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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Oct. 31,2007; The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher
Focus Text: Matthew 21.40-44
After telling the parable of the wicked vinedressers, Jesus posed a question to the religious leaders in Jerusalem; He asked, “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” (Matthew 21.40). In spite of their unwillingness or inabilities to follow the Scriptures, these men certainly responded correctly to Jesus’ question! They bluntly stated, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” (Matthew 21.41).
Immediately upon hearing their response, Jesus replied with the direct application of the parable, and it was definitely not to the liking of some of His hearers. “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’S doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” (Matthew 21.42-44).
As we might say, the bottom line was this: “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing fruits of it.” These words must have cut like a knife into the proud hearts of these temple luminaries! Their whole world was wrapped up in deceiving their followers into thinking that they were pious and upstanding followers of God’s righteous laws. However, Jesus was saying that they were so debased that God would actually take the kingdom away from them so that it might be given to another nation. Given the Jewish mindset, the whole world consisted of only two groups of people, the children of Abraham and the rest (the Gentiles)! If God was going to take the kingdom from them (the Jews) and give it to another nation, this had to mean (at least in their minds), that He was saying that the kingdom of God would be given to the Gentiles! Nothing could have been more blasphemous to them than this kind of statement! No wonder they hated Him!
The thoughts of the chief priests and elders were wrong on many, many fronts, and they were wrong here. The nation that was destined to inherit the kingdom of God was not the Gentiles; in fact, it was not a nation bounded by geographical or even genealogical boundaries. The nation that was to be so blessed was “not of this world” (John 18.36). The kingdom to which Jesus referred was the same one which Daniel foresaw when he wrote, “…the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people.” (Daniel 2.44). It was the kingdom which Isaiah foresaw when he spoke of “the mountain of the LORD’S house” being established in Jerusalem and that “all nations shall flow to it.” (see Isaiah 2.1-4).
Religious heritage may or may not be of any eternal value, but it is for sure that physical bloodlines do not in any way determine whom God will bless or save. Our thoughts are just as wrong as those of the religious elite of Jesus’ day when we think we will be blessed merely because we are Americans, southerners, northerners, republicans, democrats, of African descent, of European descent, or any other physical or geographic marker; God’s kingdom is not of such!
Questions:
1. Were the religious leaders to whom Jesus was talking capable of rational thought? Why or why not? Prove your answer!
2. When Jesus said the kingdom would be given to another nation, what effect do you think this had on the hearts of the leaders to whom He was speaking? Did it anger them? Bring them joy?
3. According to Daniel 2.44 and it context, were there any “time markers” by which the reader could tell when this everlasting kingdom would be established?
4. What eternal blessings can we expect merely because we are citizens of a “Christian nation” (grant this as a fact for the sake of discussion only)?
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