Produce to Give Back

Scripture: Matthew 21:33-46

The New Revised Standard Version The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 34 When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. 35 But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”

42 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 amazing in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Introduction:

As we enter into this week sermon let us recall the last couple of weeks as we been exploring the parable of Jesus as it is recorded in the book of Matthew.

Last week we look at the Parable of the Two Sons, one son say he will do as his father wish but did not and the second son saying he would not do as his father wish but did. Jesus question to those in power/or in charge of leading the people was who was the one that did the will of their father. They answer the one who say he would not. What we gather for last week sermon was that ones action is the most important in following Jesus Christ.

Today we examine the “Parable of the Wicked tenants”. In this text the landowner had a vineyard and built a fence around it. He then lease it to some tenants. And when the harvest time came he sent his servant to the tenants to collect the produce.

So today I want to talk about “Producing to Give Back”

Define Produce

: to offer to view or notice

2 : to give birth or rise to : yield

3 : to extend in length, area, or volume produce a side of a triangle

4 : to make available for public exhibition or dissemination: such as a : to provide funding for search for backers to produce the film b : to oversee the making of will produce their new album

5a : to cause to have existence or to happen : bring about b : to give being, form, or shape to : make especially : manufacture

6 : to compose, create, or bring out by intellectual or physical effort

7 : to cause to accrue

The produce is to cause existence and to exist is to cause life to flourish.

in other words life allow another life to grow and when the growing is done than the owner comes to collect the new life.

Conflict

The conflict starts when the owner of the vineyard sends his servants to collect at harvest time.

Define harvest.

the season for gathering in agricultural crops the beginning of the harvest

2 : the act or process of gathering in a crop assisting neighbors in their harvest

3a : a mature crop (as of grain or fruit) : yield bountiful harvests

b : the quantity of a natural product gathered in a single season the salmon harvest timber harvests

to collect is to harvest. however one can not just harvest anytime it must be in the right seasons. Just because you plant something at the same time means that they will mature at the same time.

Different plants have different time to harvest. Just as plant does not mature at same time people do not either.

Ones ages or how long something has been growing or in existence does not equate maturity.

,Now the tenants has done a good job in growing the produces. So there’s no problem with the produce it is harvest time; however there is a problem with the tenants they are wanting to keep everything for themselves. To accomplish this they are willing to violent, extremely violent to the point of killing.

After sending servant after servant the landowner sends his son, saying truly they would not kill my son. As the son approaches the tenants sees him and says let us seized him and kill and then we will get his inheritance

Good News

Jesus is saying to the hearers and readers of this text that the kingdom was being taken from the people but it would be given back when the nation (Christians/Church) demonstrate true repentance and faithfulness.

In the mean time the old tenants will be remove and replace with those who are willing to produce and give back to the owner.

To give back the the owner means taking care of those that he sends to collect what his (God).