Pentecost 20 – October 26th, 2014
Rev. Jeremy Cares
Matthew 21:33-43
33- “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34- When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35- The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36- Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37- Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38- But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39- So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40- Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41- “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” 42- Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43- Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
It was one of those days. Mary set out that she would do everything to make her husband, Dave happy. She woke up early and had a nice hot breakfast prepped and prepared. After breakfast she propped up the Lazy Boy and handed him the remote. It was March Madness so he could watch all the college basketball that he wanted. Lunch time came around and she ordered in pizza so he would not miss a second of the games. As evening came around she brought him drink after drink and baked him fresh chocolate chip cookies. Dave soaked every minute of it in and couldn’t stop thanking her. When the next day came around he expected the same things, but Mary was tired. It was meant to be a special day and not a start of a new normal life for Dave.
Mary had done all she could to provide for Dave’s happiness, to give him a relaxing day, enjoying the things he really liked. But after that day was over Dave’s greed sunk in. He no longer wanted it the way it was before. He wanted the special day every day. He wanted it all for himself.
In Jesus’ parable for today there was a landowner. He planted a vineyard and made sure that it had all of the best qualities any vineyard around had ever seen. He put a wall around it to protect it from any animals or people who might try to destroy the crop or steal grapes from the vines. He even added more security with a watchtower to place a guard. Inside of the vineyard he dug a winepress where all the freshly picked grapes could be prepared to be made into wine. And after all of this preparation of making it the best vineyard around, he rents it out to some farmers and entrusts it to them while he went away.
The landowner went above and beyond allowing others to be able to share in such a beautiful vineyard. Yet when harvest time came and the landowner sent his own servants to receive half of the harvest, the farmers who rented the vineyard beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. The landowner didn’t give up and sent more servants a second time yet the farmers did the same thing to them. Finally the landowner sent his own son. The farmers wanted more so they saw the son as the heir of the land and reasoned that if they got rid of the son they would receive the full rights to the vineyard. So they killed him. Even though the landowner was so generous the farmers took it all for granted and wanted it all for themselves.
We live in a society that teaches us that we are entitled to a lot of things. We’re entitled to have a house. We’re entitled to own a car, or two, or three. We’re entitled to have a job. We’re entitled to have insurance. We’re entitled to live comfortably. And then as the entitlement sinks deeper and deeper into our brains we start to convince ourselves that we’re entitled to be saved when in fact the only thing that we’re entitled to is eternal damnation.
As we look to Jesus’ words today, let us not look at them and say, “what were those farmers thinking?”, but rather put ourselves in the farmer’s shoes and say, “what are we thinking?” When we really look in depth at all that the Lord has done for us we see how greatly he has blessed us and how patient he is with us. BUT There Is an End to God’s Perfect Patience.
Earlier this year an 18-year old from New Jersey filed a lawsuit against her parents that they are still financially responsible for her. There have been several protests by McDonald’s employees that they deserve $15 minimum wage. Or who can remember the “Hot Coffee” lawsuits for millions of dollars? What is happening in our world today? Many feel that they are entitled to a piece of the pie even without contributing to it.
The farmers in the parable didn’t just want a piece of the pie, they already had that. They had use of the vineyard and 50% of its harvest. But that wasn’t good enough. They wanted more. They wanted it all.
So who do these farmers represent in the parable? They are the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day. They are the Sadducees and Pharisees. They wanted to partake of all the blessings that Jesus could provide on earth, but wanted nothing of what Jesus stood for.
The landowner represents God. God blessed the Jews with everything. In fact, he had the entire plan of their salvation ready for them and was fulfilling it for them. But it wasn’t good enough in their minds.
The servants that God sends in the parable represent all of the Old Testament prophets that God sent to the world to preach and remind the world that Jesus was coming to die for their sins. That Jesus was coming to save them.
And in the parable you see God sending his son. Yet the farmers rejected him. They threw him outside of the vineyard, just like later that actual week they would throw him outside of Jerusalem and have him crucified.
So do you see yourself in any of this parable? It shouldn’t be too hard if you examine your heart. God has done everything for you. He has watched over you constantly and never left you. Yet how easily have we been the farmers taking everything that the Lord has done for us for granted and wanting more?
The Jews wanted the beautiful “vineyard” (God’s promises for his people) for themselves. They didn’t even want to share it with God himself. And in the end what do we see God, the landowner do? He took the kingdom of God away from them and gave it to others to produce its fruit.
Dear friends, you are the new tenants of Jesus’ vineyard. You are the workers of Jesus’ vineyard. You share in the blessings that he produces. As long as you remain connected to his vineyard and his vine you will remain fruitful. That is where Jesus wants you. Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me you will bear much fruit.” Jesus Christ is the finest of life running through you. He keeps your spiritually heart beating as he feeds you and strengthens you speaking to you in his Word and cleansing you in the Sacraments. He has entrusted to you everything that only he is entitled to. Yet because he gave his life for you he has made you worthy to work in his vineyard and share in his kingdom. What blessings the Father has lavished on us his children.
But there is a danger here. God entrusted his beautiful kingdom to others before and had taken it away from them. He also carries the power to remove it once again. There will be a time when God’s Perfect Patience Will Come to an End. This will only happen in his own time. His kingdom is not ours to do whatever we want with it. He has blessed us to be a part of his kingdom all while he still holds full control. It is our duty to now share his kingdom with others and not keep it to ourselves. It is our duty to not feel like we’ve deserved to be a part of his kingdom because we have not. It is our blessed responsibility to cherish being a part of his kingdom and do all we can to strengthen it in his name. The only way we may do that is by placing all emphasis on the capstone, Jesus Christ. He is what holds the whole kingdom together. He is what brought us into his kingdom and blessed us to share in the eternal inheritance that it produces.
Dear friends, we live in an entitlement world, but we are entitled to nothing. Jesus is entitled to everything. As we live moving forward may we model the perfect patience that our God has practiced on us and help others to see how they may also join in the beautiful vineyard of God’s kingdom. For the last thing we want is for us or others to experience the perfect justice that our Lord will carry out on those who reject that it is all because of Jesus that we share in the eternal inheritance of heaven. God’s Perfect Patience Leads to Perfect Justice. And that Perfect Justice is fulfilled in CHRIST.