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Jesus taught with many parables. Some of them were directed at the scribes and Pharisees as rebukes as in the one about the man with two sons. The man told the first son to go work in the vineyard, but the son said, “No, I won’t.” Then later he thought better of it and went to work as his father asked. The second son said, “Yes, I will.” But he did not go.

Jesus then asked, “Which of the two did the father’s will?”

They said, “The first son.”

This was the correct answer. Jesus highlighted it by saying, “Tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom before you scribes and Pharisees because when John preached repentance the tax collectors and harlots believed him, but you did not. When you saw them, you did not later relent and believe.”

What an amazing real life illustration of pride and disbelief!

These men saw the change in behavior of the tax collectors and the harlots, yet they still did not believe, and still had the audacity to ask by what authority Jesus did these things.

In the parable, both were children of the Father, and both were called to work in the vineyard. The question wasn’t “Which of these belonged to the father?” for we are all God’s children created by Him. Everyone has, at one time or another, a call from God. When we answer the call, it is time to go to work. The question was, “Which of these did the father’s will?”

God sets all His heirs to work. His work is vineyard work. Because of Adam’s sin, nothing worthwhile comes to our table without sweat on the brow, but even Adam and Eve had to gather their dinner. It is profitable for the mind and soul to work. It gives us a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of well being when we look out over a well-tended garden and a food-laden table.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Lamentations 3:27

Quite a few people today are not worth much because they never had to work for something worthwhile in their youth. My daughter wanted a hamster so badly when she was young that she cleaned the whole house to the point of collapsing on the couch when she was done. She did a superior job of it, too. She earned that hamster and all the paraphernalia that went with having one. That little BooBoo lived for four years (life span of a hamster is usually much shorter). Her work ethic has always been excellent.

Therefore, God sets His children to work for their own benefit as well as to do His bidding. When the son told his father, “I will not,” that son deserved to be disinherited. But our God is loving, kind, and gracious. He also knows our hearts. When we repent and mend our ways, He instantly wraps us up in His arms accepting us into His warm embrace with no questions asked.

The other son said, “I’ll go right now, sir.” But he didn’t go. Too many people in this world show love, respect, and honor with their mouth all the while their hearts are filled with stubborn disobedience. The Pharisees were doing this very thing. Jesus warned the people against following what the Pharisees did, but to follow what they said to do (Matthew 23:3). These religious men were eager to appear obedient, but were actually whitewashed graves (Matthew 23:27).

The illustration here is which is better? The one who is better than his word, or the one who is false to his word? I would rather deal with a person who is better than his word. God allows no quibbles about it. When a person repents, he is immediately forgiven; thus all his sins are pardoned, but the righteous acting person with falseness in his heart will be rejected (Matthew 7:23; Luke 13:27).

The next parable Jesus tells gives us even more details in this rebuke of the Pharisees.

There was a master of a household who planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then He leased it to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. Now when fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. But grabbing his servants, the tenants beat up one, killed another, and stoned still another. Again the master sent other servants, even more than the first, and they did the same thing to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir! Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ Matthew 21:33-38

This is a greater illustration of Israel highlighting not only the actions of Old Testament treatment of the prophets, but also these religious leaders and their black hearts.

God prepared everything for a glorious harvest. He prepared the ground, planted the vines, planted a protective hedge around the field, built a winepress, and built a watchtower so to watch over it, all at His own expense. Then He rented it to tenants—the Jews.

Here is the story almost word for word from Isaiah 5:2. These Pharisees knew Jesus was talking about them.

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes? Isaiah 5:3-4

They knew precisely how it ended.

And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it." For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but beheld, oppression; For righteousness, but beheld, a cry for help. Isaiah 5:5-7

Jesus took the Old Testament story to a new level for them. They knew what had happened to the prophets who were God’s servants (tradition has it that Isaiah was sawn in half). Jesus told them that when the Master sent His Son, their greed and black hearts inspired them to kill the Son and grapple for His inheritance.

The main difference in the two stories is that in the Old Testament one, the plants were Israel and the Jews. They bore bad fruit. In the New Testament story, the vineyard is the kingdom of God, His church, which the Son died for. The fruit of this vineyard is never questioned. Here the vinedressers who were put in charge of the vineyard show their true character, and exhibit their untrustworthiness.

In the New Testament story, we have the plantings of God. Isaiah 61:3, Psalm 80:15, Jeremiah 2:21 use the same comparisons of God’s people to plantings. Jesus carefully describes for the Pharisees just how much cost and work God expended to plant the most succulent expectations for His peculiar people. He is most reasonable to expect good vines to bear good fruit, and to expect His part of the harvest.

The Master did not ask for a good faith deposit, nor did He require them to perilous travel to pay His share of the harvest, nor did He charge a penalty. He even sent servants to help with the harvest. The servants were badly mistreated, beaten, and killed. God sent so many godly men down through the ages to speak His word to His people. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, John the Baptist, and the Apostles among many others. But the chief priests and the elders who sat in Moses’ seat teaching the people were the worst and most bitter enemies of God’s prophets and messengers. They continued in their wickedness until they finally killed the Messiah they professed to be looking for so eagerly.

Surely, they would reverence the Master’s Son.

He came with all the authority of ownership and inheritance.

Thus their profit was threatened. Tenant status passed from father to son, and no tenant could leave the land or “sell” to another without the landowner’s permission. In fact, tenant status was almost slavery. Any tenants who tried to leave their land were subject to arrest and punishment. An heir to the land could erase that agreement. The tenants of this vineyard had a lush harvest, no outlying expenses, and didn’t want to part with a single denarius of profit. They determined to preserve their wealth and glory by killing the Son. The chief thing they coveted was all the hosannas, and the ability to do the miracles Jesus did that earned Him the affections of the people and their belief in Him.

They thought that if they could just get rid of Jesus, everything would go back as before with the people kowtowing to them, reverencing them, and they could be just as tyrannical as the worst despot without any recriminations.

When Jesus asked them, “What will the Master do to the tenants?” they said that He would destroy them and lease the field to better tenants who would give Him the fruits of the seasons. It should have been their “Ah HA!” moment. Sadly, they did not hear the message even when Jesus told them that God would take from them the kingdom of God and give it to nations that would cultivate the fruit.

They didn’t even recognize what God said He would do to them because they never cultivated any good fruit, but only bore bad, wild fruit. In 70 AD, Judah was laid to waste, the Temple was torn down, thorns and briars grew in the once fertile fields. It became a dry and thirsty land without God’s hedge of protection and without rain. Isaiah’s song was true. It all came to pass because the religious leaders, chief priests, and elders would not believe even when One rose from the dead.

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

The First Sin