The Worlds Okayest Pastor

So You Thought It Was Your Vineyard?

• Jason Cline

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A vineyard planted with care, tenants entrusted with everything they need, and a shocking grab for what was never theirs—Jesus’ parable lands with precision on our modern church life. We walk through the story in Matthew 21, link it to Isaiah 5’s vineyard song and Psalm 118’s cornerstone, and confront the subtle ways religious confidence mutates into control. The message is both direct and freeing: the mission belongs to God, and the Son is the non‑negotiable center of the kingdom.

We talk plainly about how stewardship turns into ownership when leaders and congregations make church about style, platform, or tribe. Grace becomes offensive when it reaches people we’d rather keep outside, and that’s exactly where Jesus presses. From there, we explore what fruit looks like in real terms—repentance that sticks, generosity that costs, service that doesn’t seek applause, and discipleship that resists the pull to become consumers. If everything we have is on loan—time, money, reputation—then returning the harvest to the Owner changes how we plan, spend, and lead.

Along the way, we contrast empty religion with a surrendered life anchored in Jesus alone. The cornerstone both supports and confronts: bow to him and be built up; stumble over him and fracture on pride. Our aim is simple and sweeping—use every gift God has placed in our hands to make heaven crowded. If this conversation helps you refocus on the mission, share it with a friend, subscribe for more teaching, and leave a review so others can find the show. What part of your “vineyard” will you return to the Owner this week?

SPEAKER_01:

Hold on. You gotta recount a lunch.

SPEAKER_02:

Now listen to another story. A certain landowner vented a vineyard. Vineyard. Build build a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice. And built a lookout tower. Then healed leased the vineyard to tenant farmers. Tenant farmers and moved and moved to another country. At that time of the great harvest, he sent his servants to collect his his share of the crop. But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. So the landowner sent a large group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same. Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking surely they will respect my son. But when the tenant farmers saw his his son coming, they said to another here comes the over here.

SPEAKER_00:

The air the air. The estate to this.

SPEAKER_02:

