The Renter's Parable

33“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

41“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“ ‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’^h ?

43“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”ⁱ

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. (Matthew 21:33-46)

Thoughts: This could be called "The Parable of the Landlord and the Renters."  God is the landlord, and we are the renters.  God made the world, and designed it beautifully.  We as renters have not been giving the landlord His due- acting as if we own it ourselves.  God cares and wants us to pay Him homage- and He sends His prophets whom we kill, and then His Son whom we crucify.  The kingdom will be taken away from the Jews and given to the Gentiles.  Whether this was written in 80 AD or even 100 AD it doesn't matter.  The writer had no real inkling that the Gospel of Christ would go to every nation and have adherants in every nation.  

Lesson from Two Sons' Decision

28“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

29“ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

31“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. (Matthew 21:28-32)

Thoughts: Jesus ends this group of sayings (chapter 21 in Matthew) by giving two parables of rejection: the parable of the two sons and the parable of the bad tenants.  Jesus knew He would be rejected by His own people.  He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him (John 1:11).  Both are of the owner of a vineyard- symbolizing God our Maker and sustainer. 

This parable is about two sons- both loved by the father and both called by the father.    One son said he would obey but did not listen.  The other said he would not but later changed his mind and did.  There is a dual meaning here.
     In one sense this is a symbol of those who are proud and think they are right simply because they say they are willing to do God's will.  Others may do wrong but are later changed or converted and do God's will.  Obedience proves love.  The sinners who repented and followed Christ are better off than the Pharisees who didn't feel the need to follow Him.
     The other meaning is that Jesus was about to be rejected by His people as a whole- the people who said they would follow Him.  But His Gospel is about to be spread to those who said "No" at first (the Gentiles).  Many of these would come to Jesus (along with some Jews too).  What counts is not your words, your liturgy, your show, but your heart. 

Prayer: Lord, let my heart be true to you and finish in love for you.  

Listen to the One in Authority

23Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

24Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

27So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. (Matthew 21:23-27) 

Thoughts: Jesus knew they didn't want to hear Him say, "By God's authority."  They did not have ears to hear His answer.  Yet, Jesus was shaking things up- driving out the money-changers, and teaching the destruction of the Temple in the Temple (which happened in 70 AD).  So Jesus answered their pretend question with a question about John.  They could not answer.  The real reason they could not answer is that they could not listen to God through John or Jesus. 
        Of course, Jesus' authority was as the Son of God.  The owner of the Temple has the right to have the Temple cleansed and shaken up a bit. 
     Sometimes people cannot listen, and we can learn from Jesus not to try to give an answer that they will not hear.  But our task is to always be listening to the Spirit.  The Spirit does not contradict Himself-- so the Spirit doesn't go against scripture- what the Spirit has said before.  A false prophet (Dt. 8) would speak what is contrary to scripture.  So let us listen, and listen carefully.   

Prayer: Help me to have ears to hear your voice, O Spirit. 

Bearing Fruit

18Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

21Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  (Matthew 21:18-22)

Thoughts: The theme of this chapter is the rejection of the people of God and then God's rejection of them.  To expect God to continue to bless us when we are not grateful to Him or live for Him is naive. 
     The fig tree was a symbol of Israel.  In Jeremiah 8:13 God says He will take away the fig harvest as a sign of their rejection of God.   The people of Israel were chosen to bear fruit- to glorify God and to be a kingdom of priests to the nations.  But the fruit was non-existent.
       We do not exist for our own comfort- or simply to grow without bearing fruit.  We are called to bear the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control).  We are called to bear fruit by reproducing our faith in others.  Fruit is part of the reproduction cycle of a tree that nourishes us and makes the tree useful.  We are not simply made to grow and prosper- we are called to have a purpose and bear fruit.  In John 15:2 Jesus says that a branch that does not bear fruit will be pruned. 

But there is another part to this passage.  "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. "  Prayer is not just wishful thinking, talking to the ceiling or talking to thin air. Jesus is trying to get His followers to believe in the power of God and to trust in Him.  There is power in prayer- so we should pray more.  Prayer is another way we may bear fruit for God.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to believe in your power.  Help me to bear fruit for you.  

Shaking Up the Temple- Shaking Up Me

14The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

16“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“ ‘From the lips of children and infants

you, Lord, have called forth your praise’^g ?”

