The Authority with Which Jesus Spoke, Part 3

Luke 20, Part 1 (cont)

The husbandmen of the vineyard will not render up the fruits of repentance, rather they beat and finally slay the servants that God sent to them, until He finally sends His son and they kill Him as well. The crucifixion of Jesus is immanent. From the time of Elijah till now, the prophets came one by one, Isaiah, Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zecheriah, Malachi, John the Baptist and now the son of God Himself. Behold the goodness and serverity of God. He has remonstrated with the Jews for 1000 years, entreating them to accept His law and live by its precepts and they will not. For this reason the husbandmen of the vineyard will be destroyed, speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the temple that will happen in just a few short years. The chief priests, knowing that this parable was spoken against them, are aghast and say “God forbid…” Notice they didn’t say “God forbid, we repent” because they have no intention of following any other initiative but their own. They are almost persuaded as Agrippa trembled before Paul, but they will not relinquish the religious pride that they have swaddled themselves in so tightly. They would rather crucify the Miracle Worker than to lose face, or release their hold on their religious authority in any way. Because of this Jesus says they have fulfilled that which was written:

The Stone that the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. Further Jesus adds, whosoever shall fall upon the Rock that is Christ will be broken in a beneficial way, but whomsoever the Stone shall fall upon, it shall grind him to power. Grinding stone to powder is what the good kings in the line of David did when they punished the priests of Baal. They would take the altar and the graven images and execute the disobedient priests by filling their bellies and forcing down their throats the concrete of the pulverized icons and statues. The chief priests knew Jesus was calling them nothing more than idolaters, and from that very hour the only purpose overarching in their minds was how to kill Jesus and silence Him as they supposed, once and for all.

The question we might ask, is who are the others that the vineyard is loaned out to in verse 16? The husbandmen are the Jews, the prevailing religious system of Jesus’ day who are to be totally disenfranchised because they did then and to this day constitute themselves Christ rejecters. The others to whom the vineyard is now let out to are the Gentile nations, those to whom the apostle were sent to preach the gospel into the whole world. Will they likewise reject Jesus? We know from the prophets that ultimately the nations of the Gentiles will reject Christ as the Jews have done, but the difference is in that day He is not coming to suffer and die but to rule and reign for a 1000 years of peace upon the earth. The choice before us, is do we forsake our national and ethnic identities to become that one Holy Nation, called, sanctified, recreated in Christ Jesus to show forth the works thereof in godliness and righteousness?

The preaching of Jesus does not convert the leaders, it only inflames them to try to take Jesus in His own words. They send spies to Jesus to ask whether it is lawful to pay taxes. We hear this often today as well. In years past our pulpits were full of those preaching the message of tax revolt, most of those who wrote such books either went to prison or lost their livelihoods in the tax courts of our land back in the 1980’s. Jesus declines to weigh in on the matter, simply declaring render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which was God’s. What is He saying to them? He is saying to them that just as they harbor hatred and resentment against Caesar, they likewise have demonstrated no less disdain for the God they claim to serve.

What about you? Have you rendered to Caesar that which was Caesar’s? We spend money every year with tax preparers to do what we can to give the government of men as little as possible. What about rendering to God that which is God? There are preachers today the people flock to because they require very, very little. They are the tax cheats of the kingdom, showing in their doctrine how the people can claim maximum benefits in the kingdom with minimum recompense in terms of living lives of sacrifice, discipleship, and abandonment to any other course than their own selfish pursuits. Let us make it our aim not to claim the merits of salvation on the cheap, but to render up full fidelity and yieldedness to the God who bought us for so high a price as the life of His only begotten Son.

If you have never asked Jesus to come into your heart, we encourage you to do so today. He loves you so all you have to do is simply ask. Repeat this prayer: Heavenly Father, I accept all that Jesus paid the price for me to receive. I open my heart and ask Jesus to come in and I in turn give you my heart that I may live for you. Please forgive me for my sins and cleanse me from all unrightousness that I may live for you. Thank you, Jesus, I make you the Lord and Savior of my life.

If you have received Jesus today for the first time, please let us know. Send us an email at georgette.thmpsn@gmail.com. We would like to send you a free pocket New Testament and encourage you to read it and learn about all the good things the Father has provided for you. God bless you!

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