Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Date: 1-31-99

Sermon Number: 132

Text: Luke 20:9-19

The Stone that the Builders Rejected

We continue with our study of Luke's gospel and today we deal with the "Parable of the Wicked Tenants." Some refer to it as the "Parable of the Vine-growers." But before we begin to investigate the passage lets review the lesson from last week. In that message titled, "The Cost of Denying the Truth," we were reminded of the sobering fact that Christ's worst enemies were His Jewish brothers. More particularly, they were the Jewish religious officials. The scribes, the priests, the elders of Israel were the enemies of God and of His Christ. In Luke chapter twenty verses one through eight we found members of the prestigious and powerful Sanhedrin interrupting Christ's teaching in order to discredit Him before the people. Their efforts, however, are overthrown by the Savior when He asked a simple question. "Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?"

The question put these men in a terrible predicament. If they said that John's ministry was not from God the people would likely attack them. For both they and the people had believed that John was a real prophet of God. If they said that John was sent from God they would have to accept everything he had taught as the truth. They were not willing to this. For John had identified Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Lamb of God come to save His people from their sins. To admit this would mean they would have to trust in Jesus and encourage their people to do the same. To admit the truth would mean that they would soon be out of business. For in the person of Jesus all the sacrifices and temple ritual would be fulfilled. The old would have to pass away and all things would have to become new. So, what did they do? They denied the truth, they told a lie. They said, "We do not know where John's ministry came from." Jesus refused, therefore, to tell them what authority gave Him the right to carry on His ministry. But he did not retreat to silence.

In the text that concerns us today our Lord pours fuel on the fire that burned in the breasts of the scribes, priests, and elders. He does so with a brilliant, easily understood, and very offensive parable. Follow with me as I read.

(Luke 20:9-19 NASB) And He began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. {10} "And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order that they might give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. {11} "And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. {12} "And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out. {13} "And the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' {14} "But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, 'This is the heir; let us kill him that the inheritance may be ours.' {15} "And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? {16} "HE WILL COME AND DESTROY THESE VINE-GROWERS AND WILL GIVE THE VINEYARD TO OTHERS." And when they heard it, they said, "May it never be!" {17} But He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written, (What else but this do scriptures mean when they say . . .) 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone'? {18} "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust." {19} And the scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT HE SPOKE THIS PARABLE AGAINST THEM."

Why did these men immediately understand that Christ was speaking of them? Why did they recognize the religious and spiritual implications of our Lord's remarks? They did so because the same kind of warning had been given to their forefathers. As we consult a few Old Testament passages in which the same imagery is used and the same warnings set forth you will understand why these men knew immediately what Christ meant.

Psalm eighty is a good place to begin. In this passage Israel is the vine or vineyard and God is the vineyard owner. Israel has been under the discipline or judgement of God and the psalmist prays for God's mercy. (Psalms 80 NASB) "Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, Thou who dost lead Joseph like a flock; Thou who art enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! {2} Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Thy power, And come to save us! {3} O God, restore us, And cause Thy face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. {4} O LORD God of hosts, How long wilt Thou be angry with the prayer of Thy people? {5} THOU HAST fed them with the bread of tears, And THOU HAST MADE them to drink tears in large measure. {6} THOU DOST MAKE us an object of contention to our neighbors; And our enemies laugh among themselves. {7} O God of hosts, restore us, And cause Thy face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. {8} THOU DIDST remove a vine (captive Israel) from Egypt; THOU DIDST drive out the nations, (from the promised land, Cannon) and didst plant it. {9} THOU DIDST clear the ground before it, And it took deep root and filled the land. {10} The mountains were covered with its shadow; And the cedars of God with its boughs. {11} It was sending out its branches to the sea, And its shoots to the River. {12} WHY HAST THOU broken down its hedges, (Why have you stopped protecting your vine?) So that all who pass that way pick its fruit? {13} A boar from the forest eats it away, And whatever moves in the field feeds on it. {14} O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech Thee; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, {15} Even the shoot which Thy right hand has planted, And on the son whom Thou hast strengthened for Thyself. {16} It is burned with fire, it is cut down; THEY PERISH AT THE REBUKE OF THY COUNTENANCE. {17} Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom Thou didst make strong for Thyself. {18} Then we shall not turn back from Thee; Revive us, and we will call upon Thy name. {19} O LORD God of hosts, restore us; Cause Thy face to shine upon us, and we will be saved."

The content of this passage helps us understand our Lord's parable in the Gospel of Luke. Israel is the vine which God has planted and which is expected to bring forth GOOD FRUIT. I speak of the fruit of obedience, faith, holiness, and truth. The psalmist asks, "Why have you removed our protection? Why have we been turned over to our enemies? We are your vine, the vineyard of your own planting. Yet you have turned your face against us. Why?" It was, of course, because of their sin. It was because the vineyard, Israel, had produced bad fruit. They did not honor the vineyard owner. The following words from the prophet Isaiah are relevant as well.

(Isaiah 5 NASB) "Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. {2} And He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it, (for protection) And hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, (works of holiness and obedience to the law of God) But it produced only worthless ones. {3} "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. (You decide who is right and just in this matter Me or you.) {4} "What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? (Why did you disobey Me?) {5} "So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge (Divine protection) and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. {6} "And I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it." {7} FOR THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD OF HOSTS IS THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, AND THE MEN OF JUDAH HIS DELIGHTFUL PLANT. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. . . . {13} Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst. {14} Therefore Sheol (the grave) has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem's splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it. {15} So the common man will be humbled, and the man of importance abased, The eyes of the proud also will be abased. {16} But the LORD of hosts will be exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. . . . {20} Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Woe to those who know right yet teach and do wrong.) {21} Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And clever in their own sight! {22} Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing strong drink; {23} Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! {24} Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble, And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; For they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel."

