"More to Come!" (Luke 20:27-40)

Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts:

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“There came to [Jesus] some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, and they asked Him a question …” (Luke 20:27-28a).

 

Just as the Sadducees asked Jesus a question, I would like to ask you all a question: What is the leading cause of death? Ponder that one a moment. Is it heart disease? Could it be a stroke? What about cancer or diabetes? What is the leading cause of death? It’s actually conception. The leading cause of death is being conceived. You see, as soon as God formed you and began knitting you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), you are on the way to death. Is this the point in life? Is this it?!

 

For the Sadducees who came to Jesus to ask Him this question about the resurrection, they believed that was it. They believed the thought of any bodily resurrection was utterly ridiculous. They could not fathom the idea that people would rise out of their graves and their bodies would live again. 

 

One play on words that I have heard and taught about these Sadducees is that they were sad, you see, because they didn’t have anything more to look forward to than what happened before death. For the Sadducees, when death came, they had no joy and they had no hope, since that’s all she wrote. Again, they were sad, you see.

 

So, these Sadducees ask Jesus an elaborate question as to prove to Jesus that the resurrection was preposterous: 

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. And the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife”(Luke 20:28b-33).

 

My first thoughts when preparing this sermon was: what a mess! This sounds more like a daytime talk show. Instead of asking, “Are you the father?” It’s like Maury asking, “Who is the true husband?” This is a perfect script for a daytime talk show. And all too often, those daytime talk shows aren’t exactly truthful. This is also the case here.

 

But I will say this, there is some truth to this question of the Sadducees. You see, they are bringing up what is known as the levirate marriage law from Deuteronomy 25, which states: “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go into her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel”(Deuteronomy 25:5-6).

 

Now, clearly, these Sadducees realize how outlandish their question is, even with the levirate marriage law. They are asking this question only as a gotcha question. And this question is not about marriage. It is centered on the resurrection. They are trying to show how ludicrous the resurrection is if such a scenario could result in the life to come. So, “at the resurrection,” they ask, “whose wife will she be?”

 

They think they have trapped Jesus between a rock and a hard place. 

 

But then Jesus says to them essentially, “Your question isn’t going to matter, since there will be no more need for marriage at the resurrection.”

 

You see, Jesus solves this question by distinguishing between two ages: the present age and the age to come. 

 

The key purposes for marriage in the present age are for procreation, the raising up of children in the fear and knowledge of God, and, of course, companionship. None of these will be needed in the resurrection because we will not die, and we will be in perfect communion with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

In the age to come, there will be neither birth nor death. And there will be no marriage. We will simply be sons and daughters of God, sons and daughters of the resurrection.

 

But Jesus is never content in just answering questions. He digs deeper to the root cause of their question: unbelief. Jesus digs deeper as He brings up Moses at the burning bush – today’s Old Testament lesson. He recalls that day when He spoke to Moses as He told him to take off his sandals for where Moses stood was holy ground. He said to Moses: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). To the Sadducees, Jesus adds: “Now He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to Him” (Luke 20:38).

 

Keep in mind, as God spoke those words to Moses, these three patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – had been long dead. But how does God speak of them? Jesus speaks of His relationship to them as being present. This means that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still living! 

 

So, what the triune God is proving to Moses and the Sadducees is that human relationships certainly end with death, but the relationship a person has with God lives on forever. Or to put it another way: The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of God endures forever (Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:23-24).

 

What Jesus is saying is that there is still more, much more, than what we may realize. We weren’t created by God just to die. We were created by God to live.

 

The Sadducees rejected the resurrection, which is maybe why there were two Sadducees – Annas and Caiaphas – who ended up orchestrating Jesus’ arrest and ultimate execution. They thought by simply eliminating Jesus would fix the “Jesus problem.”

 

Now, you may not be denying the bodily resurrection, but the spirit of those Sadducees of yesteryear still lives on among us. Have you ever thought that this life is all that there is? Sometimes, those doubts are there. The grave looks so final. How could I bodily resurrect through a casket, a vault, and all while being six feet underground? Could this life be it? Am I just to ultimately become worm food? That is the Sadducee spirit swirling around in our hearts and minds.

 

And if you’ve thought that, you are in good company. Remember what Christ’s apostles were doing that first Easter? They were hiding behind locked doors out of fear of the Jewish authorities. They were like the Sadducees then. They were denying all those times Jesus taught them that He would rise again the third day. 

 

Then suddenly, Jesus appeared to them, and He calms their fears. He said, “Peace be with you”(John 20:19) and then showed them His hands and His side. He let them touch Him. The apostles went from there was no more, to there is so much more!

 

Like the apostles, we need to believe our God is the God of the living and not of the dead. The resurrection is all about Jesus turning our losses into victories, our death into life, our sorrow into joy, our weaknesses into strength, our futility into glory.

 

That day, the living God was standing before those Sadducees. Soon they will kill Him. But even though from eternity, the Second Person of the Trinity had no physical body, this God would not even now shed His physical body, but He would take it up again. Christ’s death would restore the day when we “cannot die anymore, … being sons [and daughters] of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36).

 

Today, the living God is here, although to the naked eye, He is hidden in His Word and Sacraments. Jesus says to us this day that there is more to come, a lot more to come! Today, He comes to give us the medicine that forgives our sins, known as the Medicine of Immortality. He says to us, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:53-56).

 

In Christ, there is life – eternal life, after death!

 

So, repent and believe and receive the fruits of His cross and of His resurrection: forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation for there is so much more to come – yours and my resurrection! For if you are in Christ, you will live forever! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"The Tenants of the Vineyard" (Luke 20:9-20)

Listen on Spotify

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to Him, ‘Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who is it that gave you this authority.”

 

“And [Jesus] began to tell the people this parable: ‘A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants.’ …” (Luke 20:1-2, 9a).

 

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants. So, what led Jesus to tell this parable? Well, today we are marching forward to the Tuesday of Holy Week where we find Jesus teaching at the temple. And like always, Jesus’ teaching is challenged by the Jewish authorities. And knowing that His betrayal and death is near, Jesus directs the sharpest and sternest rebuke and warning against the Jewish authorities.

 

Though the Jewish authorities were the original target of today’s parable, we must not conclude that this parable has nothing for us to learn. You see, every parable of Jesus is timeless as they speak to people in every age. So, what are we to think about the Parable of the Wicked Tenants?

 

Jesus said, “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while” (Luke 20:9). Here, we hear that a man planted the vineyard. In Mark’s Gospel, he gives us a few more details on what this Owner did as he also “put a fence around it,” “dug a winepress,”and “built a tower” (Mark 12:1).

 

From this other information, we hear that the Owner of the vineyard did everything to make His vineyard a good productive one. He put a wall around it to protect it. He dug a winepress so His tenants could produce wine easily. He built a tower so His tenants could see from a distance if any intruders were coming. The Owner of the vineyard did literally everything to make the work of His tenants an easy one. The Owner of the vineyard left nothing undone that was necessary for the welfare of His tenants.

 

However, the Owner was away for very long while. Eventually, the tenants, the renters of the vineyard, began to truly believe that they were no longer renters, but owners. They were patting each other on the back saying, “Very well done!”

“When the time came, [the Owner] sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty handed” (Luke 20:10). Now, you’d think that the Owner would be a bit perturbed about this incident. You’d think, He would come back and evict the tenants. But He doesn’t. He sends a second servant. And the tenants treat him worse than the first. So, what does the Owner do? He sends a third servant. And he’s treated worse than the first and second. Now what? What does this Owner do? He sends His beloved Son, saying, “Perhaps they will respect Him” (Luke 20:13).

 

So, what happens next? The tenants saw the Son and they say to themselves, “This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours” (Luke 20:14). So, they threw the Son out of the vineyard and killed him. 

 

What will the Owner do now? Well, He had been patient before. So, will He continue to be patient in receiving his fruit? No, the Owner’s patience has ended. He will now destroy the wicked tenants and give the vineyard to others who would tend His vineyard.

 

To this, the chief priests, scribes and elders say, “Surely not!” (Luke 20:16).

