(A) Introduction. Read: Luke20v9to19

Jesus' Jewish hearers were perfectly clear what the vineyard in the parable stood for. In Isaiah5v1to7 we have a Song of the Vineyard. It bears a striking resemblance to the Parable of the Tenants. Isaiah wrote: The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel. Is4v7. So in the first instance Jesus' parable applies to the Jews of his day - the house of Israel. It is one of the parables that the people understood. They said in response to it: "May this never be!" Lk20v16. The religious leaders also realised it was aimed specifically at them. Luke tells us: 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. Lk20v19. However, it would be wrong not also to apply the parable to the church because sadly the failings of the Jewish leaders are repeated by some church leader today.

(B) God's enterprise.

The man who planted the vineyard was:

(1) Painstaking. It was difficult and skilful work to plant a vineyard. It represented a significant investment of time and effort.

(2) Patient. The owner had to wait several years before a vineyard became productive.

(3) Prudent. In Mark's gospel we read: He put a wall around it ..... and built a watchtower. Mk12v1. The man took steps to protect the vines from casual intruders like jackels and more wilful, determined thieves.

(4) Positive. He anticipated a harvest and the production of wine. He .... dug a pit for a winepress. Mk12v1. Wine was a wonderful product. It could be used to cheer, refresh, cleanse, heal, flavour and preserve.

(5) Prepared to entrust his vineyard to tenants. In doing so the owner took a risk. He gambled that the tenants would take care of the vines and honour the tenancy agreement.

God acted in the same way to create the house of Israel. He had been:

(1) Painstaking. It was by no means easy for God to create a distinctive people for himself! The Old Testament is all about the effort God made and the skill he showed in forming the house of Israel. God led them out of Egypt, through the wilderness and finally established them in the Promised Land where through the centuries he kept them.

(2) Patient. God was patient with his people - teaching them hard lessons over many years. It took 70 years in exile before idolatry became abhorrent and an abomination to God's people.

(3) Prudent. The Law of Moses walled the Israelites in. It was the law that kept them distinct from their neighbours. God also sent many of his servants to man the watchtower to warn of what would damage his elect people.

(4) Positive. God did expect to share in the benefits of his vineyard, Israel. He expected his due: honour, praise, respect, obedience, virtue and love.

(5) Prepared to take risks. He left his people in the hands of their leaders - leaders who might enjoy what God created without thought of him and without any intention of sharing the benefits with him.

God's church - whether the universal church or some local fellowship - owes everything to him. He has been equally painstaking and patient building his church as he ever was creating the house of Israel. God has shown prudence in providing his church with many means of grace: his word, his Spirit, a mighty intercessor in heaven, gracious men on earth who warn of the enemies without and within. So God expects to enjoy fruit for his labour of love; just as wine cheers the heart so God expects to rejoice in the love and reverence of his people. The Creator has gambled because he has left the church in the custody of its leaders who can enjoy the privilege of leadership without always fulfilling their responsibility to provide God with his share of good things: devotion, honour and praise.

To God be the glory! great things He hath done:
So loved He the world that He gave us his Son;
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the Life-gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord! praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord! praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice!
Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son;
And give Him the glory - great things He hath done

(C) God's expectation.

The man who created the vineyard expected three things of the tenants:

(1) Acknowledgment that the vineyard belonged to him.

(2) Evidence that the vineyard was in good condition.

(3) A willingness to satisfy the terms of the tenancy.

The owners expectation is summed up by the words: "So he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard." Lk20v10. If the tenants welcomed the owner's servant and sent him back to his master with a share of the harvest all three conditions would be met.

There were lessons here for the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day:

(1) God desired the religious leaders to acknowledge that everything that made Israel special was down to him. It was he who chose Abraham to be the father of a great people; it was he who rescued the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt; it was he that gave them the law and the sacrificial system; it was by his grace that the sacrifices offered in the Temple atoned for their sins; it was he who had preserved them for so long so that although under Roman rule they retained their sacred Scriptures and distinctive way of life.

(2) The leaders should have taught the people in such a way that their lives were pleasing to God. But this was not happening. Jesus said on another occasion: "Woe to you, teacher's of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are." Mt23v15. "But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness." Mt23v23.