Come on, let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves. So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him. When the owner of the vineyard returned, Jesus asked Jesus asked, What do you think he would do to the to those farmers? The religious leader leaders replied, He will put he will put the wicked man to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to another who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest. Then Jesus asked them, didn't you e ever read this in the scriptures? The stone that that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. Cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing. And it's it is wonderful to see. I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce produce the proper food. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces and it will crash crush anyone it falls on. When the leading priest priest and Pharisees Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them. They were the wicked. They wanted to arrest him, but they weren't afraid of the crowds who considered Jesus to be a prophet. Prophet.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks, Eric. So yeah. Again, we're we're talking about parables. We've been going through the teachings of Jesus. And so this parable in Matthew 21, verses 33 through 45, uh, falls into what is known as a kingdom parable. So uh we talked about this last week, the the kingdom parable. Um we talked about the idea of grace last week. That that was an important um concept, right? That Jesus is speaking specifically of how the kingdom of God works. And so again, here we have another parable um that comes into play. So this is shortly after Jesus has arrived in New Jerusalem. So we're getting to the end of his time. Um he's arrived, that he's getting ready for uh eventually his crucifixion. And so one of the things that happens is Jesus is having more pointed conversations, right? And when I say pointed, it he's he knows that he's coming to the end. So now he's really starting to say things that are the Pharisees and the and the priests are not happy with, right? And so you look at what he says, and at very at the very end of this uh chapter, it even says that the priests and Pharisees are trying to find a way to arrest him because they realize that he's speaking about them. He's calling them out, right? And so this is what happens. So when you break down the parable, it's pretty simple. There's a farmer or there's a uh farmer that has a vineyard, right? The uh the farmer's God, the vineyard is uh the kingdom of God. And he hires tenants, he hires people who are servants to who are supposed to take care of this land, take care of the kingdom, and then he goes back where he's from, and he sends he sends servants to go and collect his crops. And and the problem is, so so again, this is the kingdom parable, right? The the problem is the the kingdom, uh, those are the servants that Jesus are talking about, in particular the ones who are beating people, uh, are the Pharisees and the priests. So this is when we whenever we talk about scripture, you have to always understand it in context. It doesn't mean that it doesn't apply to us because it does, but you have to understand context. So context is important. So the servants who are beating and mistreating the farmers, servants of these sends, right? Jesus is talking about the Pharisees and he's talking about the priests, and really he's talking about the nation of Israel. So uh this actually reflects uh Isaiah chapter 5. So this is it's prophetic. Um there's Isaiah chapter 5 is titled titled the vineyard song, and and then actually Isaiah writes, and he's talking about how the vineyard has been taken over and it's actually not working well because it's kind of been rejected. And and so Isaiah, prophetically, is talking about the nation of Israel who continues to fail to live up to the expectations that God has for them. And prophets after prophets have come, right? They've had so many opportunities to try to figure it out, and this is close to the time they uh are about to get sent to exile, they're in exile. And and so Isaiah is is warning the nation of Israel listen, you you're failing. God keeps sending people your way, and you keep not listening to us. We we keep having to bring you back to almost the start. Like we have to start over because you keep you do well, and then you you wander away and and you start to lose sight of of what really matters, and and and so these prophets have come and they're trying to warn you, right? And so Jesus is talking to the Pharisees. Well, can we not do that right now? Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and the uh the priest of the day, and he's saying, Listen, you as a nation are failing. God has sent time and time again men and women. There's some prophetic utterances that come uh through uh Old Testament, right? There's some women. Um Esther uh has some conversations along the way, Deborah's you know go back to Judges. So uh there's there's men and women that have come to you, and and listen, they are trying to warn you to come back. And and so Jesus talking to the Pharisees and the priests says, You have failed. You're missing it. And and and here now, and as you continue in in the parable, Jesus says at some point the the owner of the vineyard sends his son. And Jesus is like, listen, God has sent me to you. Now, now it's me. Now it's not just my dad's hired help. Now it's not just the prophets, but now I have I have come to you. And then he talks about how the son of the vineyard owner is taken outside the the area and he's killed. Again, this this is prophetic, right? Jesus is saying, I have come to you now. I have come to remind you uh of what's going on. I'm I'm