WEBVTT 00:00:00.460 --> 00:00:08.939 Good morning, church. We're going to read from Matthew chapter 21 and 22, starting in verse 23. 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:19.500 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:24.980 By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority? 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:38.100 Jesus answered them, I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:44.859 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man? 00:00:46.539 --> 00:00:54.820 And they discussed it among themselves, saying, If we say from heaven, he will say to us, Why then did you not believe him? 00:00:55.579 --> 00:01:03.559 But if we say from man, we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet. 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:08.179 So they answered Jesus, We do not know. 00:01:08.759 --> 00:01:15.479 And he said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:18.960 What do you think? 00:01:18.960 --> 00:01:27.579 A man had two sons, and he went to the first and said, Son, go and work in the vineyard today. 00:01:28.380 --> 00:01:31.060 And he answered, I will not. 00:01:31.900 --> 00:01:34.880 But afterward, he changed his mind and went. 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:39.699 And he went to the other son and said the same. 00:01:40.699 --> 00:01:43.859 And he answered, I go, sir. 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:46.099 But did not go. 00:01:47.219 --> 00:01:50.719 Which of the two did the will of the father? 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:54.179 They said the first. 00:01:55.319 --> 00:02:04.959 Jesus said to them, Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:12.019 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. 00:02:12.939 --> 00:02:16.840 But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:25.219 And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:28.680 Hear another parable. 00:02:29.379 --> 00:02:41.300 There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 00:02:41.300 --> 00:02:49.120 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 00:02:50.380 --> 00:02:56.140 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:01.620 Again, he sent more servants, more than the first. 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:04.420 And they did the same to them. 00:03:04.419 --> 00:03:12.779 Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son. 00:03:13.859 --> 00:03:20.599 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, This is the heir. 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:25.000 Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:30.899 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:38.060 When, therefore, the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? 00:03:39.500 --> 00:03:51.340 They said to him, He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons. 00:03:51.340 --> 00:04:03.300 Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the scriptures, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? 00:04:04.140 --> 00:04:09.759 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 00:04:11.140 --> 00:04:19.280 Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:23.939 And the one who falls on the stone will be broken to pieces. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.279 And when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. 00:04:30.799 --> 00:04:39.319 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 00:04:40.119 --> 00:04:47.739 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds because they held him to be a prophet. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:53.839 And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 00:04:54.859 --> 00:05:05.039 The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son and sent his servants to call on those who were invited to the wedding feast. 00:05:05.619 --> 00:05:06.779 But they would not come. 00:05:06.779 --> 00:05:14.979 Again, he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner. 00:05:15.719 --> 00:05:20.059 My oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered and everything is ready. 00:05:20.779 --> 00:05:22.659 Come to the wedding feast. 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:24.660 The king of heaven was ready. 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:27.120 But they paid no attention and went off. 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:36.960 One to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, treated him shamefully, and killed them. 00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:44.400 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:52.879 Then he said to his servants, The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:58.959 Go, therefore, to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find. 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:08.199 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. 00:06:08.859 --> 00:06:11.419 So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 00:06:11.420 --> 00:06:20.000 But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:26.500 And he said to him, Friend, how did you get into here without a wedding garment? 00:06:27.259 --> 00:06:28.660 And he was speechless. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:38.139 Then the king said to the attendants, Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. 00:06:38.139 --> 00:06:44.039 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:06:44.939 --> 00:06:49.519 For many are called, but few are chosen. 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:52.300 This is the word of God. 00:06:54.719 --> 00:06:55.339 All right. 00:06:55.399 --> 00:06:55.939 Thanks, Angeline. 00:06:56.180 --> 00:06:56.959 It's a long reading. 00:06:57.659 --> 00:07:02.199 But I hope it's, as we will see, it coheres. 00:07:02.199 --> 00:07:03.759 It's three parables. 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:08.459 But why don't we pray together before we dive into it. 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:10.939 Lord Jesus, we want to see you. 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:14.379 We want to see your glory, your authority, who you are. 00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:16.240 Please speak to us through these words. 00:07:17.159 --> 00:07:23.339 Take weak words from a weak human being, but make them your words by your spirit in our hearts. 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:24.959 Please speak to each one of us today. 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:26.319 In Jesus' name. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:27.219 Amen. 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:30.440 Now, I don't know what you found of the reading. 00:07:31.100 --> 00:07:32.660 I don't know what you think of the parables. 00:07:33.020 --> 00:07:36.040 We think of them as really nice stories for children, right? 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:40.720 Like the lost sheep and, you know, the mustard seeds. 00:07:41.080 --> 00:07:43.160 And then we get actually these parables. 00:07:43.320 --> 00:07:45.540 And actually, these are rather violent, right? 00:07:46.140 --> 00:07:50.920 A lot of servants getting beaten and stoned, killed. 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:54.680 And then miserable wretches being put to death. 