A Lamb To The Slaughter

Luke 23:26-34.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on April 17, 2016.

The title comes from a phrase in Isaiah 53:7.  The powerful descriptions in Isaiah 53 are hard to avoid.  They point to the Messiah, the ultimate Servant of the Lord, being killed for the sins of Israel and of course the Gentiles as well.  The Lord would lay all our sins upon him.  This is what John the Baptist was pointing to when he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”  Isaiah goes on to state that “by his knowledge My righteous servant will justify many.”  The passage that we will look at today is exactly what Isaiah and John the Baptist were prophesying would happen.

Throughout the last 2,000 years it has been a tendency to focus upon the horrendous pain and suffering that our Lord endured in the twelve plus hours leading up to his death.  This is to point out the great love that God has for mankind.  However, we will see today that Jesus himself puts the emphasis upon the judgment that was still in the future.  In other words, no matter how bad you think this judgment of me is, the judgment that is coming upon Israel (and by extension the world) is far worse.  It is important for us today to be amazed at the love of Jesus towards us.  Yet, it is equally important to recognize the judgment that looms over the world like an overhanging cliff that is about to collapse.

The Judgment Of Jesus Is Carried Out

We have seen Jesus moved about from Pilate to Herod and back to Pilate.  It is clear from the account that Pilate is done arguing with the Jewish leaders and thus gives judgment that Jesus is to be executed.  In Luke’s gospel we are not given long accounts of the suffering of Jesus.  In fact, Luke skips the whipping that the Roman soldiers gave Jesus.  Another important fact that is glossed over by Luke is that it was customary for those who were to be crucified to carry the cross beam that they would be nailed to from the place of judgment to the place of execution.  Some scholars believe this could have been up to 2 miles since the place of execution was outside the city.

It is in this that Luke takes note of the need for another to carry the cross of Jesus.  The most logical explanation for this is that Jesus physically is unable to carry the cross all the way.  At some point, Jesus begins to fail and it is then that the soldiers press Simon of Cyrene into service.  He was coming into town from the area around Jerusalem.  Now Cyrene is a city on the coast of what we call Libya today.  This is hundreds of miles away.  Most likely Simon was coming into the city for the feast celebrations, having spent the evening in a place of lodging nearby.  The fact that the Gospel of Mark mentions the names of his sons has led most scholars to contend that Simon had become a believer and joined the Jerusalem Church.  This sets up an interesting parallel.  Seemingly by accident, Simon runs into the Light of the World on his way to Jerusalem and has his eyes opened.   Whereas later we see Saul of Tarsus running into the Light of the World while leaving Jerusalem.  This theme of people having an encounter with Jesus and coming to believe in him, even without seeking it out, is seen regularly in the Scriptures.  There is also an irony that Simon helps Jesus in a physical way, so that the Lord can help him in a spiritual way.  Each and every one of us could die for our sins, but that would not save us.  It would merely give proper payment.  However, the death of Jesus allows those who believe in him to have eternal life.  There is a time when each of us who are trying to carry our load in life, may begin to physically, emotionally, or even spiritually fail.  We need others who will come alongside of us and help us to do what we need to do.  Just as Jesus needed help in this way, so we need it all the more.

By now word has spread and a large crowd from Jerusalem has gathered with a contingent of women who are mourning the approaching execution of the one who was thought to be the Messiah.  Jesus was the righteous teacher who was doing amazing things everywhere he went.  Yet, now he is to be killed?  While they are mourning Jesus gives warning to his mourners of their own coming judgment.  He does not seek their pity, though they are right to mourn him.  Rather, he is pointing them to where their pity would be better suited.  It is as if he is saying, “You think this is bad?  You should see what is coming for this whole nation.  That is what you should be weeping over.”  This ominous warning points to something that would normally be seen as being cursed (childlessness).  The days ahead will get so bad that that which is normally a curse will be a blessing.  In a similar way he points out that things will get so bad that people would rather be crushed by a mountain then face it.  Interestingly, this same figure of speech is seen in Revelation 6:16 where the kings of the earth and the mighty men cry out for the mountains to cover them, “for the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”  We often point out how horrible the cross was, but it was an event that was horrible for one man.  First the judgment on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (a national scale) and then the coming judgment, which will be global, each dwarf the physical and psychological trauma of Jesus.

