Clear and present danger
Opening Prayer
Savior, thank You that You paid with Your life to walk in faithfulness
Read Luke 20:9–19
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
[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. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Why is Jesus telling the parable?Jesus is by now well and truly on a collision course with the religious leaders in Jerusalem, who are out to get him by the end of today’s passage (19). This is not one of his complex parables: it is about as subtle as a flying rock. Here’s how the allegory works. A man plants a vineyard and sends servants to collect fruit from the tenants. Or: God plants a nation and sends prophets to encourage fruitfulness from Israel. A series of visits do not go well, so the stakes are upped: the son will go instead. But, says Jesus, the son will be killed. Disaster will follow. So the danger is clear, and it is at hand. Jesus sees exactly where his confrontation is heading, but note that he offers no encouragement at all to those who think they can work together to stop it from happening (16,17). Scripture is against them. This is a good example of Jesus pointing the way to life through apparent disaster and death. He has embraced that calling. There are times when we have to embrace it too.
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