Trust And Obey God

Matt 21:33-46 TRUST AND OBEY GOD

We just read a parable by Jesus this morning – the parable about the evil tenants.

• If you take a look at what He said before and after, you will notice that Jesus spoke THREE parables in a row.

• The first one was the parable of the two sons (CS heard it last week), then the parable of the tenants (which we are covering today), and in chapter 22 the parable of the wedding feast.

Jesus was using these parables to teach the chief priests, Pharisees and scribes – that is, the religious leaders.

• They were challenging Jesus, unwilling to believe He was their Messiah, the Son of God, prophesied in the Scriptures.

• Through the parables, Jesus gave them the chance to think and reflect, and hopefully see their mistakes, repent and believe Him.

The confrontation started in 21:12 when Jesus entered the Temple and saw that the outer court had been transformed into a market.

• People were selling and buying and Jesus “overturned the tables of the money-changes and the seats of those who sold pigeons” (21:12)

• Jesus said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” (21:13)

The religious leaders ought to know better. They had the Scriptures. They know the Word of God and the purpose of the Temple.

• But they turned it into a marketplace for their own benefit. They leased the stalls and earned from the money exchanges.

• Until Jesus stepped in and stopped all that.

It is interesting to see how Matthew records it.

• 21:15 when the religious leaders saw the wonderful things that Jesus did and the children crying out, praising God, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”, they were angry!

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• Something was wrong with their hearts. They were not concerned about PRAYING to God or PRAISING God, but their profits. Jesus has just cut off their earnings.

So when Jesus entered the Temple again in 21:23, they confronted Him.

• “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

• Jesus did not give them a direct answer. He wanted them to think.

• “Is the baptism of John the Baptist, whom they knew, from heaven or man?

• If they say from heaven, then why don’t they believe him? If they say from men, then the crowd would be angry because, to them, John was a prophet of God.

The truth is, that both John the Baptist and Jesus received their authority from God.

• The religious leaders were not willing to accept their words and believe them.

• They have rejected the prophets that God has sent.

By now, we know what’s the problem. They know the Scriptures but they are not willing to believe.

• Hence the need for Jesus to tell them the parables, not to condemn them but to awaken them from their willful disobedience.

The FIRST PARABLE (21:28-32) is about two sons receiving their father’s instruction to work in the vineyard.

• The first son said ‘I WILL NOT’ but afterwards changed his mind (repented) and went.

• The second son said, “I GO, SIR” but did not go.

• “Which of the two did the will of his father?” We all know the answer.

Which do you prefer?

• We all prefer the one who changed his mind and did what the father said.

• It’s not about knowing, it’s about doing. It’s not about knowing the Scriptures but obeying the will of God.

• Jesus went on to tell the religious leaders, even the tax collectors and prostitutes will go into God’s Kingdom because they “change their minds and believe”. They obey God.

• While the religious leaders continue to reject “the way of righteousness” (21:32) that John the Baptist preaches.

Even though they have the Scriptures and pride themselves in knowing the Word, they did not obey God’s will. They were blinded by unbelief and self-will.

Jesus went on to tell them a SECOND PARABLE – Parable of the Tenants.

• Like pouring salt on a wound, Jesus stressed the point further by giving them an even clearer picture of what He means.

• We know the religious leaders got His point because at the end, in 21:45 says when they “heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking about them.”

• Sadly, they still did not repent. The next verse in 21:46 tells us that.

In this parable, Jesus pictured Israel as a vineyard, which is a common metaphor used in OT to speak of Israel.

• God has blessed Israel and provided everything that it needs to be fruitful.

• He built a protective fence around it, a winepress to press the grapes within it, and a watch tower to guard it against enemies.