The kingdom of God will be given to ..[Matt 21c]

The kingdom of God will be given to a people who will produce its fruit

Matt 21:33-46

Key Verse 43

Introduction:

Since Jesus cleansed the temple, there came a conflict between Jesus and the authorities of the temple. They challenged Jesus' authority and Jesus rebutted with few teachings. Last week passages Jesus pointed out their unrepentant heart, refusing John's message of repentance. This resulted in their inability to see the truth and were shut off from the truth of God.

In today's passage Jesus gave them a parable that gives a comprehensive view of God's plan for the world. This is addressed in terms of the landowner, his vineyard, his servants and his son. In this parable, Jesus revealed God's ultimate purpose for Israel and for the world. At the center of fulfilling God's purpose is in His son Jesus. So how one sees Jesus will determined whether one can enter the kingdom of God. There are two ways to see Jesus. One is to take Jesus as one of many stones that we can throw away. These people will end up being crushed to dusts of the earth. The other is to accept Jesus as the capstone of the temple, through whom God's kingdom is established. They can join in building the temple of God and enter the kingdom of God.

1.      A landowner planted a vineyard. [33]

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 went away on a journey.

The parable is about a landowner who built a vineyard and rented it to the tenants. This is a simple description of what God did to the nation Israel, God’s vineyard.

First he planted a vineyard. Here ‘plant’ means creating a vineyard from the scratch. It is well described in Ps 80:8-11.

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. 11 It sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.

The same purpose is revealed also in Is 5:2

2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Isaiah 5:2 (NIV)

Here the landowner is God and the vineyard is Israel. God created a nation Israel out of one man Abraham. But his descendant grew to be a nation in Egypt. But her birth was not an ordinary one. She was born into slavery in Egypt. God uprooted the nation Israel out of Egypt and transplanted the nation in the land of promise, the Canaan Land. In this process, God made many and great interventions: He struck down all the firstborns of Egypt and divided the red sea into two so that they might cross it on dry ground. He let Israel roam in the desert for 40 years where God supplied everything from food to clothing for 40 years in the desert. God showed himself to this nation at the mount Horeb and here God gave them the law. In this Law God taught them what it means to be godly people, holy and righteous. During the conquering the land, God was with them. The first city Jericho fell down after they marched around the city walls for 7 days. Israel did not do much. But God did defeat their enemies.  Since then until God establish a kingdom with a king after God’s own heart.  God were in every step. Like this it took 480 years to uproot a nation Israel out of Egypt to plant in a fertile land in Canaan.

In each of these processes, God went process of selecting and deselecting process. The reason is clear. He wanted his people to know how he is, his justice, his goodness, his power and his plan and hope for them. There should be no ambiguity and no uncertainty about what God wants and what it means to be God’s people. In all these processes, God intervened directly more than any other period of human history on His people with a clear purpose and goal.  God's elaborate and long arduous work was to create a vineyard where he can harvest his crops.  In this way He planted the vineyard. He did something more than just creating a beautiful and fruitful vineyard.

Second in addition to planting the owner did three things more.

He put a wall around it. He dug a winepress in it. He built a watchtower.

·         The reason that God put up a wall is to make sure that no enemies can invade and take away the fruits.

·         He prepared a winepress. The wine press is the place of harvesting the fruit. Here large quantities of grapes are put together and pressed to produce wine for long lasting use. In other word, the vineyard is also ready for large harvest of grapes. The landowner has vested interest in harvesting a large crop. 

·         He built a watchtower. The watch tower is the place where the whole operation of the vineyard is carefully watched. Any deviation from good operation will be easily picked up and shall be corrected immediately. Also, at this place, they can watch out for enemies or any vandals so that the vineyard may be protected from all harms.

·         Lastly it is also said that God planted the choicest vine [Is 5:2]. The vine is the best of the bests. What does it mean that the vine is the best among the bests? Isaac was the son of faith of Abraham. His birth or his existence was purely of God and His power. Out of Isaac came the nation Israel. From beginning of its existence, God’s hand was on them and did select the one who feared God. It did not stop here. As we know God let all those who refuse to believe God's mighty hand die in the desert while they roam for 40 years. It is the process of weeding out. Those who did not have faith never got to the Promised Land. But those who came to see all these and treasured in their hearts were able to enter the land. So those who entered the Promised Land is the best that knew God so well about his love his power and his stern judgment and his hopes.

