Monday, May 28, 2012,
8:13 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “Broken and Contrite” playing in my
mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 21:33-46 (NIV 1984):
“Listen to another
parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it,
dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to
some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he
sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
“The tenants seized
his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent
other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them
the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’
he said.
“But when the tenants
saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him
and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard
and killed him.
“Therefore, when the
owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
“He will bring those
wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to
other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
Jesus said to them,
“Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone the
builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the Lord has done
this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
“Therefore I tell you
that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who
will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces,
but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
When the chief priests
and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.
They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because
the people held that he was a prophet.
My Understanding: When
Jesus spoke these words initially (since he is still speaking), he was making
reference to the nation of Israel, God’s vineyard. Now we, who are followers of
Christ, are that vineyard. God the Father is the gardener and Jesus Christ is
the true vine. And, we are the branches that stem from that vine (see John 15).
The vineyard is now the true church, i.e. the body of Christ. And, God takes
care of us. He puts a wall of protection around us, which is his Holy Spirit.
He keeps watch over us, and he assigns his servants to keep watch over us, and
to serve as his shepherds and watchmen (and women) to care for, encourage and
lead us, and to warn us of danger – the danger of wolves in sheep’s clothing,
of continuing in sin and/or of coming judgment if we do not repent of sin.
The harvest time will truly come at the end when Jesus
Christ returns for his bride. Yet, as it was approaching, God sent out his
servants, the prophets, to “collect” from the tenants (the religious leaders)
his fruit. The fruit is “the product or consequence of something done”
(Encarta). To bear fruit is to be successful in the end of your labor. Fruit
can also be the reward, product, outcome, result, yield, outgrowth, or byproduct
of your labor. The product of a vineyard should be grapes and then wine,
perhaps. The fruit of lives committed to God should be repentance, obedience,
love, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, service, devotion, a hunger and
desire for righteousness, and a commitment to truth and to God’s word, etc.
Fruit Collectors
The prophets went to “collect” this fruit. To “collect”
means to gather, assemble, or reap. I am not certain exactly how this
collection was to have taken place by the prophets, so I will share what I know
of what it means to gather and/or what I know of the ministry of the prophets.
The prophets were sent by God as his spokesmen to give his messages to the
people, sometimes to the people of Israel, and sometimes to other nations.
Their primary message was “repent” of your sins, turn to God (or return) so
that God can bring spiritual healing, restoration and salvation to your lives.
So, the fruit the prophets would be collecting would be those of repentant
hearts and lives, committed to God to love and obey him in all ways. They would
be hearts and lives respondent to God’s messengers and his messages, obeying
whatever God said to the people through the prophets.
Yet, these prophets of God often met with resistance, even from
God’s chosen people and from their spiritual leaders. These prophets of God also
were often sent to warn of coming judgment if the people did not repent. So,
they were often hated and rejected. These prophets of God were seized by the
religious leaders and their followers, were beaten, stoned and killed. Then God
the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, and the people of God treated him the
same way. Jesus came to gather fruit, as well, i.e. he came to speak God’s
words (messages) to the people and to receive hearts that would be responsive to
him and to his messages. Yet, he was much greater than any prophet, for he is
God. And, they killed him by crucifying him on a cross. Yet, it was in God’s
will that this should happen, because Jesus became our perfect lamb sacrifice
for our sins, once for all.
Today’s Messengers
God is still sending out his messengers. All of us who are
in Christ Jesus are his witnesses and servants, and we are all commissioned to
make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey Christ. So, we are fruit
gatherers, too. And, we will be hated, as well, and for the same reasons as the
prophets, Jesus, the disciples and the apostles were hated, too. It is because
we share the truth of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and call for
people to come to repentance and to follow Christ Jesus in obedience to his
commands.
