Think you could have heard a pin drop as Jesus, now verse 17, it says, He looked directly at them. He's going back to the Sanhedrin.
You could translate that verb, He looked them in the eye. The Sanhedrin, the religious leaders or the builders are supposed to build up and lead the nation correctly. They've rejected the cornerstone. They wanted the benefits, they wanted the produce, they wanted the power, but they didn't want the Son of God. Have you ever wondered about the true authority of Jesus? In part 3 of the series, Here Comes the King, Stephen explores Luke 20 verses 1 through 18. Jesus faced the religious leaders who questioned His authority. Discover the powerful parable Jesus shares, revealing His identity as the beloved Son and the ultimate cornerstone. Stephen will unpack the profound implications of this parable for the religious leaders and for you today. Keep listening as together we uncover the significance of accepting His authority.
This is wisdom for the heart and this message is called, The Air Has Arrived. When I grew up and eventually entered college, my parents had this unwritten rule for my three brothers and for me that we would not bring a girl home for Christmas break unless she was the one. Well, I dated Marcia for nearly four years and never invited her home over Christmas break and she knew why. So when I planned to propose to her on Thanksgiving weekend, just a couple of weeks before our college was breaking for Christmas, I set everything up.
I had the ring hidden out of sight. I planned to ask it this way and I did. I asked her, would you like to go home with me for Christmas break? And she looked at me and knew. I thought what that meant, of course, and her eyes got wide. She didn't say anything. So I clarified it a little more by saying, well, that is if I can introduce you as my fiancé. Eyes got a little wider and didn't say anything and then I, you know, came in with a verdict here. I said, that is if you'll marry me. And she said, I don't know. That's not how the movie was supposed to work.
I don't know. Well, now, granted, if Marcia could come up here and tell you her side of the story and I'm not going to let her do that. Well, really, her story would be this. Whenever we started talking seriously about marriage, I'd get a case of really, really cold feet. And in fact, we dated about eight months and I told her I loved her and two weeks later broke up with her. A year later, I gave her a promise ring and two weeks later I broke up with her. So as I'm proposing, she's hearing me saying we're going to break up in two weeks. I'm hearing we're going to get married in six months.
What do you say? So I had some clarifying to do. I like to say I talked her into saying yes that afternoon. And here we are 43 years later and I sure am glad she said yes. In fact, she's hearing this hour. Honey, you want to stand up and let them thank you for putting up with me all this time?
There she is. And it's easy to miss the meaning of what you think you're saying and what the person is hearing you saying, truly saying. In fact, this past week, somebody sent me this humorous quote that went like this. When older people say to you as young parents, enjoy them while they're young, they're talking about your knees.
Not your children. You might want to clarify what you mean. Well, if you could write a caption at the beginning of Luke's Gospel at chapter 20, it occurs to me that you could write one word, clarification. It's a chapter of clarifying questions and answers. In fact, Bible scholars refer to Luke chapter 20 and the events that take place in this chapter as the day of questions. You'll find nearly a dozen of them as we'll work our way through.
We'll cover one or two here today. The first one takes place here now as it opens in verse 1. One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the Gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, tell us by what authority you do these things or who it is that gave you this authority. Now, if you've been around here a while, you know that a reference here to the chief priests, scribes and elders' code for the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of Israel.
And they're not happy here. Think about it. As we've learned in the last 72 hours, Jesus has ridden into town. He's accepted the adoration of the people who've declared him to be the king. He has cleared the court of the Gentiles, cleansing the temple. He's called the temple leader's thieves or robbers. He's even had the audacity to refer to the temple as my house.
This is my house, he said. So the Sanhedrin, well, they show up because they want to examine Jesus, further clarify what's going on. In fact, one author pointed out the fact that the Jewish people would during this time be examining their Passover lambs to make sure they're without blemish. So Jesus, essentially as the final Passover lamb, is being examined, and he will be without sin. Now, at this point, we can imagine that the court is filled with people. This is the Passover season. And now, of course, they've come to see and hear the Lord, whom they've announced is king. So we have every indication that thousands of people would have gathered.
They would be eager to hear him teaching. This would be a Passover season like none other. And of course, the Sanhedrin now come trotting out. They're not happy with this. The priesthood is losing money every hour now that the merchants have been scattered.
More importantly, they're losing face. Jesus earlier had called them robbers. He called them a brood of poisonous snakes. Now he's taken over this courtyard, and he's turned it into a classroom. So here they come. We've got to stop this.
We've got to shut this down. Who do you think you are? Who gave you this authority over the temple? Now, Jesus is going to respond three ways. He's going to ask them a question. He's going to tell them a story. And then he's going to apply some Old Testament prophecy to himself. And when he's finished, there will be no misunderstanding, no more need of clarification. Now, here's the Lord's question back to them, verse 3.
