Unlocking the Parable of the Renters

The Trouble With Renters

I can't pay the rent because my dog ate my husbands pay check.
I can't pay the rent because when I deposited my check in the bank, they made a mistake and it will
    take two weeks to get it straightened out.
I can't pay the rent because I had a choice of paying the rent or buying a car and I bought the car. I
    knew you would understand.
I can't pay the rent because I knew my tax money was coming this week so I spent the rent money. I
    just found out my tax money is delayed.
I can't pay the rent because it is your fault my last check bounced. Why didn't you tell me you were going to go to the bank that same day.

Landlords can seem distant, indifferent and do they care more about their dirty houses or the dirty living? We think the landlord doesn't like us when the real problem is we would rather hide or runaway from the landlord. The problem of sin is we think the landlord God can't stand to be around sinners who can't stand to be in the presence of sin. The real problem is sin can't stand to be in the presence of God.

Hear again the parable of the renters:

There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country Now when the vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, "They will respect my son." But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance." So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers? They said to him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruit of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind to powder. Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

God's Vineyard

God is the owner of the vineyard. The background to Jesus parable is the song of the Vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-6.  Isaiah the prophet says,

Now let me sing of my Well-beloved a song of my Beloved regarding his vineyard. My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and  cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; So he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And now, please le Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take a hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.

Notice how God is called "Beloved." God is the one who does the work. God is looking for good fruit. Lastly, because the vineyard produces bad fruit, it is trampled down and ruined. Jesus goes onto quote Psalm 118:22 that says, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone." Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. Jesus is the cornerstone and we are his builders. The key verse in this text is the last part of the Psalm quotation, "This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Matt.21:42).

Are the works of God marvelous to our eyes or have we become so accustomed to the routine and common that they seem only mundane? The problem of religion is it often breeds overfamiliarity. We can take our faith for granted and even be careless about it. It is when I marvel at the works of God that I know I belong to God. I'm God's Beloved and I love working and serving Him. The problem develops when I have been working in God's vineyard for so long. I begin to think its mine. "I manage the vineyard so I own it. I've been going to this church for so long, It's my church!" The Bible declares its God's church!

Please Don't Kill the Messenger

I saw a fascinating movie this year called "Kill the Messenger." The movie was a true story of how our CIA and government sold drugs to Americans to take down other drug dealers in the 1990's. There was this small town reporter who broke the story and because famous. But the powers that be did everything they could to discredit the reporter and kill the messenger. This reporter was reported committing suicide later but his original story did get verified later but did not get hardly any major press at that time.

Is this not a description of God's people throughout history. God sends his prophets to speak to Israel but they persecute some and kill others. God finally sends his son and they kill him as well. Why do we always have to kill the messenger. Why is it that when anyone breaks a corruption story of our government or blows the whistle on our government that those individuals must either go to prison or wind up dead. Must we continue to kill the messenger?

Jesus says in this parable that God sends his son to us. It's not your work or your vineyard. It's God's vineyard and even the work you are doing is God power and Spirit working through you. It's all about Jesus and not about you! We are to get our eyes off ourselves and put them on Him. If we look for tool long at ourselves, we will no longer see or honor the Son. The truth is I can not clean up the mess in my life nor can I save myself. The whole point of this parable is its the Lord's doing (v.42). Jesus did for me what I could not do for myself. If you think you can do it yourself, you will end up rejecting the Son!

We talk like this is God's world but we more act and live like this is our world. We wrongly think our dirty life will somehow make Jesus unclean. We have it all backwards! His pure life will make my life clean. Every time we partake of holy communion, we are not showing how faithful we are to Jesus. Partaking of communion celebrates and marvels at the faithfulness of Jesus.

Where are You?

God is still asking the question to us as he asked to Adam and Eve in the Garden. "Where are you?" Do we want to be found? Do we even care we have lost our way? This parable speaks judgement on the temple leaders because they no longer marveled at the works of God. They did not know God was still pursuing them. I believe we need a new definition of lost today. I got this idea from Joshua Ryan Butler. The religious leaders of Jesus day saw everybody else lost but themselves? Is that you today? Hey, I'm a member of the church. Others need Jesus, not me! I already have him. Do you?

We keep telling others you need to find Jesus. Has God ever quit or stopped pursuing you? This whole parable is about what Jesus is doing for you! Lost means God is coming to find you! Lost doesn't mean you are worthless or life doesn't matter or you are an outsider. Lost means you are pursued, you are valued, you are sought after. In other words, lost means you are wondrously and marvelously loved! Will you respond to that love that has loved you with an everlasting love? God is not a mean landlord. He is a wonderful Savior. Come and surrender yourself into God's loving outstretched arms for you.