Matthew 21:33-46
Page 835 in Pew Bibles
33. “Listen to another parable: There
was a man, a landowner, who
planted a vineyard, put a fence
around it, dug a winepress in it, and
built a watchtower. He leased it to
tenant farmers and went away.
34. When the grape harvest drew near,
he sent his slaves to the farmers to
collect his fruit.
35. But the farmers took his slaves, beat
one, killed another, and stoned a
third.
36. Again, he sent other slaves, more
than the first group, and they did the
same to them.
37. Finally, he sent his son to them.
‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38. “But when the tenant farmers saw
the son, they said among
themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come,
let’s kill him and take his
inheritance!’
39. So they seized him and threw him
out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40. Therefore, when the owner of the
vineyard comes, what will he do to
those farmers?”
41. “He will completely destroy those
terrible men,” they told Him, “and
lease his vineyard to other farmers
who will give him his produce at the
harvest.”
42. Jesus said to them, “Have you never
read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone. This
came from the Lord and is wonderful
in our eyes?
43. Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of
God will be taken away from you
and given to a nation producing its
fruit.
44. Whoever falls on this stone will be
broken to pieces; but on whomever
it falls, it will grind him to powder!”
45. When the chief priests and the
Pharisees heard His parables, they
knew He was speaking about them.
46. Although they were looking for a
way to arrest Him, they feared the
crowds, because they regarded Him
as a prophet.
God Gives Us Every
Opportunity
• Vs. 33 “…a landowner, who
planted a vineyard , put a
fence around it, dug a
winepress in it, and built a
watchtower…”
>
Isaiah 5:2 & 4
.>
2. [God] broke up the soil, cleared it
of stones, and planted it with the
finest vines. He built a tower in
the middle of it and even hewed
out a winepress there. He
expected it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.
4. What more could I have done for
My vineyard than I did? Why,
when I expected a yield of good
grapes, did it yield worthless
grapes?
Responsibility and
Accountability
• Vs. 33 “…He leased it to
tenant farmers and went
away”
.>
God Has a Right to
Expect Your Fruitfulness
• Vs. 34 “When the grape
harvest drew near, he sent
his slaves to the farmers to
collect his fruit.”
.>
When in Sin, We Don’t Like
Being Called to Account
• Vs. 35-36 “But the farmers
took his slaves, beat one,
killed another, and stoned a
third. Again, he sent other
slaves, more than the first
group, and they did the same
to them.”
.>
Is this Father Naïve?
.>
• Vs. 37-38 “Finally, he sent
his son to them. ‘They will
respect my son,’ he said…”
• The son represents a
powerful family
• The sharecroppers know
who they’re dealing with
• It would be crazy to be
disrespect the son
The Insanity of
Sinful Reasoning
.>
• Vs. 38 “But when the tenant
farmers saw the son, they
said among themselves,
‘This is the heir. Come, let’s
kill him and take his
inheritance!’ “
• When the Father is still
around to exact justice, is
this a good idea?
The Grace of the Father
• Vs. 37 “Finally, he sent his
son to them…”
• Romans 8:32 “He did not
even spare His own Son,
but offered Him up for us all;
how will He not also with
Him grant us everything?”
.>
We Don’t Have a Right to
Expect Immunity from
Persecution
• Vs. 35-36 “But the farmers
took his slaves, beat one,
killed another, and stoned a
third. Again, he sent other
slaves, more than the first
group, and they did the same
to them.”
.>
Jesus May Not Be Our
Plan, But He’s the
Father’s Plan
.>
• Vs. 42 “Jesus said to them,
‘Have you never read in the
Scriptures:
The stone that the builders
rejected has become the
cornerstone. This came from
the Lord and is wonderful in
our eyes?
The Peril of
Rejecting Jesus
• Vs. 44 “Whoever falls on this
stone will be broken to
pieces; but on whomever it
falls, it will grind him to
powder!”
.>
Religious People Make
the Best Christ-Rejecters
.>
• Vs. 45-46 “When the chief
priests and the Pharisees
heard His parables, they
knew He was speaking about
them. Although they were
looking for a way to arrest
Him, they feared the crowds,
because they regarded Him
as a prophet.”
Why Religious People
Reject Christ
.>
• Relying on Christ downplays
our best efforts
• Relying on Christ reproves
our self-righteousness
• We must rely on Christ
because God refuses to
accept us on our own terms
• Relying on Christ means we
can’t share the credit
Use it or Lose it
• Vs. 42 “Therefore I tell you,
the kingdom of God will be
taken away from you and
given to a nation producing
its fruit.”
.>
We Don’t Have the
Right to God’s Grace
Forever
. .
• Vs. 40-41 “Therefore, when the
owner of the vineyard comes,
what will he do to those
farmers?’ ‘He will completely
destroy those terrible men,’
they told Him, ‘and lease his
vineyard to other farmers who
will give him his produce at the
harvest.’”