Good morning, church. My name is Ed. If I haven't gotten a chance to meet you, I'm one of the pastors at Trinity Cambridge. It's my joy to preach God's word this morning. Let's open up our Bibles. We're going to continue on in our series of Matthew.
Matthew, we're in chapter 21, starting in verse 33, all the way to the end of the chapter. If you are in need of a Bible, feel free to raise your hand. We'd be happy to hand you a physical copy of a Bible that you could use for now, and then hold on.
Anyone? Again, we are starting in verse 33 to the end of the chapter. Let's bow our heads as we approach God in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
this world can discourage us, beat us up.
Our flesh, we have to wrestle with it.
Satan, as we heard in the prophecy, attacks us incessantly with lies.
Lord, we come to your word,
pleading,
begging for you to illuminate it to our souls,
that we'd understand it,
not just in our heads,
but with our hearts,
and that in our hearts, that would transform, that would manifest
into our hands.
That we would grow as holistic disciples,
that in our heads, hearts, hands,
every aspect of us,
that we would be transformed.
Father, I believe in your Holy Spirit.
I believe that you can preach through
people like me,
weak mouths,
weak servants.
So please multiply
the five loaves, two fish,
that I can offer to feed the masses.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Please rise to honor the reading of God's word.
Starting in verse 33.
Hear another parable.
There was a master of a house
who planted a vineyard
and put a fence around it
and dug a wine press in it
and built a tower
and leased it to tenants
and went into another country.
When the season for fruit draw near,
he sent his servants to the tenants
to get his fruit.
And the tenants took his servants
and beat one,
killed another,
and stoned another.
Again, he sent other servants,
more than the first,
and they did the same to them.
Finally,
he sent his son to them,
saying,
They will respect my son.
But when the tenants saw the son,
they said to themselves,
This is the heir.
Come,
let us kill him
and have his inheritance.
And they took him
and threw him out of the vineyard
and killed him.
When therefore the owner
of the vineyard comes,
what will he do to those tenants?
They said to him,
He will put those wretches
to a miserable death
and let out the vineyard
to other tenants
who were given the fruits
in their seasons.
Jesus said to them,
Have you never read
in the scriptures
the stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone?
This was the Lord's doing
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Therefore I tell you,
the kingdom of God
will be taken away from you
and given to a people
producing its fruits.
And the one who falls on this stone
will be broken to pieces
and when it falls on anyone,
it will crush him.
When the chief priests
and the Pharisees
heard his parables,
they perceived
that he was speaking
about them.
And although
they were seeking
to arrest him,
they feared the crowds
because they held him
to be a prophet.
This is God's holy
and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
In my 30 years of life,
I never once wanted
to become a vegetarian.
Sorry to all the vegetarians
out there.
But I just liked
eating meat too much.
Even when I heard
about all the terrible things
about the meat industry,
the abhorrent living conditions
that the animals
have to endure,
I embarrassingly
still never wanted
to change my ways.
That is,
until I watched
the film called
Okja.
If you've never seen
the film,
it's about a young girl
who tries to rescue
her genetically engineered
pig-dog thing
from a company
that raised it
for meat.
And along the way,
she exposes
the inhumane conditions
in which these
super pigs are raised.
And she does it
by leaking
a video to the public.
So in one scene
facing major scandal
and risk
of their stock
plummeting,
the executives
of that company,
they have this
following discussion.
One says,
what about spending
some money
on media damage control?
The other says,
no point.
They'll hate us
for a bit
and then they'll forget.
Yes,
but I'm not sure
if the customers,
how they're going
to respond after today.
If it's cheap,
they'll eat it.
Oof.
Right,
that's me.
Thinking about
Okja the pig,
my wife and I
were very convicted
and ashamed
of our eating habits.
And so,
that's the story
about how we became
vegetarians.
For one week.
Now,
Okja works
because you are
immersed in the story,
you are cheering
for the good guys,
you think that you're
on their side,
but before you even
know it,
you're hit with the truth
that actually,
you're one of the bad guys.
You're part of the problem.
Now,
this sermon's not about
vegetarianism,
and nor do I think
that all Christians
need to become vegetarians,
but there's a truth
that we do need
to all accept
that Jesus addresses
today.
