We
saw in the parable of the minas and some of Jesus’s other teachings that
stewardship of money is just a small part of what it means to be a good
steward. If we are not good stewards
with our finances, it is unlikely that God will entrust us with more or more
important things. If we can be faithful
with earthly things, God promises to put us in charge of heavenly things. The most important responsibility of
stewardship God gives us is that of the gospel and of people’s souls. Jesus called all of us to be disciple
makers. Some of us He called to be
pastors, teachers, prophets, and evangelists.
It is a privilege to have this responsibility, and it is a gift to be
part of God’s Vineyard.
God uses different metaphors for
God’s people in Scripture. We see the
Kingdom, which is the full reign of God.
We have the metaphor of Shepherd and sheep. And we have what we see in our readings
today, a vineyard. Our Isaiah passage
tells us that this Vineyard is God’s people, specifically, the house of
Israel. In this case, it was the
vineyard’s fault that it only produced worthless grapes. The Beloved did everything He could to make
the vineyard fruitful. He made sure the
ground was good and that the stock was the best. He protected it in multiple ways through a
wall, a hedge, and a tower. He expected
it to bear fruit, built a wine press in it to prove it. But it didn’t produce, so the Lord of the
Vineyard removed all the protections from it.
He stopped pruning and tending it and left the ground and even told the
clouds not to rain on it.
It
is an incredible gift to be called a child of God. We don’t deserve to be grafted into the Vine,
who is Jesus. We don’t earn God’s care
and blessings and protection. With all
that God gives us, however, we should bear fruit, but if we don’t, it is our
fault, and God will remove those blessings from us. We are responsible for how we respond to
God’s good gifts. God clearly says what
Israel and Judah have done to warrant the removal of God’s blessings. They didn’t give justice, but instead
bloodshed, instead of righteousness, a cry of distress. They killed the innocent and caused strife
where none should have been. They
weren’t caring for the souls of others.
They were not living out their God-given mission. In real life, they were conquered by enemies
and taken into exile. The temple was
destroyed, and the land was literally laid to waste with few exceptions. A remnant was left to tend the land so that
tribute could be sent to the conquering nations and other exiles were brought
in so that the local population didn’t become too strong.
Jesus’s audience would have known
exactly what the Vineyard stood for in His parable. Commentator Craig Evans
says that this parable stands over all of Biblical history, including the
gospel. Jesus’s audience indicates their
understanding when at the end of the parable, they exclaim, “May it never be!” However, in this case, it was not the fault
of the people that control of the Vineyard would be given to others. This is a thriving Vineyard, producing great
fruit. The tenant farmers were benefiting from the
healthy vineyard. They got to share its
fruit. They were rewarded for their good
care. Just as it is a privilege to be part of God’s Vineyard, it is a gift to
be able to steward God’s Vineyard. But
the tenants didn’t own the Vineyard; they only leased it. The Owner was due a portion of the fruit. They don’t want to give the Owner, His share
of the harvest. We are reminded that
while God blesses us for good stewardship, we do not own the results. The harvest is God’s not ours. We can rejoice when we see someone come to
know Jesus, but we don’t save anyone. We
can rejoice when our church grows, but we can’t take credit for growing the
church.
When we try to claim what is
rightfully God’s then we will fall under God’s judgment. In Isaiah, the
Vineyard was destroyed because of disobedience.
In the parable, the Vineyard is seized from the wicked tenants who are
destroyed, and the Vineyard is given to others.
In this case, the hearers interpreted it as the control of Rome over the
Jews. Jesus is telling them that the
Roman empire isn’t going away any time soon, and that the Messiah isn’t going
to save them in this way. When we try to
claim God’s harvest for our own, God will also remove it from us and give it to
someone else. Last week in Bible study,
we saw that God doesn’t just judge individuals, but God holds peoples as a
group to account. God judges
nations. Just as God did in the Old
Testament, God does today. Not everybody
in Isaiah’s day was producing bad fruit, but all the people were judged. Faithful people were made slaves. Faithful people were killed, but their reward
is not in this life. We have seen that
sometimes we suffer for other people’s lack of faithfulness and that our
faithfulness or lack thereof makes a difference in the lives of others as
well. Sometimes God preserves people due
to the faithfulness of a remnant, but eventually it becomes time to give
account.
