable is recorded in 3 Gospel accounts (Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-19). It is wise to study all 3 accounts in order to get the best interpretation.
The Landowner - God the Father
Vineyard - Israel
8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
1 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.
The reason this should have been familiar to Jesus’ audience is because for many generations the Father had referred to them as His vineyard.
The Father is the landowner and His children are the Vineyard … We are his vineyard as well.
17 But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18 But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.
You are His! You are His child! His prized possession!!
The Jews should have know this …
18 The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands.
No only are you the Father’s most valuable treasure … He has gone to great lengths to provide, protect, and care for you! Jesus uses the framework of Isaiah 5 (The song of the vineyard) to remind the Jews of God’s goodness to them as a nation. God delivered them from Egypt and planted them in a rich land of milk and honey. (Any Jewish listener would clearly make the connection)
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.
Some translations “Hedge” … We sometime pray a “hedge of protection” around someone. (Traveling mercies)
Tim Hawkins - “a hedge of protection” (1:45)
Greek word fräg-mo's - a fence or a barrier; that which separates, prevents two from coming together.
The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2 The Vineyard of the Lord (Matthew 21:33–46)
The hedge was a thickset thorn hedge, designed to keep out both the wild boars which might ravage the vineyard, and the thieves who might steal the grapes.
“built a watchtower”
The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2 The Vineyard of the Lord (Matthew 21:33–46)
The tower served a double purpose. It served as a watch-tower, from which to watch for thieves when the grapes were ripening; and it served as a lodging for those who were working in the vineyard.
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Moving on in our text:
34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
Jesus said that it was time for the owner of the vineyard to collect his portion of the fruit harvest.
This was something very common in Jesus’ day … wealthy landowners would lease out parcels of land … payment could have been monetarily or through a share of the harvest.
The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2 The Vineyard of the Lord (Matthew 21:33–46)
In the time of Jesus, Palestine was a troubled place with little luxury; it was, therefore, very familiar with absentee landlords, who let out their estates and were interested only in collecting the rental at the right time. The rent might be paid in any of three ways. It might be a money rent; it might be a fixed amount of the fruit, no matter what the crop might be; and it might be an agreed percentage of the crop.
Harvest time literally means: “The Fruit Season”
This is something that the owner expected.
Remember, we said that this Christian life is all about bearing fruit:
10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
What kind of fruit are we producing? Are we bringing to the Father his share? First Fruits?
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.
It was common knowledge that Israel had a long legacy of abusing the prophets. Israel’s own history
tells that story. Every Jewish boy of the time grew up learning that:
The prophet Jeremiah was beaten on multiple occasions, thrown into a pit and then stoned.
Also, a prophet named “Uriah,” who prophesied around the same time as Jeremiah, tried to escape into exile, but the king tracked him down, brought him back to Israel, and ran him through with a sword (Jeremiah 26:20-23).
Elijah and Amos were banished and forced to hide in caves (1 Kings 13–17)
Ezekiel was murdered after a sermon.
Habakkuk and Zechariah both were stoned by the Jews living in Jerusalem.
Zechariah got chased in to the Temple and stoned near the altar.
Isaiah was put into a log and cut in half
So, these religious leaders knew their history. But here was the thing: They thought that was something in their past; something that could never occur in their day. They were too righteous; too advanced; too morally upright for that to happen in their generation.
The irony, of course, was that they were about to do something even worse than any of their fathers had ever done.
Before we pass judgement, the Bible teaches us that we are made out of the same sinful stuff that they are, with the same fallen heart!
37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
For months, Jesus had been telling his disciples about his coming suffering at the hands of Israel’s religious leaders.
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
Jewish law stated that if there was no “heir” then upon death the property belonged to the one who was using it. (possession was 9/10ths)
By rejecting the Son, they were rejecting Father’s authority!
“Most rejection is rooted in a desire for control.”
The servants had been hired by the owner, but they were acting (vs. 38) is as if the vineyard belonged to them.
Everything in us wants to pretend like we are the owner, not the tenant. The world constantly reinforces to us that we are the owner.
A lot of sin goes back to this question: Who owns your life? Is it yours, out of which you share some with Jesus? Or is it his, which he is allowing you to enjoy?
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.
“Cornerstone”
So, what happens in this parable? I’m glad you ask … The religious dudes seal their own fate (jump back to vs. 40-41)
40 “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?” 41 The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”
Don’t chase after things your whole life, only to find that the most important thing in life has been chasing you the whole time!
Don’t chase after things your whole life, only to find that the most important thing in life has been chasing you the whole time!
C.S. Lewis: It’s like my life has been spent chasing after “the scent of a flower I have never been able to find (I’ve smelled the smell but can’t find the flower!), the echo of a tune my soul longs to hear (I hear the echo of a tune but can’t find the original). If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world will satisfy, the only explanation is that I was created for another world!”
Let’s go back to the cornerstone … difficult to understand:
44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
“I’m nothing like the religious leaders!”
If you keep rejecting Christ and His Lordship, the same thing will happen to you. If you cut Christ out of your life and decisions, the stone that was meant to be your cornerstone will cause things to crumble.
Your heart, outside of Christ, is fundamentally the same as that of those who exploited and abused others, killed the prophets, and crucified Jesus. It’s important for us to keep a heart of humility and ask God to search our heart.
Response is crucial in this scriptural account:
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
They knew he was talking about them … BUT
They looked for a way to arrest him!
Arrest - the action of seizing someone to take into custody; a stoppage or sudden cessation of motion.
Closing
Closing
Application: We apply this parable to our lives by asking two questions; first, have you come to know Christ as your Lord and Savior, or have you rejected Him like the Jewish leadership did?
Second, if you are a believer, what have you done with Jesus? Are you like the bad tenants, rejecting His Word and living a life of disobedience?