There are times
where we must deliver
the truth
straight up,
undiluted,
neat.
But there are also times
where we must deliver
the truth
indirectly,
on a slant.
By sharing this parable
of the wicked tenants,
Jesus does just that.
He engages
the Jewish leader's
imagination.
He bypasses
their defensiveness.
They clearly
rebuke the wicked tenants
for their arrogant pride
in rebelling
against the master.
But then,
the shoe drops.
They get it.
Jesus is talking
about them.
They are the
freeloading tenants
on borrowed land
who have rejected
all of God's messengers,
thinking that they can rule
without the master.
The word of God
has exposed
their hearts.
And written
2,000 years ago,
the word of God
exposes our own hearts
this morning.
In more ways
than one,
have we not all
declared to them,
master of the vineyard,
I want to be owner.
I want my autonomy.
I want you dead.
We,
like these wicked tenants,
should be cast
out of the vineyard
for our arrogance,
for our subversiveness,
but instead,
instead of immediately
casting us out,
the master makes
one final appeal.
The master
sends his son
as a final call
to repent
and to bear fruit.
That's the main point
of my sermon
this morning.
And so to understand
the logic of this parable,
we need to see
two things.
First,
that the master
will,
or the master
demands his fruit,
and secondly,
the master
will get
his fruit.
So here,
another parable
Jesus exhorts.
We meet
the master
of a house
who invests
his time
and money
in a very common
business venture
in the day.
It's a vineyard.
Placing a fence
around the land,
he guards
from intruders.
Digging a wine press
right there
on the property,
he sets up
the winemaking process
from start
to finish
right on site.
He builds
a watchtower,
allowing for
shelter,
storage,
visibility
over the land.
All in all,
he meticulously
sets up the vineyard,
deliberately thinking
about what these
tenants might need,
and he covers
all the bases.
In every sense,
any tenant
would be so lucky
to work this land.
And after
establishing the vineyard,
the master
entrusts it
to tenants
on a contractual
lease
common in that day.
They cultivate
and care for the land,
they invest
their time,
effort,
sweat,
blood,
and tears
to get rich
off the fruit,
and in return,
they give the owner
just a cut,
a cut of the proceeds,
a cut of the fruit.
Under this clear
lease agreement,
there is no possibility
of feigning ignorance
or citing
miscommunication.
Oh,
I didn't know
I had to pay
for the utilities.
You never said
I owe the broker's fee.
Buddy,
it's all right here,
and you signed
your name
on the dotted line.
You owe
the master
his fruit.
To those who
knew the scriptures,
like the chief
priests listening,
these details
must have
sounded familiar,
because this is
not a random story
with random details,
but this is
rather a direct
echo of Isaiah
chapter 5.
From the opening
words of the
parable alone,
Jesus is
predisposing
his listeners
to hear this
parable as a
commentary
about the
relationship
between God
and the nation
of Israel.
There, too,
a careful master
plants a vineyard,
which is Israel.
He digs a winepress
and sets up
a tower,
echoing all the
same details
of this parable.
just like here,
he expects
good fruit,
the good fruit
of repentance,
of righteousness,
justice,
mercy,
loving kindness
from them,
but despite
supplying them
with all that
they might need,
God only gets
sour,
wild grapes
from the vineyard.
The Lord
laments,
what more was
there to do
for my vineyard
that I have not
done for it?
When I looked
for it to yield
grapes,
why did it yield
wild grapes?
But after
referencing Isaiah,
Jesus introduces
a brand new
element to this
parable,
and it's
the tenants.
In Isaiah,
the problem
is with the land.
In Matthew,
the problem
is with the tenants,
the ones
to whom the
master has
entrusted
this land.
So if the
vineyard is Israel,
then the tenants
must be the
leaders of
the nation,
the chief
priests,
the scribes,
the elders.
So make no
mistake about
this parable.
The story is not
merely a general
moral lesson
about good
stewardship.
This parable
is a specific
pointed rebuke
against the
leaders,
and they will
come to know
it.