(Jeremiah 2:13-22 NASB) "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, That can hold no water. (Here is a picture of man made religion!) {14} "Is Israel a slave? Or is he a home born servant? Why has he become a prey? . . . {18} "But now what are you doing on the road (back) to Egypt, To drink the waters of the Nile? Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria, To drink the waters of the Euphrates? {19} "Your own wickedness will correct you, And your apostasies will reprove you; Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter For you to forsake the LORD your God, And the dread of Me is not in you," declares the Lord GOD of hosts. {20} "For long ago I broke your yoke And tore off your bonds; But you said, 'I will not serve!' For on every high hill And under every green tree You have lain down as a harlot. {21} "Yet I planted you a choice vine, A completely faithful seed. How then have you turned yourself before Me Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine? {22} "Although you wash yourself with lye And use much soap, The stain of your iniquity is before Me," declares the Lord GOD."

Sin, ladies and gentlemen, is what brought Israel to its knees. They left the God who set them free to serve gods made of wood and stone. Their sin called on God to discipline and judge them. The parable that we deal with in Luke speaks of a specific sin that Israel was fond of. That sin is the rejection of truth by the mistreatment and murder of the prophets and at last of Christ Himself.

(Luke 20:9-19 NASB) And He began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard (Israel) and rented it out to vine-growers, (Israel) and went on a journey for a long time. {10} "And at the harvest time he sent a slave (a prophet) to the vine-growers, in order that they might give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. {11} "And he proceeded to send another slave; (prophet) and they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. {12} "And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out." This is how the nation Israel treated the majority of the prophets of God. The record is clear and permanent.

(2 Chronicles 36:14-17 NASB) "Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the LORD which He had sanctified in Jerusalem. {15} And the LORD, the God of their fathers, SENT WORD TO THEM AGAIN AND AGAIN BY HIS MESSENGERS, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; {16} BUT they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy. {17} Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand."

God was so patient with Israel. He sent hundreds of prophets to call them to repentance. Sometime we are offended by and angry at Israel when we see how they ignored and rejected the love of God as expressed and revealed by His messengers. What is even more shocking is how they treated His Son, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus speaks of His own death in our parable today.

{13} "And the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' {14} "But when the vine-growers (Israel) saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, 'This is the heir; let us kill him that the inheritance may be ours.' {15} "And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him." Indeed, they crucified Him outside the city gates.

What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard (God) do to them? {16} "He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others." (The Gentiles) And when they heard it, they said, "May it never be!"

Based upon their knowledge of the scriptures these men and no doubt many in the crowd knew exactly what Jesus was saying. Their reply was, "May it never be as you say!" May God never deal in such a way with Israel! May she never loose the promises and blessings associated with being the chosen nation. May His attentions never turn from us to the Gentiles! May it never be! Never!

{17} But He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone'? {18} "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."

The Chief Corner Stone that was rejected by the Jews is the same as the Son in the parable whom they eventually killed. It is Jesus the Christ. He came unto His own but they would not receive Him. He was the foundation of and key to eternal life but they stumbled over Him. They fell over, or rejected Jesus, so now He must fall upon them. Now, as is true of all His enemies, He will grind them to dust.

{19} "And the scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them."

That God did take the "Vineyard" from the Jews and give it the Gentiles is the testimony of scripture. A good example of this is found in Acts 13:43-47 where Paul and Barnabas are opposed by the leading Jews. In response Paul reveals the judgement of God upon them. He has told his servant to turn to the Gentiles with the message of the Gospel. Hear the word of the Lord. "Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God. {44} And the next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of God. {45} But when the Jews (Jewish leaders) saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. {46} And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you (the Jews) first; since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. {47} "For thus the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU SHOULD BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH."

Yes there would be a remnant of the Jews saved in spite of the overall rebellion but never again would God deal with the nation as He had in the past. His mercies and salvation would now be proclaimed to all men with a focus on the Gentiles. The Jews, by in large were lost and would remain so. They had stumbled over Christ, the cornerstone of the church, and were now broken to pieces.

So what has all this to do with us. A great deal indeed. For God will not tolerate a rebellious Gentile any more than He will a Jew. We must take all His dealings with them to heart and avoid the same pitfalls. In fact, this is the very reason these records are passed down to us. Look with me at the words of 1 Corinthians 10:1-15 NASB. "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; . . .{5} Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. {6} Now these things happened as EXAMPLES FOR US, THAT WE SHOULD NOT CRAVE EVIL THINGS, as they also craved. {7} And do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY." {8} Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. {9} Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. {10} Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. {11} Now these things happened to them as an EXAMPLE, and they were WRITTEN FOR OUR INSTRUCTION, UPON WHOM THE ENDS OF THE AGES HAVE COME. {12} THEREFORE LET HIM WHO THINKS HE STANDS TAKE HEED LEST HE FALL.

Don't look at these stumbling Jews and shake your head at them as if you could not be found in the same condition. Let their sin and the consequences of it be a warning to you and to me. Let us be diligent to make our calling and election sure by the faithful pursuit of righteousness and peace. And let us never be found with an excuse for sin upon our lips. For . . ) {13} No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. {14} Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. {15} I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say."

Let us rejoice in the grace and mercy of our loving Father but let us never forget His judgements which do, without fail, fall upon the rebellious.

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