Pent.2108– “The Parable of the Vineyard.”  Matthew 21:33-46

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.  The text for our sermon meditation is taken from the Gospel account of St. Matthew, the 21^st Chapter:

 

"Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.  When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.  And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.  Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.  Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.'  And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.  When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"  They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons."

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

" 'The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord's doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

 

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.  And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.  And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

 

So far the reading.

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

      The parable Jesus places before the chief priests and elders is familiar to those who have grown up farming for a living.  Back in MO when a farmer rented land to farm, he made an agreement with the owner of the land to give the owner a share of the crop that was produced.  If I am not mistaken, the owner received a 1/3^rd share of the crop and the renter a 2/3^rd share.  Sometimes the owner agreed to cover the cost of preparing the land with lime and fertilizer. 

 

      However the agreement was laid out, the owner of the land expected to receive a share of the crop that was produced when harvest time came around.  I can also say that the response of the tenant farmers in the parable was never witnessed in the parishes I served.  Yet, there were neighbors who did feud over broken fences and cattle not their own that went grazing in their planted fields.  Sometimes it even looked like the situation would come to blows being exchanged.

 

      Jesus’ parable of the Vineyard and Tenant Farmers gives a somewhat similar picture, although the blows come for different reasons.  The owner of the vineyard is renting it out to tenant farmers and has entered into and agreement that when he returns from his journey, he will collect his portion of the crop that is grown.

 

      In preparation for this harvest, the owner takes great care in preparing the vineyard to produce a good crop.  While Jesus gives a brief account of such preparations, he does lead his hearers back to the parable of the vineyard in the book of the Prophet Isaiah.  There we see how well the vineyard was prepared.

 

      “My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.

      He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest                         vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as                    well.” Isaiah 5:1-2 (NIV)

 

      The fertile ground is chosen by the owner.  It is dug up, cleared of stones in preparation for planting the best vines that could be found.  To make harvest easier and watchtower and wine press are constructed.  Jesus adds that the owner built a fence around the vineyard.  Perhaps the owner used the stones that were removed from the fertile ground to do this. 

 

      When I was growing up in Michigan, my dad always planted a rather large garden in the spring.  Every year we had to go through the plowed field and gather the stones that rose to the surface in the spring thaw.  Sometimes it seemed as if it was more of a rock garden than a vegetable garden, but we always managed to clear the troublesome stones.

 

      For the owner of the vineyard in Jesus’ parable, it was not the stones that were troublesome.  Rather, it was the tenant farmers that were troublesome, even violent, greedy and self-serving.  For when the owner if the vineyard determined it was time to collect his share of the harvest, he soon realized the evil intentions that filled the hearts of the tenants he had hired.

 

      Look for a moment at how well the owner prepared everything.  There was nothing lacking in the vineyard.  The best of everything was put into the vineyard.  It was a deal that could not be passed up.  All the tenant farmers had to do was to care for the vineyard, tend to the vines, see that the vines were fertilized and properly pruned.  The fruit to come was to be plentiful.

 

      We know that Jesus is speaking first to the children of Israel as the vineyard.  The watchtower and fence are the presence of God among his people.  Perhaps referring to the Temple, but most assuredly referring to His Holy and powerful Word.  The Lord put such a hedge of protection around His servant Job.  To this end, Satan who wanted to destroy Job, told the Lord to remove this hedge, and the protection it afforded Job.  The Word of God also stands as a watchtower over the people of God.  The watchtower used to survey the vineyard and see where the vineyard would come in danger of being destroyed.

 

      Today the vineyard is the Church, those who are believers in the Son of God.  The same hedge of God’s Word and the watchtower of God’s presence remain.  The hedge is the means of grace, the place where the presence of God resides.  The simple water and the bread made of flour and wine from the fruit of the vine, these things are the watchtower from which the Lord surveys our lives and heals what would bring to us danger or destruction.

 

      Moreover, these gifts to the Church feed and nourish the vines that have been planted that they should bear fruit, and produce a rich and abundant harvest.  We are those branches on the vines.  God has put into our lives the precious and revitalizing power of his Gospel.  He keeps us within the shelter of his powerful and saving word that we would be fruitful in the works the Lord would have us to do.

 

      The chief priests and the elders understood that Jesus was speaking against them, because they drew from the parable that they were the tenant farmers.  They had been given the very Word of God and were marked with His name to be servants in His vineyard.  They falsely thought that the owner who had been away for a long time was not coming back.  So when servants were sent to gather his portion of the harvest they were treated violently by the tenant farmers.  Some were beaten until they bled.  Others were murdered, and still others were stoned to death.  The owner did this repeatedly with the same results.  All those servants sent were rejected violently. 

 

      As a final gesture of good will, the owner sent his son to collect the harvest.  Perhaps they would show respect to the heir.  Yet, that was not to be.  For the tenant farmers also rejected the son.  They took him outside the vineyard and put him to death.  From where did such evil flow?  It flowed from the greedy and covetous hearts of the tenant farmers.  They wanted the inheritance and felt it was their due reward.  They were not about to give up what they had been given.  They forgot that it was not theirs to keep, but theirs to use in accordance with the will of the owner.

 

      Jesus then asks a simple question.  After hearing this woeful tale, what did they chief priests and elders think should be done?  They said the owner should treat the wretches wretchedly.  Their sinful behavior deserved the wrath of the owner.  The lack of mercy shown by the tenant farmers should received by them from the owner.  Furthermore, the vineyard should be given to others who will give the owner what is his just due.

 

      As is often the case, we will convict ourselves with our own words.  That is what the elders and chief priests do to themselves.  Jesus confronts them with their rejection of the Son of God.  He is the stone the builders rejected.  He is the vineyard owner’s son who will be cast out of the vineyard when he comes and will be put to death. 

 

      Such action would soon be carried out, for Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion are just days away.  In these few short days which Jesus has left he is giving opportunity for those who have rejected him to repent and believe in the Son of God who comes to his Father’s vineyard to gather the harvest that is due.

 

      The Lord patiently waits for you and for me as well.  He desires us joyfully to give Him the share of His harvest.  As Jesus said to those who rejected him, so he warns us, I will take the kingdom of God away from you and give it to someone else, to a people who will produce its fruit.

 

      With regard to our life here in the United States, President Reagan once said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

 

      So it also is with the kingdom of God.  We are to keep up faithfully the work the Lord has called us be about.  We are one generation away from having this gift of God removed from us.  We do not pass it along to our children by genetics or by blood transfusion.  It is not transmitted by osmosis.  The kingdom of God is passed along through the hard work of teaching our children God’s Word and bringing them to the house of the Lord to hear His Word and sing his Word.  The kingdom of God comes to us also through the visible means of grace.  To maintain this work faithfully is sometimes difficult but always joyful.  For the blessing received far out weighs the work that is needed.

 

      Many days as children, my brothers, sister and I pulled weeds, piled rocks and slapped mosquitoes in my dad’s garden.  We even grumbled and fought with each other over whose turn it was to go out in the garden that day.  However, when the harvest time came, we enjoyed the vegetables that were picked.

 

      That is what the Lord wants for those who have been called to have a share in His eternal kingdom.  His purpose and plan is to make us fruitful and bear a bountiful harvest of His grace when he comes to gather the fruit of our faithful labors.  He has given us everything we will need to accomplish our task.  God has promised great blessings when His harvest is gathered.

 

The Lord who made you to share in His kingdom, keep you faithful unto the day of His harvest.

 

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen