{"id":9172,"date":"2026-11-01T17:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T00:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/?p=9172"},"modified":"2026-11-01T17:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T00:10:09","slug":"pastor-david-jerome-you-were-warned-luke-209-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/2026\/11\/01\/pastor-david-jerome-you-were-warned-luke-209-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastor David Jerome: You Were Warned, Luke 20:9-18"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nHere is<\/span>\u00a0the full transcript<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0[Click HERE to close<\/span>]<\/strong><\/span><\/summary>\n

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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. A quick poll. The rain, do you like it or do you not like it? All right. Mixed. Yeah. When we were living in the Philippines, we loved the rain because it was the only thing that cooled things off. But we were always afraid because we had so many friends who were in flood areas. And every time we would rain, we didn’t get flooded out. And so, it was kind of a mixed blessing. But I do like the rain. One thing to pray for. Remember Tuesday. Very important election. And as believers, we need to be voting. Voting on morals. Voting for those candidates that are matching our morals and our beliefs. So, if you haven’t already submitted your ballots, please do that. And just pray for our country as you’re doing that. So, all right. Well, let’s begin.<\/p>\n

This morning, we are continuing our study of the book of Luke. And we are now in Passion Week. Okay? Pastor Joey introduced us a little bit into this last week. But Jesus has begun his entry into Jerusalem. And at the end of chapter 19, he enters. Okay? And it’s a very dramatic scene as he’s entering. He’s riding on a colt as he descends the Mount of Olives. There are people laying cloaks on the ground and they’re waving palm branches. And you’re hearing shouts of, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. And this is all going on. And there is the usual but brief confrontation with religious leaders. They’re all, Why do you let these people scream like that? Why do you let these people say this? And he tells them, If the people don’t scream, the rocks will cry out.<\/p>\n

So he decides that debate quickly and decisively. Okay? And as the city comes into view, He stops briefly to weep over the city. And he prophesies its future destruction, Commenting that the people, Even as they’re proclaiming him, They don’t recognize the things that make for peace. And then the real action begins. Last week, Pastor Joey led us through what was basically Monday of Passion Week. Jesus clears the temple. And then he begins to teach the people as he confronts these religious leaders, Answering questions over his authority. And now we come to Tuesday of Passion Week. A long day filled with controversy and some more teaching. And we find our passage today in Luke chapter 20 verses 9 to 18. Now, despite the religious leaders’ repeated attempts to trap Jesus, He again is going to reverse the narrative.<\/p>\n

And this time he is going to expose a longer term, Longer term rejection of those that God called the people back to repentance. And we call this the parable of the tenants. And so we’re going to begin in verse 9 of Luke chapter 20. And it says, But he began to tell the people this parable. A man planted a vineyard and leased it to vine growers and went on a journey for a long time. So let’s pause briefly and we will pray right here. Father God, Lord Jesus, our Savior and creator of all that is seen of us. As we open on your word this morning, we ask that you would teach us. Open our eyes to new truths. And Father, as we hear these truths, we ask that you would help us to apply these truths to our lives.<\/p>\n

Father, as you speak to your servant this morning, we ask that you hide him behind the cross. And speak clearly through his mouth. Father, thank you for this time this morning to come together in fellowship and to learn. And Father, thank you for your son Jesus. And it’s in his name we pray. Amen. Okay, so following Jesus’ latest confrontation with these religious leaders, remember he answered all these questions about his authority, he turns to the crowd and he begins teaching. Now, though he directs his teaching towards the crowd, the chief priests and all these religious leaders remain behind, again continuing to look for ways to discredit him and kill him. So he begins this parable with a reference to a familiar passage to these religious leaders in Isaiah chapter 5.<\/p>\n

Now, we looked at this during our scripture reading this morning, but I will go ahead and read it again. Follow me back to verses 1-7 of Isaiah 5. It says, Let me sing now to my beloved a song of my beloved about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, cleared it of all stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And he built a tower in the middle of it, and also carved out a vine vat in it. Then he expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced totally worthless ones. And now you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?<\/p>\n

Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes, did it produce worthless ones? So now let me tell you what I am going to do in my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed. I will break down its wall, and it will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste. It will not be pruned, nor hold but driers and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds not to rain on it. For the bigger of armies is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his delightful plant. So he waited for justice, but behold, there was bloodshed for righteousness, but behold, the cloud fell. Isaiah tells this parable about a vineyard. The farmer plants this beautiful vineyard on a fertile piece of ground. He did everything he could to ensure that it would flourish.<\/p>\n

