Introduction
There was one club in college that never enticed me to join; that was the Debate Club. My heart beats rapidly enough raising an objection in a meeting! The excitement of public debate is not the kind I care for. I am the kind of person who thinks best at least two days after hearing an argument, not on the spot. Jesus’ enemies are about to learn that he, on the other hand, is a master debater. Three times they will try to trap him, only to find themselves caught in his trap.
Text
27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him.
Jesus and his disciples spend the night in Bethany and travel into the city each morning. Most of his time is spent on the temple mount in the temple courts. The 35 ½ acre mount is surrounded by walls lined with porticos. These porticos are often the scene of religious classes and discussions. Jesus, no doubt, is conducting his own teaching classes for his disciples and the crowds who gather around. Also joining him are the various religious leaders and teachers who regard him as a dangerous enemy.
Why do the leaders not like Jesus? Mark tells us in verse 18 that they feared him because of they way he amazed the crowd. He embarrassed them numerous times publicly, performing miracles in such a way as to shame them for their attitudes and even pronouncing curses on them. They regard him as dangerous because of his influence over the people, an influence they want to have. They certainly consider his teachings and actions dangerous enough to disrupt order and invite further interference by the Roman authorities. Yesterday’s eruption in the temple was proof enough of that.
It is time now for them to take control of the situation and reassert their own authority. It is time to show who’s boss! The best starting place is to challenge his right to disrupt the market area in the temple. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”
The temple authorities must have been really upset over that episode. No doubt there were critics of the market place in the temple. I could easily imagine John the Baptist sharing his opinion. There was a whole religious sect called the Essenes that outright rejected the temple, believing the system had become so corrupt. But we don’t know of anyone else having the audacity to knock over the tables and stalls in the middle of the workday, or at least getting away with it like Jesus did. It is one thing to have convictions; it is another to show such disregard of the religious authorities on their turf. So again, “Who gave you, Jesus, the authority to do what you did?”
29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!”
Jesus is not resorting here to a mere evasive tactic. “Gee, I can’t answer this question; I’d better ask one they can’t answer either.” We see this often; we do it often.
“Where did you get that letter?”
“Where did you get that picture?”
“You tell me first.”
“No, you tell me first.”
His answer did relate to their answer. John had testified that he possessed even greater power than John; that he possessed the power of the Holy Spirit. John testified that he saw the Holy Spirit come in the form of a dove and baptize Jesus, i.e. anoint him with authority and power.
If the inquisitors responded that John had authority from heaven, then Jesus, as they knew so well, would have retorted, “Then why didn’t you believe his testimony about me, and, by the way, repent as he called you to do.”
They really didn’t believe John was a true prophet. At least they didn’t want to believe, because his opinion of them had been the same as Jesus’. But they were smart enough (or cowardly enough) to consider the effect of a denial in front of a crowd. Remember that the temple courts would have been crowded.
33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Until a basis can be established to determine who has authority, there certainly is no point in debating the matter. And Jesus certainly is wise enough to avoid the manipulations of his enemies to make him look like an egotistical madman claiming authority for himself and perhaps upsetting the Roman authorities. Indeed, Jesus is clever enough to shut the mouths of his opponents.
If his answer riled the temple leaders, his parable does it even more. Jesus boldly warns them of the judgment against them.
We haven’t had a parable since chapter 4. Let me note again what a parable is and Jesus’ purpose in using them. A parable is a picture or story with a moral. The reader’s or hearer’s task is to figure out the point of the story, which may or may not be easy to do. One reason the task may be difficult is that, contrary to popular belief, Jesus told many of his parables in such a way as to make them hard to understand, not easy. He liked the expression, “He who has ears, let him hear.” In other words, he told parables not so much to make his teachings clearer, as to stimulate his listeners to think more deeply. The parable is intended to entice thinking, not resolve it. Sometimes, like the one in our text, he told them so he could say harsh things without creating a commotion.
He then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
What Jesus describes is a common experience in Israel. There could very well have been some tenant farmers listening and nodding their heads. Large absent landowners rent out their land to farmers who then pay their rent by sharing a percentage of the produce or profit. What many of the Jews would have also picked up on was Jesus’ biblical reference. We have to keep this in mind. Jesus is well versed in the scriptures and much of his language is informed by them. In this case he is referring to a song in Isaiah about God’s vineyard.
I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2 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).
In that song the vineyard represents Israel. Unfortunately the vineyard turns out to be poor, yielding only bad fruit. The result is that the owner will destroy it. Is Jesus about to teach the same message? Almost. He speaks of judgment, but it takes a slightly different turn on the subject. He focuses not on the vineyard, but on the tenant farmers.
3 But they seized him [the servant], beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
I think we are picking up a pattern! The farmers don’t want to pay, and they certainly don’t want anyone coming to demand payment.
6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
That’s not such a good idea, is it? At least send the son with some bodyguards! It makes some sense that the tenants would sober up and realize they’ve gone too far. But to go unprotected…
7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
What are they thinking? Kill the son and the father will turn the vineyard over to them? They probably thought the father had died. That’s why they referred to him as the heir. Ancient law provided that if land is abandoned, then the present users of it could claim it. But the owner is not dead.
9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.