17And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night. (Matthew 21:14-17)

Thoughts: It boggles my mind that the priests would want the children to stop singing about Jesus and they were irritated about his healing people in the Temple.  It seems so cruel of them.  How callous they are to Jesus, the Son of God.
       Then I think again.  Do I really want Jesus to shake my life up that much?  Do I really expect and desire Him to answer my prayers so that people are dramatically changed for the better- yes- and no.  There is always a part of me that wants only the expected, the normal, the status quo.  Some times I would rather have just a touch- just a pinch of religion but not too much.  I put on the brakes.  I say, in effect, "God come in and be real- but my life is pretty nice- don't shake it up too much."  When I speak like this (too often- after all- I AM a Presbyterian), I am expressing more trust in my reason and less real trust in God's love.  I have found that God has been super patient with me.  I have found that He is much more sensitive to my fears than I am to His love.  He treats us all with more mercy than we deserve.  But I hear the voice of Jesus say to give a bit more of my heart and my life to Him.  As I do, without fear, he proves Himself trustworthy.  Truth is, I am the blind man.  Blind to His true love.  I am the lame man- half walking as a Christian and half walking as a sinner.  He longs to make me truly whole.  Lord, let me listen to the uninhibited voices that call me to give my whole self to you. 

Prayer: Lord, it is easy to condemn the Pharisees without seeing that I am one.  Forgive my desire for only a half-religion.  Help me to grow in love with you and neighbor and without fear or putting on the brakes.  

A Place for Prayer

12Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13“It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^e but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’^f ” (Matthew 21:12-13)

Thoughts: Jesus is talking not simply about the commercialization of the church (that is always a real danger too), but about the corruption of faith in God.  The money changers served a purpose. The Old Testament prescribed a sacrifice for sins, guilt, fellowship, or a burnt offering.  To buy the materials or animals for the offering you had to pay money.  Only the purest animals could be used- and they were raised near the Temple (the sacrificial lambs were raised near Bethlehem).  If someone traveled from another country they probably would need to exchange their country's currency for the Temple drachma or money.  The problem was that they were charging extravagant rates- making a killing off of the faith- off of the church- off of God for selfish gain. The money changers were a visible and well-known symbol of a deeper corruption.  The Temple was not about rules and laws.  It certainly was not about keeping the status quo.  The Temple leaders were the center of Jesus opposition because they had the most status and privilege to lose.  The den of robbers was that they were the tenants who were rejecting the landlord. 
     Jeremiah (7:11) used this "den of robbers" image right before the destruction of the first Temple.  The faith of God had become corrupted in his day too.  Now before the second Temple's destruction in 70 AD, Jesus comes to note that the faith and Temple had been corrupted again. 
    A "den of robbers" points to a hiding place for those who are corrupting.  The Temple was not necessarily the robbing place- but the place where the robbers felt at home and safe.  There is a false safety that can come from a surface religion and a surface building.  The Pharisees, Jesus said were like "whitewashed tombs." That is, they looked good on the surface, but the inside was empty.  Our task is to make the heart of the church- and the heart of our worship at the church- prayer (talking to God).  We can too easily leave God out.  Prayer- about everything- puts God in.  Put Him in.  Pray about all things, and you will find you will grow much closer to Him. 

Prayer: Lord, keep me from corrupting my faith or having a false security in exterior things.  Instead, let my heart be filled with prayer and devotion to you.

Jesus is King and Prophet

4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5“Say to Daughter Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”^a

6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna^b to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^c

“Hosanna^d in the highest heaven!”

10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”  (Matthew 21:4-11)

Thoughts: Jesus came as a prince on a coronation donkey.  They called him a king, the Son of David.  This no doubt shook up the whole town of Jerusalem.  But he was called a prophet by the crowd.  He was both a prophet, a king as well as a priest- who came to sacrifice... Himself.   He was of course- this and more.  We might add that He was the Messiah.  We might add that He was the Don of God. 

This is not just a historical event. Jesus wants to come into your heart.  He wants to rule you as a King.  He wants to speak the Word to you as a prophet.  He wants you to accept His sacrifice on the cross- as a priest.  This is not abstract.  He is the Lord, and He wants to be your Lord. 

Prayer: Lord, you are the King.  Rule in my heart.  You are the prophet, speak truth to me- and help me listen.  You are the priest- forgive me and strengthen me tin life. 

Here is a link to the first video of Fellowship in the Fall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D0WeLdVils