But when the harvest came, the vineyard produced bitter, wild grapes. Not the tasty ones that they were expecting. That vineyard represents Judah. God loved them. He made every provision for Judah’s success. Yet they produced nothing but evil and bad fruit. God will do to Judah what a farmer does to a worthless vineyard. He will tear down the wall and let the wild animals come in and devour it. God was preparing to leave Judah exposed to external threats and deprive it of his care. God expected Judah to produce the fruit of justice and righteousness, but all it was producing was the bitter fruit and crying and bloodshed. This is a prophecy of what God is going to do to Israel in the future. Matthew’s account of this parable also includes some details from Isaiah 5 that Luke does not include.<\/p>\n

Matthew says in verse 23 of chapter 21, There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, and dug a winepress in it, built a tower, and he leased it to vine growers and went on a journey. So Jesus is telling this parable, but he’s directing it back at the leaders, the religious leaders. So let’s talk about now the parable and the details of that parable. He’s begun this reference to Isaiah 5. He says that God, represented as the man or the owner, established his people, Israel. The people are represented as the vineyard. So he cared for them, he cleared the way for them, and he protected them. Then God hands the care of the vineyard, the spiritual care, the guidance, the shepherding of this flock, over to the priests.<\/p>\n

These religious leaders represented the vine growers, or what is known as tenant farmers. Back after the Civil War, the American Civil War, many of the slaves that had been owned by the plantation owners were given plots of land and some tools to take care of growing crops for the owners. They called it sharecropping. Well that’s the same thing that’s going on here. Tenant farming was a very common practice in this region at this time. A tenant farmer leased and cultivated the land for probably a wealthy owner. Someone who wasn’t going to be around. Probably somebody who was traveling. Maybe even a foreigner. And the tenants, they took care of the land. They typically did not pay rent. Instead, they farmed the land, and when it came time for the harvest, the owner would send for his share of the profits.<\/p>\n

The religious leaders were given the duty of overseeing, they were the tenant farmers, of this crop of God, his people. As we know, the Pharisees missed the part about being accountable. When God came for his profits, they didn’t want to give the profits. The Pharisees, the leaders, they sought control rather than obedience. Now there’s one other part in verse 9 that we need to look at, and that’s the long journey. It talks about a long journey. At the end of verse 9, this journey represents the Old Testament history. Probably from the time of Abraham to the coming of Jesus. That long period of time when the people of God were under the care of these religious men. So, that is our background. Let’s continue looking at verses 10-12, end of chapter 20.<\/p>\n

It says, at the harvest time, he sent a slave to the mine growers so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard. But the mine growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. So he proceeded to send another slave, but they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. And he proceeded to send a third, but this one too, they wounded and threw out. Now remember, Jesus is teaching the people, but he is directing this parable at the chief priests that are listening in. In verses 10-12, he introduces three new characters in this parable of the story. As the harvest begins, the owner sends a slave on three separate occasions to collect his share of the profits. In different versions, these slaves are interpreted as servants.<\/p>\n

Now, in the Old Testament, prophets were referred to as servants. These servants, these prophets, were chosen spokesmen who called Israel back to repentance and faithfulness. And they were supposed to expose the sinful practices of the people and point towards the Messiah. So the prophets, they were said to advocate, to encourage obedience, and warn against disobedience to the Word, to the law. And so they often brought a combined message of both hope and consequences. Letting people know that if they were unfaithful, if they were disobedient, God would take care of them. Not a good list. So let’s take a brief look at some of these prophets. Let’s look at their primary message and see if we can find some commonality. For instance, the prophet Jeremiah.<\/p>\n

His primary message was an urgent call for the kingdom of Judah to repent of its rampant idolatry, moral decay, and social injustice. Warning that stubborn refusal to obey God would result in divine judgment and destruction by Babylon. And this warning included a promise of eventual restoration and a new covenant. Now, the primary message of the prophet Ezekiel was a declaration of divine judgment for Israel’s sin of idolatry. And it also included a promise of spiritual restoration and new life. How about the prophet Isaiah? His primary message centered on calling the people of Judah to repentance, exclusive trust in Galilee, God, and social justice. Warning that rebellion would bring divine judgment through foreign nations such as Babylon and Persia and others. But Isaiah also offered a steadfast promise of future redemption and the coming of the Messiah. How about the prophet Joel?<\/p>\n

