Rev. Arturo Mendez 

Sermon: 10-04-2020

Theme: Jesus is Our Corner Stone

 

The Parable of the Tenants

³³ “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 moved to another place. ³⁴ When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way ³⁶ Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

 

Last Sunday we Heard about the Authority of Jésus and the Parable of the two Sons, and today Jesus Continued talking in the same way, why He Talk like that to them, Jésus is talking to the chief priest and the elders of the Temple, but now Jesus one more time speak in parable to them about the landowner of the vineyard.to let them know about their mistakes, we need to remember the Chief Priest and the Elders, believe that they have all the authority in the earth, and also they are righteous to God, and they deserve the Heritage to the Kingdom of Heaven. This parable is very straight respect to the accusers of Jesus He is talking to them using the image that it was being used from the prophets in the Old Testament to represent the relationship of the people of Israel with God. Jesus was telling them about The Prophecy from  (Isaiah:5:1-5) we Just read earlier. We know they have a lot of difficulties to follow the rules that God was comanded, our sinful nature is always rejected the gifts and blessings from God our Father and do evil in our heart, that’s why God was sent to the people of Israel so many messengers to give  them the news of salvation, the prophets in this meaning are the servants of this parable. Jesus is talking to them vary Straight to let them know about their mistakes and lack of Faith. In todays world is happening the same thing some many people are like this chiefs Priest and elders of Israel, they seeing but not see and they heard but don’t listen, that’s the Sin of our hearts our sinful condition make us reject God’s Blessings

In the face of such questioning, Jesus recounts the parable of evil labradors which, at first glance, is a slightly rare parable. The owner of the vineyard, which clearly shows that he has money to build a tower and a winepress, and plant a vineyard and hire workers, does somewhat crazy things. First he goes away. Looks like he puts all his trust in the workers he hired. Then send servants to gather the fruits given by the vineyard. When his servants are mistreated, stoned, and killed, he resends a greater number of servants for the same purpose of collecting the results of the harvest. He devised no way to punish these ungrateful workers hired for what they did with their first servants. You don't even hear him make any reproaches! The contracted workers did the same to these servants as they did with the former: they were mistreated, stoned, and killed some of them. At this point, we think the owner of the vineyard should be mounted on anger and planning a terrible revenge. However, it does something else crazy! He sends his son, his only son. What naivety! Why he do that craziness? And the hired workers do the same thing again. They take the sent son out of the vineyard—the vineyard that rightly belongs to him—and kill him.


Jesus ends the story here. But this story can't end like this! Is there no justice on this earth? Jesus asks his interlocutors how they think this story should end, telling them, "So when the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these workers?" They said to him, "He will un mercylessly destroy these wicked men, and he will lease his vineyard to other labradors who give the fruit to him in his time" (vv 40-41). Finally, there seems to be a bit of common sense here. But the priests and elders of the people condemned themselves with that answer, what can we learn from all this? How do these words of Jesus speak to us? The first thing we have to learn is to see the irrationality of sin. The attitude of the hired workers shows tremendous evil. Instead of feeling privileged to have been hired to work and receive a portion of what was harvested as payment for their labors, greed rose to their heads and they wanted to keep everything, at any cost, even by killing their master's servants. And they did not repent or be afraid when the owner sent servants a second time, but they did the same again: they mistreated, cast out, and killed those servants, wholly no one had asked them to be held accountable for what they had done with the former. This is evil in this world: it knows no limits, it is not sensitive to anyone's suffering or anyone's private property. The greed and pride of putting yourself above God has no limits.


Sin runs over, stones and kills. He has no sensitivity even when the owner of the vineyard sends his only child. Sin takes him out of the way, too. That is the teaching of this parable concerning our sin. We get used to siding, give rise to greed and pride, and destroy what deprives us of fulfilling our own desires. We become irrational, we do what is wrong, we hurt others with our words and attitudes. We are insensitive to the pain and sufferings of others. I don't think I should keep making a list of how sin manifests itself in our lives. Each of us knows very well how far our sinful mind takes us. The second thing we have to learn is to see the craziness of God's love. The love of the heavenly Father, the owner of the vineyard, the sovereign Lord of creation, is irrational, it is incomprehensible. For centuries, the Father sent prophets to his people, most of whom were mistreated, stoned, and even killed in cold blood. 