That seems like the first logical action in the story. Finally, the owner takes just action against murderers. We should be scratching our heads thinking what took him so long to act?
This is not a parable too difficult for us to figure out. God is the owner and the vineyard is Israel. The servants are the prophets, and the son, of course is Jesus. The crowd would have picked up easily on the first three; I’m not sure about identifying Jesus with the son. Nor am I sure they know who the tenants were. We do and the religious leaders know. As Mark says, they knew he had spoken the parable against them. They know that Jesus has given them the role of the tenants.
This is by no means the only time Jesus has addressed the matter of mistreating God’s prophets. He brings it up in the Sermon on the Mount. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:11-12).
I suppose that is encouraging, but Jesus surely did not mean for these next words to encourage the people he is speaking to. This parable veiled somewhat Jesus’ condemnation of the religious leaders. But these words are as clear as they are uncomfortable.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation’” (Matthew 23:29-36).
Do you understand now why the religious leaders did not take well to Jesus? He accuses them of being murderers. Murderers! What is he talking about? My goodness, they built tombs to honor the prophets. Time and again they have declared that if they had been alive at the time of the prophets they would not have taken part in their bloodshed. They are for the same things the prophets were for – obeying the law. They did not worship idols like their forefathers did. They did not murder or steal or oppress the poor. How could Jesus make such an accusation?
That was easy. He could judge them by their reaction to him. They hated him and even were trying to figure a way to have him kill early on in his ministry. They also hated John and were inwardly relieved that Herod took care of him. And though it may be true that they had not set up idols to worship and murdered and stolen, it was clear they possessed idolatrous hearts, that they worshiped their own law keeping. It was clear that they had murdered Jesus and many others in their hearts, and they had stolen and oppressed the poor through the burdensome rules and traditions they had placed on them.
The epilogue Jesus adds to his parable then gives attention to the magnitude of the son’s rejection.
10 Haven’t you read this scripture: (Psalm 118:22-23)
”‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
The stone, of course, is Jesus. His rejection is his crucifixion, and he becomes the capstone in his resurrection and ascension into glory. That is a marvelous work indeed! But who are the builders? In this case, they are the religious leaders. Catch the full force of the analogy. Who, of all people, should have known the true quality of the stone? The builders. We can see them now. “Hey, who’s the dummy that sent us this stone? That’s those quarry guys for you. They don’t know a stone that’s fit for building. Somebody dump it out of the way.”
That’s the attitude of the religious leaders towards Jesus. “Where did this guy come from? Look at how the crowds take to him. Can’t they have just a little bit of intelligence to see that he is a fraud? It’s good thing we have the expertise to know who really comes from God.”
And they should have. They are the leaders of God’s people, and they, more than anyone else, ought to have welcomed Jesus in the temple and declared him to be the Messiah. They, less than anyone else, can excuse their ignorance and their hatred. When they heard Jesus’ words they ought to have fallen on their knees in repentance. Instead, they showed their true colors. 12 Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
Lesson
Now who in this sanctuary does Jesus’ parable and warning most apply? Do you ever wonder when I am preaching if I have you in particular in mind. “He’s talking about me; I know he is!” Well, I do have an individual in mind right now. I know the person who must be the most careful not to commit the sin of the tenants and is accountable as having the least excuse for avoiding judgment. I’ve named a person before, but now is the time; it’s me!
“How could it be you?” At least I hope that is what you are thinking. On the other hand, you could be thinking, “That’s no surprise”!
So, why me? Because I am a minister of God’s Word called by God to faithfully convey to you the truth about Jesus. If I do not do so, then I have just as well as murdered him. I will be held just as guilty as those who condemned Jesus to death. And my judgment will be greater than theirs because I have less excuse to be ignorant of him and what he is about.
Now, I am a nice guy. How could a nice guy like me murder Jesus? I like Jesus. For one thing, I could preach only about nice things. I don’t enjoy preaching judgment, and there are a number of Jesus’ teachings, especially about hell, I really wish he hadn’t said. So I could cut out those not-so-nice parts. I also could make Jesus a bit smaller: keep him as a friend who just wants to be around to help us out when we need him. The parts about him being our Master who calls us to be servants, or our King who leads us into battle, or our Judge who requires righteousness – I could quite easily cut back on that kind of talk. Do you remember the sermon on mercy? That’s what I like to preach about, not the one about turning over money tables.
Anytime I, or you, pare Jesus down to a figure that we can be comfortable with, we are guilty of murdering him. He did not come to earth to become whatever each of us feels in our hearts we want him to be. He is not for some a good teacher; for some a revolutionary; for some a good role model, etc. He is the Lord Christ come to redeem his people from their sins, and he calls his people to follow him as Lord.
And I must be faithful in proclaiming that message to the full. That is why I preach through Scripture rather than merely select the scriptures that seem to me good ones to talk about. That is why I do my best to let Scripture do the preaching, rather than use it as a springboard to share my feeble wisdom.
Hopefully, you also are thinking, “What about me? I am responsible for my children, my students, my neighbors, and so.” We all to some measure have responsibility for testifying in word and action the full truth about Jesus as Savior and Lord. We all have responsibility to acknowledge him as Savior and Lord. Let us take Jesus’ warning to heart and so receive instead of judgment his blessing.