For what or why did God make so much effort? Unquestionably these works of God demonstrated clearly that God is the owner and provider of everything. Truly from her very beginning, Israel owe to God. There were nothing that what made her as she was done without God’s mighty hand! Because of these works, God has full right and authority to call Israel as his own and had full right demand from Israel anything that God wants as the owner!  

Then what is that God wants from Israel?  Why did God make so many efforts to 'planting' a vineyard, and providing so many things for the vineyard?  We can clearly find two reasons:

·         God made it perfect and ready to produce fruit because he was going away and he was going to entrust this on the hands of tenants. He made sure that the tenants have all means and way to make the vineyard fruitful.

·         God did this because even in the hands of the tenants, the vineyard may produce much fruit. God is so much concern about fruits, crop bearing.

2.      The land owner wants to collect his fruit from his tenants [34-36]

After making the vineyard so good, he rented it to the tenants. Here tenants are the Jews, and their leaders. As the time came for harvest, God sent his servant to get harvest from the tenants. But they were not willing to give back what the landowner deserves. They treated the servants of the landowner badly.

. 35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

Through this it is clear that the tenants have no will to give back any portions of the harvest to the landowner. Also there is a clear disrespect to the landowner.

How can we understand that the tenant killed the landowner's servants? This is what Israel did. Today's quote is from the book of Isaiah. He was one of the greatest prophet of God. He talked about coming of the Savior Jesus more than any other prophets. But how did the Israel treated him? He was sawed in two according to the tradition. Can you imagine to saw a man into two?  There is prophet named Elijah. He was one of the most prolific servant of God. He complained this to God:

10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

They truly treated the servant of God so badly. It was their hatred to the servants. Yes. It is more than that. It was their hatred and distrust to God who sent his servants.

Did God stop here?

Actually God sent more than three. It is said here that God sent other servant more than first time. God sent the second batch of his servants. God subdued his anger and showed his patience and sent many more in the hope that somehow, the tenants, Israel may come to know God's compassionate love for them. But after all what did they do? They did not change their minds even a bit. They showed their hatred to the servants as well as to God. They beat them, kiled them and stoned them.  

What does this tell us?.  They had no fear of God and They had no respect to God.   They dared to show utter contempt toward God.

How does such contempt toward God shown in their lives? the charge against them is found in the same chapter of Isaiah 5:7

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Isaiah 5:7

It seems that it was almost impossible for God to bring back the tenants heart and get the fruit that he wanted from the vineyard.

Yet He did not give up. Why? he did not give up because he cared for the tenants. Though they are rebellious and wicked, God wanted to bring them back by any means! Remember how much God poured out his effort for them to plant the vineyard!

He did not give up because he is eager to harvest crop from them. God has not give up for his hope to get His crop! He did not give up because God loved the tenants that he cared for so much and so long. What did he do?

 He brought out one last card. He decided to send his own son. There was a foreseeable risk. It is more than possible than their hostility toward the landowner may not change even with his son arrival. Yet he made decision to send.  

3.      The landowner send his son [37-40]

As he decided to sent his own son, what was his hope?

37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.

How is the Son different from his servants? First the Son has the authority and power of the father. Second the son has received full delegation of Father's will. So when one deals with the Son,  he is dealing with Father. What is the landowner's hope even in sending his own son?