00:07:55.060 --> 00:07:59.600 And a king sending troops and destroying murderers and burning their city. 00:07:59.819 --> 00:08:04.879 And then another servant, you know, bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness. 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:08.240 These are not really nice stories, right? 00:08:09.080 --> 00:08:12.860 The only thing we do at Watermark, we try to preach through the Bible, through everything. 00:08:13.080 --> 00:08:17.620 And even though we're taking big chunks of Matthew, actually, this is in the Bible, right? 00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:18.819 So we have to preach it. 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:19.800 We have to look at it. 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:23.620 But then again, you know, this is a real world, right? 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:25.800 And sometimes violence is necessary. 00:08:26.740 --> 00:08:28.920 You know, there's a war going on in Ukraine. 00:08:29.180 --> 00:08:30.920 And people are giving tanks to Ukraine. 00:08:31.020 --> 00:08:34.080 And you might think, well, isn't that, you know, why tanks? 00:08:34.680 --> 00:08:35.720 Well, they need tanks, right? 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:40.340 If they don't have weapons, then the country will be destroyed. 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:42.560 Sometimes that's just necessary. 00:08:43.180 --> 00:08:47.700 And I think we, you know, sometimes judgment is necessary. 00:08:47.700 --> 00:08:49.379 And that's what we're going to look at today. 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:53.000 We're in a very tense time in the gospel, right? 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:54.419 Jesus has been going around. 00:08:54.539 --> 00:08:56.179 But now he's on his way to his death. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:57.439 He's on the way to Jerusalem. 00:08:58.219 --> 00:09:00.039 Well, he's entered in Jerusalem now. 00:09:00.179 --> 00:09:02.199 And he, you know, he's in the temple. 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:05.799 If you were here last week, he comes to the temple, right? 00:09:05.819 --> 00:09:06.519 The house of God. 00:09:06.579 --> 00:09:07.659 But he's made a huge mess. 00:09:08.179 --> 00:09:10.679 He overthrew the tables, kicked everyone out. 00:09:10.919 --> 00:09:13.259 You know, pretty violent and passionate, right? 00:09:13.259 --> 00:09:14.679 Here's Jesus. 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:18.580 And he's saying, well, the temple is going to be destroyed. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:20.559 This temple is obsolete. 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:21.679 We don't need it anymore. 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:24.220 It's now all about me. 00:09:24.860 --> 00:09:27.899 And you can feel the tension, the authorities. 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:30.559 They are kind of, what is going on, right? 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:33.379 What do you think you're doing, Jesus? 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:37.039 Because this is a big thing, right? 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:42.100 It sounds like, okay, Jesus is coming and he's going to replace the temple. 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:44.480 It's not just a building, right? 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.240 If you're going to get rid of a temple, what are you going to get rid of? 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:50.480 You're going to get rid of all the priests and all the Levites, right? 00:09:50.500 --> 00:09:52.500 And the whole system around the temple. 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:56.799 The temple is in a city, right? 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:01.259 If Jesus says the temple is going to be destroyed, how about the city and all the people who live there? 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:05.599 That city is the heart of a nation, right? 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:08.039 Here is a nation, the nation of Israel. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:09.419 And they were God's people. 00:10:09.699 --> 00:10:11.000 And what made them special? 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:12.259 Well, God was with them. 00:10:12.339 --> 00:10:13.599 God was with them in the temple. 00:10:14.139 --> 00:10:16.839 It was their reason to be, right? 00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:19.299 And now that's going to be taken away. 00:10:19.419 --> 00:10:21.379 So Israel is losing their place in the world. 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:24.959 I mean, can you imagine if you take the pyramids away from Egypt? 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:27.980 No one knew Egypt anymore, right? 00:10:28.560 --> 00:10:29.639 Here is the tent. 00:10:29.780 --> 00:10:30.620 But this is much bigger. 00:10:30.740 --> 00:10:33.120 This is the place of access to God. 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:34.220 That was through Israel. 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:34.940 Here it is. 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:37.519 And Jesus is taking that away. 00:10:38.820 --> 00:10:39.680 It's messy. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.480 And that needs some explaining, right? 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:43.960 Why this big change? 00:10:44.580 --> 00:10:45.820 Was this really necessary? 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:52.840 And so in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we all get this big confrontation with the Pharisees 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:56.300 where Jesus, you know, explains himself, right? 00:10:57.340 --> 00:10:58.240 We read it. 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:00.000 If you were following the reading plan, right? 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:02.420 The past week, we've been looking at the same thing in Luke. 00:11:02.920 --> 00:11:06.340 You know, these are clearly important parts. 00:11:06.540 --> 00:11:08.600 And maybe they don't speak to us that clearly. 00:11:08.660 --> 00:11:09.620 But I hope we'll see today. 00:11:09.700 --> 00:11:11.000 Actually, we need to know this. 00:11:11.040 --> 00:11:12.700 And we need to see Jesus. 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:17.300 He's kind of, you know, justifying the change. 00:11:17.700 --> 00:11:18.820 Here is King Jesus. 00:11:18.940 --> 00:11:19.759 He's really a king. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:20.720 He's not a pushover. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:24.460 He is the judge, the jury, the executioner. 00:11:25.659 --> 00:11:31.259 And in a way, yeah, the rest of the reading, it's pretty straightforward in some ways, right? 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:32.200 It's three parables. 00:11:32.939 --> 00:11:35.559 And you've seen that they all have the same thing in common, right? 00:11:35.580 --> 00:11:36.740 There's this authority figure. 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:38.019 There's a father. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:39.759 There's an owner. 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:41.279 There is a king. 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:45.500 And then there are, well, those under authority, right? 