He answered them, I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? In other words, where did this Old Testament prophet get his authority? To demand repentance of the Sanhedrin, to demand repentance of the religious leaders and of the nation and use baptism for this Old Testament prophet as a sign that they were prepared to welcome the kingdom. Where did he get that authority?
Did he get it from God or did he get it from you? Jesus might have pointed at them. Now, Jesus isn't trying to avoid their question. He's not trying to be tricky here. He knows that their answer to his question will answer theirs.
Why? Well, John the Baptizer was the forerunner of the Messiah. John had introduced Jesus as the Messiah. He had introduced Jesus in John chapter 1 verse 29 as the Lamb who's come to take away the sin of the world.
He's here. Sounds like if John's right, you should be welcoming him. Well, these religious leaders, they retreat a little. They get in a little huddle. They talk it over, verse 5, and they discussed it with one another saying, now if we say from heaven, he will say why did you not believe him?
But if we say he got his authority from man, all the people will stone us to death or they're convinced that John was a prophet. What are we going to do? As we say in the south, the Sanhedrin, they're in a pickle. They're in a pickle. You know, I found that expression come into my mind and had no idea what it meant. They're in a pickle. I looked it up.
Here you go. The things you learn in church comes from the 16th century. Pickle was a hot sauce. To be submerged in it meant you were over your head in a very hot situation.
That's perfect here, isn't it? The Sanhedrin is over their head and the heat just got turned up. Verse 7, so they broke huddle. They answered, they did not know where it came from. Imagine the Sanhedrin saying, ah, we don't know the answer to that question. Jesus said to them, well, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. Jesus effectively is saying, I'm not going to pat you on the head like a little child who refuses to say the answer he knows to say. So why don't you just go sit over there and I'm going to tell everybody a story. Verse 9, and he began to tell the people this parable, a story with a heavenly meaning. A man planted a vineyard and led it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while.
Now, stop for a moment. They would have understood this context. We don't. A vineyard was commonly rented in Israel. In fact, we know from history that along the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan Valley as well, they had these vast estates, these vineyards owned by foreigners who lived a distance away. They would rent them to Jewish community members to farm.
Then they'd get their produce, their take, their percentage. So everybody would have understood that the Lord's story here is referring to that common practice. A vineyard was commonly rented out in Israel.
But there's something deeper here, more significant. A vineyard was a common reference for Israel. Israel is pictured in the Old Testament as a vineyard owned by God. God's the owner. The prophet Isaiah said, the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, Isaiah 5 verse 7.
Listen to what the psalmist says of God. He says of God, you brought a vine, grapevine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it. It took deep root and filled the land, Psalm chapter 80. Coins had been minted in Israel.
In fact, they were discovered only recently near the Temple Mount, four of them. On one side is a palm tree and the word Jerusalem, and on the other side is a cluster of grapes on a vine. But there's also something else related to a vineyard, a vine taking place here. Jesus is teaching in the courtyard, and all you had to do was look down that plaza and you would see the doorway into the holy place.
That opening was nearly 100 feet tall. Flanking that opening were two columns, and on those columns was a magnificent grapevine made of gold. Its branches, its leaves, its tendrils were sculpted out of solid gold. Clusters of grapes, some of them were six feet long, only in this case, the grapes were precious gems, jewels donated by the Jewish citizens. In fact, over time, wealthy Jews would embellish this grapevine. From time to time, someone would donate gold to craft another leaf, another tendril, another part of the vine.
Another one might donate a jewel, a precious gem for another grape. This was the pride of Israel. You couldn't miss the significance. It was a symbol of God's ownership of Israel. He pulled them out of Egypt and he planted them in the land of promise. He owned them. Now verse 10, when the time came, he, that is the vineyard owner, sent a servant to the tenants so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.
That is his percentage. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty handed. Now, in normal circumstances, the Jewish officials, the law officers would immediately be sent over there. They would arrest these tenants and throw them in jail.
So you don't miss the owner's patience here. Verse 11, 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 down.
Again, the analogy is clear to them. The word doula translated servant here is often used in the Old Testament Greek translation for the prophets. The nation Israel had historically mistreated, ignored, mocked, threatened the prophets. Like Elijah, they put a price on his head. The queen, Queen Jezebel had said to him, you're as good as dead if I can get my hands on you. And Elijah ran for his life.
Prophets were hiding in caves. Over the centuries, the servants of God have been sent into the vineyard and they've been thrown out. Now verse 13, then the owner of the vineyard said, what shall I do? I will send my beloved son. The exact same expression heard on the day Jesus was baptized by John, the voice from heaven, this is, say it with me, my beloved son in whom I am well.
Please, this is my beloved son. Let me tell you something, this parable is becoming prophetic. Verse 13 again, 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. And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 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.