The Stone
Jesus asked his listeners a question. He asked them what
they thought the owner of the vineyard would do to the tenants. They responded
by saying that he would bring those wretches to a wretched end, and he would
rent the vineyard to other tenants who would produce a crop. Jesus’ response to
them was basically to agree with their assessment but then to let them know,
essentially, that he was the Son in the parable who was rejected, and he was
the promised Messiah prophesied about in the Psalms (118:22-23) concerning this
rejection, and that they were the tenants from whom God’s vineyard would be
removed and would be given to a people who would produce its fruit. By this
Jesus was referring to the nation of Israel and their rejection of Jesus Christ
as their Messiah and Lord. He would now give his gospel of salvation to the
Gentiles, and Jews, too, who would receive Jesus as Lord and Messiah, and who
would produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Then Jesus said: “He who falls on this stone will be broken
to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” There are many and varied
interpretations of Jesus’ words here. I found that most commentators I read
seemed to say pretty much the same thing. They saw both the falling on the rock
and the rock falling on people as the same thing, i.e. that they were both
judgments of God. Yet, the Lord has given me a different picture of this, and
there are commentators who agree with this interpretation. I believe, in the
context here of the dual people types, i.e. those from whom the kingdom of God
will be taken away, and those whom the kingdom will be given who will produce
its fruit, the “but” in Jesus’ statement must be seen as depicting contrasting
thoughts, not complimentary thoughts.
In other words, I believe Jesus was saying that to fall upon
the stone means to willingly come to Christ in humility and repentance with
broken and contrite heart. The brokenness is a result of falling upon the
stone, i.e. putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ via repentance (turning
from sin) and via choosing to turn to Christ in faithful obedience and
surrender of our wills to his will for our lives. This is the kind of fruit God
was hoping his vineyard would produce and the kind the prophets were to “collect.”
In contrast to that, those who choose to not fall upon the
stone, i.e. who refuse Christ either by refusing to believe in him or by
refusing, by our lifestyles, to walk with him, obey him, and honor him as holy,
will be crushed (will face the judgment of God). First of all I see here that
there are those who have fully rejected Christ and they will face the final
judgment of eternity in hell. Yet, the Lord says that he disciplines, rebukes,
chastises and punishes those he loves in order to make us holy, so sometimes we
can be crushed in spirit because of sin in our lives that the Lord wants to
purify out of our lives. And, his discipline in our lives is his way of
humbling us so that we do fall upon the stone in humility and repentance.
Yet, I saw one other aspect of this “crushing” that is
unrelated to either rejection of Christ or to specific sin in our own hearts
and lives. The Bible says that Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and he
was crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought us peace was
upon him, so that by his stripes we may be healed (see Isaiah 53). It was the
hand of God that brought this upon Christ as well as it was at the hand of the
people of God that Jesus Christ was crucified on that cross for our sins. He
was crushed because he took our penalty for our sin so that we can go free.
And, although we will never take upon us the sins of the world, we may face the
punishment of others’ sins and feel crushed in our spirits due to unjust
suffering at the hands of evil (sinful) human beings who hate us for many of
the same reasons they hated Jesus, the disciples, the apostles and the prophets.
Be Humble or Be
Humbled
So, we humble ourselves by falling upon the rock, i.e. by
coming to Christ willingly in brokenness of spirit and with contrite heart, in
repentance (turning from sin) and in surrendering our wills to the will of God
over our lives, truly making him our Lord and master. Or, we refuse Christ and/or
we refuse his requirements for salvation (the appropriate wedding attire – see Matt.
22), and we do not humble ourselves or become obedient to the cross of Christ
in dying to our old lives of sin so that Jesus Christ and his righteousness can
live in and out through us, bearing much fruit in keeping with repentance. The
choice is ours. Humble ourselves, fall upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, and
experience the brokenness of a heart given over to Christ Jesus. Refuse the
Rock, and the Rock will fall on you, i.e. God will judge your heart for your refusal
of his Son. Which will you choose?
Broken and Contrite
/ An Original Work / May 13, 2012
I come before You,
Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and
crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I
implore You,
Heal my broken heart,
I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord,
my master,
You are the King of my
heart.
Lord, purify my heart
within me;
Sanctify me, whole
within.
I come before You,
Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and
crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I
implore You,
Heal my broken heart,
I pray.
Oh, Lord, I long to
obey fully
The words You’ve spoken
through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me
grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to
obey.
Father God, my heart’s
desire,
Won’t You set my heart
on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart
of all that hinders
My walk with You, now
I pray.
Oh, Lord, I long to
obey fully
The words You’ve
spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me
grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to
obey.
Oh, Jesus, Savior,
full of mercy,
My heart cries out for
understanding.
I want to follow You
in all ways,
Never straying from
Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in
power,
Fill me with Your love
today.
Lord, mold and make
me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through
me, I pray.
Oh, Jesus, Savior,
full of mercy,
My heart cries out for
understanding.
I want to follow You
in all ways,
Never straying from
Your truth.
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