10-10-10 Luke 20:9-19 Loyalty to the Owner

Luke 20:9 He went on to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. 13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.' 14 "But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "God forbid!" 17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone' ? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed." 19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

( Parable of the Vineyard Marten Valckenborch 1580)

Thoughts: Christ is the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone.  Christ is the rejected owner's son who came to his own vineyard.  Anyone can see the injustice of treating the owner's son in this way, yet when we reject Christ, we are on the same side as the vineyard workers.  The Pew Forum found that 28% of Americans leave the faith in which they were raised to go to another or to be unaffiliated (http://religions.pewforum.org/reports).  A growing number (over 12%) are unaffiliated with any faith.  Many are refusing to be identified with the owner, either claiming there is no owner, or saying the owner does not matter.  Our task is to be faithful, and good stewards of the life God has given us. 

Prayer: In a faithless world, help me, O Lord, to be faithful to you. 


John Calvin abridged: It is not a new thing if religious leaders try to defraud God of his right.  Christ is trying to tell the priests they will be punished for his death, but also tries to assuage the hearts of those who believe and see him crucified.  We should not be perplexed at the wickedness of men rising up against God- for God has told us this will happen.  At the same time, we should realize that no matter what the wicked plans of men are, God will be victorious.