00:11:45.500 --> 00:11:50.679 There's two sons, old and new tenants, old and new wedding guests. 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:58.240 And in each case, there's one group or one son who does not listen, who refuses, who rejects. 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:01.539 And in certainly two of them, it doesn't go well for them. 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:03.460 And that's where we're going to go. 00:12:03.460 --> 00:12:05.320 And so it's basically like a court case. 00:12:05.560 --> 00:12:20.360 That's why I call this the temple court, not referring to the stone, but, yeah, a court taking place where Jesus, well, he goes through, well, the evidence, the verdict, the sentence on Israel. 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:22.720 So let's look at that together. 00:12:24.220 --> 00:12:27.019 For the sake of time, I won't spend too much on all of them. 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:28.159 There's a lot of detail here. 00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:31.039 I'll mainly focus later on the parable of the tenants. 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:35.240 I think, I mean, of course, it starts with who is this guy, right? 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:43.759 Verse 23, when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, 00:12:44.279 --> 00:12:46.779 by what authority are you doing these things? 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:48.720 Who gave you this authority? 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:53.540 All right, again, here is Jesus and he throws all the furniture out of God's house. 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:58.340 If you come to my house and throw out all the furniture, who do you think you are, right? 00:12:59.220 --> 00:13:01.060 I hope you see this is a big thing. 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:05.700 Who are you to declare the house of God obsolete? 00:13:06.460 --> 00:13:13.660 Who are you to say that, okay, I know for 1500 years, if you wanted to know God, you have to come here, but now you all have to come to me. 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:15.879 Who has the right to say that? 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:16.379 Right? 00:13:16.379 --> 00:13:16.899 Right? 00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:19.759 Clearly this guy thinks he's quite a lot. 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:21.840 But yeah, the authorities, they come to him. 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:23.600 They want to trap him. 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:25.600 They want to condemn him. 00:13:26.620 --> 00:13:28.519 Instead, Jesus turns the tables. 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:31.679 Well, why don't you justify yourselves, right? 00:13:31.820 --> 00:13:33.279 Let's talk about John the Baptist. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:36.100 You know, did you listen to him? 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:37.879 Where do you think he is from? 00:13:38.839 --> 00:13:40.539 And you can hear what they said, right? 00:13:41.459 --> 00:13:46.199 The authorities, well, we can't really say that he's from God because then why didn't we believe in him? 00:13:46.939 --> 00:13:52.059 We can't really say he's just a human, just a man from man. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:54.639 And so they refuse to answer. 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:58.120 But then Jesus, well, he condemns them, right? 00:13:58.179 --> 00:13:59.720 Actually, you know what you did, right? 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:00.980 You didn't believe in John. 00:14:01.139 --> 00:14:02.800 I won't go into all the details. 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:06.820 But, you know, he starts to condemn them for, yeah. 00:14:07.680 --> 00:14:10.700 You know, you look down on the tax collectors and the prostitutes. 00:14:10.800 --> 00:14:12.379 Actually, they listened to God. 00:14:12.580 --> 00:14:13.500 They, John came. 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:14.600 He is from God. 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:17.300 He offered you, you know, repentance, forgiveness. 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:20.500 They did, but the Pharisees didn't listen. 00:14:20.660 --> 00:14:22.200 The religious leaders didn't do anything. 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:27.600 And so, yeah, how is that going to go? 00:14:27.820 --> 00:14:32.540 Well, let's go to the parable of the tenants because that's where we're going to spend most of our time. 00:14:32.980 --> 00:14:35.200 What is the case that Jesus makes here? 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:37.420 Now, this is a big parable. 00:14:37.580 --> 00:14:39.220 It's almost more like an allegory, right? 00:14:39.280 --> 00:14:42.180 Sometimes parables are just a story with one point. 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:46.960 But here we have all these details that correspond to the real world. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:50.300 And it starts really nice, right? 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:52.940 Verse 33. 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:54.600 Hear another parable. 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:58.220 There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard. 00:14:59.139 --> 00:15:01.160 Now, we just did John 15, right? 00:15:01.220 --> 00:15:02.280 We know vineyards. 00:15:02.420 --> 00:15:03.400 That's a vine. 00:15:03.540 --> 00:15:06.420 That's an Old Testament picture of Israel, the people of God. 00:15:06.500 --> 00:15:08.360 So, we're already thinking Israel. 00:15:08.800 --> 00:15:11.400 And look at how wonderful man this is, right? 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:13.000 He planted a vineyard. 00:15:13.160 --> 00:15:14.780 He put a fence around it. 00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:21.539 He dug a wine press in it and built a tower and unleashed it to tenants and went into another country, right? 00:15:21.939 --> 00:15:24.039 This man did everything for the vineyard. 00:15:24.139 --> 00:15:25.220 He put everything there. 00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:28.159 They had everything they needed to produce fruit. 00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:35.039 And so, these tenants, he went away, but the tenants would look after the vineyard, would give him his fruit. 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:36.600 So far, so good. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:40.199 But then, well, the evidence, what happened? 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:46.160 And when the time came, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 00:15:46.780 --> 00:15:48.500 And the tenants, what did they do? 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:54.740 They took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another, right? 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:56.259 They didn't give the fruit. 00:15:56.500 --> 00:15:58.420 They, you know, very reasonable, right? 00:15:58.460 --> 00:15:59.340 You work for this guy. 00:15:59.400 --> 00:16:00.200 You give him his fruit. 00:16:00.640 --> 00:16:02.960 Instead, they beat the servants, stoned them. 00:16:03.400 --> 00:16:04.080 Stoning, right? 