Luke 20:9-20
The 5th Sunday in Lent, 6-4-2025 | A Sermon on Luke 20:9-20 | by The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS |
9 He went on to tell the people this parable: „A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.
10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed.
12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
13 „Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‚What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.‘
14 „But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‚This is the heir,‘ they said. ‚Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.‘
15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. „What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.“ When the people heard this, they said, „God forbid!“
17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, „Then what is the meaning of that which is written: „‚The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone‘?
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.“
19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today in our hearing we once again have a parable from our Lord Jesus. Last week our parable was the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and today we have the Parable of the Wicked Tenents. This is a parable that speak deeply to the history of God’s people Israel. But it is also a parable that serves as a warning for us as we live in the post-resurrection world. With both, the history of Israel and the Spirit-led present, we can look at this parable and see how God was and continues to be active in the presence of his Son as Jesus relates to the then and now.
Many of the early church fathers, including Cyril of Alexandria and Eusebius of Caesarea, have pointed to this parable as an allegory for salvation history. They have pointed out how it is God the Father who plants the vineyard, the tenants are representative of Israel, who has been given choice land to take care of, the prophets are represented by the servants sent by vineyard owner, and the beloved Son is none other than Jesus. Luke using that title, “beloved son”, makes us recall how God the Father spoke at both the baptism of Jesus and his transfiguration: “This is my Son, the beloved.” Surely, after all the prophets have been ignored, the world will respect the beloved son. We know that not to be the case.
We are so blessed in that we have the Word of God that not only points to the historical nature of God’s people, but also to how God related to them. Time and time again God showed grace and mercy by sending a prophet. The call to repent exists far more than God invoking the curses of the covenant. You may remember a few weeks ago our first lesson from Ezekiel 18 reminded us that God doesn’t desire the death of the wicked. Instead, God is pleased when they turn from their ways and follow him. This parable that Jesus told is a reminder to those that were seeking to kill him that Israel had been down this path before. God has sent prophets and they too were rejected and the outcome did not work out in Israel’s favor. They were exiled into Assyria and Babylon. Even then though, God did not abandon them. He preserved a remnant of faithful people who returned to Jerusalem. They once again began living as a people faithful to the covenant.
Recalling this history through this parable, Jesus then turns the parable to himself. He references Psalm 118:
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. 22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. (Psa 118:21-23 NIV)
We could also make the argument that Jesus is referencing Isaiah 28:16:
16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: „See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. (Isa 28:16 NIV)
What we lose in our English translation though is a play on the words “son” and “stone”. In Hebrew, the word for “son” is “ben” and “stone” is “eben”. We lose that wordplay in English, but in the Hebrew and Aramaic that Jesus was speaking, those that heard him would have picked up on it. The “Son” is the “Stone” and the Beloved Son is the Chief Cornerstone. He is the sure foundation, the visible work of God, and the foundation of salvation for the world.
In this post-resurrection world this is our faith. We know the history, we give thanks for the mercy of God and the sending of his Son. As a people living under the covenant made with us in baptism, we live in the time between the death of the vineyard owner’s son and the coming again in judgement of the Lord of the Vineyard. We have folks who still look for ways to persecute God and the church, but that is ok. There is a day of reckoning coming. The owner of the Vineyard will return and make things right. This is the day we long for, because we know it will be a day of great rejoicing at the power of our God. In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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©The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS
judsonmerrell@bellsouth.net
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
Lexington, SC USA