He goes on,
when the season
for fruit came,
seeing that the
vineyard is well
supplied,
and the
agreement was
clear,
the owner
rightfully sends
his servant
to the vineyard
to get what
belongs to
him,
his fruit.
You see that
possessive pronoun
repeated throughout
the parable?
It's his land,
his fruit,
his servants.
These servants
are sent as
ambassadors for
the master,
right?
While the
master is away,
they embody and
they carry all
of his authority,
and they should
be treated as
such.
They should be
treated with
respect.
But showing
their true
colors,
the tenants
reveal what
they think
about the
master and
the way that
they treat
the servants.
One after
another after
another,
these tenants
show great
contempt for
the master by
beating,
killing,
and stoning
them.
Don't just
gloss over
those details
either.
They take
one man,
someone's
son,
someone's
precious son,
and they
beat him
to a
bloody pulp.
They take
another,
someone's
precious
brother,
and they
kill him.
They take
another,
someone's
best friend,
and they
stone him
to death.
Can you
just imagine
the amount
of malice
and evil
that needs
to reside
in your
heart to
be able
to do
this?
It
doesn't
stop
there,
seeing what
happens to
his first
batch of
servants.
The master
sends even
more the
second time,
believing,
surely,
surely they
will now
surrender.
Yet,
even with
the greater
number and
presumably
greater time,
more time to
self-reflect,
these tenants
show absolutely
no shame,
no desire to
change,
no ability
to repent.
Without
batting an
eye,
they do
the same,
the same
to these
servants too.
This was
a Netflix
documentary
level of
evil,
maliciousness,
and wickedness.
A story
that when we
watch,
when we
read,
it should
make our
blood boil,
boil with
righteous
indignation,
because in
their proud
arrogance,
they think
that they
are the
master of
the land.
Again,
this is not
a fictional
tale,
this is not
just a
made-up
legend,
this was
true history.
Throughout
her history,
like in
the parable,
God sends
not armies
of angels,
but humble
servants,
bold prophets
who loved
their nation
enough to
tell the
truth,
despite what
it cost
them,
to win the
leaders of
Israel back
to obedience.
But her
rulers have
rejected God's
messengers time,
time,
and time
again.
He sent
prophet Jeremiah,
who pleaded,
reform your ways
and your actions.
But the
officials of
King Zedekiah
beat him
and cast him
to rot in a
muddy cistern.
He sent
prophet Isaiah,
who cried out,
turn to the
Lord and be
saved.
But ancient
tradition says
that King
Manasseh
ordered that
Isaiah be
killed,
being sawn
into two.
He sent
prophet Zechariah,
who rebuked,
you have
forsaken the
Lord,
a desperate
plea for them
to come back
into a right
relationship with
God.
And King
Joash ordered
that he be
stoned to
death on
holy ground.
One they
beat,
another they
killed,
another they
stoned.
This just
scratches the
surface too.
God sends
prophet after
prophet to
win them
over,
but each
time they
choose blood
over repentance.
Each time
they choose
blood over
righteousness.
It's no
wonder that
Stephen rebukes
the chief
priests and
the scribes
in Acts 7
saying,
you stiff-necked
people,
uncircumcised
in heart
and ears,
you always
resist the
Holy Spirit.
As your
fathers did,
so do you.
Which of the
prophets did
your fathers
not persecute?
So when you
read the
opening word
of verse 37,
right,
finally,
what do you
think that the
rest of the
verse might
say?
finally,
his patience
ran thin.
Finally,
the hammer
just dropped.
Finally,
God will
get his
vengeance.
It doesn't
say any of
that.
Finally,
he sent
his son.
He sends
not just a
son,
right,
but in
Mark's record
of this
parable,
he writes
still,
still he
had one
other,
a beloved
son,
a cherished
son,
a son in
whom was
all of his
delight.
This is a
picture of a
man yearning
desperately,
desperately for
these tenants
to come to
their senses
and to return
to a right
relationship
with him.
Now,
is it cruel
of a father
to send
his son
into a
bloodbath,
into the
hands of
serial killers
who have
attacked every
single messenger
before him?
Is this
wicked child
abuse?
Only if
the son
didn't want
to go too.