Jesus then says, “If they do these things in the green wood what will be done in the dry?”  This figure of speech is intended to warn of something worse to come.  It does so by referencing green wood versus dry wood.  Green wood does not burn very well and can be easily put out, whereas, dry wood is very dangerous and creates a far worse and hard to manage fire.  Jesus is a righteous man in that sense he is green wood.  He is more than connected to a thriving root system.  Jesus is life itself.  He is the vine and we are the branches.  Thus, Jesus is warning that if this is what happens to the green wood, it will be much worse when the dry branches (those who have rejected God and have no life in themselves) are judged.  This reminds me of Isaiah 57:1-4.  “The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous is taken away from evil.  He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.  But come here you sons of the sorceress, you offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!  Whom do you ridicule?”  The offspring of the sorceress, adulterer, or harlot is one who has grown up following an evil path and being taught evil things as normal.  Of course they can learn to repent and turn towards God, but that is not the point in this passage.  The point is that we should not mourn so much the passing of the righteous.  Things will go well for them.  However, the unrighteous will receive the wrath of God.  There is nothing wrong with mourning the passing of a righteous person, even more so the Son of God.  However, that is not the end for The Righteous One and those who have believed on Him.  They will be exalted by the Father and given all things.  However, the wicked will be taken in hand by the wrath of God and find their place in the Lake of Fire.  Do we weep over the coming judgment of the Lost?  God does.

Next we see that Jesus is crucified in public shame.  The place where Jesus is to be crucified is called the Place of the Skull.  The Latin is Calvaria (where we get Calvary), the Greek is Kranion (think cranium), the Aramaic is Golgatha.  All of these different terms are pointing to the same thing that will happen.  A human’s head that represents the essence of the person’s identity is going to be turned into a skull.  It is a place that reeks with death and the Devil’s power.  As a lord of death, the Devil feels that he has won, but in truth it is about to become the public shame of the devil and his angels that is highlighted before the world.  Jesus is crucified in a vile way and hanging between two other vile offenders, as if he was the worst of them.  It is as if the Devil is daring anyone to choose to be on the side of such a man.  Everyone is going to have to choose sides.  You are either with the great men and rulers of this world, or you are with the lowly Jesus.  Will you let go of the pomp, power, and pride of this world and embrace the public shame of Jesus?  If you do your future will be eternal life.  The other choice leads to destruction and shame.

In this context the next words of our Lord seem impossible.  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”  The Lord demonstrates that he practices what he preaches.  They speak death and execution to him, but he speaks love and forgiveness towards them.  Thus Jesus displays perfect righteousness.  As he taught in Luke 6, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.  To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.”  It is hard to accept such words at face value.  However, when people do accept them, they usually do in the hopes that such actions will win them over.  In fact, this argument is used against the West in regard to Islam.  If we loved them more, then they wouldn’t pick up weapons and bombs.  They wouldn’t hate us so much.  At the cross, such trite is proven a fairy tale.  Jesus loved those who were killing him, not because he hoped they would stop, but because he knew they wouldn’t.  Jesus will die and his enemies will live on.  Yet, he still offers them righteousness.  He basically makes the case for manslaughter to the Father.  They don’t realize that they are offending the God of heaven and heaping up judgment against themselves.

So what was God’s answer?  Well, for 40 years following the crucifixion, God sent the apostles of Jesus to minister with miracles and the truth.  They offered their fellow Israelites forgiveness in the name of Jesus; “whosoever would” could have it.   Yet, ultimately the answer is this, “If they will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus, then I will forgive them completely.”  This is the grace and love of our Lord.

Lamb to the Slaughter audio

The Trials of Jesus II

Luke 23:13-25.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on April 10, 2016.

