March 21-Lent 5-St. Luke 20:9-19

‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.’ (Ps. 19:14) Amen.

‘Grace, mercy and peace will be with you, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.’ (2 John 3) Amen.

‘And he [Jesus] began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went away into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.’ (Vv. 9, 10)

Many of you are aware of the concept here. This parable has to do with a farmer who has retired or for some other reason cannot farm all of his land himself. So, this retired farmer rents out his land to various renters. He signs a contract for the going rate and then heads off to Arizona. Sound more familiar? This parable probably made a lot of sense even in the words of Jesus.

This arrangement can have its headaches. If the owner gets a bad renter, this could mean for our day at the worst, there would not be any rent to collect. It would be possible for anyone today to have renters like the ones in the parable but unlikely. After all, most owners today would contact the proper authorities after the first employee had been sent off to collect the rent.

The owner from our view is being very easy-going or lax.

Let me tell the parable a different way. God the Father brought the Israelites into the Promised Land. He allowed time for the fruits of repentance to come and then sent His prophets to bring this home to Him. Time and again, the Father sent prophets. He sent Elijah, He sent Isaiah, He sent Jeremiah, He sent Ezekiel, and the Father sent all the rest. Not one of these prophets were received by God’s people, some were driven away. Some of the prophets were beaten and some were killed.

Finally, the Father sent Jesus.

Just like the parable, the fact that the Son was coming had been broadcast for the tenants, the Israelites. Yet, like the many prophets, the Son was also rejected by these tenants. The people of Jerusalem and Israel showed no repentance and in fact open rebellion instead.

As I mentioned before, being a landowner has its own headaches. We can see this from the interpretation of this parable as being about God and His dealings with the children of Israel. There are many anxieties with this position like any other. Even in the first century, I am sure that the rules changed, at least as far as the Romans were concerned. They always seemed to be very good at getting their fair share, be it taxes or otherwise. Today, being a landowner, and a renter, comes with its own special group of concerns.

For us, we do not know if our taxes will change. On the other hand, we can be sure that they will be changed, but not how much or exactly when. This goes for ownership of land as well as any other type of taxes. This as well as uncertainty about government brings with it certain amounts of anxiety. We humans tend to get anxious when we are not sure how things are going.

Something that provides comfort for you and I as Christians is the end of our Old Testament lesson. ‘ “For I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I have chosen for myself that they might declare my praise.”’ (Isaiah 43:20, 21) Who is God’s chosen people today? You know the answer. Jesus has given it to you.

These verses from Isaiah speak to what God does for those of us who He has created for Himself. Those of us who were in darkness, but now have been brought into the marvelous light of Christ. What does God do for those that are His children now? He provides for them water in the desert of this world. You and I live in a spiritual desert. We come here each week to receive the water of life that we may continue to live in the desert. The church is an oasis in a desert, given by God for a lost and dying world.

The church exists for the life of the world. First the church exists for the life of those who are members of this body. At the same time, the church exists for the life of those who are dying in the spiritual darkness around us.

‘And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’’ (Vv. 11-14)

So, our loving God tries. He tries with you and me, He tries with His own children. Our loving God tries even when His children continue to reject the messengers that are sent to proclaim the Gospel. This is a parable about the church. This is not something that teaches us about the spiritual state of those who are still living in darkness. After all, it was not those who were outcasts in society, the harlots and tax-gatherers who were offended at Jesus words. Instead, it is the pillars of the church that are offended.

When we read that the tenants have killed the son, we cannot help but think, “How could they be so foolish as to think they could get away with such a terrible crime!” Yet, you and I are the ones who should be the most offended at this parable of the wicked tenants. We are the church; you are the wicked tenant. Think about it. You and I in our sins are just as foolish and daring as these tenants are. We think, “God won’t notice just this once.” Or worse, “He’ll give me a pass. After all, I’m a Christian!”

As we know about salvation, our loving God offers the free forgiveness of sins and everlasting life through repentance and faith in His Son to all. Just as the wicked tenants of the parable were given chance after chance, so are you and I. We are given chance after chance even when, like Thomas, we doubt. No, we don’t doubt the resurrection of Jesus. No we don’t doubt that we are saved because of the work of Christ and not because of our own works. We tend not to trust God above all else.

You and I, our temptation now comes with trusting God when it comes to our daily life. When it comes to politics, we have trouble trusting. When it comes to retirement or the economy, we have a hard time trusting. Whatever it may be in our daily life, we have trouble trusting. We forget what we know very well. Satan and his fallen angels are subtle. You and I are tempted by the demons not to trust our loving Father when it comes to our Father “richly and daily providing me with all that I need to support this body and life”. Or, we forget to trust in regard to our Father defending “me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil”. (Small Catechism II: 1st)

‘What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”’ (Vv. 15-18)

So, what will happen to those who reject Christ? Jesus tells us very clearly. He says that the owner of the vineyard will come and destroy those wicked tenants. The crowd is shocked at this. The words of the people to Jesus in response to the final act of the parable seem kind of lightweight. We don’t tend to think this is that big of a reaction. In reality, the Greek Luke uses is the strongest words a Greek speaker could use to express shock at the outcome of the parable. This is like us saying, “may this never come to pass!”

Yet this is the spiritual condition of many in not only in our own area but of billions around the world. Even here in the United States of America. This in spite of the church continually speaking of the hope we have to those around us. We do this by every means possible that we might save some. Even as we proclaim the Gospel to those we come in contact with we are also following the words of the Holy Spirit through Isaiah. ‘“For I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I have chosen for myself that they might declare my praise.”’ (Isaiah 43:20, 21)

You have been given water in the desert of this world, rejoice in the Gospel. You are the ones who are provided for even in the uncertainty of daily life. You are the one who has received forgiveness of sins through repentance and eternal life with Christ. For this reason, you have been given divine guidance. The Holy Spirit lives in you to provide guidance through the twisted path of life that you may remain on the path of life.

In Jesus’+ Name. Amen.