Matthew 21:33-41..Working

Matthew 21:33-41..Working

21:33 Listen to another parable: (Allegory) There was a landowner (God) who planted a vineyard. (Orchard of grapevines. Metph.-Israel) He put a wall around it, (To stop wild animals from ruining the crop. God’s giving of the Law & covenant to distinguish the Jews as His special people.) dug a winepress in it (To press grapes into juice. (See below) and built a watchtower.(To guard against thieves. Also served as living quarters. Displays God’s abundant provision, care, and protection.) Then he rented (Leased) the vineyard to some farmers (Religious leaders) and went away on a journey. (Other business ventures) 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants (O.T. Prophets) to the tenants (Israel) to collect his fruit. (Rent in the form of wine, grapes, money. Metph.-Repentance, faith, obedience, right-living.) 35″The tenants (Israel’s religious leaders.) seized his servants; (O.T. Prophets) they beat one, (treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed-Luke 20:11) killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants (John the Baptist.) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them in the same way. 37 Last of all he sent his son (Jesus) to them. They will respect (revere) my son he said. 38 “But when the tenants (Israel’s rulers) saw the son, (Jesus) they said to each other, (Displays premeditation, malice, aforethought) ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ (A Jewish law that stipulated if the owner of a property died with no living relatives it could be legally claimed by anyone. The Talmud actually says after three years if the owner hasn’t been around the tenants can claim the land.) 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. (Fulfilled a few days later, having Jesus crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem. Lit.-In order not to defile the vines with blood, making the crop ceremonially unclean and unfit for market,) 40 “Therefore, when the owner (God) of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” (Religious leaders) 41 “He will bring those wretches (rotten men) to a wretched end,” (miserable death)  they (Religious leaders) replied, (They unknowingly pronounced condemnation on their own heads. Lit. Fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70 A.D.) and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, (Gentiles) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time. (faith, repentance, obedience, right-living. Because of Israel’s rejection of Jesus, God extends the Salvation to the Gentiles.)

Continued From Book

“Teaches how God calls us to be faithful Stewards with the resources and abilities He has given to us.” ⇒  Are you being good stewards with the grace of God? Are you sharing the knowledge of God, the peace of God, the mercy of God with others. What will you do with the gifts and resources that God has equipped you with. Will you do God’s good work in bringing hope to this lost, broken, and hurting world. Will you use the opportunities that God has given you to have an impact on others. Will share the Gospel with those you come into contact with, from your spouses, to your children, to your friends, to your neighbor, to your co-workers, to the cashier at Home depot, even to total strangers. Will you pray God use me for your purpose and glory in bringing more people to Your Son Jesus Christ.

“Displays the gracious patience and mercy of God in giving us opportunity after opportunity to repent and bear fruit.” ⇒ God tries again and again and again to reach us. He pursues us even when we mistreat Him, even when we ignore Him, even when we rebel against Him. He stands there with open arms, ready and willing to forgive us and receive us.  God persistently brings people into your life with the Gospel message. For some of us, we were like the farmers who rejected, mocked, and ridiculed the messengers of God. Some of us had loving Christian parents who prayed for us, loved us, and shared God’s Word with us. But we rejected them, made their life miserable, and disobeyed them and lied to them. Some of us had friends, coworkers, neighbors, or family who tried to point us to Jesus but we shunned them, ignored them, and looked down on them. But God was patient. He sent more and more people into our life. But we kept rejecting the message. We may not have murder them or beat them up. But we have killed those relationships who kept confronting us with it.

“Displays the generosity of God in providing us with everything we need to flourish and be successful.” ⇒ God has been nothing but good to us, giving us everything we need to flourish, to be happy, content, and prosperous. God has given us the resources to do His work and will………(To be Continued)

“Warns how we can start to rebel against the rightful rule and authority of God to seeking our own rule.” ⇒ We often think that if we can get rid of God we can live they way we want. Many try to shut God down by doing all they can to silence His people and His preachers. What happens when God tells you how to live, and you don’t like what He says. You don’t do it because this is your life and no one’s going to tell you how to live it. As sinful fallen creatures we don’t like to surrender or submit to anyone, even to God. For many of us God is our counselor, but not one who owns of lives. We can either take His advice or we don’t.

“Even today, we can be tempted to think that our religion, morals, goodness, and success is a result of our own hard work and we deserve it. Forgetting that it’s a gift of God to be used for His honor and glory, and blessing the rest of the world.” ⇒ Whether you acknowledge it or not it was God who created you, made you, and gave you a what you own today. Whether you believe it or not or accept it or not, it’s true. But the problem is we start to think were owners of all that we have. Our homes, our cars, our job, our success. I worked hard at it, I earned it through what I suffered, sacrificed, and gave up. Or God owes me a good, comfortable, and easy life after all I’ve done. But as Christians we need to remember that we don’t own the Vineyard. We don’t own the fruits and blessing that we enjoy. They all belong to God. We should be able to say with the Apostle Paul “He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”. (Eph. 1:3) When we start living as if God owes us this, it is mine, I deserve it. It all just starts to go downhill. Will start to lose out on God’s purpose and plan for our lives and what we were meant for. 

