The Result of Rejection. 

When Jesus walked on this earth the religious leaders of Israel rejected him. They rejected that he was the son of God, they even rejected that he or his message was from God at any level. At one point Jesus started to tell them what was going to be the result of their rejection. As a matter of fact, he told them using three separate parables in a lengthy exchange in which he tried to illustrate to them the consequences of their rejection. Today we are going to begin looking at the second of those parables where once again Jesus explained what would be the result of their rejection.

The Parable of the Tenants

“Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So, they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”  They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The stone which the builders rejected
 Has become the chief cornerstone.
 This was the Lord’s doing,
 And it is marvellous in our eyes’?

 “Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”  Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

(Matthew 21: 33-46)

You may remember when the religious leadership in response to what they had seen on Palm Sunday with Jesus clearing the temple courtyard of money lender and sellers, they questioned his authority. In response to that he told three parables, last time we looked at the first, the parable of the two sons. Today we’re going to look at the second one, the parable of the tenants and tomorrow we’ll look at the third, the parable, The Parable of the Wedding Banquet.

The one I I want us to look at today is commonly called the parable of the landowner or sometimes called the parable of the tenants. Apparently, God considers this story to be very important as it is one of only three parables that appear in all of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The only other two are parable that are repeated in all three Gospel accounts are, the parable of the Sower, and the parable of the mustard seed, so it obviously up there with that level of importance alongside these other well know parables. This parable it’s really dealing with the result of the rejection of the religious leadership in Israel of Jesus Christ at that time, but it has some profound things to say to us today. But remember as we consider it bear in mind that this is his continued response to their questioning of him and asking him by what authority he is doing these things they have witnessed. In the previous verses they said, by what authority are you doing these things and he answers by engaging in them conversation and telling them a series of  parables.

Again, Jesus makes the point telling them a story and at the end, he even chooses to explain it in the closing two verses of this passage. We even get an added insight from Matthew as to how the religious leaders took it and responded to Jesus’s story. There are three parts to this. Firstly, we will begin by looking at the parable itself, then we’re going to look at the point Jesus made from it, and then finally, we’ll see how the religious leaders reacted to it.

The parable itself begins in verse 33, where there is a landowner, and we are told he planted a vineyard. It says he put a hedge around it and dug a wine press and built a tower. Then he leased it to some tenants.  This was a very common practice in ancient Israel, it was common for a landowner to lease out his land and go somewhere else just like we today might buy a second house and use it as a rental house.

In this parable it is very obvious that the landowner represents God that the vineyard represents Israel, as a matter of fact the vineyard is a common symbol in the scripture for Israel. The tenants, as I’m going to call them are a symbol of the custodians of Israel or the religious leaders of Israel at that time. But what I think is significant about the opening verse is that the picture is one of God having set up, prepared and taken care of his vineyard before handing it over to the custodians of Israel.

Notice the specifics, it says that he planted it, and he put a hedge around it(a sign of protection and safety and the same term used to describe the Gard. He also dug a wine press and built the tower to protect it. The tower would have provided an outlook, but it also would have housed the people that took care of the vineyard. This verse is telling us that God had a vineyard and the vineyard is a symbol of Israel, and he planted it, he provided for it, and he protected it with a tower and a hedge. On a practical level a hedge would have kept out wild boar and other animals that might trample upon the grapes. So, the picture here is that God has taken care of his own.God has taken care of us and that’s the picture that’s being painted here. Here we see he chose the nation of Israel, and he took care of them, he provided for them, he protected them, but then he handed it over and he expected that the tenants would tend the garden and the vineyards to produce .

The landowner in those days would get a certain percentage of the crop, something that might still happen today if you owned a farm and leased it out to a tenant farmer. The arrangement is usually when the harvest came, you’d get a certain percentage of the production, or the profit. Which is why, verse 34 says, “When that time came, he sent servants to the vineyard that they might receive its fruit and it says they took his servants beat one killed one and stoned another”. The landowner who’s gone away sends some servants to collect his due and the response of the tenants is they do this. Talk about ingratitude, look at what it says, they beat one, kill one, and stoned another. Most bible experts would agree that on a spiritual level this is what ancient Israel did to God’s messengers and prophets. God sent messengers to Israel, starting with Moses who gave them the Law, then David who to a great extent gave them the language of  worship. He also sent Solomon to give them wisdom he sent the prophets to give them promises of forgiveness and future salvation. Ultimately, they rejected all those messengers.

