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Matthew 21:33-46 – ³³ “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus keeps singing Isaiah’s love song about Yahweh’s vineyard (Is. 5:1-7). God wants to supply everything necessary for a feast – a time of wining and dining. He plants a vineyard, sets a hedge around it, digs out a winepress, and builds a watchtower to protect against marauding invaders.

But then, in our eyes, God made a mistake. “He leased the vineyard out to tenants.” Think of all the trouble God could have saved if He had simply had kept the vineyard with all of its grapes and wine for Himself. But, then, God does something even more silly, “He went into another country.”

“If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself,” we say. But that is not God’s way. He doesn’t set Himself up in the watchtower and manage the vineyard Himself. He lets the tenants figure it out for themselves. When the harvest is over and the wine is made, He expects those tenants to give Him His portion so that He and His tenants can eat, drink, and be merry together.

But the tenants see the Owner as remote and distant. So when the Owner’s servants show up asking for the Owner’s portion the tenants respond, “Yeah, good luck with that.” They think that whatever they send back to the Owner will mean less for them. So they beat one of the servants, kill another, and stone another.

If you don’t think the Owner is foolish yet, look at what He does next. “He sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.”

Finally, the Owner decides to do something so foolish it’s pathetic. He sent His Son saying, “They will respect My Son.” It looks as though the vineyard Owner underestimated how evil and opportunistic His tenants were. Why, why, would the vineyard Owner be so foolish as to send His Son while His vineyard is stained with the blood of His servants? But He does, and the Son goes willingly.

The tenants see the Son coming and figure this is their chance to make it big. “Come, let us kill the Heir and we will have His inheritance. And they threw [the Son] out of the vineyard and killed Him.”

Then Jesus asks the big question, “When the Owner of the vineyard comes, what will He do to those tenants?” There is no doubt that He will clobber and destroy them. The chief priests and elders, the leaders of the Temple, said to Jesus (lit.), “He will put those wretches to a wretched death.” You would too. You certainly wouldn’t have let things get this far. You absolutely wouldn’t have sent your own child. You probably wouldn’t have sent a second delegation of servants. You likely wouldn’t have gone to a far off country. And maybe you wouldn’t have even lent your vineyard out to anyone.

By acting with evil towards the vineyard Owner, His servants, and His Son, the tenants show that they viewed the Owner as evil.

Luther famously said, “As you believe, so it is.” If you treat God as a kill-joy who deprives you of good things, then that is the God you have. If you treat God as a threat to you and your well-being, then that is the God you have. If you think God is the kind of God who demands His rights and pays back evil for evil, then that is the God you have. If you treat God as a threat and enemy, then that is the God you have.

“The evil you think of God, you will receive from Him” (Nagel). Because the tenants are wretched, they get a wretched end. “As you believe, so it is.” If you insist that God give you what you deserve, that is all you will get. If you treat God as a threat and enemy, then that is what He will be (Nagel). But that is not what God wants.

God wants a vineyard, grapes, wine, and the joy that comes from it all (Ps. 104:14-15). God wants what is His to flow from Himself to you and to Himself again – back and forth, back and forth. That is God’s love for you.

God has set us as His tenants in His vineyard, but we have returned His kindness with sin and murder. It was at your hands and my hands that Jesus was thrown out of the vineyard to suffer, bleed, and die. The Father sent Jesus knowing we would treat Him with dishonor, and Jesus willingly came. He came and let His body be broken for you. He let His blood be shed for you. And He does not return your violence upon your heads. He gives and gives more.

Today, He willingly gives you His body and blood – in, with, and under the bread and the wine. He gives His body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins.

You can believe God is a tyrant stealing all your hard work and all your joy from you, and He will certainly do that if that is what you believe. But He doesn’t want to. God wants the joy of the harvest. He wants us to join Him in the celebration, and He calls you to play your part in furnishing the fruit and wine for the festivity (Nagel). Amen.[1]

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] I am indebted to Norman Nagel’s sermon on this text as inspiration for this sermon.