Additional Notes & Applications

Teaches just as the owner entrusted the Vineyard to the care of the Tenants as He went on a long journey.-(V. 33b) So too we have been entrusted with the spiritual oversight of God’s people. This is not just limited to Pastors and Church leaders. It includes everyone. If your a husband you have been entrusted with the spiritual oversight of your family. If your a parent you have been entrusted with the spiritual oversight of your children. If not careful, as with the absence of the Vineyards owner, we can think that the Lord is not coming back anytime soon, and start to abuse, belittle, insult, and take advantage of the Lord’s people.

Teaches how God does everything necessary to see that we are spiritually fruitful. That we have everything we need to share the message of the Gospel and Salvation with the rest of the world.

Teaches how God’s law and rules are a hedge put there to protect us and keep us safe that we may know right from wrong.

Teaches how God expects us to take care of the things He’s entrusted us with.

Emphasizes God’s loving grace in sending His best to the worst! God sends the best thing He has to the worst people He knows. He gives us Hs Son, His precious boy, so that we can become His sons and daughters

Teaches how it’s easy for us to point a condemning finger at others, while remaining blind to our own wickedness.

Prepares believers for rejection while sharing the Gospel Message with others. As the Servants in the parable expect to find yourself being rejected, ignored, belittled, and devalued by those you witness to care about. Sometimes it is very difficult to be the messenger of God. But we need to be patient, just like God was patient with us.

Teaches how God’s justice demands that He holds us accountable for our actions.

Teaches though God is longsuffering, His patience does not last forever, but will come to an end. God’s grace is unconditional and unlimited in scope, but not in duration, The consequences for taking advantage of God’s generosity and patience is the same now as it was back then, destruction! Because God is holy and righteous He cannot let sin go unaccounted or unpunished. But must call all people to account for their rejection of Him and His Son.

Teaches how God, by sending His Son, that Jesus is not another messenger, He’s not another simple prophet, He’s not another good teacher. He is the Divine Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. That there is only one way to the Father and it is through the Son Jesus Christ!

Teaches how God works all things for our good. Even the worst event to happen in the history of our world in the betrayal and murder of Jesus Christ by these wicked Tenants was planned and ordained by God’s sovereign decree for His glory and our good. That Jesus came into the world to die,

Teaches how no one can ever say that God is unjust when judges. Don’t miss God’s goodness because of judgment. God sent servant after servant after servant. And it was the rejection of the servants that brought judgment upon themselves. Therefore it is Us, not God who brought judgment upon ourselves. Because we’ve rejected the way out from under that judgement that was provided for us through the Son Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross for our sins.

Display the amazing love, mercy, and patience of God. Like the owner of the Vineyard, instead of sending servants, God could have sent an army of angels to wipe them off the planet earth. He could have sent a global catastrophe. He could have sent an apocalyptic meteor from outer space. He could have introduced a deadly virus. But what does He do, He sends us His Son.

Teaches how God doesn’t give up on us immediately or easily, but tries all ways to reform us and call us back to Himself.

Warns when it comes to Salvation the buck stops with Jesus, that God has sent us His and all the testimony and witness we need!

Displays how even wicked people can have a sense of justice.

Warns how there are serious repercussions to rejecting God’s only means of Salvation.

This does not mean that because Plan A fail through God now has a plan B. Plan B was part of His plan from the very beginning for the Gospel to start in Israel and go to the ends of the earth.

In biblical times it wasn’t uncommon for wealthy landowners lease out their Vineyards to tenants who would work and cultivate the land, pick the crops, and then pay a percentage of the harvest to the land owner at harvest time. Similar today, where tenant farmers are usually paid by allowing them to keep a portion of the harvest, with a fixed percentage going to the owner.  In Jesus’ time, biblical scholars tell us that it would typically be five years before the landowner would expect to see a profit from His investment. In the owner’s absence, the Tenants would cultivate the vineyard, prune the branches, and raise grape crops between the vines during the first few years. For the first few years the owner would have to support them. After those years of toil were past, the vineyard would be lucrative source of income for the owner. There was an agreement that in due time, the Tenants would pay the owner a portion of the crop in the form of wine, fruit, or money.