Only if
the father
forced him
to go
against his
will.
But we
know who
this son
really is.
This
beloved son
is Jesus
Christ,
who came
not against
his own
volition,
but willingly,
joyfully
came to
a rebellious
people like
us.
Isn't this
amazing?
As he said
in John 4,
my food
is to do
the will
of my
father who
sent me.
My food,
the thing
that gives
me life,
is to do
his will.
The only
thing crazier
than the
master sending
his son
is that
the son
willingly
goes.
Then don't
you just
marvel at
the patience
of these
two.
They
could have
come guns
blazing,
physically
imposing
their will
at any
legitimate
breach of
the contract.
That was
their legal
right to
do so.
And
compared to
us,
our
patience,
wouldn't
our patience
for illegal
freeloading
squatters,
it would
have tapped
out a long,
long time
ago.
sinful anger
is not
in the past
I've found
it easy
to believe
that anger
is only
something that
a small
subset of
people struggle
with.
Sinful anger
is only
something that
the people
who need
to go to
anger
management
classes
struggle
with.
And of
course there
are levels
to this,
but sinful
anger is
not something
that only a
few people
struggle with.
In the
best book
on anger
out there,
Good and
Angry,
in the
shortest
chapter that
I've ever
read in a
book,
David Powelson
titles a
chapter,
Do You
Have a
Serious
Problem
with Anger?
And the
chapter is
one word.
Yes.
That's it.
And why is
it such a
ubiquitous
problem?
When we
think that
something that
is our
right is
ripped away
from us,
when we
think that
something that
doesn't go
according to
our plan,
doesn't that
immediately
cause anger
to bubble
over?
You see that
anger in our
hearts when
our children
disobey us,
when a rude
driver cuts
us off,
when a
coker seeks
to upstage
you,
and out
comes the
frustration
that reveals
what we
actually believe
at the heart
of hearts,
the belief
that we
should be
in control,
that we
should be
respected,
that we
should be
God.
We are
gods over
our little
kingdoms,
and others
should know
that too.
But what
kinds of
gods would
we be?
Some struggle
with the idea
that God,
he gets
angry at
all,
that justice
and wrath
are options
for God
at all.
For some,
they believe
him to be
so vindictive
and nasty.
They think
if I were
God,
if I were
God,
I wouldn't
do it
that way.
You're
right.
If you
were God,
if you
knew all
of the
world's
sinful
thoughts,
you saw
all the
world's
sinful
actions,
would your
wrath not
furiously
been poured
out a long,
long time
ago?
Our own
wrath rises
at even
smaller
offenses.
Do not
mistake the
character of
our God,
the Lord,
a God
merciful and
gracious,
slow to
anger,
and abounding
in steadfast
love and
faithfulness.
Our God
is not
to trigger
happy in
the same
way we
are.
For him,
justice and
wrath are
not the
first,
but the
very last
options.
He exhausts
every other
option first,
even at
great personal
cost to
him,
losing servant
after servant
and ultimately
his own
son.
But now
with all
the other
options
exhausted,
everything has
come to a
head in
the sending
of his
son.
There will
be no
more chances
after this.
The author
of Hebrew
writes what
we read
earlier,
long ago
at many
times and
in many
ways God
spoke to
our fathers
by the
prophets,
but in
these days
he has
spoken to
us by
his
son.
Jesus
is the
final
revelation,
the final
messenger.
There will
be no
more
servants,
no more
prophets
who come
after the
son.
And so
everything
hinges upon
what you
think about
Jesus,
about who
Jesus is
to you.
If you're
here today
and you
have not
put your
faith in
Jesus
Christ,
I urge
you,
I urge
you,
do not
mistake the
long patience
of our
God with
indifference.
Perhaps
many of
God's own
servants have
come to
you in
the past,
sharing the
gospel,
loving on
you,
wanting you
to come
to faith.
This
church,
this body
of believers
also stands
as witness,
as one of
the sent
messengers
to you,
testifying
that you
are on
borrowed land
and you
are on
borrowed
time.
Every
day you
live is
another
opportunity
for you
to repent.
