2 Sons And A Vineyard Series

January 16, 2021

The Context – Jesus’s last visit to Jerusalem before His death {Matthew 21-23}:

Days before, Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem on a colt and the crowds had enthusiastically escorted Him into the city, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The Messiah, the conqueror of all the nations – especially the hated Romans – was here… And the people rejoiced!

• Matthew 21:9 - …. "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

And just yesterday… Jesus had gone into the temple and overturned the tables of the money-changers; driving out all who were buying and selling there. “My house is a house of prayer, not a den of robbers.”, He had said, and as the blind and lame came to Him to be healed, the crowds rejoiced.

But look over there in the corner at the religious elite – the Chief Priests and Elders of the People – They aren’t enthusiastic. They aren’t praising God and if looks could kill…..

The 2 groups that made up the majority of the Religious Elite {Pharisees and Sadducees} were often bitter rivals – but as the saying goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, and so they were united by one purpose ---- to STOP to Jesus.

So today…. they initiated a confrontation:

• Matthew 21:23 - Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"

The Parables

#1 – The 2 Sons {Matthew 21:28-32}:

What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' 29 "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. 31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered.

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

#2 – The Wicked Vinedressers {Matthew 21:33-46}:

There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. 38 "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 41 "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."

42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them.

The Lessons:

The 2 Sons

• Father = God

• Son #1 = Individuals living in open sin who, perhaps, were rebelling against the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, but were really using that as an excuse to refuse obedience to God’s Law – when the message of John the Baptist came to them, they repented and confessed their sins: