This morning we have before us the parable of the wicked tenants. Jesus often spoke to the crowds in parables. His disciples were also among those who heard Him speak in parables, and they often asked Him what they meant and why He spoke in this way. He said, "The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, with the result that, 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'" It was only those brought to faith in Jesus who were given to understand what He was telling them in the parables, because the parables spoke of Him. He was the mystery that was revealed in these stories. And so it was only those whose hardened hearts had been changed who could receive the gifts given in the parables.
The parable of the wicked tenants illustrates that the gift of God’s Son had been given to the Jewish people, but since they as a whole rejected this gift, the kingdom of God would be taken away from them and given to others. The owner of the vineyard in the parable represents God. The vineyard represents the people of God. The vineyard was often used to describe Israel in the O.T. Isaiah used it when he wrote, "The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of His delight. And He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness but heard cries of distress." God had taken this wild vine out of Egypt and planted it in the land of modern day Israel. He watered it, placed a hedge around it, put a watchtower in it, and then left it in the hands of the tenants - the priests and Levites - to take care of it through the proclamation of God's Word. The fruit that they were to produce was the fruit of repentance, consisting of sorrow over sin along with faith followed by works of justice and love for one another. But Israel along with their unfaithful tenants produced nothing but weeds. They went after other gods and forgot about justice and righteousness. They had a form of godliness, because outwardly they kept sacrificing, and they had all kinds of man-made religious traditions that they kept, but this only led to self-righteousness and works-righteousness. The tenants failed to proclaim God’s Word as they should have, and as a result faith in God and love towards their neighbors were gone.
So the owner sent servants to retrieve some of the fruit which they should have been producing. The servants represent the prophets whom God sent to His people to lead them to repentance. They did this by proclaiming both Law and Gospel to them. With God’s words of Law they warned the people of the punishment God would inflict upon them if they refused to repent. But with God’s words of Gospel they also proclaimed God's forgiveness and mercy towards those who did repent and returned to the God who had redeemed them. But most of the people rejected God's servants, beat or killed them, and sent them away empty-handed.
So then the owner decided to send his son. The son, of course, represents Jesus. He is the heir. The vineyard belongs to Him. In fact, the whole world belongs to Him. These wicked tenants knew this, but they thought that by killing him, the vineyard would become theirs. And so that's exactly what they did. Just as the Jewish nation had rejected all the prophets that God had sent them out of His love for them, so they rejected His Son, crucified Him, and threw Him out of the vineyard. And for this the owner destroyed those wicked tenants and gave the vineyard to others.
Now the crowds that were listening to Jesus were amazed at what He was saying, and they responded by saying, "May this never be!" But Jesus quoted the Psalmist who foretold that the Messiah would be rejected by His own people: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone." This stone in the O.T. was either the cornerstone - the foundation stone upon which a building was built, or the capstone - the stone which crowned a building. It was either the first stone laid that would govern the angles of the rest of the building, or it was the last one laid which kept it from collapsing in on itself. During the construction of a building the capstone might be lying around the construction site, getting in the way of those who were building, with the result that they sometimes stumbled over it. To reject the cornerstone or capstone as unneeded would have been very foolish, since it was necessary for the integrity of the structure. You could not have a building without the cornerstone or capstone.
So, when the teachers of the Law and the chief priests heard that Jesus was comparing Himself to this rejected stone, they knew that He was speaking against them in this parable. Jesus was accusing them of having rejected Him just as the wicked tenants had rejected the son in the parable. And the logical conclusion was that their house - the whole religious system they had built, the whole Jewish religion and their status in it - would collapse and be destroyed. This made them so angry that they wanted to arrest Jesus and put Him to death, just as their fathers had done to the prophets before Him, just as Jesus had illustrated this in the parable. Eventually, they would kill Him through the agency of the Roman government and Pontius Pilate, demanding that He be crucified. And for their rejection of this Capstone, these religious leaders would be removed from their positions of authority among God's people. In 70 A.D. the vineyard of God - God's people - was taken out of their hands. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, marking the end of the Jewish religion as far as God is concerned. And God’s vineyard was placed in the care of others - Christian pastors today who proclaim Jesus, God’s Son, the Capstone, crucified for the forgiveness of sins. The result is that God’s new Israel are now producing the fruit of repentance. This is the fruit God had been looking for all along among His O.T. Israel. Since they weren't producing this fruit, the vineyard was taken away from them and given to others. It's taken away from the Jewish nation as a whole and is given to Christ's Church, which is made up of all believers in Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles alike, who repent of their sins, trust in Jesus for their salvation, and live in love towards their neighbor.