 

In this parable, we have the Owner of the vineyard, who is God the Father. The wicked tenants are forefathers of the chief priests, scribes, and elders. And the servants are the prophets, who have been rejected time and again by the forefathers of the Jewish authorities.

 

For all intents and purposes, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants is historical. This is what has portrayed in Israel from one generation to the next. A few weeks ago, we heard Jesus’ lament over this very fact: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” (Luke 13:34a).

 

But in the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, Jesus gives His parable a prophetic turn: “This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours” (Luke 20:14). Here, Jesus is telling them and the crowd around them what exactly they would do to Him in just a few days. Here, Jesus is exposing their murderous intent. To put another way, He told them that they would show themselves as apt pupils of their forefathers. 

In fact, they would top the wickedness of their forefathers by killing, not just a human prophet commissioned by God, but Him, the Father’s Son, the fully divine and human Messiah.

 

So, just as their forefathers did, these Jewish authorities would ensure that the Jewish nation remained their people, under their control, under their sway. “So they threw [Jesus] out of the vineyard and killed Him” (Luke 20:15).

 

So, what about us? What is your response as you reflected on the Parable of the Wicked Tenants? Who are we to be in this parable? What is our role? 

 

For those of us who have rented or are currently renting a home or apartment, what would happen at the beginning of each month? Rent is due. Now, who really enjoys paying rent, or even a mortgage? But we have to! If not, you are evicted, or the bank takes your home. That is life in the fallen world. But what about our spiritual life?

 

When the beloved Son comes to pick up the rent owed to His Father, what will you do? Will you see yourself as the lord of the vineyard? Or as a caretaker of the vineyard? Will you be renters who will give the Owner His due?

 

And what fruit is the Owner looking to receive of His? Well, those fruits of faith, those fruits of repentance, those stewardship acts of time, talent, and treasure.

 

Now, it is certainly easy for us to shift from being tenants under the Lord to thinking and acting like we are the owners. And why is that? Well, we all have a problem with authority. And whether we would like to admit it or not, we all have a problem with God’s authority. As sinners, our natural perception is that God’s authority prevents us from getting what we want. 

 

Just think about it. How often do you withhold from God what is rightfully His? How often do you speak carelessly, or misuse God’s Name? How often do you neglect or despise God’s Word and Sacraments? How often are you not content with what God has given to you?

 

We certainly do have a problem with God’s authority. The wicked tenants desired the authority for themselves. Even the Owners’ servants weren’t respected and neither was His beloved Son.

 

Our sinful nature challenges God’s authority as we operate in cahoots with the fallen world. We are tricked by Satan, just like Adam and Eve were in the Garden, to falsely think that God is holding back what we want. And if we sit back and think how the world portrays freedom today, freedom is defined as crossing the boundary of what’s good and right. 

Our fallen sinful nature even leads us to think wrongly about the church. We may get to thinking, “This is my church. The church belongs to me.” We sometimes forget that the church belongs to the Lord. We, the Church, belong to the Lord.

 

Remember, God planted the vineyard. We didn’t. We did nothing to deserve the vineyard. We didn’t choose God. He chose us and set His love upon us. 

 

Today, you and I are both the tenants and servants. Upon His death and resurrection, Jesus gave us His vineyard as His stewards. The planting of His vineyard is entirely His doing, not our doing. For Jesus said, “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18) on the truth that He is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). It is in this way alone that we became God’s cherished children, the objects of His constant love and His constant care.

 

For us, we no longer rely on the promise of the Lord’s salvation, since salvation is fully accomplished in Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

 

As His tenants, we are all certainly capable of committing the same wickedness of the chief priests, scribes, and elders and their forefathers. We say things like, “It’s my car. It’s my money. It’s my investment.” But the reality is: It’s God’s car. It’s God’s money. It’s God’s investment. The reality is that we get the privilege in managing those things for Him. 

 

So, if we are truly listening to the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, you would notice that Jesus is also speaking about the proper giving back of what God has given to you. The good news is that the Owner of the vineyard is patient. He waits a long time before He goes out and sends His servants to collect His rent. He doesn’t evict the tenants. He keeps sending servants. He doesn’t quit. The Owner of this vineyard – Prince of Peace Lutheran Church – is a compassionate, loving and caring God who won’t quit.