Religious leaders are held the most
accountable for the judgement of the people of God. In Ezekiel 33, God says, “If a threat is
coming and the watchman warns the people, those who don’t heed the warning,
their blood is on their own head, but if the watchman sees the danger and
doesn’t warn the people, the watchman is responsible when the people
perish. James 3:1 states outright that
teachers shall “incur stricter judgement”.
Despite the shrinking number of churches and believers in the US and
Europe, the church is exploding in other parts of the world. Iran is one of the fastest if not the number
1 place where the Church is growing right now.
Despite increasing clamp downs on Christians in China, China is expected
to have more Christians than any other country in just a couple of years. God has given the Vineyard to other
tenants. It doesn’t mean that we have to
give up, but it means that we need to show our faithfulness with what we
have. We are called to be disciple
makers.
Despite God’s declaration of justice, we
also see in this parable that God is extremely patient. Jesus tells us the owner of the vineyard was
gone on a journey for a long time. It
generally takes vineyards 3 years to produce a decent harvest. 3 years is a number of completion in the
Bible. We know that the tenant farmers
had a least one good, decent harvest, so this may be the 3rd year
that the owner sends the servants to claim the harvest. When harvest time does come, the owner sends
slaves to the vineyard. They are beaten
and sent back empty. In Matthew’s and
Mark’s versions, more than two slaves are sent, and some are killed. These slaves represent the prophets, just
like John the Baptist, whom Jesus mentioned earlier. Again, His audience would recognize
this. Finally, the Owner sends His Son,
the Heir. Instead of respecting Him and
listening to Him, the tenants kill Him.
Jesus’s clever audience has it figured out that there are those who
would kill the Messiah. They are
appalled. The Owner gives the tenant
farmers so many opportunities to do the right thing, but they refuse. Just as God as Vinedresser in our Isaiah
passage gave Israel and Judah everything they needed to be fruitful, God does
the same for us. God gives opportunities
for repentance. God warns us time and
time again. And God gave us His own Son.
Jesus acknowledges that this parable is
a hard saying. He continues by quoting
Psalm 118:22, “The stone which the builders rejected became the chief
corner.” This is one of the most quoted
Old Testament Scriptures in the New Testament.
Jesus is talking about Himself as the rejected One, but there is hope in
this verse. He has become the chief
cornerstone. He is the foundation on
which His Church, His people, are built.
He is going to die, but He is going to triumph. But He is a stumbling block. You either have to trip over Him and fall on
Him and be broken by Him or be crushed by Him.
To be broken by Jesus is to come to place of repentance, humility, and
submission. While it is hard to be broken by Jesus, it is where we find hope.
It is in being broken by Jesus that we can be healed. We realize that we cannot thrive while being
disconnected from the Vine, but when we realize that we need the Vine, we can
be grafted in and bear fruit. To be
crushed by Jesus, on the other hand, is to fall under condemnation. No one can get around Jesus.
It's interesting to note that in this
parable, Jesus answers the question that the religious leaders asked of
Him. As we saw last week, He refused to
play into the word trap, but it is clear to everyone in this parable that Jesus
is claiming to be the Son of God, that He is the Messiah, and that His
authority as well as that of John’s is God-given. The religious leaders know that they are the
tenant farmers described in the parable, and they are not too happy with Jesus
telling them they will be removed and destroyed. Even though Jesus just said that they kill
the Son, they tried to kill Him on the spot, but “they feared the people.” This shows that they really weren’t serving
God at all. Once again, they show
disdain for the Master by rejecting His Son.
This was their opportunity to repent and be good tenant farmers, but
soon they would see their power taken away.
The Kingdom is given to us. We are blessed to be included as God’s
people. We are given everything by God
that we need in order to thrive. The
harvest, however, belongs to God. It is
not only a privilege to be part of the Vineyard but to be a tenant of the
Vineyard. Being a steward of souls is an
honor, but it is a position that comes with great responsibility and
accountability to God. Not everyone is
given the responsibility of stewarding souls as a church leader, but we are all
called to be disciple makers. The Great
Commission is for everyone. If we think
the risk of judgement is too hard that we don’t want the responsibility of
being a disciple maker, God will remove other responsibilities from us and give
them to others. May we bear good fruit
that we can give to our Master and Maker.
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