For the
Lord has
given you
time not
to continue
on in
sin,
not to
continue
to grow
your
career or
to build
your
family.
Every
day that
he's
given you
is so
that you
can come
to repentance.
We
don't
know what
tomorrow,
what
tonight
might
even
hold
for
us.
So
today
could
be
the
last
chance,
the last
chance
that you
might have
to come
to full
faith.
Surrender
ownership
to God
before it's
too late.
Our
church
yearns
for this.
But when
the tenants,
they recognize
the son,
they take
the great
kindness
of the
father and
they repay
it with
greater
evil,
people.
They
scheme
amongst
themselves,
if we
kill
his
son,
we
will
receive
his
inheritance.
And so,
like a
dog,
they cast
the son
out of
the
master
out of
the land
and they
kill him.
It's not
hard to see
the connection
with Jesus
as he was
cast out of
the city
of Jerusalem
and he
was crucified
on the
cross.
After
reading this
over and
over,
I,
for the
life of
me,
could not
understand their
logic here.
Why in
the world
would they
gain the
inheritance
if the
son were
suddenly
dead?
It makes
no sense.
That is,
unless they
assumed that
the master
was dead.
Hence,
they used
the word
inheritance
for the
first time
in this
passage.
It seems
like they
knew that
the legal
principle,
they knew
this legal
principle of
possession is
nine-tenths
of the
law.
That
ownership is
easier to
maintain
legally if
one has
possession of
something
already.
Even today
in our
law,
typically in
property
disputes,
the person
in possession
is presumed to
be the
rightful owner
until proven
otherwise.
So if they
kill the
son,
and if the
master is
dead,
there is no
one left to
claim the
land.
So they
can claim,
as we did
on the
playground,
finders,
keepers.
But before
we judge
them,
does not
every one
of our
own sins
functionally
play out
because we
believe too
that the
master is
dead?
Every sin
that we
commit truly
is a tiny
expression
of atheism.
Take a
moment to
reflect on
the sin
that you
confessed
privately
during the
confession
of the
sin.
In that
sin,
what did
you believe
about God?
Was he
real to
you?
Or did
you operate
as if he
were dead?
Would you
really slander
and gossip
about that
coworker if
you actively
remembered that
God was
listening?
Would you
watch that
video if
you actively
believed that
God was in
the room
with you?
Would you
lie on
your taxes
if you
actively knew
that God
sees it
all?
We do
this only
because in
that split
second,
we too
believe that
the master
is dead.
Even
stress and
anxiety can
be a tiny
expression of
atheism.
If you
forget that
the Lord
is alive
and well,
if you
feel like
you're on
your own,
stress and
anxiety,
it creeps
up in our
hearts.
And maybe
it's deeper
than just a
slight expression
of atheism.
Maybe there
are areas
of your
life where
you refuse
to recognize
God as
master,
as the
owner of
our lives.
Any place
truly that we
say,
Lord,
you can have
this much,
but this
relationship,
this money,
this job,
this is
mine.
You see,
what we
believe about
God,
not just
with our
heads,
but in
our hearts,
it has a
profound
impact on
how we
live our
lives.
Every
decision of
our hands,
every emotion
in our
hearts,
every thought
in our
heads is
a reflection
of what
we think
about God,
what we
believe
God
be.
So where
in your
life are
you still
living as
if the
master were
dead?
As the
tenants will
quickly find
out, the
master is
in fact not
dead, but
very much
alive.
Pulling the
chief priests
and the
scribes now
into the
conversation,
Jesus asks
them one
simple
question.
When the
owner of
the vineyard
comes,
what will
he do to
those tenants?
For all
the times
that these
leaders of
the Jewish
nation try
to trap
Jesus with
their questions,
Jesus turns
the table
on them.
With their
blood boiling
at the
thought of
these tenants,
by their
own words
they indict
themselves.
And I
actually like
the NIV
better here
because in
verse 41
it captures
the repetition
in the
Greek.
He will
bring those
wretches
to a
wretched
end.
The
master will
repay you
exactly the
punishment
that you
deserve
because you
did not
render to
the master
the fruit
that he
deserves
and you've
scorned his
servants and
his son.