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:08.360 Can you think of a, it's a really vicious, violent way of killing someone, right? 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:11.940 What a shock, right? 00:16:12.560 --> 00:16:15.240 And the owner sends more servants, more and more. 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:16.360 And again, they get beaten. 00:16:16.560 --> 00:16:17.240 They get tortured. 00:16:17.400 --> 00:16:18.120 They get killed. 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:22.060 This is how the tenants are treating the servants. 00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:27.379 Now, I hope you can see this is not just about the Pharisees standing in front of Jesus, right? 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:29.600 What are we talking about? 00:16:29.640 --> 00:16:30.440 All these servants. 00:16:30.680 --> 00:16:32.280 This is Israel's history. 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:36.860 This is 1,500 years of Israel. 00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:38.259 Because they, what did they do? 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:40.480 Well, God kept sending prophets to them. 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:42.519 And they kept rejecting the prophets. 00:16:42.779 --> 00:16:44.839 That's certainly Jesus' verdict. 00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:50.360 Verse from chapter 23, verse 37. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:51.539 This is what he later says. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:56.360 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the prophets and stoned those sent to you. 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:01.240 That is the Bible's view of Israel, of Jerusalem. 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:04.640 How they've, you know, so this is about the history. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:05.759 It's not about individuals. 00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:07.279 It's not just about these few guys. 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:08.160 This is the nation. 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:09.680 This is the system. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.380 This is the leadership, right? 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:13.359 The institution. 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:17.039 They, well, this is what they've done. 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:20.559 They've killed the prophets all through history. 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:23.299 And now, well, what happened? 00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:26.039 Finally, the owner, verse 37. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:30.960 Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, they will respect my son. 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:33.399 Might feel a bit naive, right? 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:36.740 Why would you send your son to these dangerous guys? 00:17:37.379 --> 00:17:40.139 I think in an honor-shame culture, though, did this make sense, right? 00:17:40.179 --> 00:17:41.039 This is the son. 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:44.179 Surely you will respect the son of the owner, right? 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:46.420 And they recognize him. 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:47.799 They see, hey, this is the son. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:51.279 I mean, so basically, Jesus is answering their question, right? 00:17:51.320 --> 00:17:53.039 They were asking, well, who are you, Jesus? 00:17:53.779 --> 00:17:56.700 And he is saying, well, I am the son of God, right? 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:58.160 And the father sent me here. 00:17:58.320 --> 00:18:01.740 And he sent me here to, as your last chance, right? 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:06.980 And the father thinks that you should honor and respect me because I'm the son. 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:09.680 And they recognize him. 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:15.319 But in the parable, the tenants think, well, this is a great chance, right? 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:16.680 This is the heir. 00:18:16.860 --> 00:18:19.759 Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:20.880 Let's kill him. 00:18:21.019 --> 00:18:22.039 And they do it, right? 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:24.519 They throw him out of the vineyard and kill him. 00:18:24.579 --> 00:18:27.240 They kill the son of the owner. 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:32.180 And it's why Jesus, you know, telling them, I know your plan. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:33.440 You want to kill me, right? 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:34.799 You want to kill me, the son of God. 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:36.960 Like the ultimate crime, right? 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:38.120 Killing the son. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:43.420 Well, what do you think is the verdict if this is what they've done? 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:47.940 I mean, these are absolutely unacceptable crimes, right? 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:50.880 If you read this story, you would think that this is crazy, right? 00:18:50.900 --> 00:18:52.640 This is unacceptable. 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:53.640 I don't know. 00:18:54.099 --> 00:18:55.039 What do you think? 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:59.620 And these are not just good people struggling to keep the law, right? 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:04.660 These are not just good people producing fruit, but it wasn't enough fruit. 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:06.019 They didn't meet their quotas. 00:19:06.099 --> 00:19:06.940 And the owner is angry. 00:19:06.980 --> 00:19:09.960 There's no talk of fruit at all, right? 00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:11.860 They are just rejecting the owner. 00:19:12.440 --> 00:19:14.660 If you kill, they're rejecting God. 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:17.140 If you kill the servants, you're rejecting the master. 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:21.799 If you kill someone's son, well, you're rejecting the father, right? 00:19:21.799 --> 00:19:24.240 How can you say, oh, I really love God. 00:19:24.299 --> 00:19:26.139 I've killed his son, but I really love God. 00:19:26.700 --> 00:19:27.059 No. 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.339 I mean, how do they treat the owner? 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.839 How do they treat God? 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:34.879 It's such a weird phrase, right? 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:37.200 Here is the son. 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:37.220 Here is the son. 00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:39.360 Let us kill him. 00:19:39.360 --> 00:19:42.180 And we can get, then the inheritance will be ours. 00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:45.039 It's like God is already dead to them, right? 