Title: Lord Jesus Christ of Judgment
Contents The parables that Jesus told us in today's text are very meaningful. Through the parable, Jesus well summarized how Israel, whom God had chosen as His people, responded to God's grace, and nonetheless, shows the history of God's salvation, which nevertheless does not give up on building His kingdom.
By telling this parable, Jesus reveals himself to be the Son of God and the promised Messiah of Israel without hiding any more. Nevertheless, Jesus sees through the conspiracy of the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people of Israel who are trying to kill him (Luke 19:47), and again foretells that he will eventually be killed by them. And the question that Jesus refused to answer earlier (Luke 20:8), that is, by what authority did Jesus cleanse the temple, and teach the people and preach the gospel there (Luke 19:45-20:2) was clearly answered. You are giving an answer.
Verse 9 says that Jesus spoke this parable “to the people”. However, looking at the last verse of the text, it says that the scribes and chief priests knew that Jesus was speaking this parable of them.
In the parable, it is said, “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to farmers, and went to a foreign country and stayed a long time” (v. Here, the person who planted the vineyard can be seen as referring to God. And the vineyard can be understood as the kingdom of God's blessed people. It is said that the vineyard was rented out to the farmers, but the farmers should take it as a term to refer to the leaders such as priests, scribes, and Pharisees and the people of Israel who followed them.
Verse 10 says, “When the time came, a servant was sent to the peasants to give some of the produce of the vineyard.” The fact that the master sent his servants to the peasants to give some of the produce of the vineyard indicates that God demands the fruit He desires from those who are commissioned to build His kingdom. The servants sent by the master to the farmers refer to the Old Testament prophets. It indicates that God used to send prophets to check that His people were responding with right faith to His will and calling. But the farmers did not give the produce of the vineyard to the servant whom the master had sent, but rather beat him up and sent him away empty-handed. This means that the people of Israel did not follow God's will correctly.
The master said that he sent the other servants a second time and a third time, respectively (verses 11-12). This shows that God is patient with His people and wants them to repent and give correct answers again and again. But the vineyard farmers said that the second servant was “beaten and abused and sent away for free.” The first servant was simply beaten and sent empty-handed, but this time he even insulted him. And the third servant is said to have “bruised him and cast him out.” The beatings have become very severe and the method of returning them empty-handed has become rougher. This suggests that Israel's condition of rebelling against God was getting worse and worse.
The master finally sent his beloved son. This is as Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “God, who in ancient times spoke to our fathers in various parts and in various ways through the prophets, has spoken to us through his Son at the end of all these days.” But instead of respecting his master's son, the farmers cast him out of the vineyard and killed him (verses 13-15). It is very clear that this refers to the incident where Jesus was dragged out of the city of Jerusalem and nailed to the cross. Verse 14 says, “When the peasants saw him, they consulted with each other, saying, ‘This is the heir, let’s kill him and make the inheritance ours’. This means that the Jews do not try to live the lives of the people of God's kingdom according to the true will of God and the true meaning of His words, but live according to the Jewish traditions created by distorting and perverting God's law and the truth of salvation according to their own thoughts. It indicates that you insisted on
At the end of this parable, Jesus added a concluding question and answer: “What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do with these people? I will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others” (verses 15-16). “I will destroy those farmers and give the vineyards to others” means that the Jewish faith that rejects Jesus Christ is dead, and the kingdom of God is not of the Jews, but of all the world that believes and accepts Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of all. It is talking about God's plan of salvation to make it belong to people.
When Jesus spoke up to this point, the people who were listening to this parable reacted sensitively. They said, “It shall not be so” (verse 16). It means that Israel will soon lose its privileged status as God's people, and that neither Jew nor Gentile wants anyone who believes in Jesus Christ to become the new Israel.
Looking at them, Jesus asked, quoting the words of Psalm 118:22: “How then is it that it is written, 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the headstone'?” (verse 17) “It is already written in the Bible. Didn't it say, 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'? It has to be the way it is,” he cut off and said. The builders here refer to Israel and its leaders, such as the high priests, scribes, and Pharisees, who were given the mission and privilege to build the nation of God's people. And it goes without saying that the stone they rejected points to Jesus Christ. The fact that the stone the builders rejected became the cornerstone suggests the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and his death and resurrection mean that he will become the cornerstone of the new Israel, the true people of God's kingdom.
As Jesus concluded his parable, he did not forget to teach that he is not only the subject of the realization of the kingdom of God, but also the master of the final judgment that completes the kingdom of God. Verse 18 says: “Whoever falls on this stone will be broken, and if this stone falls on a person, it will be ground to dust.” What does this word mean? It is a warning message that if you do not know Jesus Christ rightly and do not conflict with Him, you will live; but because you do not know Him, you bump into Him, and all those who kick Him or stumble by Him will perish. One day, when Jesus Christ comes as the Lord of Judgment, all those who denied him, insulted him, and opposed him, and all the powers, religions, ideas, theories, claims, cultures, and trends in this world, were scattered and scattered in an instant. It can be understood as a message of judgment.
Jesus' parable in today's text contains a very clear and powerful message for us. Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God, our only true Savior. He became the cornerstone for us to become the new Israel, the true children and people of God, through His death and resurrection on the cross. The truth is that the kingdom of God is built on the grace of the cross of Jesus Christ and the faith to believe and receive Him. For those who do not know, believe, and do not follow Jesus Christ, only destruction is prepared. All those who deny Jesus Christ, dishonor his church, persecute his people, and oppose Christianity, and all the anti-Christian ideas, theories, claims, cultures, and trends in this world when the Lord returns. It is a fact that in an instant they are powdered and scattered in the air. Therefore, the children of God who have been chosen and saved in Jesus Christ do not have to fear these worldly things.
Today is Reformation Day. The Reformation restores the lost Bible, rediscovers the forgotten Word of God, restores the truth of the gospel that was lost in the fall of Judaism, and restores our distorted faith by clearly realizing the grace of God that has been blurred. It was a reform movement to set things right. In other words, it is to draw near to Jesus Christ, who has been far away, to return our life from a life independent of God to a life to live before God anytime and anywhere, to restore the glory of God that has been lost in our lives and to receive all the glory. It is a matter of giving completely to God alone.
In today's days when anti-Christian forces are on the rise and the church is being oppressed from all sides, we must first strive to constantly reform and renew our faith and life in the light of God's Word to make it more consistent with God's will. And we must firmly believe in Jesus Christ, who will come as the Lord of Judgment, and move forward without wavering toward the promised final victory. I also believe that this is the only way to save this country and people from a profound crisis in many ways and to lead them to true happiness and prosperity. We earnestly pray that we will all take the lead in reforming ourselves, reforming our church, reforming our society, and reforming the nation and nation.