The trials of Jesus continue, on the day of his crucifixion.  He is brought before the High Priest, then to Pilate, then to Herod, and now sent back to Pilate.  You would think that Herod’s refusal to do anything to Jesus would bolster the case for releasing Jesus.  But the religious leaders and the crowd who have gathered will have none of it.  They want Jesus dead.  There is a tragic irony on display in this section.  A peaceful healer who merely speaks truth will be put to death, while a murderous robber will be let go free.  Such is the justice of mankind.  Yes, Jesus is on trial here, but so is the justice of mankind.

Throughout the history of mankind getting justice has been at best a slippery target.  Beware of those leaders who cry for justice the loudest because they are usually playing on our emotional desires.  Beware of the crowd that is worked up into a fever pitch seeking justice because all manner of evil will be done by it in the name of justice.  It matters little if it is Jerusalem in the first century A.D. or the French Revolution of the late 1700’s, in which those who helped to execute the aristocrats later found themselves on the chopping block.  Perhaps the Arab Spring, which was so inappropriately named, was not so noble as the crowds in Egypt’s Tahrir square raped, young female journalists while calling for justice from the government.  Even the United States has had its share of mobs out of control in the name of justice committing heinous crimes.  The mob is rarely if ever about true justice because the hearts of mankind are twisted by sin.

Pilate declares Jesus Innocent

Pilate is most likely not happy to have Jesus back in his judgment hall.  The whole purpose of sending Jesus to Herod was to avoid this issue.  Yet, here it is again.  Perhaps we can see the tendency of many today to try and push off the “Jesus issue” by appealing to the judgments of others.  However, you will find throughout life that one way or another, God will bring Jesus back before you.  What will you do with Jesus?  This is the most critical decision of your life because it affects your eternal destiny.

Pilate makes his case before the religious leaders and the crowd.  First, he does not see any reason to execute Jesus.  Second, Herod saw no reason to execute Jesus.  Thus Pilate will have Jesus flogged and release him.

This may sound strange to our ears.  He is innocent but will be punished anyway?  What is going on here is something that happens every day throughout the “justice” of this world.  Decisions are made with an eye to how it will be received.  If Jesus was released without anything done, the religious leaders and the people would riot.  This would require Pilate to use force to quell them, which would lead to the deaths of many.  This would bring Pilate’s leadership under question before Caesar.  Thus Pilate is seeking to appease the religious leaders without executing Jesus.  A public flogging would bring great physical harm to Jesus and social humiliation.  Also, the release is not a normal release.  Pilate is referring to a tradition that had developed in which a guilty prisoner would be pardoned on Passover each year.  Thus Jesus would have the further social stigma of being a prisoner who was guilty and yet pardoned.  Yet, this is not enough for the religious leaders and the crowd.

The Crowd Calls for Crucifixion

The crowd breaks out into loud objection to Pilate’s decision.  Luke takes time to note that Pilate had made three attempts to make a case for letting Jesus go.  I believe this is an intentional allusion back to Peter’s three denials of Christ.  Three times Peter had been given a chance to stand with Jesus and yet he shrunk back and refused to stand with Christ.  As bad as this is, we see a similar thing happening with the religious leaders and the crowd in Jerusalem.  They are given three chances to change their mind and listen to reason.  However, they are not merely refusing to stand with Jesus.   They are actively choosing to punish Jesus with death.  Such is the justice of mankind when its base notions are not kept in check.

When the leaders realize that Pilate intends to make Jesus the official release criminal of the Passover, they quickly counter this by calling for the release of Barabbas instead.  So who is this Barabbas?  Luke tells us that Barabbas was involved in a rebellion and had murdered someone.  In his gospel, John also adds that Barabbas was a robber or bandit.  The word used is not that of a sneak thief who unsuspectingly steals things, but of a thug who takes things by force and violence.  The man they ask to be released is a violent, beast of a man who didn’t have a righteous bone in his body.  Thus, in the name of righteousness, they call for the death of the innocent Jesus and for the release of the guilty Barabbas.  However, the irony does not stop there.  Barabbas’ name literally means “son of the father.”  Thus we have two individuals, Jesus and Barabbas, with two very different lives, and both representing the son of the father.  Of course they are clearly from two very different fathers.  Jesus is the exact image of the heavenly Father.  Barabbas reminds me of John 8:44, where Jesus tells the religious leaders that they are just like their father the devil.  Of course, they are not children of the devil biologically.  Rather, they have spiritually rejected the Heavenly Father and have turned to another spiritual progenitor, the devil.  They are choosing to kill the Son of the Father in heaven while embracing the son of the devil.  This is also reminiscent of John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.   I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  Why would we choose a killer over a life-giver?  Why are we enamored with the bad guy or the bad girl, when we could choose a good one?  The answer is simple, we have a sin problem and Jesus is the only answer for it.