This expression relates to the entirety of the parable, not just the final line. These people can't imagine the vineyard owner sending servant after servant after servant and then sending his own beloved son. They can't imagine the tenants killing his son. Imagine the Sanhedrin are listening to this parable, this story, knowing in their hearts they've already determined to kill him. They've already made plans to kill him. They're going to take him outside the city. A hint of Jesus' own prophecy here, this beloved son, Hebrews 13 verse 12 said that Jesus died outside the city gate.
There's no missing the meaning here. The players in this dramatic parable are easily identified. The vineyard owner is God the Father. The vineyard is the nation Israel. The tenant farmers are the religious leaders. The servants are the prophets of God. The beloved son is Jesus the Son of God and the others who are then invited to join in ownership with this one are the Gentile nations and at this point the Sanhedrin is stunned. I think you could have heard a pin drop as Jesus now, verse 17, it says he looked directly at them. He's going back to the Sanhedrin.
You could translate that verb. He looked them in the eye and he said, what then is this that is written? The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The builders rejected. The Sanhedrin, the religious leaders or the builders are supposed to build up and lead the nation correctly.
They've rejected the cornerstone. They wanted the benefits. They wanted the produce. They wanted the power but they didn't want the Son of God.
The world is doing the same to this day. There's something also significant about this Old Testament prophecy that Jesus pulls forward. You may remember if you were with us how when Jesus came into Jerusalem, that crowd was singing lyrics from Psalm 118, verse 26. Blessed is he, and they changed the lyrics, directing it to Jesus. Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Now, what does Jesus do? He goes back to that exact same Psalm, Psalm 118, and he pulls out another verse, verse 22, and it says the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. I, effectively Jesus is saying, the cornerstone. This is a declaration of Christ's preeminent authority. He is the cornerstone not only of the house of Israel, not only of the future kingdom. Paul even uses this word to refer to the cornerstone of the church, Ephesians chapter 2. Now, this doesn't mean the church has replaced Israel.
It doesn't mean that God has rejected Israel forever, but there has come a time now because of their rejection, and it's lasted now some 2,000 years that God is allowing others into that vineyard, namely Gentiles, and I'm so glad for that because I'm included in that. I get into the vine. In the analogy of this parable, we get into the vineyard by faith in Christ. We're grafted into the vine, which is in reality Christ. And by the way, the cornerstone in their minds immediately became apparent to them. This is the most important stone of the entire building. It becomes a reference point by which every part of the building is measured.
It governs every angle in the foundation and in the building itself. So Jesus, this is another way of saying that Jesus is the authority. Jesus is the measurement.
Jesus is the right angle for every angle in life. Now, with that, Jesus issues a severe warning. He brings out another Old Testament prophecy, this one from the book of Daniel. He says here to them in verse 18, everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. And when it falls on everyone or anyone, it will crush him.
You could translate that verb. It will grind him to powder. This is a serious warning. The time of patience by the vineyard owner will end. The owner of the vineyard is planning to bring holy justice for defiance against his son. Don't misunderstand his delay as somehow meaning your deliverance if you reject him. Don't misunderstand his patience as indifference. This crushing stone the prophet Daniel refers to in Daniel chapter 2 is the Messiah who will one day crush every defiant nation and judge every defiant person. So he's warning his audience then. By the way, he's warning us today. He will keep these prophetic promises. In the meantime, if anything, we ought to be moved by the incredible patience of the landowner who is God. In fact, Martin Luther in his typical blunt way 500 years ago said, if I were God and the world treated me like this, I would kick the wretched thing to pieces.
It's an honest theologian. God's patience with the world's unbelief following Christ has lasted 2,000 years, but my question to you is how long has he been patient with your unbelief? In fact, even more pointedly, are you trying his patience today?
The good news if you're still alive and breathing, the invitation is still open. There's still time to make him your Passover lamb, to ask him to take away your sin, to declare that he is your Messiah and King. Even for believers, there's a reference here to the cornerstone which is applicable to us even today. Let's make sure we're allowing him to determine the angles of our lives. Let's make sure we're allowing him to be the measurement for what's right and what's wrong. Let's make sure we're allowing him to be the standard for what is straight and what is crooked.
He is our cornerstone. Two observations in closing. One, this scene demands a personal decision. Don't make the same one they did. Secondly, this scene deserves our passionate devotion.
Make sure you don't withhold it like they did. Claim him and then praise him if you have, knowing that he is God's beloved Son. He is the Passover lamb who died to take away our sin, and he is our soon coming King. That was Stephen Davey, the president of Wisdom International. The parable we explored today not only confronted the religious leaders, but also invites us to recognize his divine authority in our lives. If you could use help discovering more insights from God's Word, we have a resource that will interest you. Our website is filled with biblically faithful resources designed to help you walk wisely through life. The vast majority of what you'll find there is available for you absolutely free. You'll find that at wisdomonline.org. Get there today and then join us next time to discover more wisdom for the heart. you