Joel’s message was a warning of impending divine judgment. Are you seeing a theme here? God sent the prophets to warn the people. But he also sent the prophets to remind the people that obedience would be rewarded with spiritual and physical restoration. In the New Testament, even John the Baptist, standing in the tradition of these Old Testament prophets, announced the coming Messiah and called for repentance. So, do you see the common theme? The servants sent by the owner represent Old Testament prophets. The owner sends the servant back to the digger to get his prophets to give the people this message. Okay, so do you see what’s happening here? Jesus is reminding the religious leaders of their calling. God placed responsibility for the care of the people on these leaders to ensure spiritual fruit would be produced.<\/p>\n

Their task was to work the vineyard, Israel, the people, love the people, teach them the truth, and present to God the fruit of their labor. And that fruit of their labor should have been a people that desired to seek God. And now Jesus is telling the people that their leaders have failed them. All that was being produced was a bitter fruit. God sent prophets to His people to remind them of His will to obey the law and to remind them to bear fruit. However, similar to these satanic farmers who rejected and beat the servants, the prophets, Israel’s leadership rejected those that God sent. When the prophets called for Him, they demanded spiritual fruit. They were mistreated, they were criticized, and in many cases, the prophets were killed. And Jesus tells these religious leaders they’re accountable for that failure.<\/p>\n

And that’s a very bold but completely accurate accusation. There is no doubt that hearing this message, this parable, was going to anger these Pharisees, these priests, and these scribes. And that’s already bad because they’re already angry at Jesus. So imagine the scene that we’re at now. The religious leaders knowing that God is condemning them in front of the people. Everyone in attendance now knows that God sent the prophets to warn them. Israel has suffered droughts and famines, Babylonian, Persian, and Roman occupation. And nothing has worked. These tenants, these religious leaders, they’re not listening. In fact, they’re even reacting violently to the warnings. The Pharisees, the priests, the scribes are standing there and listening to this story. And they know that the vineyard is a reference to Israel and the people of God. And they know that it’s a story accusing them, the leaders.<\/p>\n

They know now that they’re being accused of misconduct and unfaithfulness. And they’re being accused of terrible crimes. And then Jesus, I love when Jesus has these confrontations with the Pharisees. Because He starts off slow and then He builds the pressure. And now He dials up the tension a little bit more. And He introduces the final character in His story, His parable. In Luke chapter 20 verse 13 He says, Now the owner of the vineyard said, What am I to do? I will send my beloved Son. Perhaps they will respect Him. So hopefully we all know that the beloved Son represents Jesus Christ in this parable. Luke seems to be very specific in using the words beloved Son. We saw this reference to beloved Son back in the early days of Jesus’ ministry. Go all the way back to Luke chapter 3.<\/p>\n

Jesus has just been baptized. In verse 22 of chapter 3 we read this. And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased. Both Matthew and Mark use this reference of beloved Son. When they talk about their account of the baptism. These leaders know this story very well. In fact, at that baptism there were religious leaders confronting John the Baptist. So they know the story. They heard the voice. This is my Son, my beloved Son. So why is this significant? Remember, one of the key themes in these final days of the life and ministry of Jesus. The Pharisees, the priests, the scribes, the religious leaders continually question His authority. Jesus said, I will send my beloved Son to again answer the question of His authority.<\/p>\n

And to indicate again to these leaders that He is the Messiah foretold by the prophets. Are these religious leaders listening? No. They are angry. They don’t want Jesus to be the Messiah. They love their control. And then the story takes a very dramatic turn at this point. Jesus tells the people what their religious leadership is about to do to Him. Look at verses 14 and 15 in Luke chapter 20. When the fine thrower saw Him, they discussed with one another, saying, This is the heir. Let’s kill Him so that the inheritance will be ours. And so they threw Him out of the vineyard and killed Him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? So for some reason, the tenant farmers believe that if they kill the heir, the beloved Son, the vineyard will become theirs. That doesn’t sound very logical.<\/p>\n