The religion of the lawyers, priests and Pharisees was formalistic, ritualistic and legalistic. It produced little fruit for God.

(3) God expected the covenant or agreement he made with his people to be kept. That agreement is summed up by this passage in Dt30v9and10: "The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in the Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." God wanted his people to have circumcised hearts because then in the words of Moses: "You may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live." Dt30v6.

God was not receiving much love at the time of Jesus!

Similarly God expects great things of his church:

(1) A clear acknowledgment in everything that is said and done that it belongs to him.

(2) Definite evidence that it is in good shape. The one like a Son of Man revealed to John that he knew the condition of the seven churches. He knew that the church in Ephesus had forsaken its first love! Jesus knows the condition of our church! One of the best tests of whether the church we attend is in good condition is to see how far its members conform to Paul's advice in: Romans12v9to21. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practise hospitality ... and so on!

(3) A share in the good things of his church. If the leaders are honoured - he expects honour; if they are praised - he expects praise; if they are obeyed - he expects obedience; if they are thanked - he expects thanks and if they are valued - he expects to be valued. It is a shocking thing if a church gives more to its leaders than it gives to its God and his dear Son.

(D) God's endeavour.

The owner of the vineyard made every effort to exact his rightful due:

(1) He sent three servants to the tenants - one after another - even though each of them was mistreated. Indeed, according to Mark, Jesus said: "He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed." Mk12v5.

The owner was remarkably forbearing and longsuffering with the tenants of his vineyard.

(2) Last of all he sent his son. "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'" Lk20v13.

There is something very moving about these words. The owner has one last card to play - he will send his beloved son. He doesn't seem too confident that it will work. The owner can only say, "Perhaps they will respect him." But he decides to try anyway, notwithstanding the treatment meted out to his servants. What condescension the owner showed in sending his only son into such a hostile and potentially dangerous situation.

These details of the parable exactly mirror God's response to the unfruitfulness of the house of Israel:

(1) He sent a succession of godly men from Moses to John the Baptist to point his people in the right direction.

(2) Finally in loving mercy God sent them Jesus, his own dear Son. John wrote in his wonderful opening verses of his gospel: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jn1v17.

God treats the many unproductive people in the church in just the same way:

(1) He sends servants and messages: a sermon that cuts to the heart, a testimony that challenges, a preacher's illustration given potency by the Spirit, the godly example of someone near and dear, a few words of Scripture that seem to exactly match your need ....... .

(2) From time to time Jesus himself comes vividly to the uncommitted: his love is made real, his saving death stirs the emotions, his matchless life wins admiration, his humility to come as the babe to Bethlehem brings a tear to the eye, his appeal tugs at the will ....

God is not to blame for your unfruitfulness! He is faithful - he is persevering - he is longsuffering - not willing that any should perish. You can never, never blame God!

(E) God's exasperation.

The owner of vineyard was exasperated by the reaction of the tenants to his efforts to exact his rightful due.

The tenants:

(1) Refuse, time after time, to give him a share of the harvest.

(2) Ignore or, worse, savagely mistreat his servants. Some do not make it home at all!

(3) Kill the owner's son to get possession and gain control of the vineyard for themselves.

The parable contains some of the most chilling words to be found in the New Testament: "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.' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him." Lk20v14and15.

The heir was not killed on impulse. He was not killed in ignorance. It was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder. The tenant wanted total control. If they murdered the Son they could make the vineyard theirs and theirs alone.

The Jewish leaders wished to exploit Judaism - the Jewish religious system - for their own benefit entirely. They wanted it all to belong to them. So John wrote in his gospel: He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Jn1v11.

This is true of each interested party:

(1) The priests who ran the Temple and had oversight of the great national festivals. This gave them considerable status which they used to acquire political power. The priests also exploited the sacrificial system to make money and get rich. God was left out of what went on in the Temple which should have been the place his goodness and grace were acknowledged. Sacrifices were a futility unless God accepted them. A sin offering was but a token payment and depended upon God's grace to become effective.

Jesus said of the priests: "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"

(2) The lawyers made their living interpreting and applying the law. They were experts in all the different rulings in the past and the attendant clarifications and additions. The lawyers had made the law burdensome to the man in the street. Jesus said: "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." Mt23v4.