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:46.019 The father is already dead. 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:50.900 So if we just get rid of the son, then the whole family is gone and it's ours, right? 00:19:50.900 --> 00:19:52.660 God is just dead to them. 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:56.819 As if he doesn't exist, they're rejecting him. 00:19:56.819 --> 00:19:59.859 And that's the overall message. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.019 And you read through all these parables, right? 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.559 The son who says, yeah, yeah, I'm going to do what you say, dad. 00:20:05.639 --> 00:20:06.679 And he doesn't. 00:20:07.379 --> 00:20:09.379 The king and the wedding feast. 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:11.200 I mean, wonderful story, right? 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:12.159 Wonderful offer. 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:14.839 A wedding feast with oxen and fattened calves. 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.179 It's not even about working in a vineyard, right? 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:20.379 You get invited to a wedding feast. 00:20:20.379 --> 00:20:21.579 Israel got invited. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.399 The wedding supper of the lamb. 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:25.899 And they kill the messengers. 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:30.300 And stoned them and everything over and over again, right? 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:33.259 And you read on in these chapters. 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:36.000 And they keep trying to trap Jesus. 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:41.519 Chapter 23 is a long list of all their hypocrisy and everything they've done wrong. 00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:45.140 What a terrible nation, right? 00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:47.960 What a terrible history. 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:49.400 What a terrible leadership. 00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:52.759 I hope you feel that, right? 00:20:52.820 --> 00:20:55.400 I hope you read this and think, yeah. 00:20:56.300 --> 00:21:01.420 You may think it's a bit unfair that, okay, these guys get singled out for the whole history of Israel. 00:21:02.380 --> 00:21:04.100 The whole history of the leadership. 00:21:04.340 --> 00:21:07.060 But then again, they're going to do the ultimate crime, right? 00:21:07.100 --> 00:21:10.220 These are the guys who are going to kill Jesus and get him killed. 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:12.540 I mean, that was the last chance, right? 00:21:12.539 --> 00:21:17.159 And so, what is the sentence, right? 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:18.899 The evidence, the verdict, the sentence. 00:21:19.139 --> 00:21:21.359 Well, judgment and replacements. 00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:25.019 I mean, Jesus asked him, hey, how do you think these tenants should be treated? 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:25.920 Verse 41. 00:21:26.639 --> 00:21:35.339 They said to him, he will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons. 00:21:35.339 --> 00:21:36.299 Right? 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:38.819 These guys should be put to death. 00:21:39.199 --> 00:21:40.699 And Jesus says, yeah, I agree. 00:21:41.659 --> 00:21:42.679 Verse 43. 00:21:42.899 --> 00:21:47.579 The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:53.839 Or after the wedding feast, the king sent his troops and they destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 00:21:54.939 --> 00:21:56.159 A horrific massacre. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:57.660 But not just judgment, right? 00:21:57.720 --> 00:21:58.440 A replacement. 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:01.880 God still wants a beautiful vineyard. 00:22:02.820 --> 00:22:07.779 And so, he brings, yeah, so he gives it to new tenants. 00:22:08.300 --> 00:22:11.060 The king still wants a beautiful wedding feast with lots of guests. 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:13.120 So, other guests get invited, right? 00:22:13.840 --> 00:22:17.880 The gospel going out to the Gentiles and people streaming in. 00:22:19.320 --> 00:22:20.980 Judgment and replacement. 00:22:22.360 --> 00:22:25.360 And note how that's so centered on Jesus. 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:27.759 Because, you know, here's the son and he gets killed. 00:22:27.859 --> 00:22:28.779 What happens to the son? 00:22:30.099 --> 00:22:32.099 Of course, in the wedding feast, he's the star. 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:32.959 It's his wedding. 00:22:33.859 --> 00:22:36.419 But also with the, yeah, in the tenants. 00:22:37.219 --> 00:22:38.199 How about the son? 00:22:38.299 --> 00:22:39.039 Verse 42. 00:22:39.219 --> 00:22:41.779 Jesus said to them, okay, this is what's going to happen. 00:22:41.899 --> 00:22:43.159 Have you never read in the scriptures? 00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:47.659 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 00:22:48.859 --> 00:22:49.000 Yeah? 00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:50.459 It said there's a building project. 00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:52.839 What are they building in context? 00:22:52.919 --> 00:22:53.759 Well, it's a temple, right? 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:55.859 And here's the builders and here's a stone. 00:22:55.980 --> 00:22:57.039 And we don't want this stone. 00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.019 They throw away the stone. 00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:03.180 And actually, that stone ends up the cornerstone. 00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:05.940 Ends up as the central part of the building. 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:07.599 The central part of the new temple. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:10.480 And I guess the old builders get fired, right? 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:13.019 This new temple. 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:14.960 This new people of God. 00:23:15.140 --> 00:23:17.120 It's all, the cornerstone is Jesus. 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:18.460 It's all centered on him. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:22.099 I hope that makes sense. 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:24.360 I hope you can see what this parable says. 00:23:26.259 --> 00:23:28.220 How do we respond to this, though, right? 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:33.420 How do you respond to this dark, violent parable? 00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:35.420 How do we respond to this dark, violent parable? 00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:38.180 I mean, first of all, I guess we're in awe of Jesus, right? 00:23:38.900 --> 00:23:42.800 I mean, you see Jesus and he's so accessible, as we heard last week. 00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:48.279 But here's Jesus and he, you know, he's gentle and lowly. 