Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
Luke 20:9-16
9 Now Jesus turned to the people again and told them this story: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years. 10 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 11 So the owner sent another servant, but they also insulted him, beat him up, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 A third man was sent, and they wounded him and chased him away.
13 “ ‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.’
14 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 15 So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him.
“What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked. 16 “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.”
9 Now Jesus turned to the people again and told them this story: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years. 10 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 11 So the owner sent another servant, but they also insulted him, beat him up, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 A third man was sent, and they wounded him and chased him away.
13 “ ‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.’
14 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 15 So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him.
“What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked. 16 “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.”
Commentary:
20:9–18 The Parable of the Wicked Tenants. This parable, while spoken to the people (vv. 1, 9), is directed to Jesus’ opponents (19:47; 20:1, 19) and is intended as an analogy (with many referents) to show that God (the “owner,” v. 13) is taking away the kingdom from Israel.
20:10–12 He sent. The man sent three servants, probably representing the OT prophets, to check on the tenants. The second and third servants each received greater abuse than the one preceding him. Cf. the three servants in 19:15–25.
20:13 My beloved son recalls the words spoken by the Father to Jesus at his baptism (3:22; cf. Matt. 3:17), and therefore here it surely alludes to God’s sending of Jesus to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to Israel, and their widespread rejection of him (see John 1:9–11).
20:14–15a Let us kill him. Cf. 19:47; 20:19. they … killed him. A clear allusion to Jesus’ approaching death.
20:15b What then will the owner … do to them introduces Jesus’ interpretation of the parable. The “owner” (lit., “lord”) represents God.
20:16 God will destroy those tenants. In a preliminary sense this happened during the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70, but in a fuller sense it refers to the final judgment. Surely not! The hearers have some sense that the parable applies to the people of Israel, and they are hoping that it does not mean that God will give the land of Israel or the kingdom to others.
20:10–12 He sent. The man sent three servants, probably representing the OT prophets, to check on the tenants. The second and third servants each received greater abuse than the one preceding him. Cf. the three servants in 19:15–25.
20:13 My beloved son recalls the words spoken by the Father to Jesus at his baptism (3:22; cf. Matt. 3:17), and therefore here it surely alludes to God’s sending of Jesus to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to Israel, and their widespread rejection of him (see John 1:9–11).
20:14–15a Let us kill him. Cf. 19:47; 20:19. they … killed him. A clear allusion to Jesus’ approaching death.
20:15b What then will the owner … do to them introduces Jesus’ interpretation of the parable. The “owner” (lit., “lord”) represents God.
20:16 God will destroy those tenants. In a preliminary sense this happened during the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70, but in a fuller sense it refers to the final judgment. Surely not! The hearers have some sense that the parable applies to the people of Israel, and they are hoping that it does not mean that God will give the land of Israel or the kingdom to others.
Questions:
- Jesus then gives a parable about a vineyard. In this story, each character represents someone or something. The owner of the vineyard is God. The vineyard is the people of Israel. The tenant farmers are the pharisees and the teachers of the Law. The servants are the Old Testament leaders and prophets. The son is Jesus. This parable tells the over-arching story of the entire Bible! God entrusted spiritual leaders with the people of God, His word and the worship of God. The tenant farmers mishandled it and refused to listen to any of the servants. They acted like they owned the vineyard. Ultimately, God sends His only Son, who the farmers kill. In this story, we are all either a tenant farmer or a wicked farmer. How can you tell which one YOU are?
- When it comes to anything in life, be it money, family, church, the gospel etc, we are merely stewards of what God has entrusted to us. He owns it all and we are here to steward well. Answer these questions... Do you think you are the owner of your life, or do you submit to your Lord? Are you more about living YOUR truth or submitting to THE truth? Do you ever invent a different Jesus that always agrees with you and is for anything that makes you happy, or do you fully embrace the Jesus of the Bible? Are you more concerned with what other people think of you or what God thinks of you? Which farmer or you?
Pray:
Type your new text here.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
No Comments