COMMITTED TO TENANT WORK
LUKE 20:9-19
READ LUKE 20:9-19
I. THE SITUATION
The situation that Jesus describes in the opening lines of his parable is probably not a situation that the people He is teaching are unfamiliar with. There have always been men who build and then move on. Owners of farms and vineyards have always hired help to do the work. The situation is not unusual.
The owner of the vineyard left these renters or tenants in charge of his vineyard. What were they to do? Verse 10 tells us that he sent a servant to collect some of the harvest. To me, this meant that all the while the tenants were living in the vineyard, they should have also been working the land and planting. They should have kept up the facilities that were entrusted to them. They should have managed the land and also should have known they were accountable to the owner. All of us at one time or another has rented something. We know that while we have what is rented we should treat it as if it were our own, even though it is not our own. Payments need to be made to ensure that we keep the rented item.
ILLUSTRATION... Renting a chain saw
I rented a chain saw recently when a tree fell in my yard after a storm. I went down to Action Equipment in town and rented a chain saw for the day. They have all kinds of equipment. I rented a chain saw for the day and signed an agreement stating several things. It stated that I would take care of the chain saw and that I was responsible for fuel. It stated that I would pay for severe damages to it when I returned. It stated the time I was to return the chain saw and the penalties if it was late. The chain saw was also supposed to be returned cleaned and in good order or a charge would be issued. None of those things seemed out of the ordinary to me and seemed normal when renting something. There are understood rules and payments when renting something and I believe the owner and these tenants had an understanding as well.
This story is about an owner who leaves his vineyard to tenants and goes away. He expects, while he is gone, for the vineyard to be worked and harvested as if he were there himself. Make sense? Who is this story about? What is Jesus talking about? Jesus is teaching this while in the temple courts (Luke 20:1-8) and is addressing common people as well as the chief priests and elders of the people. These religious leaders knew the Scriptures and knew that Jesus was telling a story about Israel.
* Psalm 80:8-9 = "You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land."
* Isaiah 5:1-7 = "I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: 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. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress."
God the Father had blessed the nation of Israel and had given them the Promised Land. He entrusted His commands and teachings to them and expected a harvest... a spiritual harvest from them. So we have this situation: Jesus is telling a story about an owner with tenants in a vineyard which is really a story about God and the people of Israel in the Promised Land.
II. THE COMPLICATION
Yet, the story has a complication. There is a problem... it wouldn’t be much of a story or much of a sermon without some kind of issue coming up. Jesus continues His story and mentions that it comes time for harvest (verse 10). The owner sends a servant to gather some of the harvest. Perhaps it is rent due or it is his cut of the harvest. The tenants of the vineyard, Jesus tells, beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. The servant returned to the master with nothing to show for the trip to the vineyard. Verses 11 and 12 tell us that the owner sent more servants to the vineyard to collect what was his, but they were all beaten and thrown out.
The tenants are refusing to honor the agreement with the owner. Now, we know that in this story that the owner is God and the tenants refer to Israel. Who then would be the servants sent by the owner? Who was it that God sent to Israel to help them and guide them? The prophets. God sent prophet after prophet to help the people of Israel who more often than not lived their lives away from God and according to their own rules. We know some of these prophets well and some we do not: Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Nathan, Samuel, Amos, and many more. God sent these prophets to His people to help them... and how did Israel respond? More often than not, Israel did not listen.
The story has even a further complication in that the owner did not give up. The owner’s plan was to send his own son to the vineyard (verse 13). The tenants saw the son coming and talked it over and decided to kill him. Their logic was that if the heir was gone, then the property would eventually belong to no one and so they would take it over. They killed the owner’s son. The story ends with a question about the fate of the tenants in the vineyard. Jesus indicates that the owner will come and judge the tenants, kill them, and give the vineyard to others.
Now, we know that in this story that the owner is God and the tenants refer to Israel. We also know that the prophets are the servants sent by the owner. Who then is the son of the owner? Who is the representative he sends after the servants? John 3:16-17 tells us that God so loved the world that He sent His Son into the world to save it and not to condemn it. Galatians 4:4-6 tells us that at the right time God sent His Son to us and even left the Holy Spirit with us. 1 John 4:9-10 tells us that God sent His Son that we might have life through Him and that this same Son died for our sins.
You see, the complication is that some reject the Son. You see, the complication is that there are multiple witnesses for the existence of God and the offering of salvation through Jesus, but some still refuse to believe.
III. THE RESOLUTION
The people hear this story and they cry out, ‘May this never be!’ The Jews, as a nation, failed God. They were tenants of His garden and they failed. Jesus says in verse 16 that the vineyard would then be given to someone else. Who is that? You see, when you look at verse 16 and you realize that Jesus is then referring to the church, we see the application for us in our lives. Why would Jesus tell this story in this particular way? Why would Jesus include the giving of the vineyard to others?
The reason is that we, the church, are those to whom the vineyard was given and we need to be committed to tenant work. We are now those to whom the vineyard is rented and God expects returns! God expects us to work this land and produce a crop of people who be long to Him. I do not think that Jesus used a vineyard by accident in His parable because the steps needed to care for a vineyard are the same steps and efforts that we need to do when sharing faith and growing a church.
APPLICATION...Michigan State University: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modfr/26459701.html
Vineyard Establishment II: Planting and Early Care for Vineyards (simplified for the sermon of course)
Step 1: Preparing the soil and marking the field = Anyone planting a vineyard must prepare the soil and mark out where all the plants and rows will go. So it is with the Church. We as a church must make our presence known in the community and prepare the people to listen to the message of Jesus. We need to identify those people that we want to reach and perhaps those people that are out of our reach.
Step 2: Planting = The seeds must actually make it into the soil to grow. This means that the message of the Gospel must be preached and taught and shared with people outside of the church for the vineyard to grow. The message must make it from the storehouse of our hearts to the hearts of those who have not heard and not yet accepted.
Step 3: Controlling weeds and fertilizing = Part of the work of the church is to grow people in the faith and help them recognize those things that will derail their spiritual walk. The purpose statement of our church states that we want people to be growing in their faith and for them to become supporting members of the church and active in His service. This means we as a church help guide one another away from sin and we provide ways to learn and grow.
Step 4: Controlling pests, management of vines and fruit = Once people begin to grow in their faith, they need help and shepherding and love. Life continues to happen for all of us and we need the love and support of our church to make it through. We need help with the pests of life. We need help in learning and growing as we continue in our faith.
CONCLUSION