00:23:48.360 --> 00:23:51.519 And he comes to the leper who wants to be cleansed and put his hand on him. 00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:53.320 And hey, I want to clean you. 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:53.920 Be clean. 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:58.539 And you see him, you know, frying fish as breakfast for his friends. 00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:00.220 You know? 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:03.319 But then you see him here, right? 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:06.579 He's more than a prophet, more than a king. 00:24:06.700 --> 00:24:09.680 He's the son so close to his father. 00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:15.299 He is the judge who looks at his whole nation's history and deposes the nation. 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:18.259 And says, okay, the whole world's going to change. 00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:20.600 It's now all going to be through me, right? 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:25.000 This is the one with all authority, right? 00:24:25.819 --> 00:24:27.480 You know, whoa. 00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:30.900 I mean, I don't know about your temperament. 00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:36.900 Certainly this week I was tempted to sin and I just thought of the Jesus here and I didn't sin, right? 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:37.940 It's kind of whoa. 00:24:39.120 --> 00:24:39.579 I don't know. 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:46.900 And I think maybe some of you, you will feel scared of this Jesus who has such authority and who threatens judgment. 00:24:46.900 --> 00:24:50.780 Now, I mean, Jesus is not safe. 00:24:52.040 --> 00:24:53.440 But he is good. 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:57.500 We shouldn't read this as written to us, right? 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.980 I mean, Matthew wrote it to us. 00:24:59.019 --> 00:25:01.620 But we are not the people he's talking about. 00:25:02.120 --> 00:25:04.019 We are kind of standing on the sidelines. 00:25:04.180 --> 00:25:06.420 This is about bigger than you. 00:25:06.540 --> 00:25:08.000 This is BC and AD. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:13.440 This is about a whole nation that has, yeah, that gets replaced. 00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:17.599 A whole institution that has, you know, it's going to be obsolete, right? 00:25:17.619 --> 00:25:18.660 It's something much bigger. 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:22.099 I mean, I hope in some sense we think this is good. 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:24.319 You know, it's good what Jesus does. 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:26.759 I mean, we should be in some ways glad, right? 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:27.839 These tenants are terrible. 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:31.920 Isn't it good when the bad guys get defeated? 00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:33.579 When the bad guys get abolished? 00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:35.740 I don't know, the Lion King. 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:40.720 Isn't it great when Scar at the end gets defeated, right? 00:25:41.159 --> 00:25:41.559 Isn't it? 00:25:42.179 --> 00:25:43.980 You see that and you cheer. 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:44.519 This is good. 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:47.879 You don't feel sorry for Scar because you know what he's done. 00:25:49.179 --> 00:25:53.279 And this is not even the right picture because this is a fight between Simba and Scar, right? 00:25:53.740 --> 00:25:55.500 I mean, Jesus is the judge. 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:58.339 It's his job to do what's right, right? 00:25:58.419 --> 00:26:00.099 Because this is not just justice. 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:02.519 He's doing something good for the world. 00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:07.119 I mean, the owner has a vineyard, not just for his own wine collection, right? 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:08.460 Why do you have a vineyard? 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:13.720 You want to bring vine and grapes to lots of people, right? 00:26:13.779 --> 00:26:14.659 Vineyards are good. 00:26:14.819 --> 00:26:17.879 And, you know, Israel was to be a good thing for the world. 00:26:18.339 --> 00:26:20.619 The world wasn't going to be blessed through Israel. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:23.740 People could come to God through Israel, through the temple. 00:26:24.099 --> 00:26:28.119 You know, the whole nation would, the whole world would be blessed through them. 00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:29.419 And instead they were an obstacle. 00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:30.960 They kept people from God. 00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:32.299 They kept people from his grace. 00:26:32.299 --> 00:26:34.980 And Jesus removes them. 00:26:35.099 --> 00:26:36.500 Isn't that a good thing? 00:26:36.639 --> 00:26:40.039 Isn't that, can you imagine if Jesus didn't do anything about this? 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:46.779 If he just let them carry on like this and the whole world still couldn't know about God and he wouldn't do anything. 00:26:46.919 --> 00:26:47.819 It's a good thing. 00:26:48.379 --> 00:26:50.899 Judgment is good. 00:26:50.900 --> 00:26:56.440 Just to say, when I say that, it doesn't mean that Jesus likes it. 00:26:57.800 --> 00:27:01.160 You know, there's a sense in which we should feel sad, right? 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:03.259 These parables, they are deserved. 00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:04.700 The judgment is deserved. 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:07.840 But, you know, look how this section ends. 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:11.100 After a whole chapter of woe to the Pharisees. 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:13.019 Woe, woe, woe. 00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:14.579 Let's look at these last few verses. 00:27:15.799 --> 00:27:17.799 Matthew, at the end of chapter 23. 00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:18.799 I've put them on the screen. 00:27:18.940 --> 00:27:21.180 We saw the first bit, right? 00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:26.480 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stone those sent to it. 00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:33.000 How often would I have gathered your children as a hen gathered its brood under its wings? 00:27:33.900 --> 00:27:34.720 But you would not. 00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:37.220 I wanted to gather you. 00:27:37.740 --> 00:27:39.299 I wanted you to come back to me. 00:27:39.620 --> 00:27:40.700 I wanted to have you. 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:42.059 I wanted to bring you here. 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:44.559 But you didn't want to, right? 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:45.980 You didn't want to. 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:48.120 You hear Jesus hard, right? 