The law should have been a cause for praising God. Men should have seen it as an expression of God's love as did the writer of Psalm119 who wrote: Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Ps119v97

By Jesus' time lawyers had appropriated the law for their own ends making it harder and harder to keep and thereby robbing God of praise and love.

(3) The Pharisees made their reputations and received the plaudits of men out of ostentatiously keeping the law in all the pernickety detail added to it. The law existed to make them look good.

The Pharisees made it so hard to be good that the common man was deterred from trying to please God. Jesus said: "You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." Mt23v13.

The Pharisees wanted devotees. They wanted to be worshipped but they hindered ordinary folk from worshipping God. How could they worship God whose law made their lives a misery? So the Pharisees got all the honour and glory for themselves and robbed God of his due.

So the priests, lawyers and Pharisees conspire to kill the son. They do it out of envy because he threatens their precious status. If only they get rid of the son then they will be well and truly in charge.

Some of these terrible failings can be found amongst church leaders who have come to believe the church exists for their benefit. There are those who make:

(1) Ritual and tradition everything. Such leaders are little better than actors on a stage. They are in it for the attention they receive, the status they acquire and the possibility of advancing their careers and appearing in star roles.

God doesn't get his due. He is somehow lost in the performance. Jesus the only Saviour of mankind is not presented with any real feeling as man's only living hope. The trouble with a performance is that everyone knows it is not for real.

(2) Scholarship everything. Such delight in showing off their knowledge of ancient languages. They pick holes in the text and cast doubt on the veracity of the gospels. They undermine the faith of many with their clever criticism.

There are others who are obsessed with a certain distinctive body of doctrine and love nothing better than showing up those from whom they differ.

It is almost as if God's wisdom comes a poor second to the academics knowledge and expertise. They leave us with a scarcely credible Jesus. The living Christ, powerful to save, is hidden. Not for them the triumphant testimony of John: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will but born of God. Jn1v13.

(3) Rules and regulations everything. Legalism still persists in some churches. The holy are defined by their conformity to rules, practices or their adherence to a set of man derived doctrines. God's grace and mercy are obscured. Love takes a back seat. The teaching of Paul is ignored: For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works .... . Eph3v8to10.

Legalism robs God of the credit for our salvation and denies him the praise for setting the believer free from rules and regulations.

(4) A convenience of the church. It can become the place where we showcase our talent - whatever that might be. It is where we acquire a reputation; where we receive honour, appreciation and praise. The orator, musician, choir master, songster, flower arranger, fixer and organiser can use the church to display their talents and get credit for them. Such people don't care whether or not God gets his due so long as they get theirs.

This is a sad state of affairs to say the least. We need to watch very carefully that we do not become possessive about OUR church.

(F) God's execution.

Jesus said: "What will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." v16.

The tenants experienced two consequences of rejecting the son:

(1) They lost all they had. They were dispossessed of their tenancy and lost their lives. This is what happened to the Jews. Jesus said to the Pharisees and lawyers: "And so upon you will come the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barakiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation." Mt23v35and36.

The Jews lost their special status as the people of God. They lost their land, their Temple, the sacrificial system and the means to atone for their sin.

(2) The vineyard owner gave his vineyard to others. It is at this point, in response to the people's cry of, "May this never be." that Jesus changes the imagery. God will build a new house to replace the house of Israel. The cornerstone or foundation stone of this house would be rejected by the majority of Jews. Rejection would result in the house of Israel being crushed but those who accepted it, who fell upon it in brokenness, repentance and faith would be incorporated into God's new house - the church.

Lessons today:

Churches will not thrive that refuse to give God his due. Churches should be like a large, extended family where God is honoured, praised, thanked, appreciated, worshipped, obeyed and loved. Leaders must love, obey and exalt Jesus the living head. He should never, never be hid let alone virtually killed off. It is the leader's responsibility to cultivate in the members of the church those qualities that please Jesus.

The surest way for a church to fail is for the leadership to desire what is rightfully God's and refuse to give central place to Jesus.

Churches that displace Jesus from his rightful place will eventually dwindle and die unless the Spirit comes in reviving power. We can be sure that churches that bear little fruit will be replaced by those that will.