We have a historical record of the persecution of God’s Prophets by Israel. Tradition has it that Isaiah was sawed in two with a wooden saw.-(Heb. 11:37-38) From scripture we know that Jeremiah was thrown into a pit of mud-(Jer. 38:6) and eventually stoned to death in Egypt. Ezekiel was rejected. Elijah and Amos ran for their lives. Micah was smashed in the face and starved to death in prison.-(1-Kings 22) The Prophet Zechariah was murdered right there in the Temple Court.-(2-Chron. 24:2)

Many who heard Jesus’ parable would have been immediately reminded of the Prophet Isaiah’s Song of the Vinyard from the Old Testament.-(Is. 5:1-7)

“I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard:                                                                 My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.                                                                            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.                                 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between                                       me and my vineyard.                                                                                                                       What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?                                 When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?                                                         Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard                                                                   I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed;                                                                            I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled                                                                                 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated,                                                             and briers and thorns will grow there.                                                                                                  I will command the clouds not to rain on it.                                                                                    The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel,                                                                and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in.                                                                      And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;                                                                                for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.     

There are many similarities between these two parables. But the one major difference is that, in Isaiah’s parable, the problem is a fruitless vineyard. The nation of Israel was failing to produce the fruit of justice and righteousness resulting in God’s judgment upon His people Israel-(v. 7). In Jesus’ parable, the problem is the unrighteousness of the tenants, or leaders of the nation of Israel. The men Jesus was speaking to understood this.-(Mk. 12:12).

In the parable you would think the landowner would send in the police or come with an army to take these Tenants out. But what’s even more crazy is knowing how evil and dangerous theses tenants are. The landowner sends His own son. We would think what landowner in their right mind would send their kid to talk to such evil and wicked people like this?  What kind of Father would send his Son to people who despise his authority and mistreat his servants, to people who’ve beaten and killed every single other person that he’s sent? So there must have been an incredibly good reason God the Father did so. And that reason is because God loves us and wants to reach us and Save us no matter what it costs. We need to remember this when we doubt or wonder whether God loves us.  He does. He sent Jesus His own Son.

We have to ask ourselves, how does it go from these hired farmers who were provided land, all the tools they needed to work it, houses to sleep in, etc. Who signed a totally fair contract saying yes I’m gonna pay the owner of the Vineyard the rent that is due at harvest time. To then killing any representatives of the landowners, even his own son. What changed or shifted in their minds in thinking this Vineyard should actually belong to them. What delusions motivated them to act with such wicked and violent behavior to kill people, and then to kill the owner of the Vineyards Son! Because Jesus does not paint in the details of this as part of His parable. Were left to fill in the blanks ourselves of what is happening here. So we have understand how do you get to a place of suddenly being part of the deal to rejecting that deal in wanting it all for ourselves. We do that when we get in the mindset of thinking everything is owed us, that we deserve it and earned it. The shift happens when we start to view things as mine. And were going to do everything we can to defend what is ours. Do you find yourself in the same mindset of the Farmers in seeing your life, your opportunities, your resources, your achievements, your relationships, as yours. When in reality everything is a gift from God. And that’s the delusion that Jesus is exposing in this parable. So we have to ask ourselves what are the things that are creating a delusion, causing us to rebel and pull away from the truth and from God?

Wine-Presses were pits that were either cut out of stone or dug out of the ground and then lined with stone. Wine-Presses consisted of two parts—the upper chamber that would hold the grapes while being stepped on. The juice would then flow down a channel into a lower chamber where the juice would be left to ferment for wine. Some very primitive wine-presses are spoken of as consisting of a single excavation in the rock, lower at one end than at the other, so that the wine when pressed out might find a place to settle. The place where the grapes are put may be of stone, or of wood. Near the bottom on one side, or else in the bottom, is a closely-grated hole, through which the wine flows into the vat beneath. Metaphorically wine-press were usually always associated as a symbol of God’ wrath, judgment & destruction of the wicked-(Is. 63:3, Rev. 14:19, 19:15) But in context here it is a picture of the abundance of God’ blessings given to Israel-(Deut. 15:14) Others understand as the pressing of God’ people to produce true righteousness.

Winepress

Winepress

Winepress

Vineyard Watchtower

Walled Vineyard with Watchtower

HOW TO BE GOOD STEWARDS

• Learn what God values: Consider what matters to God and use your resources, skills, and time in ways that align with those values. 

• Donate money toward causes that are close to God’s heart: Donate to your church, a ministry, or a nonprofit organization. Support a missionary or practice generosity in your community. 

• Be spiritual leaders and examples to others

• Be trustworthy: Be honest and have integrity. 

• Be diligent: Avoid idle activities and be industrious. 

• Be prayerful: Turn to God for guidance and wisdom. 

• Be action-oriented: Be proactive in your responsibilities. 

• Share your time, talent, and treasure: Share with God and others. 

• Volunteer: Volunteer at church, events, or other places like retirement homes or homeless shelters. 

• Support other Christians: Offer to help and support your friends, relatives, and neighbors. 

• Set a budget: Make a budget and avoid impulse buying.