He wanted a respect that is worthy as the owner of the vineyard. Since the landowner owns the vineyard, he has total authority and power over the vineyard. He can do whatever is good in his eyes. At least in and on the vineyard, his word must be upheld high above anyone. So the tenants must honor the landowner as such. This what the landowner expected when he sent his son to the tenants. This is exactly true to God and Israel. God owns his people Israel. From her beginning, God did everything. Even their lives could not exist if God's power was not with Abraham. Remember Abraham and Sarah was barren. But God allowed them a son, Isaac. From this Isaac came the nation Israel. Not only that, as I described at the beginning, all the process of planting the vineyard, God did everything. Can you imagine that they could get out of Egyptian slavery without God's mighty hand? Can you imagine that Israel could survive in the desert for 40 year without God's protection and provisions? Like this they owe everything of their very existence to God. Simply God owns them! They were not theirs but God's! Like this, God's ownership of Israel is factually rooted in history as I described. Yet they were not willing to give honor God as he deserves. He is the Lord for them no matter how they look at. God’s Lordship is unquestionable for Israel.

But what about us? God is not just the God of Israel. Actually He is the creator of the whole world and he is the owner of the whole world. He created us and he sustains our lives even before we come to know or accept him. Whatever we have and we live is of God and from God. He is the Lord or the landowner of the whole world! God deserves as the Lord and the owner of the whole world. So an utmost honor and respect are due to him.

What God demonstrated in Israel history is a microcosmic display of what God had done in human race. The whole human race owe to God the creator. He created us and supplied all that we need.  There is nothing in this world that came by chance or all by itself. All is from God, of God, and by God. Did we recognized this and give God the honor that He deserves?   Actually in actions of these tenants, the human nature that is flowing in our blood is clearly seen. What did they do? They refused to give such honor to the landowner, God and his son Jesus.  

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.' 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

As we see here, the tenants did not mistake his son as someone else. They clearly knew that it was the son of the landowner. Knowing well, they conferred together to kill the Son.  In other word there is a clear malicious and evil intention; to kill the son and to take the vineyard as theirs. Such rebellion is not unique to these tenants. This has been there in sinfulness of human mind since the fall of men. Such rebellion was found in the Garden of Eden. There, Eve thought that she would be like God knowing good and evil. It was dishonor to God's authority and an effort to declare her own autonomy. It is also found in the plane of Shinar described in Gen 11:4

⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens,^(A) so that we may make a name^(B) for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered^(C) over the face of the whole earth.”

This tells us that since the fall of men, despite of so much work of God in preparing the vineyard, the essence of human nature has not changed at all. Actually out of those wild vines, God chose and trained them so much. Yet they reverted back to that wild vine. They reverted back to the people of Shinar, who declared to uphold their name above God's name. This nature is quite clearly seen in what they did.

What did they do? They took him and threw him out of the vineyard. Some think that it is about Jesus death outside of the city of Jerusalem. That might be possible. But since it is said that they threw him outside of the vineyard, figuratively speaking, they took him outside of the jurisdiction of his vineyard. The vineyard is the place where his dominion or territorial authority is recognized. Outside of the vineyard means that the son was put into the territory where his authority is not recognized. More likely it is about what Jews did by throwing Jesus into the gentile court, where he was sentenced to death. Then why is this fact so important that it is described so factually?

Certainly it might indicate how Jesus will die in coming days. But it reveals a grave mistake of these tenants. They thought that the son as well as the landowner did not have any judicial authority outside of the vineyard. They thought that the landowner has no power over the territory outside of the vineyard. Actually all the vineyard as well as the all other territories outside of the vineyard is also owned by the landowner! The vineyard is a particular place of blessing. It is prepared to bless Israel and to bless the whole world. It is the place where God wants to bring all people on earth. So the word 'vineyard' is replaced by the kingdom of God in v 43. The grave mistake of these tenants is that they failed to know that the landowner is the owner of the world as well and that the vineyard is established for a particular purpose for the world. These tenants thought only possessing the vineyard for themselves.

What can we say about these tenants or their egregious mistakes? Or, can they survive after rejecting the son as well as the Landowner?

Jesus asked a question: 40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"

Is it a difficult question to answer? To anyone's eye, it is all too clear what the landowner will do?

 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."   

The religious leaders answered the question. Even in their eyes, it is clear that the landowner will do two things:

·         He will bring the wretched tenants to a wretched end.

·         the vineyard will be given to those who will give him his share of the crop.

4.      He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. [42-46]

If they had chance to change the course or to rectify the wrongs, where was it possible? Where can they begin or change? Jesus illustrates this more according to the prophecy of God:

42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes' ?

