THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PASSAGE:
In 1858 the Illinois legislature—using an obscure statute—sent Stephen A. Douglas to the U.S. Senate instead of Abraham Lincoln, although Lincoln had won the popular vote. When a sympathetic friend asked Lincoln how he felt, he said, “Like the boy who stubbed his toe: I am too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh.” (Source unknown)
Jesus begins to speak to the people in parables. He tells how an owner rented his vineyard out to tenant farmers or vine-dressers on a crop basis and then he went to stay in another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to collect his share of the crop. Instead of sharing the crop, the vine-dressers beat him up and sent him away. When the owner didn’t get his share he sent a second slave and then a third with the same results. Finally he sent his own beloved son, whom they killed.
The meaning of the parable is rather clear. The vineyard was the Jewish nation. The vine-dressers were Israel’s religious leaders. The slaves were the mistreated prophets and the beloved son was Christ. It was evident that the vine-dressers thought they could kill the son and take possession of the vineyard. By telling this story Jesus exposed the religious leaders plot to kill him and warned that their sins would be punished. This parable is full of truth that tells us certain things about God:
1. It tells us of the generosity of God. The vineyard was equipped with everything that was necessary to make the work of the cultivators easy and profitable.
2. It tells us of the trust of God. The owner went away and left the cultivators to run the vineyard themselves.
3. It tells us of the patience of God. Not once or twice but many times the master gave the cultivators the chance to pay the debt they owed.
4. It tells us of the ultimate triumph of the justice of God. Men might take advantage of the patience of God, but in the end comes judgment and justice.
APPLICATION:
Ask - Do I make Jesus feel welcome in my life? What action might make Him feel unwelcome? Do I let Him have what is rightfully His as it pertains to my time and material things?