Just how
will the
master judge
them though?
How will
then the
master get
his fruit?
Jesus gives
us the answer
in verses
42 to
44.
And what
initially feels
like a
sudden
detour,
Jesus questions,
have you
never read
in the
scriptures?
And he
quotes
Psalm
118
which we
read again
earlier.
A psalm
that the
Israelites
already knew
very,
very well
because they
sang it
at every
single great
festival
like Passover.
And this
psalm was
already quoted
in the chapter
of Matthew
22
during the
triumphal
entry.
So it
should have
been fresh
on the
listeners'
minds.
But Jesus'
interpretation
of this
psalm
is unlike
anyone
that Jews
have ever
heard before.
Verse 42
reads,
The stone
that the
builders
rejected
has become
the
cornerstone.
This was
the Lord's
doing and
it is
marvelous
in our
eyes.
The
cornerstone
of course
back then
was the
most important
stone in
a building
construction
project.
More
literally
translated as
head of
the corner,
the cornerstone
was the
indispensable
stone
that was
propped up
in the
corner of
the wall.
It held
the two
sides of
the walls
together.
All the
other stones
in the
building structure
they need
to shift
and adjust
according to
the shape
and the
size of
the corner
stone.
It's the
thing that
makes or
breaks a
building.
So wise
prudent
builders,
they would
carefully
search for
the highest
quality stone
for their
cornerstone.
But these
builders,
they lack
discernment.
Here
another
parable.
A woman
goes to
a market
to find
the perfect
watermelon.
In a
pile of
melons,
she picks
up each
one,
taps it,
puts her
ear to it
to see
what it
sounds like.
She
inspects
its weight,
its rind
color,
the field
spot,
the shape,
and she
is rewarded
for all
that hard
work to
find the
perfect
immaculate
watermelon.
But then
she tosses
it to
the ground.
She takes
home the
rotted
blight
one.
It's a
picture of
how the
Jewish leaders,
they searched
for the
Messiah.
The Messiah
is foretold
to be born
in Bethlehem
in the
lineage of
David.
Jesus
is born
in Bethlehem
in the
lineage of
David.
The Messiah
is to be
born a
virgin.
Jesus
is born
of a
virgin.
The Messiah
is to give
sight to
the blind
and unstop
the ears
of the
deaf.
Jesus
does all
that.
The Messiah
is to ride
into Jerusalem
on a
donkey.
Jesus
rides
into Jerusalem
on a
donkey.
The Messiah
is to be
betrayed
for 30
pieces of
silver.
Jesus
is betrayed
for 30
pieces of
silver.
The Messiah
is to have
his hands
and feet
pierced
and to die
among
transgressors.
Jesus
is nailed
to the
cross
between
two
thieves.
And the
Messiah
is to rise
from the
dead.
Jesus
walks out
of the
tomb
on the
third
day.
The final
verdict
for the
Jewish
leaders?
Meh,
must be
someone
else.
The
heart
of verse
42,
it's a
comeback
story for
the ages.
But for
whom?
The Jews
traditionally
understood
the rejected
stone that
became the
cornerstone
to refer
to
themselves.
That they
will get
ultimate
triumph over
the enemies
who despised,
who belittled
them.
But then
Jesus shocks
them with a
radically
different,
a Christocentric
interpretation
of this
verse.
The rejected
stone that
will be
exalted
as the
prized
glorified
stone
will not
be the
ethnic
nation
of Israel,
but Jesus
himself.
the
one whom
the
Jewish
leaders
rejected
as their
Messiah
by
crucifying
him on
a cross
will be
restored,
raised,
resurrected
as the
true
cornerstone.
Then
not the
enemies
of Israel,
but the
enemies
of Christ.
Those
who stumble
over the
stone,
they will
be the
ones who
will be
broken
to pieces,
upon whom
the stone
falls upon
will be
crushed.
And both
of these
clauses
harken back
to Old
Testament
passages,
like in
Isaiah and
Daniel,
where rebellious
sinners are
shattered,
utterly
shattered for
their actions.
There's an
old rabbinic
saying that
says,
if a pot
falls on
a rock,
woe to
the pot.