 

Even as His beloved Son is beaten up, thrown out of the vineyard and killed. Even in that very action, God gets His way. For in the rejection of His beloved Son, God the Father is providing a new beginning. God the Father is providing forgiveness and restoration. He is providing the cornerstone upon which His people will be built.

 

So, when the Owner of this vineyard comes looking for fruit, will you produce His fruit, or will you challenge His authority by your sin by being crushed by the Cornerstone?

 

Thanks be God that He is patient! Always remember that Jesus died for all those times you challenge His authority. So may we always repent and receive His forgiveness. God holds nothing back from us! When you repent, He always forgives unconditionally! And He not only gives us the vineyard, but He gives us the kingdom! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 12: "Pride and Humility" (Luke 14:1-14)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis once wrote: “If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.”

Today, on this 12th Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus teaches us about humility.

So, how can anyone become humble? Well, if we try to become humble, then we aren’t really being humble at all.

[The Situation]

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is in a place that we may not expect. He is dining at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees — and on the Sabbath. Now, something we would expect to happen happens: conflict.

Now, we do not know all the details on why Jesus was dining with a Pharisee, but He was there. He was there not with just one Pharisee it appears, since Luke informs us that “they were watching him carefully” (Luke 14:1b). These Pharisees and lawyers were likely hoping to catch Jesus violating the Jewish Law.

We also do not know the exact details on why a man with dropsy — a swelling disorder — was also there. Could the Pharisees have invited this man in order to trap Jesus? Possibly, but we don’t know.

It was the Sabbath and according to Jewish Law, Jews were not to do any work on the Sabbath.

While at the meal, Jesus sees this man with dropsy and He asks those at the dinner table: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” (Luke 14:3b). But there remained an uneasy silence among the Pharisees. In their silence, Jesus healed the man and said, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” (Luke 14:5).

Now, among the Pharisees, there was a disagreement as to the proper answer. Some Pharisees say that no work at all could be done on the Sabbath, including saving people or animals from certain death. Other Pharisees, however, thought that some assistance could be given to those in need on the Sabbath. But these Pharisees did not want to argue amongst each other. They only wanted to see what Jesus would do. Again, only silence from the Pharisees. This follow-up question asked by Jesus implies that actions speak louder than words. But Jesus only receives silence from His critics.

[Pride and the Places of Honor]

Now, prior to the dinner, Jesus noticed something else. He noticed how each man carefully chose where he sat. They each scrambled for places of honor. So, at a dinner like this, what would be the places of honor?

Now, instead of chairs like today, Jews then reclined on couches at the table that would hold three or more people. These choice places were those at the left end of each couch, since the guests in those places had the best view of the host and the other guests.

So, prior to the meal, these men were scrambling to get the best seat at the table. For me, that would have been quite a sight seeing grown men rush for the best seat.

So, Jesus took this opportunity to teach them — and us — about humility as He tells a parable about guests at a wedding feast. Jesus said: “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place” (Luke 14:8-9).

Here, Jesus purposely chose a wedding feast because so many guests would be present. At such a feast, the place of honor would be the left of the couch, which is nearest to the groom. So, if a guest chose the place of honor before so many other guests arrived, he would be seen as “self-important” or “pushy.”

And, if this person were asked to change seats, he would have to take the least desirable place — that is, one on the couch farthest away from the groom and also face deep humiliation in the eyes of the many guests.

Now, Jesus isn’t only talking about proper table manners. He is really teaching about pride and humility.

For decades, many of us have been taught that pride is a good thing. We say things like: “I take pride in my accomplishments,” “I take pride in my school.” But do we know what we are actually saying when we use the word pride? Pride is actually a synonym for conceit, distain, and ego. Do those words actually sound positive?

In reality, pride is the greatest sin. Pride is not fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things. Pride is breaking the First Commandment. Pride is looking to human accomplishment instead of looking to God. And when we break the First Commandment, we end up breaking all of the other commandments as well.

