Verses 1-11, “Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
In this parable, God represents the landowner, and the people of Israel are the vineyard. The vinedressers are generously allowed to work in the vineyard, but end up turning on the landowner and disrespecting His authority. After multiple prophets or messengers were sent by God and were treated poorly and some even killed, He sent His own Son as the final messenger. Thinking they could steal His inheritance, they killed the Son and cast Him out. When you think about it, the landowner had a rightful expectation to receive fruit, even if he wasn't present to oversee the operations. Jesus has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us, but has left us with His Spirit. Everything we've been given, including our time and money and posessions, have been entrusted to our oversight and care. We are accountable as to how we manage these resources, with the expectation that we will bear fruit of righteousness. Anything less is simply disrespectful. If we keep all of the resources we've been given for our own selfish pleasures, we should expect to be cut off from God, being a fruitless branch. John 15:5-8, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
Verse 12, “And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.” Although the priests, scribes, and elders understood the parable enough to know that Jesus was talking about them, they still refused to repent of their evil, and would rather kill the messenger...Jesus. This reaction is not uncommon when you share the truth with those who are supposed to be the "church." If you cannot deny the message because you know it's the truth, then you have to take out the messenger so you won't have to listen to the message anymore. Be encouraged if this happens to you, because you know that you are shining the light of Jesus. Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Verses 28-33, “Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, 'Which is the first commandment of all?' Jesus answered him, 'The first of all the commandments is: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.' So the scribe said to Him, 'Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.' ”
We know that fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding the things of God. Psalms 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.” This one scribe's response was right on the money in the sense that obeying God is better than all the sacrifices of man and following religious ceremonies. Verse 34, "Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' But after that no one dared question Him." God wants us to love Him more than everything else, and without this love, our acts of obedience are meaningless. As Samuel put it so well in Chapter 15:22, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams."
Even though this scribe was close to getting the truth, he was still not there yet. Jesus did not take it easy on him either, but continued to speak the truth and warn others about him as one of the scribes. Verses 38-40, “Then He said to them in His teaching, 'Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.' ” Sometimes our human side will want to back off on speaking the truth if we feel that the hearer has had too much, whether they are making some progress to understanding or that they won't receive the truth at all. We just need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and not worry about their reaction. We know that His word will not go forth void; it will have an effect, maybe just not the way you expect or want. When you speak the truth, you can trust God with the outcome.
Verses 41-44, “Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” God most certainly does not need our money, but it is important for us to give anyway, acknowledging that we are not living for this life alone, but storing up for our eternity. When we hold onto everything we have, obeying our fears, it demonstrates a lack of genuine faith. Sometimes giving is sacrificial, and it hurts you to do so, but you do it anyway, knowing that you are sowing into another kingdom. This is true faith in that you trust God to provide all things, and know that He will take care of you, even if you gave everything away. Whether you have little or much, it is still necessary to be rich toward God. Storing only for selfish earthly concerns will earn you the title of fool...just like the man in Luke 12...“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
If you struggle with giving to God, you just might have covetousness in your heart. Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Knowing that the covetous...just like the drunkards and homosexuals...will not enter the kingdom of heaven (1 Cor. 6:9-11), you should examine yourself in this area. Like all the other sins in this list, you should have been washed clean from them, not still practicing them. God has the ability to bless even the little that you have so that you have what you need. But on the contrary, He also can also put holes in your money bags so that you will never have enough, no matter how hard you work to store up your early treasure. Haggai 1:6-7, “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!” Consider it the love and grace of God, that He doesn't allow us to prosper in our sin, and uses leanness as a way to get our attention, rather than judging us immediately. All we can do in response to His grace is...repent quickly!
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