If a rock
falls on
a pot,
woe to
the pot.
No matter
which way
they collide,
no matter
how or
which way
you dress
it up,
between a
rock and
a pot,
it will
always be
woe to
the pot.
If the
chief priests
and anyone
else stumble
over Christ,
the rock,
they as
weak,
fragile pots,
they will be
broken.
If they
resist and
oppose him
in pride,
the weak
and brittle
pots,
they will be
crushed,
and the
kingdom of
God will
be taken
away from
them.
But the
master,
he still
needs to
get his
fruit.
The
master
demands
his
fruit,
and the
master
will
get his
fruit.
What's
his brand
new business
plan then
to get
his fruit?
The new
plan is
kind of like
the old
plan.
He decides
to lend
it out to
other tenants.
But wait,
how is that
going to
work?
For as
sinful as the
Jewish leaders
were,
they stood
as representatives
as all of
sinful
humanity.
The same
sin that
dwells in
these leaders,
it dwells
in us.
In fact,
it's not
the story
of our
true
representative
in Adam,
a man who
was given
a command
to cultivate
the land
of a garden.
He was
invited to
go to
the Garden
of Eden,
but then
trying to
play God
by eating
the forbidden
fruit.
anyone
that he
would have
chosen to
run his
vineyard
would have
sinfully
tried to
take over.
We already
see that
proclivity in
us,
right?
How many
times have
we rebelled
and spurned
against our
master?
We remember
how we
believed that
in the face
of God
that we
are the
rulers
of our
own lives.
We are
the rulers
of our
own stories.
We are
the bosses.
We get
to do
what we
want.
We owe
nothing to
anyone,
right?
No one,
not anyone
is qualified
and trusted
with this
vineyard.
So to
get his
fruit,
the Lord,
he decides
to make
a trustworthy,
righteous
people.
And he
does that
by the
Father
sending his
one and
only Son,
knowing full
well that
this would
lead to
his death.
Jesus
came of
his own
volition
to die
a death
of sinners
on behalf
of sinners
like you
and me.
We were
like these
wicked tenants
who have
hated the
master.
We wanted
him dead.
We have
rejected
his messengers,
even his
own son.
We deserve
the righteous
justice of
God for
that kind
of rebellion.
But even
while we
were still
his enemies,
Christ died
for us
to atone
for our
sins so
that he
could send
the Holy
Spirit
into our
hearts
so that he
caused us
to be born
again,
to cause
us to be
living.
In doing
so,
the Spirit
exchanges
hearts of
stone and
gives us
hearts of
flesh.
In doing
so,
the bad
trees that
once bore
no good
fruit are
transformed
to be
good trees
that bear
healthy
fruit.
Only
because
Jesus
was cast
out are
we then
now
beckoned
in.
And a
word to
my
discouraged
brothers
and
sisters.
Do you
know that
this is
you?
That you
are truly
part of
the chosen
people of
God who
are actively
producing
fruit for
him?
You may
feel like
you have
nothing to
show for
your measly
Christian life.
That you
feel like an
imposter in
the midst of
everyone else
in this
church.
That everyone
else seems
to know what
they're doing.
They have
their story.
They have
their act
together.
But I
can't even
produce
anything.
Yes,
we do
fall short
of the
glory of
God in
sin every
day.
But because
of the
grace that
you have
received,
you bear
pleasing
fruit for
the Lord.
You may
struggle to
obey, but
there is a
vast difference
between blatant
rebellion and
humble attempts
to bear the
spiritual fruit
of love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control.
There are
leagues of
differences between
you and the
previous tenants.
And it's
because of your
faith in Jesus
Christ, the
cornerstone.
Verse 43 of
our passage then
marks a shift.
A shift in what
defines the
people of God.
In the Old
Testament, in the
Old Covenant,
what separated the
people of God was
their ethnicity.
It was their
blood.
And while there
are clear
exceptions,
it was,
there are
clear exceptions,
but predominantly
by your blood,
your ancestry,
that's what
defined you as
the people of
God.
In the New
Covenant,
what matters is
no longer your
blood, your
ancestry, your
heritage, but
your faith in
Jesus Christ,
the cornerstone.