In reality, that makes no sense at all. The answer, or the owner, is going to retaliate. I know I would. Somebody kills my son, I’m going after them. Common sense dictates that this is not a practical action. But again, the religious leaders are not listening. And at this point, the vineyard parable becomes very personal. The Pharisees, like the tenant farmers, somehow believe that if they kill Jesus, the Son of God, the beloved Son, things will return to normal. They can keep their job, they can keep their power, and here Jesus is exposing their scheme to the very people that they are supposed to be caring for. Think about this. By the time Jesus had entered Jerusalem two days earlier, the Pharisees were already plotting and scheming and seeking ways to dispose of Him. Most of those discussions were secret to this point.<\/p>\n

Now Jesus has exposed and revealed their treachery to the people. Most of those discussions were secret to this point. Now, Jesus has exposed and revealed their treachery to the people. All right, so there’s a couple of statements of prophecy in this parable that we need to look at. The first one is found right there in verse 15. It says, and so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Remember, Jesus just exposed the treachery of the Pharisees to the religious leaders, to the people. And now he’s saying, this is what they intend to do to me. Three days later, after this event, Jesus is going to be led out of the city and crucified on a hill called Elah. Prophecy will be fulfilled. But look at the question Jesus asked at the end of verse 15.<\/p>\n

He said, what then will the owner of the vineyard do? Now, like I said, somebody killed my son. I’m going after him. Jesus answers that question in the first half of verse 16 and reveals the second prophecy that he makes in this parable. He says, he will come and put these vine growers to death and will give the vineyard to others, completely demolishing the intent of the tenant farmers. Now, up to this time, God has been very graceful towards Israel. He’s been very patient. But now it is the time of judgment. So in verse 16, Jesus reveals the judgment that God has planned for Israel because they have continually rejected his son. First, God is going to remove the corrupt religious leaders of Israel. He’s going to put an end to the unfaithful temple hierarchy. And he will eliminate the nation’s leadership system.<\/p>\n

Everything that these religious leaders love and adore is about to be destroyed. Second thing that he’s going to do, God is going to transfer spiritual leadership to others. And we’re going to find out a little bit later, but I’ll tell you now, most notably, he’s turning that leadership over to the Gentiles. Israel will no longer inherit the vineyard. They have forfeited their right to it. I love this part. In Matthew’s account of this same parable, in chapter 21, verse 43, he says, Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, again referring to Israel and its leaders, and given to a people producing its fruit. The statement, given to a people producing its fruit, contains an interesting implication. Jesus makes a very bold declaration that stewardship of the kingdom will pass to this new community of spiritual leaders.<\/p>\n

Later on, that’s going to be referred to as the church. That’s us. The body of the leaders that are defined, not by lineage, but now by their faithful response to Jesus. That’s who it’s going to be turned over to. Now here’s the fun, the ironic, the exciting thing. As Jesus is speaking to the crowd, remember, he’s surrounded by all of his religious elite, his disciples, and many of the people who have become his faithful followers. There’s more people that are surrounding him. As he tells the religious leaders they’re about to lose their standing in the kingdom, he’s telling all these faithful followers that their new leadership is going to begin with his 12 disciples. That would be like a slap in the face to the Pharisees and the priests and the scribes. And that might be the worst possible outcome they could ever imagine.<\/p>\n

Now remember, they hate Jesus. They have contempt for Jesus. And that contempt transferred to their disciples. They have nothing but disdain and scorn and ridicule for his followers. And these men, who were largely uneducated Galileans without rabbinic training or any credentials, were about to become the new custodians of God’s kingdom. Can you feel the emotion and the rage and the anger of this moment? They are something sensed right now. They want to grab him right now and get rid of him. But get this, this is the new reality. We, the church, us, believers, followers of Jesus, we are the ones that he has given this vineyard to, this church. We are the ones responsible to bear good fruit now. Jesus, as a part of this warning, Jesus later repeated this proclamation regarding the destruction of the temple in Matthew chapter 24.<\/p>\n

His disciples wanted to bring their teachers’ attention to the majestic stones of the temple and its architecture. Now, Kenda and I were just in Rome a few weeks ago and to see the Roman Colosseum and the construction, and to think, wow, can you imagine, this is the Colosseum, can you imagine what the temple must have looked like? The stones and the construction of the temple, this amazing structure. Look with me at Matthew 24 verses 1 and 2, this is what happens. Jesus left the temple area and was going on his way when his disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to him. But he responded to them saying, do you not see these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left on another, which will be torn up down, which will not be torn down.<\/p>\n