00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:49.220 He wants them to turn. 00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:50.339 He wants them to come back. 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:53.700 But they don't want to. 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:57.420 He's like an exasperated parent of a wayward teenager, right? 00:27:57.480 --> 00:27:58.759 I wanted to have you back. 00:27:59.160 --> 00:28:00.759 But you didn't want to. 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:03.360 The Pharisees, they didn't want to. 00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:04.140 He warns them. 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:06.340 If you kill me, it's going to end very badly. 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:09.019 And so they plot to kill him. 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:11.559 They just don't want to change. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:14.220 Then there's no end, right? 00:28:15.420 --> 00:28:17.759 But, you know, it's not that Jesus enjoys it. 00:28:17.840 --> 00:28:19.279 He wants to have people back. 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:22.500 And, you know, that's important for all of us in a way, right? 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:25.740 Because we think Israel and we think, oh, these people are so bad. 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:27.160 And actually we're not like them. 00:28:29.099 --> 00:28:32.859 I mean, in the Bible, Israel is not singled out because they're so bad. 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:35.059 They're just a picture of all of us. 00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:38.440 God chose Israel to show what we are all like by nature. 00:28:39.400 --> 00:28:41.880 And ultimately God is going to do something much bigger, right? 00:28:41.900 --> 00:28:44.920 He's going to judge the whole world for their rejection of him. 00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:50.400 He's going to judge the whole world for, well, the lack of fruit for the way we've treated him. 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:55.360 But, again, Jesus doesn't want to judge in a way. 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:56.600 He wants to have us back. 00:28:57.019 --> 00:28:58.800 He has the same heart to us now. 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:02.039 If we refuse to listen, you will face his judgment. 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:03.960 But Jesus wants to forgive you. 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:05.620 He wants, he died on the cross. 00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:06.740 That's what he did, right? 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:13.799 He was so willing to save us, so willing to have us back that he, you know, he went to the cross to pay for our sin. 00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:17.240 But if we don't want to, yeah. 00:29:18.440 --> 00:29:19.880 There's nothing we can do, right? 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:21.099 If we don't want to. 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:22.680 If we don't want to be forgiven. 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:23.819 If we don't want to come back. 00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:25.079 Yeah. 00:29:25.220 --> 00:29:26.799 It's not his fault, right? 00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:29.599 Because that's the other side, right? 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:33.539 There is a wonderful offer here. 00:29:33.659 --> 00:29:35.079 So we would agree with Jesus. 00:29:35.240 --> 00:29:38.500 But I hope we receive the offer here, right? 00:29:38.919 --> 00:29:40.759 Yes, the old tenants go. 00:29:40.939 --> 00:29:41.599 And that's good. 00:29:41.679 --> 00:29:43.679 But God's looking for new tenants. 00:29:44.899 --> 00:29:46.299 The old guests are gone. 00:29:46.419 --> 00:29:48.839 But there's an opportunity for new guests. 00:29:49.879 --> 00:29:52.240 I hope if you're not yet a Christian. 00:29:53.839 --> 00:29:56.679 God is organizing the most wonderful feast ever. 00:29:57.199 --> 00:29:58.240 And he's inviting you. 00:29:58.240 --> 00:30:00.380 And he will forgive you. 00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:01.339 And he will have you there. 00:30:01.900 --> 00:30:02.480 Come to him. 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:04.920 And if we have come, I hope. 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:08.240 Again, we feel that this is wonderful. 00:30:08.380 --> 00:30:10.420 Because, you know, we weren't originally invited. 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:13.000 We were not supposed to be there. 00:30:13.079 --> 00:30:13.799 We're the Gentiles. 00:30:15.120 --> 00:30:15.299 Right? 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:19.380 These people, they had a great privilege that they've lost. 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:21.420 But we were the underprivileged. 00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:23.220 It doesn't feel like that, right? 00:30:23.220 --> 00:30:24.259 Because we are Hong Kongers. 00:30:24.339 --> 00:30:25.500 And many of us, we are wealthy. 00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:26.720 And we are educated. 00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:27.759 And we have great jobs. 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:29.579 We are the most privileged people here. 00:30:30.819 --> 00:30:34.539 Actually, when it comes to God, we were very, very underprivileged. 00:30:35.420 --> 00:30:38.599 We had no part in God or whatsoever. 00:30:39.980 --> 00:30:43.519 But now, instead, the gates are open. 00:30:43.940 --> 00:30:45.180 And we are welcome to come. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:46.779 So, yeah. 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:47.259 Come. 00:30:48.019 --> 00:30:50.680 And rejoice that we now can be part of this. 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:53.400 We can be tenants in the vineyard. 00:30:53.400 --> 00:30:54.940 We can be guests at a wedding. 00:30:55.820 --> 00:30:56.800 And share it. 00:30:57.259 --> 00:30:57.420 Right? 00:30:58.019 --> 00:31:01.900 You know, isn't this a wonderful news to bring people to when we have explore? 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:04.860 So, agree. 00:31:04.860 --> 00:31:04.900 Agree. 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:06.420 Receive. 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:11.920 Though, at the same time, there is a little twist at the end of the last parable. 00:31:12.019 --> 00:31:12.180 Right? 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:14.840 At the same time, don't presume. 00:31:15.640 --> 00:31:16.360 Don't presume. 00:31:16.460 --> 00:31:18.680 I mean, it sounds so encouraging in a way. 00:31:18.759 --> 00:31:18.940 Right? 00:31:19.060 --> 00:31:22.560 That last story about the wedding feast. 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:29.339 That, you know, the king sends his servants and they go out into the roads and gather all whom they found. 00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:30.759 Both bad and good. 00:31:31.159 --> 00:31:33.419 And so, the wedding hall was filled with guests. 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:35.679 And they lived happily ever after. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:38.159 That is not what it says. 00:31:38.879 --> 00:31:39.059 Right? 00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:39.960 There's a little twist. 00:31:40.399 --> 00:31:40.919 Verse 11. 00:31:41.059 --> 00:31:47.000 But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:51.359 And he said to him, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:53.099 And he was speechless. 00:31:54.460 --> 00:31:57.700 Among the guests there, there's one guy without a wedding garment. 00:31:59.559 --> 00:32:00.119 I don't know. 00:32:00.180 --> 00:32:01.960 Here in Hong Kong, I've been to quite a few weddings. 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:04.900 Sometimes people come and it looks like they just came from the beach. 00:32:06.359 --> 00:32:07.799 I don't know what it is. 00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:09.880 But normally, people, they dress up for a wedding. 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:10.480 Right? 00:32:10.539 --> 00:32:11.799 You have a wedding garment. 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:13.539 And this guy doesn't. 00:32:14.299 --> 00:32:14.480 Right? 00:32:14.539 --> 00:32:15.680 I don't know what he thought. 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:17.039 But he thought he was in. 00:32:17.160 --> 00:32:18.380 And I can be at the feast. 00:32:18.560 --> 00:32:20.900 But clearly, he is lacking something. 00:32:23.060 --> 00:32:27.340 And so, these are, I guess there are people who, you know, they think they're in. 00:32:27.420 --> 00:32:28.440 And they come to church. 00:32:28.539 --> 00:32:31.580 And hey, you know, yes, Israel. 00:32:32.100 --> 00:32:34.279 But now, it's the time of the Gentiles. 00:32:34.380 --> 00:32:35.220 And I come to church. 00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:35.820 And I'm okay. 00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:38.620 And actually, well, what is Jesus saying? 00:32:38.860 --> 00:32:40.500 There is still something you need. 00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:41.160 Right? 00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:42.240 It's a wonderful investigation. 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:43.700 But there is something you need. 00:32:44.560 --> 00:32:45.240 What do you need? 00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:46.539 Well, what is that wedding garment? 00:32:47.579 --> 00:32:48.579 It doesn't say. 00:32:48.859 --> 00:32:50.079 But in context. 00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:52.059 I mean, you could think of fruit, right? 00:32:52.620 --> 00:32:53.579 What does he want? 00:32:53.620 --> 00:32:55.059 He wants people producing fruit. 00:32:57.339 --> 00:32:58.339 What kind of fruit? 00:32:58.420 --> 00:32:59.519 Well, you read on, you know. 00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:04.380 You get these confrontations about loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:06.819 You know, give to Caesar what is Caesar's. 00:33:06.859 --> 00:33:08.120 Give to God what is God's. 00:33:08.119 --> 00:33:12.539 But I think that sounds like, okay, we need to produce enough fruit. 00:33:12.699 --> 00:33:13.099 And it's not. 00:33:13.559 --> 00:33:14.559 But that's not here, right? 00:33:14.619 --> 00:33:16.500 A wedding garment is a binary thing. 00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:18.079 You have it or you don't. 00:33:18.659 --> 00:33:22.439 It's not that, you know, he had a wedding garment, but it was the wrong brand. 00:33:22.679 --> 00:33:24.639 Or it wasn't white enough or whatever, right? 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:26.159 You have it or you don't. 00:33:27.459 --> 00:33:29.199 I mean, where does our fruit come from? 00:33:29.259 --> 00:33:30.880 Well, we heard it earlier this year, right? 00:33:31.220 --> 00:33:34.779 Our fruit comes from being connected to the vine, to Christ. 00:33:36.340 --> 00:33:40.299 The new tenants, well, this new temple is focused on the cornerstone. 00:33:40.840 --> 00:33:44.360 It's people who are connected to the cornerstone who are in, right? 00:33:44.360 --> 00:33:49.779 So ultimately this is, yeah, I guess this is a guy who never came to Christ. 00:33:49.880 --> 00:33:52.720 He came to church and he thought he was part of it. 00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:55.740 Actually, you do need Jesus. 00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:59.960 And that is a warning for us, right? 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:01.460 It's great to be here. 00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:06.099 And it's a great privilege actually have you come to Jesus. 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:12.599 And is that shown in your life by the fruit that should follow from that if we're connected to the vine? 00:34:14.980 --> 00:34:19.679 But let's see that in the part of a bigger picture, right? 00:34:20.260 --> 00:34:23.199 Yes, this is a messy chapter. 00:34:23.860 --> 00:34:25.460 Judgment is good and right. 00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:27.280 But it's for a good reason. 00:34:27.740 --> 00:34:29.300 And there's a wonderful invitation. 00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:32.920 Let's take it and let's just make sure we're part of it. 00:34:34.740 --> 00:34:37.480 Okay, why don't we pray and take this in? 00:34:37.539 --> 00:34:40.800 Let me just leave us for 30 seconds and then I'll pray. 00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:40.880 Amen. 00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:40.920 Amen. 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:40.960 Amen. 00:34:55.460 --> 00:35:15.900 Lord Jesus, we do stand in awe of you. 00:35:15.900 --> 00:35:17.420 We are so small. 00:35:17.420 --> 00:35:18.460 You are so great. 00:35:19.059 --> 00:35:24.079 The one who deposes nations, who changes the order of the world. 00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:36.019 But also the one who invites us now to come to him, to receive his invitation, to receive his forgiveness. 00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:36.440 Yes, Father. 00:35:36.739 --> 00:35:40.300 For all of us who've done that, pray that we would rejoice in that. 00:35:40.360 --> 00:35:44.579 We would be thankful for your privilege of being part of this. 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:46.920 Lord, we know what we deserve. 00:35:47.079 --> 00:35:49.920 We are just as unworthy as others. 00:35:49.920 --> 00:35:54.700 But, yeah, we are those who have accepted. 00:35:55.240 --> 00:35:56.200 Come to Jesus. 00:35:56.380 --> 00:35:59.000 We pray for those who haven't done yet yet. 00:35:59.300 --> 00:36:00.559 Those of us who presume. 00:36:01.180 --> 00:36:04.420 Pray that you'd make it clear to us that we need Jesus. 00:36:04.599 --> 00:36:05.920 And would we turn to him? 00:36:06.519 --> 00:36:07.380 Come to him. 00:36:07.700 --> 00:36:08.900 Come to the cornerstone. 00:36:08.900 --> 00:36:10.820 And find life. 00:36:11.079 --> 00:36:15.940 And, yeah, have what we need to be there one day at your great wedding feast. 00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:18.019 Lord, please turn our eyes to that. 00:36:18.519 --> 00:36:21.200 And help us, yeah, to see you as you are. 00:36:21.920 --> 00:36:22.960 And live that way. 00:36:23.240 --> 00:36:24.180 In Jesus' name. 00:36:24.680 --> 00:36:24.960 Amen.