Now, when we Christians hear this parable, it’s easy for us to point the finger at these chief priests and teachers of the Law and say what wicked people they were. For this reason we might think that the parable doesn't apply to us. After all, we haven't rejected Jesus. We didn't put Him to death, so we say. But we baptized believers in Christ are just as sinful and guilty as these religious leaders. God still expects the same fruit from us as He did from His O.T. people - the fruit of repentance: sorrow over sin, faith in Christ, amendment of our sinful lives, and works of love towards one another. The servants who are sent to us with God's Word to encourage and teach us to repent are our pastors, teachers, and godly parents. But do we always listen to them? Don't we often do our own thing regardless of what God's Word says? Don't we often try to justify our sin, even using God's Word, twisting it to say what we want it to say? And when we reject those servants whom God sends to us to convict us of our sin, do we repent, or do we harden our heart? When we reject God’s servants, we reject Him. We are just as guilty as those who crucified Jesus, because it was our sins and our rejection of Him and His Word that put Him on that cross. For this God's Word ought to be taken away from us and given to someone else. We deserve to be thrown out of the vineyard for not producing the fruit of repentance that God expects from us.
But Jesus tells us this parable, so that we might come to our senses, repent of our sins, and receive His forgiveness. The good news is that God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy towards you. It is for this reason He keeps sending you His Word through His servants, to continue to bring you to repentance, so that you might not be cast out of His vineyard. He doesn't want you to perish. He doesn't want what happened to these wicked tenants to happen to you. In fact, He told this parable to the religious leaders in the hope that they, too, might come to repentance before it was too late. He doesn't delight in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked repent. He sent Jesus to die for the wicked - that includes you and me. Jesus shed His blood for those who hate Him, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, should not be thrown out of the vineyard, but have eternal life.
Like a house without a cornerstone or capstone, those who reject Jesus will not be able to stand in the Judgment. They will perish. Jesus is the Rock, the precious foundation stone upon which His Church is built. As long as you're on this Rock nothing will be able to move you. Without this Rock there's only sand. Any church that is not built on Christ the Rock is built on sand and will not stand when the storm of God's wrath comes. This Rock alone is your salvation. Jesus says that whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. To fall upon Jesus in repentance, confessing that you are an unworthy sinner, is to be broken to pieces before Him. Such repentant people are not destroyed by the Stone. Instead, they receive God’s forgiveness and mercy. But for those upon whom this Stone falls, there is no hope. They will be pulverized, crushed, and destroyed. Jesus is referring to the final judgment that is about to come. On that day there will be no opportunity to repent, no opportunity to fall upon Jesus, only eternal destruction in hell for those who reject Him. But today is the day of repentance and salvation. Now is the time for the preaching of the Gospel, that Jesus was rejected by God on the cross for you so that you might not be. In Him and for the sake of His shed blood you have the forgiveness of all your sins, life, and salvation.
Let us take warning, then, from this parable about the wicked tenants, so that we might repent of our own rejection of Jesus and His Word in our lives and our failure to produce the fruit of repentance. At the same time take heart that Jesus died for your sins and that He wants you to trust in His forgiveness. He Himself works this repentance and trust in you through His Word and Sacraments, the fertilizer and living water He gives to the vines in His vineyard. The Lord has graciously planted you in His vineyard. You are a member of God's house, built on the Rock of our salvation, our crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the cornerstone and capstone of the Church, "the living stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him." On Christ the solid rock we stand; all other ground is sinking sand. Stand firm upon Him, and the storm of God’s wrath will never touch you. Amen.