God's Mission In
Matthew 21:33-45
The Parable of the Tenants
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 he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 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 he 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 cornerstone;
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. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.
Pondering Point
Tuesday of Holy Week for Jesus included, beside teaching things,
- Dealing with enemies trying to trap Him with questions, and
- A series of parables that indicted those in Jewish leadership.
Once those exchanges occurred, Jesus let them know He was the Cornerstone of all God's work. They heard Him, disagreed with Him, and stepped up their efforts to arrest Him without riling up a crowd of sympathizers.
Prayer
Jesus, many people (including church and political leaders of Your day) rejected You as Messiah, but like the Apostle Peter, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16) and I know that I have life in Your name (John 20:31). I also know that You taught people to render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God’s. Recognizing Your ownership of my life, I render myself to You. Be the Cornerstone of my life as You are the church. I pray this in Your name and to the glory of our Heavenly Father. Amen.
Micro-Meditation
Psalm 51:13-19
- Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you. - Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed,
O God, you who are God my Savior
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. - Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise. - You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
- My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, O God, will not despise.
- May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem. - Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Teaching or Command of God:
Matthew 7:5
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
2 Peter 2:6
For in Scripture it says: See, I lay a stone in Zion a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.
Pondering Point
How do you (or any follower of Jesus) avoid the hypocrisy of judging others for their sin while offering excuses for our own? OR, how do you avoid the hypocrisy of forgiving others for their sin while refusing to forgive yourself for failures that God has forgiven in Jesus’ name?