Under the threat of riot, Pilate gives in to the desires of the leaders and their crowd.  Jesus will be executed and Barabbas will be release.  The phrase in verse 25 is somewhat haunting.  It says that “he delivered Jesus to their will.”  I believe this is intentional by Luke.  Jesus is delivered over to the will of the people by Pilate.  However, Pilate cannot do anything but what the heavenly Father allows.  Thus it really is the Father who is handing Jesus over to the will of the people.  He will not step in and stop them from doing evil.  Neither will he force them to do the right thing.  He will simply let them choose.  Yes, God loves mankind and has created us to sit as glorified sons in His heavenly council.  Yet, he will not force it upon us.  We must choose.

Have you ever realized that in this life God has put the judgment of Jesus in our hands, in your hands?  It is up to each of us to make our judgment of Jesus, yea or nay, up or down.  This is our time to wrestle with the evidence and make a choice.  If you choose against Jesus, fire will not fall down from heaven and burn you up.  And, if you choose for Him, a glorious chariot will not swoop down from the sky and lift you up.  God will give you complete freedom to choose.  But you are not just deciding to choose for or against Christ.  It is a choice between Jesus or the alternative that the world offers.  Before you make such a choice, you should understand the further reality.  Once you leave this life, your judgment will then be in the hand of Jesus.  Take care with the measure you use in judging Jesus and the Father.  That same measure will be given back to you in the afterlife.  Jesus makes it clear how his judgment will be in Matthew 10:32-33.  “Whoever confesses me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven.  But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.”  Now is your turn to judge, but the day will come when you will wonder, “What will he do with me?”  Choose this day whom you will serve:  the giver of life or the bringer of death.

Trials II audio

When The Lord Questions You

Luke 20:41-47.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 20, 2015.

In the previous chapter we saw how Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of the hard hearts the people there had, especially the leaders.  This chapter has given us snapshots of the last week before the crucifixion, in which Jesus speaks to the people in the temple area.  This last attempt to turn their hearts runs into stiff opposition from the religious leaders.  Today we see that Jesus somewhat turns the table on them and asks them his own questions.  However, we should be careful of thinking that Jesus is only giving them a taste of their own medicine.  Rather, he specifically asks about a passage that is key to explaining who the Messiah really is and why they stumbled at the way Jesus spoke of his connection with The Father.  They claim to know so much.  But, if they would simply admit that there are some unexplained things in the Scriptures, they would be in a better position to accept what God was trying to reveal to them.  Jesus was the Son of God come down to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Jesus Exposes Their Willful Ignorance

There is nothing wrong with being ignorant.  All of us have areas of ignorance, no matter how smart we are.  No one can know all that mankind “knows,” much less all that is possible to be known.  Being ignorant is not a problem.  But, willful ignorance in the face of God’s revelation is a sin that we should be quick to repent of. 

The religious leaders questioned Jesus in order to undermine the authority that Jesus had with the common people, and to find fault with him.  Now God can handle our questions.  We can question Him, but we must recognize that when we are done He may have some questions for us.  This is part of the error of those who scoff and mock the Bible with questions that are clearly intended to manipulate how it looks rather than to find truth.  Go ahead and mock God’s Word, but also recognize that God will in turn have His time of questioning you.  Would you survive the same tactics against yourself that you employ against Him?  Honest questioning for the sake of Truth is not a threat to God.  But dishonest questions as a covering for sin and rejecting God will be shown for what they are.

