Parables of the Vineyard and Two Sons and the Vineyard and the Evil Vine-growers: God is patient and gracious, but judgment eventually comes to the unbeliever.

Parables given during the third day:

 

The Laborers and the vineyard:

 

Matt 19:30 - 20:16

 

The two sons and the vineyard:

 

Matt 21:28 "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.'

 

Matt 21:29 "And he answered and said, 'I will, sir'; and he did not go.

 

Matt 21:30"And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, 'I will not'; yet he afterward regretted it and went.

 

Matt 21:31 "Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The latter." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you.

 

Matt 21:32"For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

 

The second Parable in this series was spoken within the Temple.

 

The Savior had been answering the question of the Pharisees as to His authority by an appeal to the testimony of the Baptist. This led Him to refer to the twofold reception of His testimony - on the one hand, by the Publicans and harlots, and, on the other, by the Pharisees.

 

The Parable, which now follows, introduces a man who has two sons. He goes to the first, and in language of affection (teknon) bids him to go to work. The tone is most polite, and the answer of the son contains not only a promise, but we almost see him going: ‘I, sir! - and he did not go.’

 

The father goes to the second son and bids him go and work in his vineyard. The son curtly and rudely refuses; but afterwards he changes his mind and goes.

 

The contrast here is obvious. The application was easy.

 

The first Son, with his politeness of tone and ready promise, but utter neglect of obligations undertaken, represented the Pharisees with their hypocritical and empty professions.

 

This was the attitude of the Pharisees and Sadducees when they first entered their theological schools.

 

The second son represented the Publicans and harlots, whose curt and rude refusal of the Father’s call was implied in their life of reckless sin. But afterwards they changed their mind - and went into the Father’s vineyard.

 

For many of these their minds were changed by the message of John the Baptist.

 

And Christ obliged them to make application of the Parable. When challenged by the Lord, which of the two had done the will of his father, they could not avoid the answer.

 

In language equally stern and true He pointed to the will of the Father, which is never lip-service but a legitimate change of mind.

 

The Baptist had come preaching righteousness, and, while the self-righteous Pharisees had not believed him, those unbelievers had. And yet, even when the Pharisees saw the effect on these unbelievers, which does not by necessity have to be outward, but in this case it was, they changed not their minds that they might believe. Therefore the Publicans and harlots would and did go into the Kingdom before them.

 

The evil vine-growers and the vineyard.

 

Closely connected with the two preceding Parables, and, indeed, with the whole tenor of Christ’s sayings at that time, is that about the Evil Vine-growers in the Vineyard. In its introduction He says, “Let me tell you another parable,” which means it is a continuation of the last two.

 

As in the Parable about the Laborers sought by the Landowner at different times, the object here is to set forth the patience and goodness of the owner, even towards the evil.

 

And as, in the Parable of the Two Sons where reference is made to the practical rejection of the testimony of the Baptist by the Jews, and their consequent self-exclusion from the Kingdom, so in this parable there is allusion to John as greater than the prophets, to the exclusion of Israel as a people from their position in the Kingdom, and to their punishment as individuals.

 

Only we mark here a terrible progression. The neglect and non-belief which had appeared in the former Parable have now ripened into rebellion, deliberate, aggravated, and carried to its utmost consequences in the murder of the King’s only and loved Son.

 

Similarly, what formerly appeared as their loss, in that sinners who had changed their minds and believed went into the Kingdom of God before them, is now presented alike as their guilt and their judgment, both national and individual.

 

The background of this parable is given in Isaiah 5:

 

 

 

ISA 5:1 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 [He brought them out of the desert into a land flowing with milk and honey - a prosperous land].

 

ISA 5:2 And He dug it all around, removed its stones

 

[He removed every obstacle that would hinder them - not the other armies, who lived in the land, but He removed their true obstacle, arrogance and ignorance - He gave them the Law],

 

And planted it with the choicest vine.

And He built a tower in the middle of it,

And hewed out a wine vat in it [anticipation of fruit production];

Then He expected it to produce good grapes [verse 7 = justice and righteousness],

But it produced only worthless ones.

 

ISA 5:3 "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,

Judge between Me and My vineyard.

 

ISA 5:4"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?

 

ISA 5:5"So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;

I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.

 

ISA 5:6"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."

 

ISA 5:7For 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.

 

The farmers who were supposed to be cultivating, pruning and tending to the vines were the leaders throughout the age of Israel.

 

Matt 21:33 "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey. [Leases were given year by year for life and sometimes they were hereditary, passing from father to son] 

 

Matt 21:34 "And when the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.

 

Matt 21:35"And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third [OT prophets].

 

Matt 21:36[Now we see God’s patience and grace]"Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first [John the Baptist]; and they did the same thing to them.

 

Matt 21:37[Still more patience and grace]"But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

 

Matt 21:38"But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and seize his inheritance.'

 

Matt 21:39"And they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

 

If the heir is killed there is no one to receive the land when the owner dies and so the land would be theirs.

 

Think of the spiritual implication. Instead of acknowledging that Israel belonged to God and that they could be renters on that land enjoying tremendous prosperity as the vineyard was set on the most fertile and protected position possible, they desired to take the land for themselves.

 

 

This vineyard is God’s kingdom, and although it exists on earth it is not earthly in the least. Its source is God and it is heavenly (EPH 1:3). However, the religious crowd wishes to take it for themselves and turn the beautiful and infinite heavenly nature of the kingdom and substitute a finite, limited earthly nature, which must destroy it completely.

 

EPH 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

 

1 Cor 15:45 So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

 

1 Cor 15:46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

 

1 Cor 15:47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

 

1 Cor 15:48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.

 

1 Cor 15:49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

 

 

1 Cor 15:50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

 

Turn back to Matt 21:

 

Can they protect and love the land and the people like God can? Can they guarantee the prosperity like God can? Of course not, but they only see their own appetites and lust for materialism, power, and wealth.

 

It is the same old story: “I don’t need God, I can do it myself. I want my own land without God.” (Attitude of Satan and all who reject God’s gracious gift - TLJC)

 

Christ brought this struggle to a head and checked their arrogance with grace, truth, and the miracles to back it up and now that He is there after prophetically entering Jerusalem triumphantly there are only two options and no more room for patience. Either they accept Christ or they reject Him and they decided to kill Him.

 

Matt 21:40 "Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?" 

 

Matt 21:41 They said to Him, "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons."

 

Matt 21:42Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, [Psalm 118:22-23]

'The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the chief corner stone;

This came about from the Lord,

And it is marvelous in our eyes'?

 

Matt 21:43"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you [the Theocracy in the form of the Millennial Kingdom had been offered to them, but now it will be taken away until a later time], and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it [the Romans whom they detested as well as believing Jews who enter the Millennium].

 

Matt 21:44"And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls [Titus in 70 AD as well as the Second Coming of Christ], it will scatter him like dust [judgment]." 

 

Matt 21:45And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.

 

Matt 21:46And when they sought to seize Him, they feared the multitudes, because they held Him to be a prophet.