I love the symbolism here. Removing the care of the vineyard from the unfaithful tenants, these corrupt religious leaders, and passing the stewardship of the kingdom to this new group of spiritual leaders signifies a shift from the old covenant to the new covenant. The prophets talked about this hundreds of years before. Here’s the cool thing. If you have been a part of our Friday night Bible study on the book of Hebrews, you’ve been listening as we describe the transition from Levitical priesthood to Jesus as our high priest. Old covenant to new covenant. The temple, the priests, and their duties, and all the rituals that surround the old covenant was being replaced by Jesus in his eventual death and resurrection as the only adequate sacrifice for salvation. No more sacrifice in the temple, and he didn’t go away. How was his prophecy fulfilled?<\/p>\n

We kind of talked a little bit about that last week. 37 years after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus in the year 70 A.D., Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Roman general Titus Vespian. The temple was completely leveled. This actually marked the end of Jewish sovereignty in the region until about 1948. That’s a long time. In 1948, Israel was once again declaring a sovereign nation, a sovereign state. That’s divine judgment. But you want to hear an insult to injury? Later, about almost 700 years later, the Golden Rock was built on the site of the old temple. So, of course, now the people, and notably the Jewish leaders, they’re reacting in disbelief in the second half of verse 16. They said, this is what happened. However, when they heard this, they said, make it never happen. This can’t be true.<\/p>\n

This is not going to happen. No way. This reaction by the religious elite was a protest. They are so offended by this turn of events that they cannot help but cry out. They’re stunned. They’re shocked. Why would God give their special place to someone else? Well, because you didn’t do your job. That’s why. They don’t see that. They could not believe that God was going to remove the stewardship of his kingdom and his chosen people. This was utterly unthinkable. So remember now, Jesus has been directing most of his attention towards the crowd. But now he turns. He’s going to look directly into the Pharisees that are in the background. And he takes the fight directly to them in verses 17 and 18. But Jesus looked at them, referring to the religious elite, and said, then what is the statement that has been written?<\/p>\n

A stone which the builders rejected, this has become the chief cornerstone. Verse 18, everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will crush him. Okay. There’s a lot going on in those two verses. So now Jesus, he’s redirecting his attention directly to the religious leaders. And he confronts their objections going straight to scripture. Kind of the best argument you can do anytime. He asks them if they believe what it says in Psalms 118.22. Psalms 118.22 says, A stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. They would be very familiar with that passage. They would be familiar because that passage describes the coming Messiah. Jesus reminds them that the stone that they’re rejecting, that is the builders, they are rejecting the foundation of God’s new work. Jesus.<\/p>\n

The foundation of everything that’s going to come, the new covenant. And as is normal for these men, they remain silent because they’ve been challenged. They don’t know what to say. They are having to stare truth right in the face. In fact, in their silence, this is what they did in verse 19 as we look ahead. Verse 19 of Luke chapter 20. We see the scribes and the chief priests and the Pharisees stepping up their efforts to find a way to kill him. So, it is here I want to validate what Jesus just said and start to try to pull all this together. I want you to follow me back to an earlier discussion.<\/p>\n

He said to his disciples, and in particular Peter, in Matthew chapter 16, in verse 13, when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do the people say the son of man is? And their typical response at that time was, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Then Jesus asked them directly, what about you? He asked, who do you say I am? Simon Peter, always the bold one, steps up and answers, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God. To which Jesus replies, blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.<\/p>\n

And then he says this very landmark statement, and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. That’s a very familiar passage, we’ve all heard that. Many people interpret this passage to indicate that Jesus tells Peter that he will be the foundation of the church. The rock or the cornerstone upon which the church will be built. I’m going to change, I want to change, I’m hoping to change, you’re thinking of this. There is an element of word play going on here. In the Greek, Peter’s name is Petros, Petros with an O, meaning a rock or a stone. The word Jesus uses for the foundation is Petra, Petra, which means rock in the sense of some material or substance or something like that.<\/p>\n