They were calling Jesus a heretic because he called himself the Son of God.  I will share a couple of examples.  In Luke 19 Jesus told a parable about the owner of a vineyard.  At the end the owner sends his son to the caretakers and they kill him.  It was clear to the religious leaders that the owner was God, the vineyard was Israel, and they were the caretakers.  Notice that Jesus casts himself in the parable as the son of the owner.  This was not lost on them.  They resented and rejected his characterizations.  In John 10:30 Jesus said, “ ‘I and my Father are one.’  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works I have shown you from my Father.  For which of those works do you stone me?’  The Jews answered Him saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God.’”  It is being disingenuous to say that they misinterpreted Jesus.  He knew what he was saying.  His “oneness” with the Father was a bold claim of sharing in the divine nature of God.  We also have Luke 22:70 when Jesus is on trial.  They ask him point blank if he is the son of God.  What is the response of Jesus?  “You rightly say that I am.”  This was not their main point for rejecting Jesus.  They had already done this from the beginning.  Yet, it became the leverage they needed to cover their evil desire to execute him.  So is it really blasphemy to claim that the Messiah would be the Son of God?  This is the heart of what Jesus is asking them when he points them to Psalm 110 in this passage.

First of all let’s establish the fact that the Messiah would be the son of David.  This was accepted by all parties involved.  It is in 2 Samuel 7:12-17 that God promises David that his kingdom and throne will be established forever.  God would not reject the claim of David’s family to the throne like He did with Saul.  Thus David’s line becomes essential moving forward.    The prophets picked up on this and added further revelation.  In Isaiah 9:6-7 we are told that One would sit on the throne of David who will be called: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  Several of these titles pose some problems if you are contending that the Messiah will not have a divine nature.  Thus this coming Messiah would fulfill all that was missing in those earthly kings of David’s line.  Each successive king quickly proved that they were not the messiah and so Israel waited.  In Micah 5:2 it says, “You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”  Again this coming messianic ruler is spoken of in terms that go beyond a mere human.  Yes, we can interpret it to mean that the prophecies about his coming are of old, though he is not.  But, it is phrased in such a way that doesn’t negate that his existence would be from ancient times.  Lastly, at the announcement to Mary of her coming pregnancy by the angel Gabriel, it says in Luke 1:32, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.”  So the messiah is the ultimate Son of David.  But it was being revealed to the people of the first century that he was more than a man.  He was the Son of God.  This was not in contradiction to Scripture and only made some Scriptures more understandable.  This leads us to Psalm 110 which Jesus quotes from in today’s Scripture portion.

The question that Jesus asks is this.  How can you say that the messiah is the son of David when David calls the messiah his Lord?  How can an earthly descendant of David also be his lord?  Now when we look at the verse we need to recognize that in the Psalms there are two different words being translated as Lord, in fact you will notice the first “LORD” is in all caps (or small caps) and the second is only capitalized.  This is because the translators are letting you know they are two different words.  Here is a rough translation that helps us see this.  “YHWH said to my adonai….  The first is a reference to the name of God given to Moses at Mt. Sinai.  Historically it has been translated as Jehovah or Yahweh.  The second is a term that refers to a king, master or teacher.  The word always places the person in authority another class (i.e. king to citizens, master to slave, teacher to disciples etc…).  Thus David is literally revealing that he saw the messiah (who would be a descendant of him) as his king and master.  When Jesus asks them how they can call the messiah the son of David, he is not doing it to say they are wrong. But, instead, he is taking them back to a messianic passage and saying, if statement one is true then how do you understand statement two.  Now the answer that is being revealed in the days of Jesus is that the body of Jesus was biologically from the line of David.  As a side not on this biological aspect of Jesus, we should note that the creative act of the Spirit in causing Mary’s pregnancy is not explained further.  Thus even the biology of the body of Jesus is at least partially from David and possibly also from God.  Yet, the spirit of Christ is from before David and has existed from the beginning. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Jesus was the prophesied “Right hand” of God accomplishing salvation for himself. 