Some have figured out that the beaten one, is perhaps a reference to Jeremiah who was beaten. Isaiah according to traditions was killed and Zachariah who was stoned, according to second chronicles. So, this was Israel’s treatment of God’s messengers to them. If you were the landowner, what would you do if someone you sent on your behalf to collect the rent and they beat up or even killed them. What happens next in the parable is rather startling, particularly if you put yourself in the story. Because we see that he once again he sends more servants, and they do the same thing again. This time it simply says, “they killed them”. 

This landowner who planted this vineyard and cared for this vineyard provided for this vineyard protected this and dealt graciously with these people, even when they rejected his messengers, he still sent them more. What a striking picture that is of way God treats us. So, what does he do next. “Then last of all he sent his own son saying they will surely respect my son”. If you had any doubt before, there should now be no question in your mind, that this is a symbol of Jesus, and how God sent his son to Israel, he sent his son to teach them to be an example to them and to demonstrate the love he has for them. God sent his son this time, surely the tenants will respect his son. But the story goes on to tell us that when they saw the son approaching, they said among themselves this is the heir, come let us kill him and seize the inheritance all to ourselves.

Jesus wanted these people on that day, and by nature, even us who are reading it today to get something important from this parable, in realising that by rejecting the son we are trying to grasp hold of the inheritance of God without being answerable to God. What a picture of Father God, who is gracious and patient in his dealing with us and the lengths to which people will go to reject him and do things on their own terms.

This parable illustrates for me the incomprehensible love of God. But having said all that’s not the only point Jesus wanted to make in this passage. That’s the parable, that’s the story, that’s the picture but embedded in the parable. Let’s pick up with his explanation. 

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

(Matthew 21: 40)

Instead of making a big point Jesus just asked a question. Those who are questioning him are now being asked a very pointed question themselves. What would you do, he says, if you were that landowner. Listen to their answer.

They said to Him, “Destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.

(Matthew 21: 41)

Notice these are the religious leaders who are questioning Jesus’ authority, and in response Jesus tells them a story and then says what you would do in this situation, and they say two things. Number one, that those tenants should  be destroyed, and secondly, they would lease the vineyard to somebody else to work it. The thing I notice as I read this passage is how gracious and patient the landowner in this story is. But that’s not the point Jesus makes.

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
 This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes’?

(Matthew 21: 42)

Jesus quotes Psalm 118 verse 22 to them, which all agree is a Messianic Psalm. But what I want you to see is the imagery in this verse, the point that Jesus wants to make has to do with his rejection and he quotes a Messianic Psalm. The Psalm uses the imagery of builders who are building a building, now the parable used the imagery of a vineyard but although we’re changing the imagery and the analogy and now it's of a building, the point is the same. A building made out of stone at that time had a cornerstone. In those days when builders would look at the stones, they had to build with and they would look around and choose a cornerstone. If they found one that looked like it might fit the job and they set it apart and rejected the others. This analogy, they reject a stone which would turn out to be the cornerstone upon which everything else would be built. Again, this is a reference to the Messiah and the point is Israel rejected the very stone that God said would become the cornerstone of his plan for humanity. Now I’m going to invert the next two verses drop down to verse 44.

And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind them to powder.

(Matthew 21: 44)

So now he declares that the ones that reject the Messiah, they in a sense stumbled over him. So, the rejected stone that should have been the cornerstone upon which they built their lives becomes the stone over which they stumble. The last phase is that stone grinds them to powder points out that it may eventually even be the means of their destruction. The starting point of these guys conversation with Jesus was the fact that they came questioning his authority and his response is to say “I’m the Messiah, I’m the cornerstone” framed in parabolic form so that only those that had ears to hear would hear it. Then says because you have rejected this, and rejected me, this will become a stumbling stone to you, and it  may very well bring about your own destruction. Keep in mind the analogy in this parable helpful to think or to use the modern day idea of renting out a house, and what you do once you have thrown out a bad tenant. You’d go get a new tenant right, look at verse 43. 

Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

(Matthew 21: 43)

This is a very significant statement in the Gospel of Matthew and has profound theological ramifications. Jesus is saying you’re the leaders in Israel and because of your rejection the result of your it is going to be that God is going to take the privileges of the Kingdom of God and offering them to all the nations. The word nation here is the phrase gentiles, or more specifically the new community of faith rises out of this situation.

I need to pause here and make a couple of observations, frankly this is a little theological, one of the observations I need to make is this is called by some Bible experts the postponement of the Kingdom. Jesus, first of all came and in essence says the Kingdom of God is, at hand, do you remember that, how many episodes back was that when we started studying the Gospel of Matthew. Do you remember that way back when John the Baptist came also preaching that the Kingdom of God is at hand, then Jesus preached, the Kingdom of God is at hand he sent out the 12 to preach what the Kingdom of God would look like, and now there comes a point in the Gospel of Matthew where all of a sudden Jesus works miracles and all the people say, who is this. 