Jesus does not say, you are Petros, and on this Petros I will build my church. He also does not say, you are Petra, and on this Petra I will build my church. The rock on which God establishes the church is on the confession Peter just made. Jesus is Christ, the son of the living God. Got it? However, I want you to consider what Jesus has taught us. God is transitioning the spiritual oversight of his people from the priests, the old covenant, over to this new group of keepers, custodians, or whoever it is you want to call them, the leaders, the new leaders, and open up the kingdom, not just for the Jews now, but also for the Gentiles in the new covenant. Peter and the other disciples will be the initial spiritual leaders under this new covenant.<\/p>\n

Now keep in mind, if you go back, if you fast forward a little bit to when Jesus and his disciples go into the garden and get somebody to pray, Jesus specifically prays for his disciples because he knows they are becoming the leaders of this new covenant, the leaders of this church that he is going to build. He prays specifically for them and for the people that will hear the message through them. Validate that if you want. Look it up this afternoon. Peter and the disciples are going to be this new group of leadership to start off with. But Peter, we know that Peter certainly becomes the leader of this group and he becomes the first spokesperson, spokesman for Christ in the early days of the church. Remember, Acts chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost, Peter preaches a powerful sermon as the church is born.<\/p>\n

And 3,000 people put their faith in Christ in that single day. So Peter was the leader, but not the cornerstone that we often want to call him. The cornerstone that Jesus refers to is himself. I think we all understand both the physical and spiritual relevance of the cornerstone, but let’s do a short review of that. In construction, the cornerstone has two possible meanings. The cornerstone is the stone laid at the corner of the foundation and will establish the integrity of the walls. All the other stones will be set in reference to that stone, therefore setting the direction for the building. All the other stones are going to be set to that stone. From a spiritual perspective, this cornerstone provides a reference point for truth. We have to have a cornerstone for that truth, and Jesus Christ will be that cornerstone.<\/p>\n

Jesus sets the parameters for our understanding of the Bible and the church and our ministry in the world. The second definition refers to the stone that occupies the center of an arch. Hold that. This stone is often referred to as the keystone and provides stability to the arch and the entire building. One of the things that I was really amazed by when we were in Rome looking at the Colosseum is the number of arches that are around that building. I think there were 80 arches just on the circumference of that building. Can you imagine there’s one stone in each of those arches that bears the weight? This definition of this keystone best symbolizes the stone that the builders reject in verse 17.<\/p>\n

This stone is chiseled to perfection and placed exactly at the center of the arch in such a manner that it is easily visible to those who enter the house. The position of that stone is key to the strength of the arch and it bears the weight of the building. If you’ve seen the Colosseum you see the first layer is these 80 arches and then they build more of the building on top of that with 80 more arches and then another layer. The keystone is the key to that building. While the cornerstone is fundamental foundational to the structure the keystone denotes the crowning stone of a wall or arch. This fits kind of that metaphor for Christ who bears us up under the weight of life. This definition also goes well with what Luke describes in chapter 20 verse 18.<\/p>\n

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broke to pieces but on whomever it falls it will crush him. Verse 18 provides a stark contrast between the two ways that a person can interact with Christ. First, falling on that stone represents repentance. To fall on that stone means to humble ourselves to admit personal sin and to surrender our pride. It means we are broken we are ready to be redeemed and it represents a softening of the heart and a submission so that God can rebuild that person’s life. The second contrast to that the stone falling on someone represents judgment. The stone falling means someone is in active resistance, unbelief and rejection of Christ. Being crushed is a picture of final, unavoidable divine judgment. Peter later summarizes this passage uniquely in 1 Peter 2 verses 6-8.<\/p>\n

For it stands in Scripture, Behold, I am laid in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious and whoever believes in him will not put to shame. Does that not describe Jesus? So the honor is for you who believe but for those who do not believe the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of bending. They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. Wow. Okay, so what do we do with this? What is their application that we need to take away from this today? First, heed the warnings. Heed the warnings. Pastor Joey was describing the warnings that we see around us from Revelation many times. As you read God’s word, heed the warnings in God’s word. When the Holy Spirit convicts you, heed that warning.<\/p>\n