Though these were new truths that God was revealing regarding His plan, we must note that none of it is contradictory to the Old Testament.  This is the problem.  The religious leaders claim to know the truth and will not accept what Jesus is saying.  Yet, Jesus shows them that the very Scriptures they claim to know point to the very things that he is revealing.  Thus they are choosing to reject this new light.  This is what I meant earlier by a willful ignorance.  You might ask yourself this.  Is God trying to open my eyes to something that I am resisting and rejecting?  We know that God is working everyday to open the eyes of people to the Truth and yet many reject it.  One day you will be questioned by God himself.  He will expose the flimsy arguments that we use and give back to us according to how we questioned Him.  I encourage those who don’t accept Jesus as both man and divine to be careful how they deal with God’s Word and Christians, His people.  Do you want to be dealt with in the same way by Him?

He Exposes Their Sin

In verse 45 Jesus turns back to the people and warns them about the sin of the religious leaders.  Those who are going to follow Christ must first learn to avoid the pitfalls that keep people from accepting Jesus.  First, Jesus points out the misplaced desire and love that these religious leaders have.  Their desire was for public attention and the adoration of people rather than to please God.  They were filled with pride regarding their godliness, and yet, they did not really love God.  Instead, they loved to be honored and have the best.  There is nothing wrong with wanting people to approve of our actions.  But when that desire goes outside the proper boundaries it becomes an inordinate desire.  They desired man’s applause more than God’s.  They desired the authority that they had for their own purposes and ends rather than for the purposes of God.  This same sin is rampant today within the churches of the USA.  Our churches are overwhelmed with people who have inordinate desires and misplaced loves.  At the end of the day they are serving their own ego at the expense of the work of God.

The religious leaders also were taking advantage of the desperate within society.  Devouring widows houses is a reference to the way they would worm their way into receiving the money of widows while they live and in their deaths.  The term devour depicts the beastly nature of their actions.  They preyed upon the desperate situation of the widows in order to enrich themselves.  They loved money rather than those widows for whom they were to be a protection.  The love of money has infiltrated the churches of this country to the point that it has become a mark of godliness to be rich.   Although there is nothing wrong with being rich, we must recognize how inordinate desires and love pulls us away from God and in the “name of God” we pursue whatever our heart wants.  As long as we slap a Jesus sticker on it in the end, we are living godly.  If God rejected such mockeries then how much more will He reject those who bring ridicule to the Son of God whom we are supposed to be serving?

Jesus also points out their false piety.  They pray long prayers, not because they love talking with God, but because they love putting on a show for the people.  They are not as pious as they depict.  Such pretensions are false and are revolting to God.  We tend to follow spiritual leaders who look pious and godly.  Many are being misled because they foolishly do not look to the Scriptures.  God has warned us and exposed the methods of the unrighteous.  Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of trying to please men.  Focus on pleasing God and let the chips fall where they may.

Lastly, Jesus states that these leaders will receive a greater condemnation.  Why is this so?  They will receive greater condemnation because they spend their days studying and writing about the Scriptures and yet reject the very things the Scriptures are trying to teach, and they reject the very one who authored the Scriptures.  They receive a greater condemnation because they declare that they have the truth and force others to come under error and miss the truth.

Friend, the day will come when God will judge each and every one of us.  How will it go for me in that day?  It will not be the fact that we have sinned that will be the issue.  No, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Rather, it will be the fact of how we dealt with that sin.  Did I submit and plead guilty before the court of heaven?  Did I then cling to Jesus, the Son of God, to be my teacher and savior?  These men refused to hear what God was trying to teach them from the Scriptures and thus they missed the blessing He had for them.  Make sure you don’ t miss God’s blessing for you!

WhenTheLordQuestions Audio

The Stone That Is Rejected

Luke 20:9-19.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on August 23, 2015.

The materials that are used in a building project are a critical factor.  If they are not of good quality they can affect the looks, durability, and especially the safety of the structure.  This is important because God has been building a structure Himself.  However, this structure is not made of wood or stones.  It is made out of people who put their faith in Jesus.  Yet, much like stones, they are being cut, shaped and placed next to other believers.  This structure becomes a living temple, both as individuals and as a group, in which the Spirit of God dwells.  Today we are going to see that our Lord, Jesus, is a critical stone in this structure.  If we are thinking of a rectangular building then Jesus is the critical foundation stone.  If we are thinking of a pyramid shape then he is the critical capstone.  Another critical stone in architecture can be seen in the keystone of an arch.  The center stone becomes the one thing that holds all the others up.  God has made Jesus the most critical part of this structure we can refer to as the Kingdom of God.  He is that one thing that holds all the others up.  When we reject the authority of Jesus, like the religious leaders of his day did, we do so to our own folly.  They were more interested in asserting and defending their own authority than to recognize the authority that God had given Jesus.