Now, you may be thinking, “What can I say in the place of ‘pride’?” “How can I break this cycle?” Well, one way to start is to begin using words like: pleased, glad, happy, or delighted.

Now remember, instead of immediately taking the best seat as was the custom of the Pharisees, Jesus says, “Go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’” (Luke 14:10).

You see, the Pharisees’ habit of claiming places of honor at a feast was only a symptom of a serious spiritual sickness: the right relationship with God.

The point of the parable is this: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Some people “will be humbled,” while others “will be exalted.” Now, what does this mean?

Well, first, who does the humbling? God, of course. Now, these Pharisees were puffed up with conceit over their imagined holiness. You see, they were very proud men. They believed they had the God-given right to judge others using their pride, but in fact, it is God who judges.

Jesus told them this parable in order to save them from their unholy pride. Likewise, Jesus is reminding us, as well, since we are just as likely to fall into sinful pride.

I have often heard a radio host say, “ I am humbled to be one of the top radio shows in America.” Each time I hear this — and I hear people say things like this all the time — I always think, this person does not know the meaning of humble. This person is confusing humility with pride.

As Americans, we don’t like the idea of being humble. We argue who is the best at this and the greatest at that. We live in the greatest country, after all. We are obsessed with pride. We say or hear people say, “I’m the best!” “I was born this way!” “How dare you say that about me?”

[Humility]

So, in a world that obsesses about pride, how can we truly be humble? How can we  be truly modest, meek, and low? Well, we can’t on our own. On our own, we only focus inward. As I said earlier, once we think about being humble, we are actually filling ourselves with sinful pride. Our sinful human nature always desires to look inward by only thinking about ourselves. So we must look outside ourselves.

Today, Jesus is teaching us to be humble. But how could we ever become humble?

We can only become humble by clinging to Jesus and His Word. You see, Christ “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

Jesus humbled Himself for you and for me. Jesus is truly God and He lowered Himself to become man, so that in His lowly state, He would lift us up. In this lowly state, “The stone that the builders rejected, has become the cornerstone” (Luke 20:17).

On our own, we could never become humble, because we are drenched in our sin. We are naturally inclined to look inward. We think, “I can do it on my own.” But, we could never inherit salvation without faith and trust in Jesus.

In our sinful estate, which makes us spiritually poor, crippled, lame, and blind (Luke 14:13), Jesus invites us to His table. Jesus welcomes us. Jesus hears our confession of sins and we receive His forgiveness. Jesus strengthens us as we hear His Word and receive His Sacrament. 

We could never repay Jesus for all that He has done for us. To everyone, He gives daily bread — food, clothing, and shelter. He gives all our bodily needs. But through His atoning death and glorious resurrection, He gives all who cling to Him even more! He gives all who trust in Him forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation!

You see, Jesus regards you and me as more important than Himself. This is true humility. He suffered in order to sanctify us through His own blood. Through His death, He is now exalted. Through His resurrection, all who trust in Jesus are likewise exalted!

We can only become humble through Jesus. We can do nothing to inherit salvation on our own. All we can do is fear, love, and trust in God above all things. When we do this, we receive salvation and all by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen!

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Lent 5: "It's All About Jesus" (Luke 20:9-20)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

What people say about Jesus tells a lot about that person. Some say: “Jesus was just a miracle worker.” Others say: “Jesus was just another prophet among the prophets.” Even others: “Jesus was a man who hung out with sinners, so I’m comfortable in my sin.” Who is Jesus?

As C.S. Lewis has famously said, Jesus “is either God or a complete lunatic suffering from that form of delusion which undermines the whole mind of man.” Lewis also said Jesus “produced mainly three effects – Hatred – Terror – Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval.” So, Jesus is either God, a lunatic, or an evil man. Who is Jesus? Today on this, the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Jesus proclaims to His hearers on who He truly is.

Just prior to today’s Gospel text, the Jewish religious establishment challenged the authority of Jesus, saying: “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who is it that gave you this authority?” (Luke 20:2). You see, according to Jewish Law, the chief priests, scribes, and elders had divine appointment. So, they ask Jesus, where does your authority come from?