trying to refocus what's happening here. And then he says, and what I understand, again, he's entered into Jerusalem. What he says is, I understand that your response to me is you're gonna take me outside the city and you're gonna murder me. That's what's that's what's happening. That's that's what's coming my way. I uh completely 100% understand this. And so the Pharisees and the priests, they understand this, right? So it's interesting because a couple weeks ago we talked about how parables were told, and um there was some miscommunication about things, and and they really didn't understand what was going on, and Jesus was kind of almost secretly telling these things to get the point across without putting himself in harm's way. And so he actually quotes uh out of Psalm 118 uh towards the latter half of it where it talks about the stone, the cornerstone is kind of like the building block, the foundation, that some are gonna trip over it and they're gonna break and they're gonna fall. And so the Pharisees and the priest realize in this moment that Jesus is talking about them. So it's no longer a secret. Jesus is in direct conflict with them. 100%. He's tried to do things right, he's done them right, he's tried to be nice, he's tried to help maybe guide them a little bit, but but he he's calling he's calling them out and he's saying, listen, you have failed to take care of the vineyard that my father has given you. And he's what he's talking about is the mission of God. You have failed to further the kingdom, you have failed to teach love, grace, and mercy, you have failed to point people to my father. You're failing. You you call yourself priests, you call yourself religious leaders, but but you have done everything except lead people to me. And and even now, Jesus is saying, Listen, I'm the Son of God. You above all people should know who I am. You you've read the text, you've studied it, you're so well educated, and you can't even see that I'm the Messiah. And so he talks, and so there's a there's a line in the in the parable that's important here because he he sets the tone and the attitude of those hired help. And at some point, what happens is the hired help goes from helping the vineyard to assuming that they own it. That's what they want, right? It it's their it goes from we're helping this landowner who lives in another country to, well, we're here, we work, this this is our vineyard. Why do we have to share our crop? Why should we give up anything? We're we're the ones working the land. And and when the son of the vineyard owner shows up, their response is, let's kill him so that we can get his inheritance. So, so so Jesus is talking about, he's addressing the problem. It's not that they weren't good tenants, it's not that they weren't loyal, it's not that they weren't working, it's that they forgot that the vineyard wasn't theirs to begin with, right? And and so in here lies, this is why this is a kingdom parable. Because the religious leaders of Jesus' day have confused their role in all of this. They've convinced themselves that they are the ones who determine who gets in and who gets out. They set the rules, they set, they, they, they've put on all of the clothing, they've made themselves, they've given themselves the appearance of leaders, and people follow them somewhat blindly. And they've convinced themselves that it's them who is doing the work. And we talked about this last week. We talked about the idea of grace. When you truly understand grace, grace is offensive. Because we love grace for us, but not grace for the people who we call enemies. And that looks different for everyone. That could be your neighbor, that could be someone who's on the other political side of a conversation in you, that could be someone who racially there's a separation there. Like, we love the idea of grace, except when it applies to someone we don't believe understands it, right? And so last week was a kingdom parable, and Jesus was saying, you don't understand this kingdom, the access to this kingdom, the grace and mercy from this kingdom is mine to determine, not yours. You don't get to decide that. And it's because you and I have received so much grace that none of us deserve it. But Jesus opened the kingdom for us, right? And so now here we are, another conversation, only a few chapters later in Matthew. And Matthew does a brilliant job of putting his uh his text together well in a way that he's telling a narrative, right? And so here we are now, Jesus saying to the religious leaders, you have failed to realize that this kingdom that you're serving is not yours. It's not. You're, for lack of a better term, your hired help. You have an obligation to the owner of the vineyard to be successful, to work with it, to do what's expected of you. And then as the uh as the vineyard flourishes, yes, you can have some of this, but you have to understand that it ultimately belongs to the one who gave it to you. And and so Jesus asked me, it's kind of interesting, it towards the end of it, he asked a question to them. He says, If this was you and this was your vineyard, what would you do to those tenants who had murdered the son, your son, when you sent to him? And and their response, the crowd's response, is well, they would come to a wretched end. They'd be cast out. And Jesus says, exactly. And so this is where the focus of this moment becomes interesting because at this point, so this is where it becomes challenging, right? At this point, the nation of Israel has convinced themselves that they are God's chosen people no matter what. They have favor with him no matter what. So then Jesus shows up. And the Son of God shows up, and the Messiah is living among them, and and what ends up happening is they reject him.