The Parable Of The Vineyard

In Luke 20 we are in the last week leading up to the cross.  Jesus is in the temple compound teaching daily.  The religious leaders have challenged the authority of Jesus to kick out the merchants.  Though Jesus turned them away with his own challenge regarding the authority of John the Baptist, in verse 9-19 he turns to the people and shares a parable that is intended to be heard by those leaders.

In this parable there is a vineyard that is owned by a certain man.  Jesus is clearly using Isaiah 5:1-7 as a background to this parable.  In that passage God tells Isaiah that Israel is like a vineyard that God planted to grow good grapes.  Yet, it kept producing wild grapes.  Thus the vineyard is not so much Israel as a national entity, but rather, the kingdom of God’s people who had been drawn together under His leading.  God’s purpose in drawing the children of Jacob into this kingdom was to bring forth good fruit.

In the story the vineyard is put in the charge of certain vinedressers, we will get to them in a bit.  At harvest time the owner would send servants to check on the fruitfulness of the vineyard and to bring back a sample of the fruit.  But these servants were beat and turned away by the vinedressers.  So who are these servants?  The servants are the prophets that God periodically sent to Israel to both check on the fruit and to instruct them on how to be more fruitful.  In 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 it is recorded, “And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.  But they mocked the messengers of god, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.”  This testimony of how Israel rejected the prophets when they spoke is sad.  Notice that God uses the phrase, “rising up early,” of Himself.  It means that He was faithful and diligent to do a good job of trying to help them be fruitful.  This phrase is used by Jeremiah (the prophet that prophesied during the destruction of Jerusalem) 7 different times.  Although this parable only mentions the servants being beaten, we know from the Old Testament that many of them were put to death as well.

Finally the owner, God, reaches an impasse.  “What shall I do?”  We see here the perplexity and difficulty that God has with trying to help mankind.  No matter how faithful and diligent He is, we tend to reject Him and go after others.  So the owner determines to send his beloved son.  Surely they will respect the owner’s son.  Of course the Beloved Son is none other than Jesus.  Here we see that Jesus the Messiah is much more than another prophet (i.e. servant of God).  He is prophet, priest, and king.  He is the one ruler from whom all proper authority finds its authenticity.  Clearly the parable shows that this is a last resort option of the owner, God.

Now let’s deal with the vinedressers.  They are the leaders of Israel who have been given authority over the vineyard, but for the purpose of growing good grapes.  Yet, they have abused their authority.  Instead of pruning, irrigating, and fertilizing the vineyard, they had used it for their own purposes and for their own promotion.  So in the parable the vinedressers do not respect the owner’s son.  Instead they conspire to kill him in order to keep the vineyard for themselves.  Regardless of how they thought they would get away with it, this clearly demonstrates that Jesus knew they would kill him.  They rejected his authority and even more would seek to remove him.  In John 7:7 Jesus says to his brothers, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil.”  Though the religious leaders would justify their rejection of Jesus through pious and noble justifications, Jesus makes it clear the real reason they were rejecting him.  He exposed their wickedness.

Though the vinedressers have had their way with the servants of the owners and now with His Beloved Son, they will not get away with it.  What will God do?  God will judge Israel’s leaders and put the vineyard in the hands of others.  His purpose is not just to create a people, but to create a people who bear good fruit.  The religious leaders were content to just be a people.  But they didn’t fear God enough to recognize that it wasn’t good enough to just bear His Name.  They had to produce righteousness that was worthy of the character of God.  Yes, Israel as a nation is going to be destroyed, and in so doing, the political and religious leaders of Israel will lose their place in the vineyard.  Yet, there is still some good clusters of grapes (the faithful remnant).  The faithful believers who attached themselves to Jesus and who will produce good fruit, are plucked up and sent into the nations as a new group called the Church.  They are put under new vinedressers:  Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Pastors and Teachers.  Let me just pause to give warning to those of this age who are in positions of religious authority.  You have a duty before the owner of these people to exercise your authority in such a way as to increase the fruit of righteousness.  Just as God judged the religious leaders in Israel, so He will judge those who abuse their authority in His Church.  Do not be deceived, God will not be mocked for long until His judgment comes to bear on wicked leaders.

