The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
Our Lord Jesus Christ told the two parables concerning the vineyard of the Lord in response to questions raised by the chief priests and elders of the nation.
of Israel with regard to his legitimacy (Matt. 21:28- 32 and 21:32-41). They asked: “By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?” (Matt. 21:23).
They were the Jewish authority figures and they weren’t about to cede their place to Jesus. It was not the first reported instance where they questioned his authority, nor was it the last. His origins were well known, as was the obvious power of his teachings and miracles. The Jews acknowledged both, as noted in Matthew 13:54, 55: “They were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son?” But instead of appreciating his words and miracles as the work of the Father, “they were offended in him” (Matt. 13: 57).
From indignation to murder
With the telling of the parables of the vineyard their offense was to progress beyond mere indignation. Now they were prepared to murder him; in the words of Matthew 21:46, “they sought to lay hands on him.”
This is exactly how things usually progress when we hear something that pricks our hearts and consciences. First, we are annoyed at hearing things that displease us, then we profess offense, and finally murderous intent enters our hearts.
Of course today we are too civilized to literally murder a person who speaks things that displease us. This is especially true in nations where respect for individual rights and freedom of speech prevails. (This is not necessarily true in all parts of the world even today. The author has been in places where speaking out about religious beliefs and principles would still lead one to dire straits). The bounds of culture and society prevent us from literally murdering those who speak things which displease us; instead we set out to make them “socially dead”! We ostracize them in any way possible. Denying them our platforms, shunning them on social occasions, being quick to spread rumor and gossip concerning their character and associations; these are all acts aimed at making a brother who displeases us “socially dead.”
Such behavior on the part of Christadelphians should not occur.1. It is unworthy of His name.
Let us examine these two parables of the vineyard and see why the chief priests and elders of Israel had such a strong reaction to the message.
They understood he spoke of them
Sometimes parables were difficult to understand and needed further explanation, as was the case when the disciples asked our Lord Jesus Christ to explain the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:10-11). On other occasions a parable seems to be crystal clear, but the object of the story is totally blinded by sin and a veil of darkness covers his eyes. Such was the case when David failed to recognize himself in the parable of the “ewe lamb” as told by the prophet Nathan (II Sam. 12:1-7). There are also situations where the recipient of the parable is compelled to understand the message, as it were, against their very nature. Such was the case with the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37).
The young lawyer could not escape the logic of that parable. One can only wonder whether or not his character was changed by this acknowledgement; that is, did he really “go and do likewise”? Finally, there are parables that the hearer plainly understands, but the teaching is so contrary to their own views that they have no intention of accepting the message. This is the case with the parables of the vineyard: “They perceived that he spake of them” (Matt 21:46).
The word of God can never offend the true disciple of Christ. He will carefully examine all he hears and compare scripture with scripture to see whether or not what he has heard is according to God’s word (Acts 17:11). More importantly, he will be willing to change his life in accordance with God’s teachings no matter what price he must pay.
Isaiah 5 applied to them
The chief priest and elders of Israel were not willing to change. They understood perfectly that the parable spoke of them. How could they not understand? The second of the two parables is virtually a retelling of the well-known parable recorded in Isaiah 5:1-7, but with our Lord Jesus Christ adding things concerning himself into the story!
Isaiah says he is telling a ballad of “his vineyard” (Isa. 5:1). The prophet clearly identifies this vineyard in verse 7 when he says: “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel ” Isaiah says he “fenced it,” or as the margin of many Bibles would have it, “made a wall about it.” Jesus says, “he hedged it round about.” Both Jesus and Isaiah note that the householder built a tower in the vineyard, no doubt a watchtower to keep guard against intruders.
