Matthew 21:33-46 ~ they took Him

Vineyards at Auver, by Vincent Van Gogh, in 1890


Matthew 21:33-46 ~ (The Message)

33-34 "Here's another story. Listen closely. There was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a trip. When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent his servants back to collect his profits.

35-37 "The farmhands grabbed the first servant and beat him up. The next one they murdered. They threw stones at the third but he got away. The owner tried again, sending more servants. They got the same treatment. The owner was at the end of his rope. He decided to send his son. 'Surely,' he thought, 'they will respect my son.'

38-39 "But when the farmhands saw the son arrive, they rubbed their hands in greed. 'This is the heir! Let's kill him and have it all for ourselves.' They grabbed him, threw him out, and killed him.

40 "Now, when the owner of the vineyard arrives home from his trip, what do you think he will do to the farmhands?"

41 "He'll kill them—a rotten bunch, and good riddance," they answered. "Then he'll assign the vineyard to farmhands who will hand over the profits when it's time."

42-44 Jesus said, "Right—and you can read it for yourselves in your Bibles:

The stone the masons threw out
is now the cornerstone.
This is God's work;
we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it!
"This is the way it is with you. God's kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life. Whoever stumbles on this Stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed."

45-46 When the religious leaders heard this story, they knew it was aimed at them. They wanted to arrest Jesus and put him in jail, but, intimidated by public opinion, they held back. Most people held him to be a prophet of God.

Jesus as the Son of God, was a prophet. As He told the parable to the crowd, He knew the Pharisees would kill Him. He calmly told the parable knowing the story is His story. He faced them knowing the narration was truthful and would aggravate them.

Just as Jesus did, we need to see our lives with merciful honesty about the people in our lives, to reach for the higher good and not the convenient path. I don't believe for a nano second Jesus comforted himself by pretending the Pharisees were good underneath. Yes, he was going to turn the other cheek to forgive them, but only with His Grace, not false pretense in belief of their goodness.

Jesus had the same option we have today in facing unpleasant behavior. Jesus did not control how the Pharisees behaved to Him, He had action on His own behalf, but He didn't control what they said and thought about Him. Jesus did what we should do, He was not thrown back and forth like a wave as a reaction to their unpleasantness. Jesus represented His Father.

Jesus never stood up and promised ease and comfort, He told us the best is yet to be.


Chronicles 28:20
David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished."


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