And when God’s people counsel you, heed the warning. Don’t stumble on that rock. Humble yourself to that rock. Second, this is the part that the Pharisees missed. Produce fruit. Your life must produce fruit. If you’re not producing fruit in your life, you will be destined to judgment. And third, this third one falls more towards those who have inoculated their life over Jesus. It says, fall before Jesus in worship before Jesus falls on you in judgment. Let’s pray. Father God, as we complete our look at your word today, we thank you for the truth that you have given us. We thank you for the warnings that you have given us through the prophets, through Jesus, through the disciples, through the people that we have around us, who have counseled us.<\/p>\n

We just thank you that you have warned us that you have chosen us to be set aside from this destruction, this judgment. Father, as we walk away from here today, we ask that you would continue to be a part of our life, to help us to grow, to help us to recognize when we need to produce fruit, to recognize when we need to counsel someone, to warn them of the impending judgment. Father, we thank you for your desire to call us home to you, to send your son Jesus to die on the cross, to provide the only adequate sacrifice necessary for salvation. And we ask that as people see our lives, that we produce the fruit, they’ll see that salvation is something that can also happen. Father, give us boldness as we approach each day of our lives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/details>\n

.<\/p>\n

The Vineyard, the Son, and the Stone<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

A Synopsis of Pastor David\u2019s Message on the Parable of the Tenants \u2014 Luke 20:9\u201318<\/span><\/p>\n

East Valley International Church \u2022 November 1, 2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Summary:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Jesus\u2019 parable of the tenants indicts stewards who treat God\u2019s vineyard as their own. Israel\u2019s leaders beat the prophets, killed the Son, and lost everything. The vineyard now belongs to us. Are we bearing fruit, or occupying ground? Fall on the Stone in repentance, or it will fall on you.<\/p>\n

Introduction: A Story Aimed at the Back of the Crowd<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

It is Tuesday of Passion Week. Jesus stands in the temple courts teaching the crowds, but the people He is really talking to are standing at the edges \u2014 chief priests, scribes, and elders who have spent days trying to trap Him and are already plotting His death. Rather than defend Himself, Jesus tells them a story. By the time He finishes, they know exactly who the villains are, and so does everyone else.<\/p>\n

Pastor David showed how Jesus used a familiar Old Testament image to expose centuries of rebellion, announce His own death, and pronounce a judgment that would reshape the people of God.<\/p>\n

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Setting the Scene<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Luke 19 closes with the triumphal entry \u2014 palm branches, cloaks on the road, and shouts of \u201cBlessed is the King.\u201d Jesus silences the Pharisees\u2019 objections, then weeps over Jerusalem and foretells its destruction. On Monday He cleared the temple and fielded challenges to His authority. Now, on Tuesday, He turns the tables again.<\/p>\n

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The Vineyard Behind the Parable<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Isaiah\u2019s Song of the Vineyard<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Jesus opens with an image every religious leader would recognize: Isaiah 5:1\u20137. There God lavishes care on a vineyard, yet it yields only worthless grapes; He looked for justice and found bloodshed, so He would remove its hedge and let it be trampled. Matthew\u2019s account (21:33) makes the echo even plainer.<\/p>\n

Owner, Vineyard, and Tenants<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Pastor David laid out the cast. The owner is God. The vineyard is Israel, His people. The vine-growers are the religious leaders entrusted with Israel\u2019s spiritual care. Like sharecroppers, they worked an absentee owner\u2019s land and owed him a share of the harvest. The owner\u2019s \u201clong journey\u201d pictures the long sweep of Old Testament history, from Abraham to the coming of Christ.<\/p>\n

The Pharisees, the leaders, they sought control rather than obedience.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pastor David<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The Servants: God\u2019s Rejected Prophets<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

At harvest, the owner sends three servants in turn. Each is beaten, shamed, wounded, and sent away empty-handed (vv. 10\u201312). In the Old Testament, prophets are repeatedly called God\u2019s servants, and Pastor David traced a common thread through their ministries. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Joel all called for repentance, warned of judgment, and promised restoration and a coming Messiah. John the Baptist stood in that same line.<\/p>\n

The leaders were to tend the people and present God with a people who sought Him. Instead, they produced bitter fruit and mistreated, and often killed, the messengers God sent. Hearing the story, the leaders understood they were being publicly charged with that failure.<\/p>\n

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The Beloved Son<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Then Jesus tightens the tension: \u201cI will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him\u201d (v. 13). Luke\u2019s wording deliberately recalls Jesus\u2019 baptism, where the voice from heaven declared, \u201cYou are My beloved Son\u201d (Luke 3:22). With leaders constantly questioning His authority, Jesus answers once more: He is the Son, the Messiah the prophets foretold.<\/p>\n

