Sermon Matthew 21:33 - 46 The Rejected Stone

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Matthew 21:33 - 46 The Rejected Stone

October 5, 2014

Throughout the summer months we were looking at the prophets of Israel trying to help the people of God who had lost their land and found themselves in exile in Babylon. The prophets told the people that God had not abandoned them. God still loved them very much, and if they returned to him and obeyed his commands then God would restore to them their inheritance. Today we will hear Jesus talking to the descendants of those people, giving them hope in the coming Kingdom of God. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

God of hosts, at the dawning of this day, let your face shine upon me. Restore me, and be my salvation; through Jesus the Lord. Amen”.¹

Today we listen to Jesus speaking at the Jerusalem temple. He was talking to the religious leaders who were wondering why he overturned merchant tables in the temple the day before. They have stopped Jesus to ask a few questions. Jesus took this opportunity to tell them a story. Let's listen.

Matthew 21:33 - 39 ³³ "… 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 went away on a journey. 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. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. ³⁸ "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' ³⁹ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

^{This story from Jesus is about land that has been lost. The tenant farmers who worked the land were the descendants of people who had owned it at one time. This was the promised land which had been taken away from them because of the disobedience of the people of God. The tenant farmers prayed for the day when God would restore their ownership of their family estates.}

^{Life for a first century tenant farmer was harsh. He had to pay high rents and high taxes, and there was not much left over for their families and to trade for what they needed. They longed for the day when they would own the land of their fathers.}

^{Originally Gentiles had lived on this land. But God had taken the land away from gentiles because of their idolatry. They worshiped other gods and sacrificed their own children. So God took the land away from them and gave it to the Hebrew people demanding their obedience to him in return. But the people of God had turned away from God and worshiped the idols, and refused to care for the poor and needy in their land. So God took the land away from them and gave it back to the gentiles. The people had a saying for this. "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone”. The gentiles had been rejected by God, but now they are the owners of the land.}

^{Jesus told us that the gentile absentee owner had planted a vineyard. In ancient times when farmers planted a vineyard they would not harvest any of the fruit for three years so that the plants could be established. The production of the grape vines in the fourth year would be given to God. These are the first fruits we often talk about. First fruits, the first year harvest would go to God to feed the vulnerable in the society. The farmers would then keep or trade the fruit of the harvest in the fifth year and beyond.}

^{What seems to be happening in this story from Jesus is that the absentee landlord is demanding his share of the fruit in the forth year. The Jewish farmers wanted to obey the law and give the first fruits to God. The gentile owner wanted his rent. This disagreement led to violence. The landlord sent a bill collector to get his share. The farmers responded violently and killed him. The landlord escalated the conflict by sending another bill collector with some armed men. The farmers responded by killing them all. Finally the landlord sent his son with a small militia to get what he wanted. The farmers were ready and the landlord's men and son died. We know were this leads. The landlord will come to Jerusalem. He will talk with the Roman governor. The Roman Legion will be dispatched. And all the farmers will die.}

^{This is the viscous cycle of violence. One act of violence leads to another and then another and the level of violence escalates each time. We see this today. ISIS beheads American journalists. We respond with surgical bombing. We know where this will lead: terror in America, and yet another war in the Middle East.}

^{Jesus knows how destructive the vicious cycle of violence is. And he wants it to stop. Rather than respond to violence with greater violence Jesus tells us to do this:}

^{43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.}

^{Jesus told the farmers of Judah that if want their land back they should not respond to violence with violence. Rather they should respond to violence by doing what God commands. Bring the first fruits of the harvest to God, feed the hungry, and let God deal with the absentee landlord.}

^{Like the farmers in Jesus' story we often get angry at injustice. Maybe you have been working long hours doing a good job, but the company downsizes anyway and you are gone. Maybe, you have put everything into your relationship and love your spouse, but he leaves you anyway. Maybe, you have lived a healthy life exercising and eating right, but you still get sick. It doesn't seem fair. You get angry and complain to God. What should you do? Try to get even?Respond violently? Jesus says no! You are not to respond to injustice with more injustice. Two wrongs do not make a right. Rather, when bad things happen to you, you are to respond with greater obedience to God. Come to worship every Sunday, attend Bible studies, pray every day, give your first fruits and tithes for the work of the church, and care for the vulnerable. Never respond to evil with evil. Be obedient to God. Do these things and the Kingdom of Heaven is yours.}

^{This is an important lesson for us. We have been richly blessed by God. We have inherited the Kingdom of Heaven. But if we respond violently to violence we risk losing everything we have. We must respond to violence with nonviolence exhibiting God's grace and love to the world. If we do this God's promise is that the Kingdom of Heaven will be given to us.}

^{Let's pray. Father in heaven we thank you for all the blessings you have given us. And we pledge to obey you. We will not respond to violence with violence. Rather we will respond to violence with your overwhelming love. In your son's name we pray. Amen.}

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p179.