Parable Of The Wicked Vineyard Workers

Luke 20:9-19

How do we react when we hear words of correction, especially if they are given rather sternly?  Do we heed the corrective message given to us, or do we become angry?  And if we become angry, does our anger turn to rage, wishing we could clobber that person, and somehow bring him down?  In our Gospel Scripture for this week, Jesus gives one of His final messages to the crowds, a word of correction, in the hopes of turning some hearts around from their continued rejection of God and His ways.  Let’s look at His message, the reaction He received, and how we might apply the message to ourselves.

As our Scripture opens, we are in the last week of Jesus’ life.  A few days earlier He had entered Jerusalem upon a donkey to the cheering crowds.  Now, within a day or two, He will be betrayed, given a mockery of a “trial”, rejected by the crowds, and taken out of the city to be crucified.  With only a handful of hours left, Jesus told His last parable to the crowds.  His audience that day included both Pharisees and other religious leaders from Jerusalem, along with the crowds in the city, many who had come to celebrate the holy days of the coming Passover.

The parable told the story of a vineyard owner, who had planted a vineyard and leased it to vinedressers or tenant farmers, and then left the country for a while.  When it was time to bring in the harvest, the owner sent some servants to collect some of the fruit.  However, the farmers abused and harmed those messengers.  The owner sent more messengers, who were treated similarly.  Finally he sent his son, thinking that he would be respected.  On the contrary, the farmers took the son out of the vineyard and killed him.  Jesus ended the parable by saying that when the owner of the vineyard returns, he would take the vineyard from those tenants and give it to others, to which His audience gave a horrified response (vs. 9-16).

Why did the people listening to this parable of Jesus give such a shocked, and almost angry response?   It was because this time they understood exactly what Jesus meant with this parable, and they did not like the meaning of it.  The owner of the vineyard represents God the Father.  The vinedressers were the Jewish people.  The servants and messengers were God’s prophets, many of whom the Scriptures record as being shamefully treated, beaten, and even killed by both the Jewish religious and political leaders.  Lastly the son of the owner represents Jesus, the Son of God.

The people of Israel were given the responsibility to follow God and be His light, His messengers to the rest of the world.  Yet when He sent His prophets and preachers to them, how were they treated?  The Old Testament records over and over again that most were rejected, and many even abused or killed.  Now Jesus, God’s Son, has come, and He knows that within a couple of days He will be taken outside of Jerusalem and killed, prophesying His death.  The kingdom and all the spiritual advantages that had been Israel’s would now be given to “others”, symbolizing the Church, which consists primarily of Gentiles.  The Church is the channel through which God has been operating since the days of the New Testament up through today.  Israel will be restored to full fellowship with God when Jesus returns.

Jesus continues His teaching in verses 17-18, where He quotes Psalm 118:22.  The chief cornerstone represents Jesus the Messiah, who the religious leaders and majority of the people have rejected.  Ignoring a cornerstone is dangerous, as a building will topple, tripping or crushing people, picturing judgment and punishment.  Jesus is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to these and all unbelievers (Isaiah 8:14; I Peter 2:7-8).

The horrified and angry response in verse 16 was because Jesus indicated that the rebellion of the people in the vineyard was to be punished, and they would receive their just reward.  The audience realized that the people, religious leaders, and nation were at the brink of reaping their consequences.  This would occur when Jerusalem and the Temple would be completely destroyed in 70 AD.

Today, just as in Jesus’ day, many people do not want God’s plan and ways in their life and for this world.  They want their own way.  They reject God, and they reject His messengers, often with harsh and vicious words and actions.  They do not want His Son, Jesus, in their lives, either.  What is your response to God, His Son, and His messengers today?  Have you received Him, or do you reject Him, like those in this parable?  Instead of saying “Certainly not”, meaning “God should not allow it”, this crowd should have been crying “God have mercy on us!”