The Law of Moses was indeed a strong watchtower and a hedge protecting Israel from the diseases, both of the body and the spirit, that infected Gentile nations. By following the Law, Israel would have been a nation without social crime and relatively free of the infectious illnesses from contaminated food, water, and from contagious contact with afflicted individuals. Moreover, the protection of God went far beyond that. When they followed Him, He was literally their general and army in battle against any foe. This was made abundantly clear in their history with such well-known incidents as the 185,000 Assyrians who perished in one night at the walls of Jerusalem without a single Israelite casualty (II Kgs. 19:35).
Violence against God’s prophets
Yet what was their response to these blessings? Our Lord Jesus Christ says they took his servants and beat, stoned and killed them (Matt.22:35); these servants were God’s prophets. Then He sent “other servants” and they treated them in the same callous manner. These “other servants” refer possibly to John the Baptist, and probably also Christ’s own disciples, all of whom the nation rejected.
There is no question the servants of the God were despicably treated by the nation of Israel. In II Chronicles 36:15-16 it is written: “The Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.”
A stinging indictment and rebuke is also given by Stephen when he connects the history of the Jews to their actions against the Son of God (the Just One): “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers” (Acts 7:52). The words of Stephen were a chilling fulfillment of the parable of the vineyard where the husbandmen said: “This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance” (Matt. 21:38).
God expected good fruit
As the householder of the vineyard, God expected it to be productive. He had made every provision for its success. The critical role viticulture played in the ancient world made the lessons of this parable especially compelling. Wine was not a commodity to be appreciated only by those of wealth and privilege, nor was it something to be indulged only on special occasions, although it was that, too, as we learn from the wedding at Cana. Wine was something drunk at every meal, usually diluted with water. The Greeks mixed one part strong wine to twenty parts water and this recipe was widely practiced throughout the ancient civilized world. Such a blend was a protection against germ infested water and the wine/water mixture was partaken by every one in the household, including small children. Hence to have an unfruitful vineyard was not merely a matter of failing to have some vintage wine available to savor on special occasions, it was a matter of life or death, for wine was the one protection against many fatal diseases that could be transmitted by contaminated water.2
God expected His vineyard to be fruitful and yield abundant life. Isaiah says instead they brought forth wild grapes. Wild grapes generally lack sufficient sugar content to make decent wine. It is the sugar in the grapes that is converted to alcohol and without sufficient sugar the wine is weak and sour. Jesus says they failed to maintain the vineyard properly and hence good fruit could not be harvested.
Furthermore, they rejected all messengers sent by the householder to warn them of their failure and to implore them to work harder doing their Master’s service. What was to be done to such poor workers? The hearers of the parable were forced to give the answer, literally a self indictment: “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which will render him the fruits in their due seasons” (Matt. 21:41).
Bad management to be replaced
In the first parable Jesus went further in chastising the chief priests and elders when he told them who would potentially replace them as heirs of the vineyard: “That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matt. 21:31). It was a powerful lesson for them and for us: be careful whom you despise. God was to expel the nation of Israel from His vineyard and “give it to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof’ (v. 43).
Who was that nation? It is tempting to make a broad interpretation in answer to this question based on the metaphor of the two sons, by considering the first to be the Jews and the latter as the Gentiles. But that would obviously be too inclusive, since most Gentile nations are no more inclined, in fact in most instances even less so, to do the will of God than were the scribes, Pharisees, chief priests, and elders of Israel at the time of Christ.
If God is the householder (v.33) then who now occupies His house? The answer is given in I Timothy 3:15, where the Apostle Paul says: “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church (ecclesia) of the living God.” The house of God is the ecclesia and there can be no disputing the meaning of the words of the Apostle. Collectively, as an ecclesia we are the modem equivalent of the servants in the vineyard of the Lord.
God has fenced it round about with the power of His word and He has given us a strong tower by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that can enable us to overcome any adversary. He has given us this vineyard and He expects us to be fruitful. Let us not be slothful, but let us labor with all our might and strength, for the day is coming when the householder will send His Son and heir and we will be required to give an accounting of our stewardship. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Cor. 15:58).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One