Matthew 21:33-46
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. 34 When 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. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last 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.’ 39 So 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.”
42 Jesus 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’?
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. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
“The Parable of the Wicked Tenants - A Wake up Call to God’s Love”
The setting of the parable of the wicked tenants is the “running oral controversy” Jesus is having with the religious leaders of his day. For Jesus the vineyard is Israel and the rebellious tenants are its leaders, who are trying to “seize the inheritance” for themselves. They are cast out and the vineyard is given to other tenants, who will give God the fruits in their season. These other tenants are the tax collectors and harlots who will enter the kingdom ahead of the religious leaders.
When asked, “what should the owner do with these tenants?”, they give the right answer. The right answer that is, for them. Not the right answer for God. For God is not satisfied with judgment, ever. Not even with them. God does not delight in judgment, ever! This is not God’s nature and it is not God’s liking. Judgment is always second to mercy and its purpose is only and always to prepare the way for love and grace to flow, full and free. This is why Jesus tells this parable - to try wake the people up to Gods love, not Gods judgment.
We need this shock therapy to wake us up and remind us of our role in Gods Kingdom. We are not owners. We are tenants, stewards, servants, who are to ”give God the fruits in their seasons.” This means we are not to “set our minds on earthly things”, but on “heavenly things”. This is a real struggle for all of us. It means we have to let go of trying to have it all, and be a servant to the least and the lowly. It means we have to carry our faith into our daily lives in ways which make a difference even for those who do not know the One we follow and are not interested in our religious beliefs. It means we have to walk the walk, at all costs!
“Produce The Proper Fruits”
The Kingdom of God will always belong to someone, yet it is owned by no one.
We are tenants, not owners. And the bottom line for a tenant is the crop produced.
Jesus is saying to the leaders of his day that “ the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and be given to a people who will produce the proper fruits” because:
They were adding to the burdens of the people rather then lifting their burdens.
They were more interested in being religious then in being merciful.
They were quick to cast the first stone as they judged others but could not
see the sins of their ways.
We, the Church, stand with the tenants. We are to produce proper fruits. If we don’t, we too will have it taken away from us. This is not a threat. This is part of Gods promise! God expects much from us because God has done much for us. We are blessed so we can be a blessing.
The fruit God is looking for in our lives is that we love one another as God loves us.
This does not mean sweet sentimentalism but strong compassion.
It means “That inner disposition to go with others where they hurt, where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken.” (Nouwen) It means to give up judging others, to stop measuring our meaning and value with the yardstick of others, and thus to become free to be with them and allow God to be the judge. “Love does not insist on its own way.”
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