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Oct. 30,2007; Jesus – Unique & Unequaled Teacher (the series)

Focus Text: Matthew 21.33-40

In dealing with the hardhearted religious leaders of His day, Jesus told the following parable:

“There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” (Matthew 21.33-40).

One of the “rules” in interpreting parables is to never lose sight of the central lesson; the details are there only to make it clear. There are details of this parable that must be seen as just that – details – but they lend color to the lesson. In future lessons we will explore the specific meaning of this parable and the historical context in which it is set. However, today we will look at some of the “color details” and make application of them.

Notice that the landowner (who represents God the Father) did lots of work in preparation for the time in which He would lease his vineyard out. He owned it, but he also had what we would call “sweat equity” in his property. When he went into the far country, he saw to it that provisions were made to keep his vineyard in the protected and productive state it was in before he left. In keeping with the provisions of the lease, he sent messengers back at harvest time in order to receive his portion of the produce of the vineyard. After finding out that his leasers were less than honorable, he continued to send messengers to collect that which was rightfully his, but to no avail. Finally in a last ditch effort to collect, he sent his son, thinking surely that if there was any virtue in his tenants they would heed the demands of the son.

Of course, the result was not what the landowner desired; they killed his son hoping to continue to shirk their responsibilities and to gain even further advantage over him. As we observed earlier, these were not just “casual sinners” with which he was dealing; they were “professional sinners” whose hearts were thoroughly hardened!

As background information, the reader needs to be aware that the landowner’s frustration with his tenants was not an overnight emotion brought on by an impulsive reaction; he had been more than fair with them, but to no avail. Even when they did not deserve another chance, he gave them that chance. Lest some see the landowner as unusually and unnecessarily harsh, Jesus asked the very people who would be the “spiritual targets” of the parable what they thought the landowner should do as a result of the actions of his tenants. Their own words would come back to haunt them, but it should be clear that Jesus was only judging with the same judgment that his hearers were meting out (see Matthew 7.1-2).

Questions:

1. What evidence is there that the landowner was more than fair with his tenants?

2. What did the tenants hope to gain by treating the messengers of the landowner with contempt?

3. When it came time to apply the parable, whose counsel did Jesus seek? Why do you suppose He asked them?

4. From the Old Testament, how much energy did God expend via the prophets to attempt to keep Israel walking in the paths of righteousness? How had Israel historically treated the prophets that were sent to them (see Matthew 23.34-37)?

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