This is a prophecy from Psalm 118:22-23.

This is an imagery of building the temple. In building the temple, huge stones are used. Here builders are the Jews or Jewish leaders.

But God used a particular stone to build the temple. It looked very ordinary and had no outward beauty or character. But God used this stone as the capstone in building the temple. The capstone is the stone that finishes the structure of a building. It sits at the top of an arch of a dome or door frame. It is the most important stone of the whole building structure. Out of many stones of the building, the capstone is the most important and honored stone.

But did the tenants do? More specifically what the leaders of Israel do?  They rejected to use the stone for building the temple. They did not find what they were looking for. So they thought that the stone does not fit for the temple building and thrown away the stone! What does it mean throw away? As the parable said, they took the son outside of the city and killed him. In this way they throw away the stone. Their miscalculation is serious. They shall bear the consequences:

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.

Here the word 'vineyard' is changed into the kingdom of God. It was not just a matter of who owns the vineyard. The vineyard was an outpost of the kingdom of God. When they failed to recognize the importance of the vineyard in God's plan, and feed on their selfishness, they will be kicked out of the kingdom of God, the ultimate purpose of the planting vineyard.

This is not just taking the vineyard. It bears eternal consequences. It is a matter of entering the kingdom of God or being thrown out of the kingdom of God where they gnash their teeth in fiery lake of sulfur. 

Then what is the value or importance of this stone in regard to entering the kingdom of God?

44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

This is a quote from Isaiah 8:14-15. We will find its meaning from Isaiah.

13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread 14 and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. 15 Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured." Isaiah 8:13-15

At the time of Isaiah Israel people feared so much of Assyrians and Babylonians invasion. So God said that instead of fearing foreign powers, they must keenly aware that God is holy and they must fear him as the one the Most Holy. Then in v14, the Lord almighty is replaced by 'he'.

Here he is the one coming as the Savior God. He is to be two things: first he will be a 'sanctuary' the holy place and then he will be a stone in the eyes of houses of Israel and the people of Jerusalem.

Here the Lord will be seen as two unlikely things, one a sanctuary and the other a stone. How can the Lord be a sanctuary as well as a stone?

As we go through the scene of the cross of Jesus, there are two distinctly different responses.   There are those who made a mockery of him, 'he saved other but he cannot save himself.' Jesus is a powerless, ordinary MAN. He is like one of man stones, which we can choose or throw away according to our taste.

But the centurion, after seeing Jesus being crucified on the cross, said this. he is truly the son of God.[Mark³⁹ And when the centurion,^(A) who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,^[a] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”⁽ ]

This man saw Jesus' forbearance of sins of people and he saw Jesus calls for God's justice and grace. He saw silent submission to God. In this way, he saw the cross whereby God's righteous judgment is upheld high by his servant of obedience. To the centurion Jesus' cross become the sanctuary, the holy place. This man saw the capstone, so precious stone of God.

But those who failed to fear the God of judgment; they only saw a stone that they could easily dispose at their will. 

What would be the outcome of those who failed on the stone?

44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

They will be broken to pieces or crushed to dust. These are utter judgments or total destruction. When Jerusalem was surrounded by Roman Army, the people of Jerusalem perished miserably. They were totally annihilated by brutal hands of Roman's iron fist. It is a sober truth for what will happen for those who rejected Christ in coming days. Certainly none of us should follow their path. 

Then what should we do!

"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. Isaiah 28:16

What did Peter say in this regard?

4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  1 Peter 2:4-6

As we have gone through the parable, the son is the final attempt by the landowner. So Jesus is the final message for them as well as for the world.  God's will is very clear; he wants to harvest from his vineyard. His vineyard is to be the kingdom of God. Since the failure of Israel, God opened wide to the nations of the world for his vineyard and for his kingdom.

In Christ we are to be the ones that will produce fruits and we should be the one that give him his share of the crop. We can do that when we put our trust in the stone, that the builder rejected but God made him the capstone.  

Remember those who

May God richly bless us through our faith in Jesus, the Son of the Living God!