Luke 20:1-19
Verse 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.’
We finish up our quick look at parables that Jesus told to help His make the truth more plain. Like the parable from yesterday, this story was in response to the religious elite’s need to see the truth.
This story was told in the temple courts. Jesus was proclaiming the good news of God sending redemption for His people when the leaders came up to try and trick Him into saying something that would incriminate Him or at the very least make Him seem irrelevant to the crowds that have been listening to Him. Jesus easily saw through their feeble attempt to discredit Him and so after asking them a question they didn’t dare answer, He told them a story.
This story hit them right where He wanted it to. He knew they wouldn’t miss His meaning and He didn’t soften the blow by minimizing their character’s sins. He couldn’t leave earth without them knowing that He understood the truth about them. They wouldn’t have forgotten this story as soon as they walked away.
They may have used it to fuel their rage against Him as they plotted to kill Him. They knew they couldn’t take Him out with the people still watching but they couldn’t let Him continue stealing their people. The more people Jesus reached, the less control they had over them. The thing was the people weren’t really their people. Jesus’ story reminded them that they were just the ones that were given the responsibility of tending the people of God, they were still God’s people.
By asking them about John’s baptism, Jesus was showing them that God had sent His servants to bring God’s word to His people but they had been rejected. They had even rejected John, the special forerunner to the Messiah. And that of course was Jesus guiding them towards the truth of His being the Messiah. This story would have nailed that point home. But they didn’t want to hear it because if they admitted that, it would mean that they were the ones rejecting God’s Son. The truth was coming out about these religious leaders and while the masses may not have understood what was going on, the leaders were becoming more and more aware.
Making It Personal
If you would examine your life, would it look more like the lives of the religious leaders or the people who followed Jesus? How do you show God that you are not seeking your own followers? How do you point people to Jesus?
Making It Personal Kids
What does it mean to be a Christian? Do you ever try to get people to be like you? How can you help other people to want to be like Jesus?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for this clear reminder that being a Christian isn’t about getting people to follow us. Help us to wholeheartedly try to lead people to You with no agenda of our own. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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