Luke 20:1-19
One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”
3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”
8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
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.
Who is the (P)resident of Your Life?
When I became a pastor, some seasoned veterans of the faith warned me about four areas that had the potential to destroy ministries: money, sex, foolishness, and power. Faith leaders need to be on guard. Luke chapter 20 is a story with profound significance about the hearts of religious leaders. Those of us in ministry would do well to consider the lesson.
Notice the arrogance of the chief priests and teachers of the law in trying to discredit Jesus, as demonstrated by their actions & motives. The fact that these religious experts gathered together to challenge Jesus and confronted him suggests premeditated motives. They didn’t go to Jesus to try to better understand him and his ministry; they went to destroy him. They sought to regain the favor of the populace whom they feared. Jesus had a following that was getting bigger and bigger, and if it was allowed to continue to grow, they would lose favor with the Romans. They decided under the authority of the High Priest Caiaphas, “It is better for you that one man dies for the people than that the whole nation perishes” (John 11:50). By his declaration, Caiaphas was unknowingly prophesying about God’s plan for Jesus’ death. Through the Sanhedrin’s wicked actions, God would save both the Jewish nation and anyone else who would believe in Christ.
God’s plan prevailed, regardless of their bad intentions.
This story also demonstrates that Jesus knows our hearts better than we know ourselves. Jesus, being God in the flesh, knew that their intention was to have him killed, but he still invited them and welcomed them to ask their questions. He continues to welcome us in the same way today. Jesus was not only a master storyteller; he was also a master of cutting to the chase and getting to the heart of a matter. “By what authority are you doing these things?” Jesus asks. He turns their question into a test.
Since they couldn't give him an answer about John the Baptist, neither would he answer them. Both John and Jesus’s authority to do “these things” (miracles, signs, baptising people for repentance) were truly from heaven. Some people question God’s authority today, not realising that when we pass from this life into eternity, God will be the one asking all the questions and we will have to give an answer.
The characters in the parable of the tenants are not difficult to identify. The owner of the vineyard is God
the Father Himself. The vineyard is humanity, and the place where humans reside. Perhaps we might say Jesus is referring specifically to the Jewish people, since he tells the parable to them. The fact that the vineyard is “rented” reminds us that Humanity is meant to steward the earth on behalf of God. This stewardship began with Adam and Eve in the garden and will continue until Jesus’ second coming, when he will make all things new. In this parable, the harvest time is ongoing. The owner (God) sent multiple servants (Prophets) to collect the fruit of the harvest, but the tenants (humanity) beat the servants, treated them shamefully and had them killed.
Out of his abundance love and mercy, the owner of the vineyard doesn’t quit. He decides to send his son (Jesus), but the result is the same. The tenants kill him too because they want the full inheritance for themselves. We might say, they want the reward without a commitment, without bringing fruit to the owner.
In the conclusion of the parable, the vineyard is given to others. God is the owner of the vineyard, and his transfers the inheritance away from the wicked tenants. We serve a compassionate & loving God who cares that none of us should perish, and desires all to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). The inheritance belongs to all who will repent of their sins and believe the Gospel of Jesus-Christ.
One way to interpret this parable is to see gentiles as the benefactors, receiving the inheritance of the vineyard. I am reminded to never take for granted the fact that God is the one reaching out to me, extending grace to me, and not the other way around. An attitude of humility and thankfulness is essential to maintain a relationship with the King of Kings.
We must trust in Jesus, the cornerstone, to hold us safely. His words in verse 17 would have made people think of the temple of Jerusalem, first built by Solomon and completed in 957 BC. The cornerstone was the anchor of the building. It was the first stone installed in the foundation, which would carry the full weight of everything else in the building. The chief priests, teachers of the law and elders taught that they were the preservers sole interpreters of the law and the temple. Think about what it means for Jesus to be the cornerstone – the foundational piece of the temple: the place where God and man meet.
The chief priests and teachers of the law had already rejected Jesus. They didn’t accept the evidence of his ministry: healing hearts and minds, restoring lives and working miracles. They were jealous of the attention he was drawing from the crowd, and their rejection of Jesus was the final fulfillment of the prophecy from Psalm 118. Some continue to reject him to this day.
Questions:
1. What are you hearing from God as you read Luke 20:1-19? Did anything stick out to you about the passage?
2. What do you think about the conniving of the religious leaders? In what ways do you see that they had an agenda beforehand?
3. What do you think of the crowd? Why do you think the religious leaders were so afraid of the crowd?
4. Where do you see yourself as a character in this parable of the tenants?
5. Is the attitude of the landowner justified towards the tenants? Why?
6. What are the implications for you personally as a new “tenant” of the landowner? What is your mission and purpose for this life?
Author Bio
Rev/Pastor/Padre Steeve Arseneau is currently employed as a Regular Force Chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in Shearwater, Nova Scotia since 2022. Steeve has served our CAF for 40 years in different capacity and has been an Alliance member since coming to faith in Christ in the Spring of 1993 in Edmonton, Alberta.
Steeve is married to Tammy his lovely wife of 33 years. They have one daughter (Rochelle) who is also serving in the CAF. In fact, God is using him to be her own chaplain since they are working together at 12 Wing Shearwater. He loves being a “Papa” to his granddaughter (Emmerson) and grandson (Cohen).
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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