 

The Father in heaven set up a people on this earth to produce fruits of justice and love. But the people and their leaders believed the right to take the reins of life in their own hands. The heavenly Father then sent Jesus, his only Son, whom the contracted workers themselves gave to the authorities to be judged and crucified. They wanted to get God out of the way! God's attitude is irrational. It is crazy that he does not punish us as we deserve for our disobedience, for wanting many times to get him out of the way so that we can comfortably do those things that we want and that we know are not right before his eyes. God's love is patient and incomprehensible. For the love of us Jesus went to the cross, so that we may enjoy the fruits of his vineyard. Scripture affirms to us  the irrational, the incomprehensible of God's love. Can God love me and accept me after seeing everything I think and do? He, who is so holy, how can he have an interest in me, and in the things that happen to me? Can God be interested in my pains, my doubts, my concerns? Do I think all this is crazy? 

Thus the Apostle Paul answers these questions: In 1 Corinthians 1:18 he says: "The message of the cross is 



certainly craziess for those who are lost, but for those who are saved, that is, for us, it is the power of God." Then, in 1 Corinthians 1:23, Paul reaffirms: "We preach to Christ crucified, that for the Jews it is certainly a stumbler, and for non-Jews a  craziness."".

 

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone;

the Lord has done this,

    and it is marvelous in our eyes’ 

Jesus is the Cornerstone that was rejected, by the Jews in this  parable of the tenants of the vineyard, Jesus shows us the rejection of his chosen people, and the heritage that they had as their chosen ones for God, was lost for lack of faith and believes in Jesus as their Messiah, the chiefs of the Synagogue and the elders knew that He was talking about them, Jesus confronts them with a question of what deserves those who have killed the servants of the Vineyard, they knew it was death, and thus answered, Jesus cites a phrase of the writing of the psalmist David, (Psalm 118:22) The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; that Cornerstone is Christ is the Stone on which his church is based through faith in Him alone and on that stone is built our Salvation, for many this stone will be shattered for them for having stumbled upon it for having rejected it will receive eternal judgment and its condemnation will be terrible, for his lack of Faith, Christ the Cornerstone, now opens that inheritance that the Jews rejected, by their disbelief, now to all the Gentiles and yet to all those who repent of their sins and their disbelief, Jesus our Cornerstone which was discarded is now our Rock and because to his sacrifice on the cross, his death and his resurrection , now it is ours, for all of us who place our trust in Him, as our Lord and Savior. Christ offers us his forgiveness through the means of grace that We can receive through his proclaimed word, through the confession and absolution proclaimed by the Pastors. That all our sins are been forgiven, When we partake of the sacrament once again, Christ offers us His forgiveness and strengthens us, so that we may go forward on his way, let us take a conciense and not allow our wickedness of sin to reject the Cornerstone that is Christ, rather let us ask that this Stone that is Christ be our eternal and solid rock so that we can found our foundations in  Jesus Our Cornerstone. Christ today is giving us once again the opportunity to receive His forgiveness and grace through Him, pouring all our Faith in Him, and trusting that He has forgiven us of all our iniquities, we do not reject this means of grace as the masters of the law and the elders of the synagogue, rather let us pray to the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, and that every day when we fall into sin, we can come to the feet of Crucified and Risen Christ, recognizing that we have sinned, and that we need his forgiveness,  Jesus is with open arms offering his forgiveness every day, every minute, and every Second, that every person who repents, He will forgive their sin, we come to Him giving thanks for his unconditional love and for his forgiveness that He offers us through his Son Jesus , and we can walk confidently building our salvation and our trust in this Cornerstone that is  Jesus our Lord

Amen! 

May the peace of God trespasses all understanding keep our hearts and mind for the life everlasting