The Parable of the Land Owner
Fifth Sunday in Lent (March 25, 2007)
Rev. Steven D. Spencer, Pastor
Luke 20:9-20
9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 "Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 "Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 "And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out. 13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.' 14 "But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' 15 "So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 "He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others." And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!" 17 Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone'? 18 "Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." 19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them. 20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor
We are hard pressed to see ourselves as we truly are. There is a saying: “You’re not what you think you are, but what you think about all day long is what you are. Years before TVs, radios and computers influenced who we are, people found information in other ways, by attending church events, concerts and public speaking engagements. During a public speaking engagement in 1786, the famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns, addressed an audience. He shared a poem about his experiences just days before in church. Being a pious man, he always arrived early to get his favorite spot. Just minutes before church started a very well-dressed lady sat in the pew in front of him. He was admiring her beautiful hairdo, for it stood high and blocked his view of the pulpit. A view for which had arrived early. As he was looking at the back of the woman’s head, he noticed a beautiful bonnet and all the hair was perfect underneath it. As he gazed at the back of her head he saw a louse peeking out of the woman’s hair! The woman was all prim and proper and had no idea that a louse had made her hair its home. In his poem he pokes fun at her for several lines, and then he even turns to the louse itself and says, “You ugly, creeping, blastit worm, detested, shunned by saint an sinner, how dare ye set your fit upon her—Say a fine lady! Go somewhere else and seek your dinner on some poor body.” He continued on, and in the closing stanza, the poet makes this observation: “O what some Power the gift He give us to see ourselves as we truly are!”
It is, indeed, a powerful blessing to be able to see ourselves as we truly are. I think it is safe to say most of us have a problem with that. And what’s true for the individual is true for the group. Our society has trouble with it too, especially when it comes to seeing sin. Way back in the olden days, 1997, US News & World Report conducted a survey of 1,000 people and asked them which people were likely or somewhat likely to go to heaven. Again, this was 10 years ago, not so long ago. According to the survey, the person considered most likely to go to heaven was “Mother Theresa,” with 79%. The next four choices were rather interesting—Oprah Winfrey at 66%, Michael Jordan at 65%, Colin Powell at 61%, and Princess Diana at 60%. The two people considered most unlikely to go to heaven were Dennis Rodman at 28% and O.J. Simpson at 19%. What was truly amazing, though, was how the respondents rated their own chances of going to heaven. Of those who answered the survey, 87% said that they personally were going to heaven—nearly 10 points higher than Mother Theresa who was in first place nationwide. In another survey, about the same time, people believed they were going to heaven because they were good at heart! What does that mean?
As a society, we have trouble seeing ourselves as we truly are, and apparently that difficulty has been around for a very long time. In our lesson today Jesus used a parable to shock His listeners into seeing themselves as they are. I’m referring to the parable of the Landowner. It’s found in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It’s important to put this parable in time context. It was told on the Tuesday of Holy Week, the week crucifixion. You might remember that the crowds welcomed Jesus on Sunday, (Palm Sunday). And throughout the week, Jesus spent a great deal of time reasoning with the religious leaders as they tried to trap Him in His words. This morning’s parable, then, was most likely told on Tuesday as the last attempt to turn the hearts and minds of those who so hated Jesus. It is prophetic in nature. So let’s turn to the parable.
I. God is Good.
The first thing we notice is that vineyard owner is good. We see his goodness of he prepares a vineyard for His people. We notice that the landowner went above and beyond the minimum requirements. In Luke 20:9, we find that he planted a vineyard, but in the other accounts, we find more details. In Matthew’s account, we find that he built a wall around it. The wall was meant to protect the crop from thieves and predators, but also to protect it from the wind. Matthew also tells us that the landowner dug a wine press in the vineyard. From what we can read in history, not every vineyard had its own winepress. Often, the grapes would need to be transported off-site to be pressed, but this landowner wanted to do things right. He wanted to make things easier and make it more efficient, so he went to the expense of building a wine press right there in the vineyard. Beyond this, the landowner also built a tower to provide some level of protection. And then in Mark’s account, we also find that he dug a vat under the winepress. And so we find that the landowner was generous and good.
The owner, therefore, was not a slumlord, but was a good and generous landowner. He had done all of the work. All He needs at this point is someone to rent the vineyard. The word “rent” appears only four times in the Bible, and all four uses are found in this parable. We’re not told how much the rent was going to be, although Luke’s account tells us that the agreement was for “some of the produce of the vineyard.” In other words, they didn’t have to pay the owner cash; they simply needed to provide a certain percentage of the harvest. That way, even if the harvest wasn’t any good, they could still honor the agreement.
The landowner went on a long journey. This was not a landlord who constantly snooped around. He didn’t meddle in their business, he didn’t show up unannounced, he didn’t do some of the annoying things that landlords have been known to do, but he trusted the renters with a serious responsibility. It was a simple plan where everyone could benefit. The landowner could see a return on his investment, and the renters could benefit by working in a brand new vineyard.
Of course, as we keep on reading, we quickly realize that Jesus was not referring to a literal vineyard. In the Old Testament, we learn from Isaiah, a vineyard is often used to represent Israel, and this is a picture that would have been very familiar to the hearers of this parable. Jesus is telling a parable about the goodness of God to the nation of Israel.