unknown:

What?

SPEAKER_00:

They reject the vineyards. Son. They actually take him outside the city and they kill him. And so Jesus, when he says this to the Pharisees, he says, You think that you're gonna get in by your own merit. You're gonna get in because of your title, because of your your ethnicity, because of your your family background. And what he says is that doesn't matter. Not that that's not important, because you are God's people, like he's used you, but the rejection of the Son is the problem. That that's that's that's it. That that's the issue that that the Pharisees are having. They are rejecting the kingdom. They're protecting it. They're sitting in places of authority that they don't have. They they've decided that just because they're the chosen people of God, it doesn't matter what they do. He says, that's not it. He said, actually, the cornerstone. So when he quotes out of Psalm 19, the cornerstone that you will stumble, I am it. I'm the cornerstone, and you will stumble on me, and when you stumble, you will fall and you will break. And so the Pharisees and the priests are angry because he is telling them that it's not enough just to be religious. It's not enough just to be an Israelite. What you need is me, the Messiah, the Savior. That I'm the one, I'm the Son. I have come. God has given you chance after chance, servant after servant, opportunity after opportunity to come and follow me. And even now, in the three years that I've been doing ministry, I've given you so many chances to say and do the right thing, and you continue to reject me. And the rejection of me will be your downfall. And so this is why when we get bigger into this conversation of theology, we have to understand that the only way to get to heaven is Jesus. The only way to get to have any kind of sanctification, salvation, is through the Son who eventually finds himself out city, outside the city, dying on the cross. Jesus is the way. There is no other way. Listen, I I I've heard it said before that all paths lead to heaven. It's not true. Jesus is very clear in this situation. You religious leaders who call yourself Israelites have convinced yourself that that's enough, and I'm telling you that it's not. Because the one thing you lack, the one thing you can't accept is me. And then on the other side of it, you have the disciples, these uneducated men, who have honestly, at the time have no business whatsoever, even being part of this conversation, right? And for them, most of them were content to work their lives and they would go to temple and they would go about their day. But but you have these men that have turned to Jesus and they're following him and they're and they're giving up their life for him. And Peter talks about this at the end of uh chapter 19, starting to verse Matthew 20, he talks about this idea that you know what what do we get because of everything we've done for you? And Jesus says, listen, you're you're going to be rewarded because you you understand what everyone else is failing to see, and that's me. That I have come. I have come to save you, that God has sent his son into this world, that I will die on your behalf, that there will be a sacrifice, right? And again, Jesus is pointing to his incoming death, that he knew what was happening. But he makes the Pharisees bad because the Pharisees and the priests have have convinced themselves up until this point. I mean, even afterwards, they've convinced themselves that they're doing everything right. And so that in there lies the struggle. It's not just enough to be religious, it's not just enough to go to church. And listen, I said this last week and I still stand by it. There are people who spend their whole life going to church, and there's a chance they're probably still going to hell. Because you have to understand that it's not about being religious. It's not about following all of the rules and looking the part. There's a lot of people that look the part. The problem is it's it's about, not the problem, the solution is it's Jesus. Like we are called to follow him, to build his kingdom, to be men and women who surrender. We talked about this uh earlier in the year, this idea of living a surrendered life, right? That we are surrendering our life to the cause of Christ, to the focus of the church, to building the kingdom of God, right? And there's a lot of people in our world that are convinced there are other ways they can get to heaven. And listen, you can't. Jesus is it. That's the sacrifice. That's the message of the gospel that at just the right moment, at just the right time, while you and I were still sinners, Jesus stepped into this world and he died a sacrificial death on our behalf to forgive us of our sins, to set us free from the condemnation, and to ultimately help us overcome death. That's why the baptism, we talk about baptism, is significant because it uh Paul talks about it in Romans that it ties us with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Like that's the point. Outside of Jesus, there is no other way. And it's crazy because when you explain this to kids, most kids get that. It's the adults who fight it. Well, if I just did this, I just if I can No, no, no, listen. It's it's Jesus. It's always Jesus, it will always be Jesus. There is no other name but Jesus. That's it, right? That's what matters. It's his kingdom. We talked about last week. It's his grace. He extends it, he has offered it, he gives it to us. And and so in here lies the question, right? So you and I are not Pharisees. We hope not. We're not religious leaders. Well, some of us are. We're not priests. So we can look at this parable and think, well, Jesus is talking to like the religious elite. And it doesn't really uh uh uh uh apply to me, right? But but again, in in in the parable, and this is why I love parables, Jesus has truths that are universal. So let's look at the vineyard from our perspective. The vineyard is the