Occasionally, I have people contact me who need financial assistance with rent, utilities, gas, food, etc. This is the purpose of the benevolent fund at the church. I am glad to help when the need is legitimate. To ensure the funds are used for their intended purpose, I never give cash, but will generally send a check to the company requesting payment. I can also take care of some of these needs with a debit card we have on the account.
However, this can get tricky at times. When I call to make a payment, I will get the account number, username, and password from the family in need. Even when all those things are correct, some companies will not allow me to interact with them because it is not my name on the account. The only one they will talk with is the account holder. There is only one to whom they will respond.
This is a weak illustration of a significantly more important point that Jesus wants to make in the parable found in Matthew 21:33-44. This is a unique parable in that it is directed toward a specific group of people to deal with a specific problem. However, it has an eternally meaningful application for all of us.
We find the encounter Jesus has with the Pharisees within days of his crucifixion. The disciples of Jesus are not aware of the significance of this week. These Jewish leaders know they want Jesus gone, but they do not know it will happen this week either. Because Jesus is omniscient, he knows God’s time is now.
This parable is a warning to the Jews of the consequences of rejecting Jesus as the true Messiah; the only one to whom they should respond. The story is of a landowner who sends his servant to collect the proceeds from the vineyard he has rented to some farmers. When his servants arrive, the tenants refuse to pay and abuse the servants, even killing one. The landowner sent another, larger group of servants who were treated the same way. Finally, he sent his son, thinking the tenants would surely honor him. But in their greed to keep the proceeds for themselves, they kill the son as well.
The landowner represents God the Father who is the Master of his eternal kingdom. The tenants are people of this word whom God calls to repentance and faith. The servants symbolize the Old Testament prophets whom God sent to call people to that place of repentance and faith. When they were rejected, God sent his own Son with a clear message of love, faith, and redemption. However, the Jews chose to hang on to their own traditions and beliefs. Their rejection of God’s truth was so great, they killed his Son.
Although the audience and delivery of this parable differs from most of the others, the application is the same. Jesu is declaring the truth about the Kingdom of God. In fact, this is the ultimate truth. The consequences of rejecting this truth are severe and eternal. In his judgement of the Pharisees and chief priests, he says this in verses 42-44, Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ” ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
The message to us is clear. We MUST NOT reject the Son. We may not be as aggressive in our rejection as the tenants, but failure to submit ourselves totally to Jesus and allowing this world to control our lives is a form of rejection.
The good news is, we can choose today to place our full confidence in Jesus alone for our salvation and live in the hope of his eternal Kingdom. All we need to do is humbly ask.