THE PARABLE OF THE TENANTS

Luke 20:1-19

Key Verse: 20:13

     "Then the owner of the vineyard said, `What shall I do? I will

     send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'"

In the last passage Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey's colt. Jesus knew what awaited him there: he would suffer and die on the cross for the sin of the world. From a human point of view, it was humiliation and defeat. However, Spiritually speaking, it was spiritual and eternal victory. Therefore, Jesus entered Jerusalem with a sense of victory in his heart.

In today's passage the religious leaders come to Jesus to challenge his authority. Jesus exposes their hypocrisy and defuses their attack. And Jesus also told the parable of the tenants to help them. This brief parable summarizes the history of God's work in Israel and foresees its future. May God bless our bible study and teach us our basic attitude as tenant of his vineyard.

I. By what authority? (1-8)

Look at verse 1 “One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him.” Now Jesus was in the temple courts teaching the people and preaching the gospel. Before Jesus' coming, the temple had been used as a business center by the chief priests and their agents.

  As Jesus taught the word of God, those listening were captivated by his words. Jesus had a true authority to move any person’s heart through his word. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders who were jealous of Jesus interrupted the beautiful Jesus’ Bible study. They said to Jesus, "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things. Who gave you this authority?" They did not think about what was right before God. They did not care that dying souls were being brought to life by God's word. They disrupted Jesus' life-giving Bible teaching by raising the issue of authority. In order to hinder people from coming to Jesus. What did they mean by "authority"? They meant that their authority as servant of God comes from the religious hierarchy or political power. So they came to Jesus and said. “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said. "Who gave you this authority?" They wanted to accuse Jesus of teaching the word of God without a license.

 What did Jesus say to them? Look at verses 3-4. "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, John's baptism--was it from heaven, or from men?" When they heard Jesus' question, they realized they were in deep trouble. Why? If they said, "from heaven," Jesus would ask why they did not believe him. But if they said, "from men," they could be stoned by the people who all believed that John was a prophet. So they said, "We don't know. Actually, they knew but they pretended not to know, they were nothing but liars and hypocrites

II the parable of the tenants (9-16a).

     Jesus did not stop with neutralizing the threat of the religious leaders. He went on to tell them a parable, the parable of the tenants, in order to teach them their basic attitude as a servant of God. The parable of the tenants is a summary of God's history through his chosen people Israel. Jesus wanted the religious leaders to realize that God was the sovereign Ruler and come back to their senses. Look at verse 9b. "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time." Here "A man" refers to God.

"Some farmers" refers to the chosen people Israel, and the "vineyard" to their nation with its special blessings and privileges given by God (Isa 5:1-7). God had redeemed the people of Israel from cruel bondage in Egypt through mighty acts of judgment. God trained them for forty years in the wilderness. Then he led them to the land of Israel and helped them conquer the land. In Joshua 24:13 God said to them, "So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant." God did this to use them for his holy purpose, as he said in the book of in Exodus 19:5,6a, God said "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Therefore, they must regard their nation Israel as God's possession and do their best to fulfill their holy duty to preach the gospel to the world. When they did so, they would bear much fruit for God and be truly happy. But, they didn’t live according to this God’s holy command

     Look at verse 10a. "At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard." The owner didn’t send his servant to the tenants, to ask them their whole fruits but to ask them only some of the fruits. It seems that the owner was expecting them to give him some fruit out of their thanks and respect, so that they could maintain a proper love relationship with the owner.

     How did the tenants respond? Look at verse 10b. "But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed." What a surprise! The tenants beat the owner's servant. How could they do such a terrible things. Because It was the power of sin in them. Sin deceived them and made them think the vineyard was their own. So they saw the owner's representative as a threat. They treated him like an enemy, beating him and sending him away empty-handed. This is the exact description of fallen man's mentality. Romans 1:21 explain this so well. It says, "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." Sinful man is not rational at all. Sinful man is irrational and he is wicked to the degree that he deliberately forgets about God, the owner of the vineyard. In Hosea 13:5,6 says, God also said "I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me."

     The tenants' act of rebellion against the owner was unforgivable. They could have been punished immediately and severely. But the owner did not do that he was a kind and generous owner. Look at verse 11. "He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed." The owner gave them another chance. It was nothing but the one-sided grace and forbearance of the owner. But the tenants did not recognize this grace. Instead, they became bolder in their defiance. This time, Not only did they beat this servant, they treated him shamefully. The power of sin grows like this. When men abuse God's grace they become more evil than before. When the third servant came, they wounded him badly and threw them out.

Now the second servant came back beaten and wounded. What did the owner of the vineyard do? Look at verse 13. "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'" By now, the owner knew that the tenants' actions were deliberate and that they did not show proper respect to his representatives. So He would have been justified, even if he to throw them out of the vineyard and to file criminal charges against them. But he did not this time. He decided to send his son to them. His son was the object of his affection. However, by sending his son, he wanted to show them how much he loved them and trusted them. He was willing to risk his son's life to restore a right love relationship with the tenants. This shows us the heart of God. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." How amazing the love of God is! God demonstrated his love by sending his one and only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins!

 Look at verses 14,15. This time, they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him." The tenants totally misunderstood the owner's intention in sending his son. They did not realize that the owner respected them and loved them and wanted to restore their relationship. But they killed his son.

     What did the owner of the vineyard do? Look at verse 16a. "He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." Until now, the owner had dealt with the tenants with longsuffering patience. As long as there was a possibility for them to repent, he sacrificed everything to try to restore them. But when they killed his son, the owner thought they went too far. The owner came and so killed them and gave the vineyard to others. Jesus knew the people of Jerusalem would reject him as King and he would be crucified on the cross outside the city. Then God's terrible punishment would come upon them. Their privilege as chosen people

would be taken away and given to others---to the Christian church.

     This parable was told to the people of Israel. But it also applies to all mankind. God is the Creator and owner of all things. God made us in his own image to be the stewards of his world. It is our basic duty to give thanks to him always. This is why St. Paul said, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." No matter what, we must thank God. May God help us to remember his grace and thank him always because God is the owner of our vineyard and we are his tenants.