This question is what leads Jesus into telling the Parable of the Wicked Tenants to the people – those who believe Jesus’ teaching and to the Jewish religious establishment who rejected His teaching.

[The Parable of the Wicked Tenants]

Jesus began the parable saying: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while” (Luke 20:9b).

From the start, we see a vineyard. Now, what does a vineyard require? For sure, time and patience. For a vineyard to produce quality wine, it takes months or even years. So, each vineyard requires tender loving care. We also see that the owner of the vineyard is trusting His tenants to keep producing the fruit needed to make quality wine.

But when the time came to receive some of the fruit of His vineyard, the tenants would not give back what belonged to Him. Instead, “the tenants beat [His servant] and sent him away empty-handed” (Luke 20:10b). But the owner of the vineyard is patient as He keeps sending servants. But with each servant, they receive the same rejection. Now, each servant represents God’s prophetic activity during the Old Testament times, when the prophets called people to repent and to show fruits of repentance, but that call fell so often on deaf ears. Instead, these servants are beaten and sent away (Luke 20:10); beaten, treated shamefully, and sent away (20:11); and wounded and thrown out (20:12).

Eventually, the owner of the vineyard hoping against hope says, “What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him” (Luke 20:13).

Now, for some in the audience, this should have perked their ears. You see, Peter, James, and John have heard this before. By “this,” I mean “beloved Son.” For them, a lightbulb should have gone off, since they previously heard the voice from heaven proclaim about Jesus: “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him” (Luke 9:35). But for the others in the audience who weren’t on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus would explain the meaning of the parable.

You see, the preparatory catechesis is over. The prophets accomplished what God sent them to do, but now it is time for God’s own Son to visit the vineyard. But the abuse suffered by all of God’s servants will fall upon His own beloved Son so this Scripture would be fulfilled: “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell upon Me” (Psalm 69:9; Romans 15:3). So, it is the hour for the Son to be killed.

The tenants say: “This is the heir. Let us kill Him, so that the inheritance may be ours” (Luke 20:14). So, they threw Him out of the vineyard and killed Him. This is Jesus also predicting His own death outside the Jerusalem walls. The wicked tenants wanted the vineyard all to themselves. They assumed that the vineyard would be theirs due to the owner’s absence.

[The Rejection of the Stone]

The meaning of the parable is clear. Jesus is talking about Himself! It’s all about Him! But, at this point, He breaks off the parable and interprets the significance of His own death for salvation history. He asks, “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others” (Luke 20:15-16). Here, Jesus echoes Isaiah: the fruitless vineyard that has become a thicket of thorns must be destroyed (Isaiah 5:5-6). Equally clear is Jesus’ own answer to His question: “He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others” (Luke 20:16).

Since the Jewish religious establishment are unable to be good stewards of God’s vineyard, God the Father – the owner of the vineyard – will give the vineyard to tenants who would care for the vineyard. These new tenants would begin with the Twelve Apostles who, through their commission, reconstitute the Church as the New Israel.

When the Jewish religious establishment heard this, they respond in fear saying, “Surely not!” (Luke 20:16). You see, the killing of the Son, the killing of the wicked tenants, and the transfer of the vineyard to others must happen.

The audience wants to know the end of the story, but do they? Do they really want to know how this ends? Knowing this, Jesus asks them in the form of a question, “What then is this that is written:

          ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?

Everyone who falls on that that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him” (Luke 20:17-18).

For everyone there, they knew exactly what Jesus was saying, for they were familiar with this Jewish proverb: “If a stone falls on the pot, woe to the pot. If the pot falls on the stone, woe to the pot. Either way, woe to the pot!” The stone always destroys the pot.

Jesus speaks the question, but He gives no answer, because the events of the next few days will provide that answer. But the people and the Jewish religious establishment already have had the answer for a long time in the Scriptures. They should have known that according to Moses and all the prophets, it was “necessary that the Christ suffer these things and enter into His glory” (Luke 24:26).

This is what must happen to all the prophets. However, the rejection of this Prophet – Jesus – is different. What is so extraordinary about Jesus’ imminent crucifixion is that His rejection is the means by which He will become the cornerstone and is therefore a reference to His glory! So, by the stone’s rejection by the builders – the Jewish religious establishment – is the stone’s exaltation as the head of the corner.