II. God is Patient
As we look at the parable, we find that vineyard owner is not only good, but HE IS PATIENT. In fact, we find that his patience in this parable goes far beyond any human and definitely any human landlord. Probably all of us have experience of rented. We sure have we’re renting now. If you’ve never rented a house or an apartment, then maybe you have rented something else. Most of us have rented cars, tools or maybe movies. To rent usually requires signing some paperwork. The common denominator in renting is the exchange of payment. We get to use whatever, but it’s temporarily, it’s for a fee. It’s not ours, but we are paying for the privilege of using it. But we see in this parable that after the agreement was made, the renters changed their minds. Suddenly, they didn’t want to pay, but they wanted to keep the vineyard as their own. Luke shows us a steady progression. The landowner starts by sending a single slave. This slave is beaten and is sent away empty handed. After that, he sends a second slave, and this one is not only beaten, but he is treated “shamefully.” This slave is humiliated. In verse 12, the third slave is sent, and this one is wounded and cast out.
I think all of us would agree that the landowner, after the beating of the very first slave, would have had the legal and moral right to remove the renters immediately. From what we can read, the landowner hadn’t treated his renters unfairly; he hadn’t changed the agreement, nor was he wasn’t being unreasonable. This was not a dispute over working conditions, or needed maintenance. The renters wanted to be the owners. They wanted all of the crops and they wanted the land and improvements as well.
But in spite of the violence, the landowner didn’t raise the rent, he didn’t call the authorities, he didn’t kick them out of the vineyard, but he patiently kept on sending messengers to remind them that the rent was due.
And again, we are reminded that this is not really a story about a landlord and a vineyard. We look back at the Old Testament, and find that Israel continually persecuted God’s messengers. The people constantly challenged Moses in the wilderness. - Elijah who had to flee from the land of Israel. The prophet Zechariah was stoned to death in the courtyard of God’s temple. Saul ordered the murder of 85 priests at once. Uriah was murdered by King Jehoiakim. Jeremiah was beaten and thrown into a cistern. Isaiah was placed in a hollow log and sawn in two at the command of King Manasseh. Over and over again, God gave His people ample warning. He gave them time to repent. But over and over again, the people rejected God’s warnings. From this we learn of, “the amazing patience of God.”
We thank God for His patience! This is not a parable about grapes and rent, but it is a parable about sin and rejecting God’s will. It’s about not seeing ourselves are we truly are. Or receiving what we truly deserve.
III. GOD’S AMAZING LOVE
We learn from this parable of GOD’S AMAZING LOVE. Our human wisdom says that the landowner should have called in the authorities after the first messenger was sent away. But then there was the second, and a third, and others who were beaten, humiliated and killed. And after all of this, the landowner decides to send in his own son. And again, we’re shocked. What landowner would be so patient? What landowner would be so loving? The answer is: None! There would be no landlord so patient or loving. But the parable once again is not about a vineyard, it’s about the supernatural love of God. In real life, Jesus was living this parable as it was told for the first time. Jesus was telling this parable while on a mission from His Father to give these people a last chance.
And instead of listening to the warning, the Jewish leaders lived out the parable to the very end. Out of jealousy they wanted to take control of God’s vineyard, they wanted ownership. They wanted lordship of their lives and their religion. Ultimately they wanted to define God, who he is or isn’t. So they start plotting to have Jesus be put to death.
To understand this parable, we need to know that Jewish law said that if a landowner died, the person who claimed the unclaimed property first could have it. Most likely, then, the renters assumed that the owner had died when on journey and that the son had been sending the long string of servants and that the son was the only living heir. In their own reasoning, then, they could kill the heir, and they could immediately claim the property as their own, and no one would know.
As we look back on it, we see it so clearly. In Mark’s account, Mark says that the landowner decided to send his only “beloved son.” Those same words came out of the clouds when Jesus was baptized, “You are my beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.” In contrast to this loving sacrifice, we see the murder of God’s only Son. It was not a spontaneous act, but is calculated and premeditated. But amazingly, God still loves the human race. The parable shows us the amazing love of God.
IV. God is Just
But GOD IS JUST. The owner of the vineyard was good, and patient, and loving, but he won’t allow the wickedness of the renters to go on forever. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? Verse 16 “He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” Even the listeners, who were guilty, understood that a good, and loving and patient father wouldn’t ignore the murder of his only Son. They understood that justice demanded some form of retribution. But they deny it saying: Surely not!
As Jesus responds, as He quotes from Psalm 18:22, “The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone.” He then applies that Scripture by saying, “He who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” Jesus was telling the people who reject 1 of 2 things will happen (1.) You can repent fall on Him and let your pride be broken; admit God owns all and that Jesus His son or (2.) Perish! You can stand there stubbornly and be crushed reduced to nothing but dust. Repent or Perish that is the only choice for those who reject Jesus!
CONCLUSION: A Merciful and Generous God
But for you, my fellow redeemed, God is merciful and generous. For just a few days after Jesus utters this parable, this prophesy, God shares the greatest gift of all, “Jesus life!” God abundantly shares the fruit of His vineyard. He shares His mercy and His amazing love. For by the fruit of the cross, death is turned into life. By the life, suffering and death of Jesus your sins are forgiven. This is God’s great gift to you; All your sins are forgiven, in Jesus name, Amen!