Jesus began to tell the people this parable. ‘There was a man who planted a vineyard, let it out to tenant farmers and went away for a long while. When the time came, he sent a slave to the farmers to collect from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty handed. He then sent a further slave, and they beat him, and abused him, and sent him back empty handed. Then he sent yet a third, and they beat him and threw him out.
‘So the master of the vineyard said, “What shall I do? I’ll send my beloved son. They will certainly respect him!” But when the farmers saw him they said to each other, ”This is the heir! Let’s kill him and the inheritance will belong to us!”
And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
‘So what will the master of the vineyard do? He will come and wipe out those farmers, and give the vineyard to others.’
When they heard this, they said, ‘God forbid!’ But Jesus looked round at them and said, ‘What does it mean in the scriptures when it says,
“The very stone the builders refused
Now for the corner’s top is used”?
‘Everyone who falls on that stone will be smashed to smithereens; but if it falls on anyone, it will crush them.’
The scribes and chief priests tried to lay hands on him then and there. But they were afraid of the people, because they knew that Jesus had told this parable against them.
This will be the last time Jesus’ tells us what is going to happen to Jerusalem, in the form of a parable. The imagery is powerful, it’s shocking and direct…and Luke uses it to tie together everything he has been telling us so far.
The master of the vineyard is obviously YHWH, he has let his vineyard out to tenants and gone abroad for a while…the scribes and Pharisees know that they, the leadership of Israel, are referenced here as the tenants. Any first century Jew would have understood that the slaves YHWH sent are the prophets and Jesus obviously views himself as the son, he sees himself as the rightful King sent to his Father’s tenant’s, but they wanted to block him…to keep him from the vineyard. Why? So they could keep it for themselves.
Jesus is the rightful heir to the prophets and the vineyard. He is here to bring to fulfillment their work and as he does he is also calling Israel to give the covenant God his due…honor, respect, obedience…love. Israel was entrusted with all the gifts (talents) needed to effectively bear the fruit of justice and to show forth the grace of God to the whole world around them. Rather they hunkered down, trying to keep it to and for themselves, practiced injustice within herself and were willing, through violence and any means necessary to repel and resist the world around them. Who puts a Light under a bucket? Shouldn't you rather put it on a lampstand...so that it gives Light to the whole house? They refused the way of peace and they would soon reject their final warning (Luke 19v41-44).
YHWY himself will be coming back to do justice and to vindicate his Son…and to confirm a strong covenant, the New Covenant…(Daniel 9v27)…Let the reader understand …the judgment Israel so wanted for her neighbors would fall on her at the hand of her pagan enemies for rejecting the Son …Their rejection of God’s Anointed One will be dealt with by God himself…and He will take up the task of rebuilding His people, the Messiah being the cornerstone. Yes, they may reject Yeshua now, but YHWH will vindicate him and he will become the central feature of the true temple, the place where YHWH dwells by the Spirit…His people. And Yeshua is the standard by which all are judged.
Come and see, we no longer go forward trying to get the wealthy and powerful religious people to accept God’s way of peace and love, we declare by our words and our lives and sometimes our blood…that this Way has already been vindicated, has already triumphed over all evil…Already the renewed vineyard is bearing fruit…all over the world! The new Temple is being built and its Cornerstone is already firmly in place. Praise God! Halleluiah! Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Ref. Luke for Everyone
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