The coming crucifixion of Jesus will become the ultimate stumbling block for all people as St. Paul was inspired to write: “We preach Christ crucified – a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23).

[The Tenants Today]

So, what does this Parable mean for us today? That was then, what about now?

We now live in the time of the Church, since Jesus has risen from the dead and has bodily ascended into heaven. So, who are the stewards until Christ returns on the Last Day? We are.

When looking at this parable today, we see Jesus letting the vineyard to us. His servants are faithful pastors who preach Christ’s saving Word of Law and Gospel. And as it was then, is now, many of these faithful pastors today are treated shamefully by today’s tenants who would rather hear what their itching ears desire (2 Timothy 4:3), instead of God’s unchanging truth, for He is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Christianity has always been about Jesus. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Jesus is the entire reason the Christian Church exists to this very day and very hour and we are His stewards. So, let us not fall into the mindset of the wicked tenants in the parable who claimed the vineyard for themselves. You see, everything we have is only by God’s grace and favor. So, we cannot claim the paycheck we receive as our own doing, in fact, that paycheck is a gift from God. Remember, it is God alone who provides for all our needs of body – food, clothing, shelter, and the like – and for our soul – the forgiveness of our sins – so it is our vocation to give back what God asks of us: the fruits of our faith: repentant hearts, and our time, talents, and treasure.

Likewise, when a church wavers from its commitment to the confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of the world, it takes the place of the wicked tenants. You see, the most important question Jesus asked His followers was this: “Who do you say that I am?” (Luke 9:20). Since Christ has ascended to the Right Hand of the Father, numerous Christian denominations have walked away from their confidence in the trustworthiness of God’s Word as revealed in the Scriptures. As a result, they are no longer comfortable with the teachings of Jesus and have become the wicked tenants in believing they own the vineyard. But the fact remains that Christianity is all about Jesus and He will come again.

Jesus is the Truth. So, anything that conflicts with the truth of God’s Word, that is a lie. The truth of Christ is objectively true. It is truth aside from how we may feel about it. The truth of Christ does not rest on the shaky foundation of human feeling, emotion, or opinion, for He is the cornerstone.

In ancient times, the cornerstone was used at a building’s corner to bear the weight or stress of the two walls. So, if that stone would be removed, the entire structure would fall. So, upon Jesus rests the entire structure of God’s kingdom.

[The Stone Gives Life]

Jesus is the Stone and He says that everyone will either be broken or crushed. By everyone, Jesus means everyone. We will all be crushed.

For even the most devout follower of Christ must fall into the brokenness of repentance in order to be raised again as new beings, as living stones in Christ, the temple of God. As poor, miserable sinners, all of us, no doubt, have had this experience. We have fallen on that Stone and have been broken. Christ has pulled us up short and stopped us in our path. Through faith in Christ, he has humbled us as He leads us to confess our sin to God and to the neighbor we wronged. He has caused us to see the shoddiness of our thinking and the ugliness of our living. His Word that is “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12), cuts us to the core. But Christ picks us up. And, oh, the bliss of recovery under His gentle care! What we first regarded as a degree of punishment turns out to be the first step in the healing process as He forgives all repentant sinners. Thus, there is Gospel in what appears to be entirely Law.

But upon those who refuse to trust in Jesus as their Lord comes the crushing blow of judgment. Those who stumble over Jesus will receive the judgment caused by their rejection of Him, and when the stone falls on them, they will be utterly crushed and grounded into powder. You see, although God has a love and patience beyond the farthest reaches of our imagination, God teaches us in His Word with the possibility that one can spurn God once too often. We are reminded that with the assurances of God’s love, that “our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).

So, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants tells us not only of God’s judgments, but also tells of God’s love and patience. He sends and sends – and keeps on sending. Finally, He sends His Son – His beloved Son. We do right to perceive that the parable is spoken against us. But we do wrong if that’s all we perceive. We need to perceive also that the parable is spoken for us as a word of hope, that it tells us of a God who keeps on sending in our behalf and even goes as far as to send His own beloved Son for our salvation! No one could take Jesus’ life away from Him, only He can lay down His life, so that He may take it up again (John 10:17).

