Matthew 21:33-46
He was…by all accounts…a successful man.
- This builder of fine homes in an upscale area was known to all as a creative craftsman…
- He was an astute businessman…a fair-minded employer…and a generous benefactor.
- But he was aging now…and before he set out for Florida for the winter…he approached his top superintendent and told him that he was retiring.
- I want you to build me a home…the finest home this company has ever built. Spare no expense…use the finest materials…employ the most gifted tradesmen…and build me a masterpiece before I come home next spring.
The next day…the superintendent set out to build that home…but not exactly.
- If his boss was retiring…that meant he would be losing his job…so he needed to pad his own savings account…lest he be destitute.
- He ordered inferior concrete blocks for the foundation…but charged the builder for premium blocks…and he pocketed the difference.
- He hired inexperienced carpenters…plumbers…electricians…masons…roofers and landscapers…
- But he charged his boss wages that would be paid to master craftsmen…and put the difference in his own bank account.
- He installed cheap appliances and lighting…insufficient insulation…inferior carpet…and drafty windows…and he skimmed a tidy sum off the top for himself.
- In the spring…when the home was finished…it looked spectacular.
- It was the signature home in the neighborhood…and the only thing that made the superintendent happier than how the project looked was the bottom line in his personal bank account…
- Which had grown by hundreds of thousands of dollars that winter.
When the elderly business owner arrived home from Florida that spring…he toured this home fit for a king…and he was ecstatic.
- The superintendent handed him the keys and thanked his boss for the privilege of working for him all these years.
- And then the owner did an unthinkable thing…
- He said to the superintendent: You have been a trusted friend and a loyal partner in my business for all these years…you deserve a home like this.
- And he handed him the keys.
- The Lord be with you…
When you were growing up…did your parents ever have to take anything away from you because you didn’t look after it?
- If so…you can understand what Jesus is talking about in the parable of the wicked tenants.
- It is a parable of God’s kingdom on earth.
- In the story…God is the landowner…the Jewish leaders and people who reject Jesus or do not care about him are the tenants…the Old Testament prophets are the slaves sent by the landowner…and Jesus is the landowner’s son.
- God gave the kingdom to Israel to tend and do his work…
- But they rejected their duties and turned away from God.
- In return…he sent the Old Testament prophets to warn them…but the Israelites rejected the prophets…even to the point of hurting or killing them.
- Finally…God sent his son Jesus…but he was also rejected and killed.
The parable of the wicked tenants represents our broken relationship with God…
- His attempts to repair it…and humankind’s rejection of his attempts.
- And despite our continual rejection of him…God never gives up on us.
- His love for us never diminishes.
Greed is what the parable of the wicked tenants is all about…and greed is everywhere.
- That’s why the parable is so timely and relevant today…
- As that wise homebuilder knew the heart of his superintendent…so Jesus knows the selfish condition of our hearts.
- This parable speaks of anger and hatred against God…and those who oppose him.
God had done everything possible to give Israel every advantage.
- He established an everlasting covenant with them.
- He led them through good times and bad.
- He gave them the Promised Land as their inheritance.
- He gave them the law and prophets to guide them.
- But the prophets and the common devout people were rejected by the Scribes and the Temple Leadership.
- It is ironic that the rejection of Jesus…the Christ of God……a Jew…became someone who changed history.
Nelson Mandela…for decades…was a prisoner in a South African jail…
- But he emerged to become the first president of the new South Africa.
- He was so influential…while he was in prison…that the Apartheid regime held secret meetings with him…while he was still in prison.
- Rebels…young and old…were held with him on Robben Island…
- And it became a training ground for political leaders.
- Slowly and painfully South Africa was reformed.
- A nonracial parliament was elected and chose Nelson Mandela as president.
- During his inauguration speech on May 10th 1994…he vowed that never…never…and never again…shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.
- The former prisoner was now president.
- Once rejected…he was now the cornerstone.
The attitude of the tenants is represented by the Pharisees.
- They were so concerned about obeying the Law that they came up with many rules and regulations governing what the people could and could not do.
- In time…the Pharisees developed an attitude of being entitled to God’s kingdom…
- Even though they disregarded the spirit of God’s law…and emphasized the letter of God’s law.
- They considered themselves to be the only people who were good enough for God’s kingdom.
- They rejected God…the landowner…even though they thought they were accepting him.
We have a similar attitude today.
- God’s commandments are a reminder that he has expectations for his people…
- People who have been reborn (baptized) not for privilege but for service and witness.
- Our sin is arrogance…it speaks of privilege…and misuse of freedom.
- We fall into the trap of thinking we have an automatic right to the blessings and resources…
- That are the wonderfully and beautifully given and gifted to us in creation…
- Just like the Scribes…the Pharisees and the Temple Leadership thought they had an exclusive right to the blessings God gave them.
So…our response to God’s gracious unconditional love and grace…then…is living the Marks of Discipleship…
- Put God first…Seek and do God’s will…worship regularly…Pray daily…Study and know God’s Word…Love and serve others…Give thankfully…Share the Gospel…Participate in the life of your congregation…confess sins and receive forgiveness regularly.
We are called to be stewards of our lives.
- Wherever we spend vast amounts of our time and energy working at a vocation…caring for our family…helping those in need…
- Making sure that the less fortunate get a fair deal…
- These are places for us to be conscious of the fact that we are doing work in God’s vineyard.
The task is not ours alone to complete.
- God has invested care and concern for the work we do in his vineyard.
- God’s ways are what we are trying to accomplish.
- We are only tenants…and the full responsibility for the success of our work is not ours alone.
We give thanks to God for all he has given us…including the opportunity to bear good fruit.
- We are to be thankful for the portion of worldly things that God has given us…
- Be content with what we have…and trust God to provide for the future…
- Our parable is a statement of God’s concern for his people…
- And a declaration that our Lord’s plan cannot be defeated by the powers and principalities of insidious evil.