The religious leadership was really stuck now because if they say he just did that miracle by the power of God, that means he's the “Son of David”, which means they have got to submit to him. And if they say he isn’t, they have got to come up with another explanation.So, this is the brilliant explanation they come up with is they say he did it by the power of Beelzebub, Satan. And that was the point. It was 10 chapters ago that Jesus withdrew from the public ministry and started focusing on training just the 12 and it ws this point that he also began to speak in parables.

Many Bible teachers studying the Gospel of Matthew say it’s at that point that Jesus begins  teaching in parables because from that point on he is not offering the Kingdom universally anymore, just to those who have ears to hear, and that the full Kingdom is being postponed until he comes back again. In the earlier chapter it seems to me implied, but it is in this passage he says it in plain English. (Aramaic actually) Here Jesus says very clearly in verse 43, “the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to another”. So, the Kingdom of God still coming, but it’s been postponed so the gentile nations are given time to come in as well.

Let me give you a second thing I think you need to understand about this. It been temporary taken away from Israel and that’s true but that’s not permanent, Paul explains in Romans Chapter 11 that because of the disobedience of Israel the gospel was given to the gentiles but later Israel shall be saved. So, when he returns, he will once again graft Israel into his program. So, Jesus is teaching you have rejected me, you’ve rejected my authority, but let me tell you there are consequences of that rejection.

There’s one more part of this passage, their response to all this. Jesus told the parable; he made a point and here’s what they thought it meant. 

Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. 

(Matthew 21: 45)

They worked it out, they got it, they said, wow, he's talking about us. Have you ever explained the gospel to somebody that was religious, and they accept it superficially but at heart you still know they have rejected it. Let me just tell you what that means, it’s not that they don’t understand, some people even when they understand, they still say no. However, although that is what happened here, but still some of the crowd believed, which is why we see in the closing verses 

But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

(Matthew 21: 46)

What the religious leadership wanted to do was kill him, but they were afraid because some in the crowd got what was going on, so they had to figure out some other way to get rid of him. Which is what the rest of what the Gospel of Matthew will be all about. Any way that is the story, the narrative text, but now I want to sum up just what this passage is saying.

In summary, the result of the religious leaderships rejection of Jesus there are two result, personal destruction, and national loss of privileges. As a result this blessing is now  opened up to everyone else, the gentiles nations. When individuals reject Jesus Christ it’s just the same. Rejection of Jesus is rebellion against God and rebellion leads to ruin.

God had done so much to reach Israel up until the time. Yet they stoned the prophets, they killed them, and they rejected the message and that is the same exact thing that happens today. God is trying to save and us, he sent his word, he sent his messengers, and he sent his son to die to pay for our sins. This message has spread all over the earth, yet many people still say no. I don’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah the son of God, I don’t trust him. The result of rejection is still personal ruin for many today.  

The second result of the national rejection of God meant that God turned to the gentiles and formed the church as a direct result of what happens in this passage. Paul discusses this concept in great detail in Romans chapter 11, where he talks about the fact that because of the disobedience of Israel we get grafted into God’s program. Paul reaches his conclusion, and this is the climax of three chapters, 9-11, which is some of the deepest stuff in the New Testament. In the fact is that because of their disobedience we get grafted in. I want to conclude by saying how should we respond to that. Having understood these things this is how the Apostle Paul concludes.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out.

(Romans 11: 33)

Then he goes into that one of the most famous verses in all the New Testament.

Therefore, brothers and sisters,  by the mercies of God, present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God which is your reasonable service and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

(Romans 12: 1-2)

This is deep stuff, but if you understand that knowing this ought to produce gratitude, praise, and sacrificial service. I think it is always important to understanding what God’s is up to. We need to be able to look at what God is saying in his word, and what God is doing in the world and your heart should respond in gratitude for the possibilities he has opened up to you. That is maybe is the real point of all of this.  I know we all have our problems to deal with in life, but have you ever just sat down in a chair, and I say, you know what, I’m really blessed, and I just want to thank you Lord. For me it simple enough, I am thankful that I have a happy family life, my wife and my children love me, and God still lets me minister his word to people.

Just try and understand what God’s is doing and has done for you. Because if you don’t you are in danger of walking around thinking the world is falling apart and life is nothing but a struggle. But you know what, God is still in control and for that you can be grateful. Their rejection of Jesus was bad, bad for them, but good for us. Because as a result it opened our salvation up to us and the opportunity of being part of God’s program and for that we all can be deeply grateful to God for that.