So, who is Jesus? He is the very Lamb of God who put His face toward Jerusalem in order to suffer and die on a cross, so that He would win for all who cling to Him the vineyard, which is the Church, the place of joy, and from the fruit comes the sweet wine of His Means of Grace – His undeserved forgiveness in Word and Sacrament – and the joy of salvation. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

O You of Little Faith, Why do you Doubt?

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26).

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? … But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown in to the oven, will he not much clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25, 30).

“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).

Over and over again, Jesus rebuked His holy apostles saying, “O you of little faith.” We are not much different from Christ’s holy apostles. We doubt. We doubt that God will provide. We worry about money and finances, especially during times of Inflation. Often, our worries are inward focused – on ourselves – instead of where they ought to be as outwardly focused on God.  

We often find ourselves playing the role of the rich fool, who would rather store up his goods, so we can say, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 20:19). After all, that is the American way, right? We store up goods, instead of giving back what rightfully belongs to God.

But what always happens, despite our doubting? God always provides for our needs. God is always faithful, even when we are “of little faith.”

Each Sunday, we confess our faith using the Creed (from Credo meaning, “I believe”). We confess, “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible” at each communion Divine Service (First Article of the Nicene Creed) or, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth” at each non-communion Divine Service (First Article of the Apostles’ Creed). But what exactly are we confessing?

Martin Luther noticed that during his time, many parishioners were just going through the motions and never gave much thought on what they were actually confessing. In his Large Catechism, Luther wrote[1]:

“Here much could be said if we were to describe how few people believe this article. We pass over it; we hear it and recite it, but we neither see nor think about what the words command us to do. For if we believed it with our whole heart, we would also act accordingly, and not swagger about and boast and brag as if we had life, riches, power, honor, and such things of ourselves, as if we ourselves were to be feared and served. This is the way the wretched, perverse world acts, drowned in its blindness, misusing all the blessings and gifts of God solely for its own pride, greed, pleasure, and enjoyment, and never turning to God to thank Him or acknowledge Him as Lord or Creator.

“Therefore, if we believed it, this article should humble and terrify all of us. For we sin daily with our eyes, ears, hands, body and soul, money and property, and with all that we have, especially those who even fight against the Word of God. Yet Christians have this advantage, that they acknowledge that they owe it to God to serve and obey Him for all these things”

So, what are all these things? What exactly are we confessing in the First Article of the Creed?

Well, we confess that God is the giver of all things. He always provides. We only receive. We don’t earn anything by our own merit. God is the giver of all wealth. God is the giver because He is the Creator of heaven and earth.

Luther again writes in his Large Catechism[2]:

“What is meant by these words or what do you mean when you say, ‘I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator,’ etc.? Answer: I hold and believe that I am God’s creature, that is, that He has given me and constantly sustains my body, soul, and life, my members great and small, all my senses, my reason and understanding, and the like; my food and drink, clothing, nourishment, spouse and children, servants, house and farm, etc. Besides, He makes all creation help provide the benefits and necessities of life – sun, moon, and stars in the heavens; day and night; air, fire, water, the earth and all that it yields and brings forth; birds, fish, animals, grain, and all sorts of produce. Moreover, He gives all physical and temporal blessings – good government, peace, security. Thus we learn from this article that none of us has life – or anything else that has been mentioned here or can be mentioned – from ourselves, nor can we by ourselves preserve any of them, however small and unimportant. All this is comprehended in the word ‘Creator.’”

In the First Article of the Creed, we confess that God provides. God always provides! Great is His faithfulness to us! He provides our temporal needs (food, clothing, shelter, and the like) to all people, believer and unbeliever alike, and He provides our eternal needs (forgiveness of sins, which begets eternal life and salvation) to all who trust in Jesus Christ alone!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
   his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
   “therefore I will hope in him” (Lamentations 3:22-24).

In Christ,

Pastor Adelsen

---

[1] Kolb, Robert and Wengert, Timothy. The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000), 432-433.

[2] Ibid.