As Ephesians 2
says, both Jew
and Gentile alike
are brought
together in him,
no longer
separated,
one new people
formed in Christ.
So we are
truly the
people of God
built on the
foundations of the
apostles and the
prophets, Christ
Jesus himself being
the cornerstone in
whom the whole
structure grows into
a dwelling place for
God.
Brothers and
sisters, only by
faith in Jesus
Christ, the
cornerstone, not
by your works, not
by your performance,
are you then given
access to this
vineyard, given the
kingdom of God,
God, and you're
invited in.
So as verse 42
says, is this
raised cornerstone
truly marvelous in
your eyes?
When was the last
time that you
marveled at the
cornerstone of
Jesus Christ?
When you slowed
down enough in your
busy lives to just
marvel, to marvel at
Jesus Christ, overcome
by his love and his
grace?
When you were in
that spot, wasn't
that just the best?
When you said and
you felt with your
own heart that isn't
Jesus just the best?
When the rest of the
world finds these
flawed, cracked
stones marvelous, the
boyfriends and
girlfriends, the
family, the money, the
jobs, the popularity,
and they prop that up
as their cornerstone,
the building will
always crumble.
But we are those who
found this rejected
stone tossed to the
side and we marvel.
We simply marvel at
its matchless beauty.
We marvel at its
strength and we prop
that up.
We prop Christ up as
the cornerstone, the
foundational stone that
could bear the weight
of all of our lives.
Peter says similarly in
Acts 4, let it be
known to you, to all of
you and all the people
of Israel that by the
name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom you
crucified, whom God
raised from the dead, by
him this man is standing
before you well.
This Jesus is the stone
that was rejected by you,
the builders, which has
become the cornerstone.
And there is salvation in
no one else, for there is
no other name under heaven
given among men by which
we must be saved.
Here, this quote from
John Calvin, we see that
our whole salvation and
all its parts are
comprehended in Christ.
We should therefore take
care not to derive the
least portion of it from
anywhere else.
If we seek salvation, we
are taught by the very name
of Jesus that it is of him.
If we seek any other
gifts of the Spirit, they
will be found in his
anointing.
If we seek strength, it
lies in his dominion.
If purity, in his
conception.
If gentleness, it appears
in his birth.
If we seek redemption, it
lies in his passion.
If acquittal, in his
condemnation.
If remission of the curse,
in his cross.
If mortification of the
flesh, in his tomb.
In newness of life, in
his resurrection.
If inheritance of the
heavenly kingdom, in his
entrance into heaven.
If protection, security in
his kingdom.
In short, since rich soar of
every kind of good abounds
in him, let us drink our
fill from this fountain and
from no other.
All we need, all we want,
all we have, is in the
marvelous cornerstone of
Jesus Christ.
So, regardless of how it's
served, whether it's
straight or it's on a
slant, the truth that
Jesus Christ is the
cornerstone, that he is the
final call to repentance,
it confronts us.
There are only two options.
Repent of your ways.
Live differently.
Or carry on with the
status quo.
In our closing verses, we
read of the leader's
response to this warning.
They explicitly know that
Jesus is talking about
them.
If so, you expect some
kind of response, some
kind of reaction.
They repented, or they
considered the parables, or
they even got angry at the
parables.
Just something, right?
But radio silence.
They knew that Jesus was
talking about them, but
tragically, they just
carry on as if nothing
happened, seeking to
arrest Jesus while keeping
public face.
So how will you respond to
the message of Jesus
today?
Will you recognize and
treasure Jesus as the
cornerstone of your life?
I pray that you heed this
final call, this final call
in Jesus Christ to repent
and bear fruit from you.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we know we
are undeserving, but we
thank you that we are those
who are invited into the
vineyard, invited to be
called people of God.
And so we are, by faith,
by grace.
And we pray that you would
continue to help us to live
up to that new title, that
new reality, that we would
bear spiritual fruit for
you, and that we would
renounce all, all of our
lives to you.
That we would surrender all
the ownership to you, saying
it all belongs to you, oh
God.
Take what you will.
Do what you will.
And we want to see you
glorified in everything.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.