The facts about the deaths of men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah are hard to know for sure, but the facts about the death of Jesus are clear

“They Will Respect My Son”

(Matthew 21:33-46, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, March 21, 2008)

Matthew 21:33-46 ³³ "Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' ³⁹ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" ⁴¹ They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." ⁴² Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "' The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? ⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." ⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Introduction – The most important week of human history

Tacitus, a second century Roman historian, wrote about the rise of Christianity, and the death of Christ from the perspective of one who was no friend to the Christian religion. Here is what he said in speaking of Nero:

“… not all the relief that could come from man, not all the bounties that the prince could bestow, nor all the atonements which could be presented to the gods, availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.”

Tacitus’ version of history makes fascinating reading today. With the passage of many centuries since the days of the one he called Christus, we are able to say this about the week that began with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and culminated with the empty tomb: It was the most important week of all human history. Far from being a forgotten movement of some false religion, Christianity has shaped the world. Millions believe that the two most important events of all existence took place within just a few days of each other, the first being the death of Jesus of Nazareth on a Roman cross, and the second being His resurrection from the grave.

Eight chapters in Matthew’s gospel deal with just one week. Over the course of that week, Jesus concluded His teaching ministry. The parables that He taught at that point were especially pointed. This is the moment at which the whole way of doing things under the Old Testament was coming to a close, and the new way of New Testament worship and life was being instituted. Most obviously we have the end of the Old Testament celebration of the Passover and the institution of the New Testament sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. The end of the old and the inauguration of the new is a major theme of his teaching during this week. The events that we are looking at in the passage before us probably took place on the Tuesday before His death. Everything in this week speaks of the death of Christ, and everything in this week also speaks of the resurrection of Christ.

The Master’s Vineyard (33-34)

In the midst of this hard-hitting teaching as Jesus moves closer to the cross, we have a story of a master who owns a vineyard. Telling a story about the “vineyard” was a way that God used to talk about Old Testament Israel (See Isaiah 5). In this case there is more to the story than the fact that the vineyard is not fruitful for the Master. Here the tenants of the vineyard have utterly rejected the Master.

Israel was God’s creation. He owned Israel, and He made demands upon her; good demands, that would be in her best interest. God had taken care of her. What is presented here in this imagery of planting, putting a fence around the vineyard, digging a winepress, and building a tower is supposed to remind us that God did everything necessary for that vineyard to be wonderfully fruitful. The problem with Israel was not a problem of having a bad Master of the vineyard. The problem had to do with Israel, and it became obvious when He sent His servants to collect fruit.

The Master’s Servants (35-36)

These servants were the prophets that God had sent to Israel over many centuries. God had spoken clearly through the prophets. They made known God’s claim over His vineyard. He reinforced His demands of fruitful obedience. He made sure they understood that this was His vineyard, and that to deny Him would be dangerous. These servants were men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. Just as there was nothing wrong with the Master (God), there was nothing wrong with the servants (the prophets). They did their job well.

Isaiah lived in the 8^th century before Christ. He had a prophetic ministry that spanned over 40 years during the reign of several kings. He is especially known for His prophecies regarding the Messiah as a “Suffering Servant.” His life probably ended during the early years of the reign of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah. During Isaiah’s final years there was a massive increase in paganism and idolatry in Judah. We don’t know from the Bible how Isaiah died, but tradition suggests that he was the one referred to in the New Testament Book of Hebrews (11:37) where one faithful servant of God is said to have been sawn in two. Jeremiah suffered greatly over the course of His long ministry six centuries before Christ. He gave a marvelous prophesy of the coming of the New Covenant era, when the law of God would be written upon the heart of God’s people, and God’s Spirit would be the first and best Teacher of all the faithful. He also exposed the obvious disobedience of the people during the reign of the wicked sons and grandson of Josiah. For this he was beaten, put in a muddy well to die, and taken to various places against his will. He was regularly accused of being a traitor, and was kept under arrest for long periods of time. We have no clear record of his death, but many believe that he died in Egypt by the hand of his enemies in the very place where he faithfully told the people that they must not go. Zechariah was one of God’s prophets at the time of the return of God’s people from exile during the late 6^th and early 5^th centuries before Christ. He is quoted more frequently than any other Old Testament prophet when the gospel writers tell the story of the week of Christ’s death. For instance, it was Zechariah who told us about the king coming into Jerusalem on a donkey. It was also in Zechariah that we learn that someone would strike the Shepherd (Jesus) and the sheep would be scattered. If we have the right Zechariah, he was the prophet whom Jesus says was murdered by the forerunners to the religious leaders who were seeking to kill Jesus. There was no problem with God’s servants, the prophets. They did their job well, but they were beaten, killed, and stoned by the tenants of the vineyard.

The Master’s Son (37-39)

What father would send his son into such a situation? After his servants had been so shamefully treated and even killed, who would send his son to speak to those tenants? They should have respected the son. In a way, they simply treated him like another prophet, but the story says that they especially killed him because he was the heir. To kill the son, was to be done with the master. By killing the son, they expected to finally seize the inheritance. So they took him out of the vineyard, and they killed him.

Murder is a horrible thing under any circumstances. In this case, one fact does not come across through the story, but is obvious since the Son is telling this story on the Tuesday before His death. Both the Father and the Son were perfectly well aware that the people would kill Jesus Christ. He had already informed His disciples of this three times, and He had told them of the purpose of His death, that through the offering of His life as a sacrifice, Jesus was giving His life as a ransom for us. John the Baptist had called him the Lamb of God for a reason.

Appropriately Moved by the Death of the Son of God (40-46)

What do we do with the death of the Son of God? The rest of this passage deals with that important question. Jesus asks those who are listening what they think God will do with those who kill His Son. Their answer is quick. He will give them a miserable death.

That is surely what they deserve, but if God had wanted to punish us all for our sins, He would not have sent His Son at all. The on-purpose death of Jesus Christ is just as important a fact of Christianity as His resurrection. Jesus refers them to the Scriptures. Psalm 118, one of the psalms sung by Jews during the Passover, speaks of a Stone which the builders rejected. This Stone is Jesus. In His death and resurrection, Jesus becomes the cornerstone for a new temple, made up of Jews and Gentiles. His rejection by the “builders” or religious leaders of the covenant people of God reached a pinnacle of hatred through His betrayal and murder.

This was the Lord’s according to His good purposes. SOME would be crushed by Him in their ultimate rejection of His mercy, but OTHERS, though broken in pieces by their guilt and the sin which caused His death would be moved to say of this death of the Son of God, “It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Of course, even his disciples might not understand that until after that death was combined with the resurrection, but it is surely this understanding of the death of Christ that causes us to boast in the cross, and to be committed to the preaching of Christ and Him crucified. Through the death of Christ for sinners, our sin has been atoned for, and our eternal life has been secured. The sacrifice was brought to the altar of God, and His death was effectual in paying the price for our sin. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. Give the briefest summary of the history of Old Testament Israel. How does this parable fit into that history?

2. Who do the various characters and groups in the parable stand for? What is being said about each?

3. What is it about the rejection of Jesus that could ever lead us to consider his death a great day (Psalm 118)?

4. What possible responses to his death does Jesus anticipate at the end of this passage?