kingdom of God, it's the work of God. And and when I say it's the work of God, I like it, it's it's his work in this world. It's chaotic as it is. It's his work in this world, and ultimately the work of God is to bring people back into right relationship with him through the sacrifice of his son. And the church, the the part of the church, and the reason why the church exists is to go into the world to further the kingdom. The kingdom is not ours. We get that, right? It's not ours. The work of the church, the salvation of the gospel, all of these things belong to God. It's his. It's his work, it's his kingdom, it's his doing. Those of us who've given our life to him, we're the hired servants. We're the ones who are tending the kingdom. We are the ones who are making sure the crops are bearing fruit. We're the ones that are serving, giving of our time, and at just the right time, we're the ones when when the master comes, we give him the crop that belongs to him. And because he's so gracious and loving, he lets us keep some of it. The work of the kingdom is our responsibility. That's where it gets heavy. Because I think sometimes we get that confused. I know that I do. I know that I've said it before. The church, refocused church. Even, listen, if you're part of us, great, even if you're just watching online, maybe this isn't your church, but you go to church somewhere else. The church that you are part of is not your church, it's God's church. The community of believers as a whole belong to him. It's his work. You are a part of that work. And there has to be a distinction because the problem with the Pharisees is not that they weren't doing the work, but they were they were motivated for wrong reasons. They they had convinced themselves that it belonged to them. This is my vineyard. I own this. I shouldn't have to share this with anyone. It belongs to me. I want all of it. And Jesus says, that's the problem. You've made it all about you. And you forgot that you were hired tenants. You're responsible for bearing fruit. You're responsible to make sure that the vineyard is flourishing. That's your job. And instead, you're killing people. You're we're we're offering, they're trying, the prophets are trying to correct you, you're killing them. Jesus is trying to, you know, I'm coming, I'm here now, I'm trying to teach you, and you're gonna murder me here soon. Because you have lost sight of the fact that the vineyard, the kingdom of God, does not belong to you. It's his, it's God's. I'm his son. This is mine. I've invited you to be a participant with me in this. And so this is where the struggle is because when we start to look at church, it's really easy for you and I to look at the church we're part of and make it about us. Well, I don't like the worship style. I don't like the preacher. I can't believe he said that from the pulpit. Why would you do that? Well, I don't like the way the paint color is. That's dumb. Why is it gray? Or or his leaders, listen, this is where we fall. Well, this is my church. I'm growing this church. This church has grown because of the work that I've done. Well, this is our church. We're gonna do what we want. We don't we don't care. We're not we're not gonna seek God's plan, his vision. We're gonna build what we want, we're gonna do what we want, we're gonna say what we want, we're gonna change things as we see fit. This is our church. It's our kingdom we're building. And Jesus says, No, that's not how this works. Actually, it belongs to me. Listen, I don't want to say we're hired help, but that's that's what this parable says, that we have been invited in to participate and be part of the work of the kingdom. And and so when we lose sight of that, when we start making it about us, the work of the kingdom becomes less important. And that that's an important conversation to have. Because I think about it like this. If everything I have belongs to God, my money, my time, my family, my relationships, my job, right? That that that that's I realize Jesus is talking about the kingdom here, but but when you look at as a whole, Jesus is very clear that that everything we have has been God because God has given it to us. The reason they have the vineyard, the reason they're working in the vineyard is because God has given it to them. So everything I have in my life belongs to the one who gave it to me. You realize that, right? And maybe you don't, and I hope you do, that everything you have is because God has allowed that to be. He's the one who secures the blessing. He's the one who's provider, he's the one that gives us everything we have and all the good things. Not the bad things. I'm not saying that God doesn't allow things to happen, because I believe that he does, but but but all the good things that we have are from God. The strength to get through the bad things, that's also from him. But all the good things we have are unloan to us in Lord willing if we get 80 years on the face of this earth. It all belongs to him. So why am I so unwilling to part with it? Why why are we so concerned with building our own kingdom sometimes at the sacrifice of his? That's a question that we that we have to wrestle with. I I have to, I cannot tell you, like going into the beginning of this year, it's it's been probably weirder for me than it has in the past. But like even the church, even being here now, like my prayer and my hope is that I'm building the church that God wants me to build. So I don't want it to be Jason's church. I don't want people to come in our church because I preach there. I I don't want people to attach this thing to me because I should always be pointing to him. It's not my church. I just happen to be in a place where God has entrusted me to my little vineyard. Think about that. The church that you are part of, God has entrusted it to you. We talked about this at our leadership retreat. The vineyard, this is the vineyard that God has given us. We are here in