The Judgment Of The Priests And Elders

In Matthew’s account of this interaction (Mt. 21:43) it is clear that Jesus makes the parable very explicit.  He flat out states, “Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”  Of course the religious leaders do not like this and respond with great incredulity and raging anger.  This categorical rejection of the idea that God would remove them from leadership and put others in charge shows that they are not interested in the proofs of the authority of Jesus.  They cannot even conceive of the idea that God would judge them.  In a sense they see this as blasphemy.  Be careful that you do not confuse statements against your actions as the same as statements against God.  In so doing you can blind yourself to the merciful attempts of God to turn you away from a wicked path.  Even today the idea that God might hold pastors and leaders of the Church accountable through judgment and removal is unthinkable to many.  In many places throughout the Church in the USA we are producing wild grapes and slapping a “God approves” sticker on it.  But this is folly. 

Jesus reminds the leaders of Psalm 118.  Now this is the same Psalm from which the people were quoting when they cried, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosannna!”  It is a messianic Psalm that is very interesting to read.  The same Psalm that blesses the coming of the messiah states, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”  Jesus asks them what could it mean, but that the leaders would actually reject the very messiah that God was making the central stone in His work.  The Psalm also warns those who would stand against God’s plans.  They will be destroyed if they insist on standing against Him.  We can often be very blind to things in God’s Word because we can’t conceive of their possibility.  How we ought to humble ourselves and have enough respect of God to recognize that we have a place in His kingdom only by His grace.  If we eat up His grace and use it to produce sour grapes, will this be acceptable?  Of course, not.  God forgive us of using grace as a license for immorality and a license for using the Church for our own purposes.  The messiah was and still is today a stone that is rejected not just by the world, but also by many within the Church itself.

Jesus says that this rock will trip people up and grind others to powder.  This alludes to Isaiah chapter 8.  There we are told that the cornerstone of God (Jesus the messiah) would be a rock of offense.  The rock is first and foremost a stone of stumbling.  It is intended to cause those who are oblivious to their sin and looming judgment to trip over it.  Though they may injure themselves in the fall, they can at least now have their eyes opened and repent.  They can come to trust the ways of Jesus and not their own.  However, those who reject even this mercy will be ground into powder in a final judgment of God.  We see this in Daniel chapter 2 where the image that represents the kingdoms of this world is struck by the rock of God.  It grinds the kingdoms of this world to powder and fills the whole earth.  Let us recognize that God loves us too much to let us blindly walk in wickedness.  He is faithful to trip us up and try to get our attention.  But eventually judgment will fall on those who reject His attempts to get us to turn from our wicked ways and turn towards the truth of His Beloved Son.

There was no repentance in the souls of the religious leaders of that day.  Yes, there were a few like Nicodemus.  But, most of them hated what Jesus was, a blinding light exposing their wickedness.  They will go on to fulfill the words of the parable even while rejecting the truth of it.  The book of Revelation mentions 4 times that the people did not repent in the face of the increasing outpouring of God’s wrath.  God’s judgment always comes in birth pangs.  They are increasing in pain and closer together.  This is to give us fair warning and plenty of time to change.  Do you not see the birth pangs all around us today?  God has been faithful to send his servants and yet our nation has beat them and sent them away.  God has been faithful to give us warnings militarily, economically, and even in our weather.  But we still refuse to repent as a nation.  Friend, please recognize that this world has a sin problem.  Even when the truth is staring us in the face, we not only refuse to see it, but we also try to kill it out of anger and hatred.  The only way to save yourself from the coming judgment is to flee in faith to Jesus Christ.  Give your life to trusting Him and learning from Him how to please God.

stone rejected audio