this community with this people for a certain reason. God has entrusted refocused Christian church to the men and women of this community. Not so we can build it up, not so we can make it about us, not so we can, you know, say, look at us and look what we've done, but God has entrusted us with a vineyard that we are responsible for, and a vineyard that we're supposed to help keep the crop to make sure that it's fruitful, to make sure that it's producing fruit, and then returning it back to the owner. That's that's what Jesus is saying. When we lose sight, when we start making it about us, those who lose sight of it, in particular the Pharisees and the priests, when they lose sight of their purpose, what's gonna happen to them? They're gonna be dealt with ever so harshly. They're gonna be kicked out, they're gonna lose access to the kingdom, and God's gonna bring in new people to do the work. That that's the the nature and the reality of what you and I are doing. And and so to kind of wrap all this up, and listen, I I know the teachings of Jesus are difficult. I get it. I I I study not only for others, but I study for myself, and there are some things this week that God really kind of resonated and kind of hit me hard that I need myself to be paying better attention and closer attention to what I'm doing. The life that I have been given, if I am a follower of Jesus, if I have given my life to him, if I have accepted him, everything in my life that I have does not belong to me anyways. It's all his. He has blessed me and he has gifted me with an incredible family, he has blessed me with the with the work that I have, with the money that I make. Like he has blessed me tremendously. And he has blessed me with a church, a vineyard, that my sole responsibility is to make sure that it's bearing fruit. And hear me when I say this. That's not just my job. It's not just the elders, it's all of ours. Our purpose in life is to further the kingdom of God wherever we go. Our purpose is to use the resources and the blessings that God has given us to further the kingdom of God. Our call is to sacrificially live sometimes, to surrender our life to his purpose, to his cause, because his kingdom, his kingdom is the only one that's eternal. That's it. That's the kingdom parable. And Jesus makes it clear those who bear fruit will continue to work in the vineyard. Those who fail to bear fruit will be cut off. They're gonna miss it, they'll be replaced. Harsh words. But necessary. Listen. Sometimes I don't think we take the work of the church serious enough. And I'm not just saying those who are watching this video, but but in general, we do not take the work, the kingdom work, seriously enough. It it so easily becomes optional. It's so easy to make it secondary. It's so easy to, if I have time, we we talked about this yesterday, the amount of times, well, you know, I don't need to go to church. I don't need to be part of a church. Well, I didn't go this Sunday, I don't need to go next Sunday. Uh someone said yesterday when we were talking, you know, my church is the woods. It's not. Because in in here lies the thinking, uh, the problem with the way that that thought is you think the church is about you when it's not. It's about him. It's about the work that he has called us to, it's about the responsibility that he has given us. It's about the work that he has entrusted us. You and I have been entrusted to further the kingdom of God. And listen, the beautiful thing is he blesses us along the way. God takes care of us. I have never met anyone who has given sacrificially for the kingdom and said, well, God, God didn't help me out at all. Quite the opposite. He says it to Peter. You sacrificed everything. Don't worry. You will get back everything and more. But but we take the work of the kingdom lightly. We make church optional. We make spending time in God's word optional. We we give our kids choices instead of challenging them to follow the truth. We we we change ideologies, uh, we change theologies, we we we twist scripture and text in order to make us feel better instead of allowing it to change us and transform us the way that it's supposed to. And this church cannot be, it's not sustainable. And so much of it has to do with the way we view everything. It is not ours. Refocused Christian church does not belong to you and me. It belongs to the one who created it. It belongs to the maker of the universe, the alpha, the omega. It is his church. We are his people, this is his community, and you and I have been entrusted with it to be good stewards of the vineyard, to make sure the vineyard produces. Fruit. That's heavy. And it should be. That sounds hard. It is. But I've been doing this long enough that I can tell you it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done with my life. Someone bought me. I'll share this and I'll wrap up. I realize. I don't have my clock on the wall to stare at. Someone bought me a cup last year and said, Heaven is my home, and I'm only here recruiting. I pray, church, that that's our our thought process. It's not wrong to have good things in this world. But you and I are waiting for what's coming next. Because what's coming next is going to be so much better than this place. And I believe that with everything in me. My job in this world is not to obtain as much wealth as I can. It's not to build my kingdom. And I've said this before, and I'll say it forever. I pray that our job is to see beyond our own selfishness, our own desires. I pray that as a church we become a church who realizes that our one responsibility is to make sure that when we die, heaven's crowded. That's it. That's the goal. To bring people to the knowledge of who Jesus is, to watch him transform lives. And to use everything he gives us. This building, the next building, all of our money, our finances, our time, our passion, to use everything we have to build the church that he's entrusted us to. All right.