The tenants reason that if they kill the heir, the inheritance will be theirs, so they throw him out of the vineyard and kill him (vv. 14\u201315). Yet the leaders were reasoning the same way, imagining that eliminating Jesus would preserve their positions. Plots that had been whispered in secret were now exposed before the very people they were supposed to shepherd.<\/p>\n

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The Owner\u2019s Verdict<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Two Prophecies<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

The parable carries two prophecies. First, the Son is thrown out and killed \u2014 fulfilled days later when Jesus was led outside the city and crucified at Golgotha. Second, the owner will destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others (v. 16). God\u2019s patience was giving way to judgment: the corrupt leadership and temple hierarchy would be removed, and stewardship transferred elsewhere \u2014 ultimately opening the kingdom to the Gentiles.<\/p>\n

Given to a People Producing Fruit<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Matthew 21:43 sharpens the point: the kingdom would be taken away and given to a people producing its fruit \u2014 a community defined not by lineage but by faithful response to Jesus. That community is the church. Adding insult to injury, its first leaders would be Jesus\u2019 own disciples, largely uneducated Galileans the religious elite despised.<\/p>\n

We, the church, us, believers, followers of Jesus, we are the ones that He has given this vineyard to. We are the ones responsible to bear good fruit now.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pastor David<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fulfilled in History<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Jesus later foretold that not one stone of the temple would be left on another (Matthew 24:1\u20132). That came to pass when Titus leveled Jerusalem in AD 70; Jewish sovereignty did not return until 1948, and the Dome of the Rock now stands on the temple site. Echoing the church\u2019s Friday study in Hebrews, Pastor David noted the larger shift: the Levitical priesthood and sacrifices gave way to Jesus, our High Priest and the only adequate sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Hearing the verdict, the crowd recoiled: \u201cMay it never be!\u201d The leaders simply could not believe God would take their place away. Pastor David\u2019s answer was blunt: because they did not do their job.<\/p>\n

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The Stone the Builders Rejected<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Jesus then looked straight at the leaders and quoted Psalm 118:22: the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Anyone who falls on that stone will be broken, but the one on whom it falls will be crushed (vv. 17\u201318). The leaders were rejecting the very foundation of God\u2019s new work. Silenced, they redoubled their efforts to kill Him (v. 19).<\/p>\n

Peter, Petros, and Petra<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Pastor David revisited Matthew 16, where Peter confesses Jesus as \u201cthe Christ, the Son of the living God.\u201d Jesus plays on words: Peter is petros, a stone, but the church is built on petra \u2014 the bedrock truth of Peter\u2019s confession. Peter would lead the early church, preaching at Pentecost when 3,000 believed, but he is not the cornerstone. Christ is.<\/p>\n

Peter was the leader, but not the cornerstone that we often want to call him. The cornerstone that Jesus refers to is Himself.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pastor David<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cornerstone and Keystone<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

A cornerstone sets the alignment of every other stone, just as Christ is the reference point for truth, Scripture, and ministry. A keystone, the stone at the crown of an arch, bears the weight of the whole structure; Pastor David recalled the Colosseum he and Kenda recently visited, with its tiers of eighty arches, each held by one stone. Christ likewise bears us up under the weight of life.<\/p>\n

Broken or Crushed<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Verse 18 offers only two outcomes. To fall on the stone is repentance \u2014 humbling ourselves, admitting sin, and letting God rebuild us. To have the stone fall on us is final judgment upon those who persist in unbelief. Peter echoes this in 1 Peter 2:6\u20138: precious to those who believe, a stone of stumbling to those who disobey.<\/p>\n

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Applying the Message<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Heed the warnings.<\/em> <\/b>Listen when God speaks through His Word, through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and through the counsel of His people.<\/span>
\nProduce fruit.<\/em> <\/b>This is what the Pharisees missed. A fruitless life is headed for judgment.<\/span>
\nFall before Jesus now.<\/em> <\/b>For anyone who has kept Christ at arm\u2019s length, the call is urgent.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fall before Jesus in worship before Jesus falls on you in judgment.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pastor David<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Scripture References<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Isaiah 5:1\u20137<\/strong> <\/span>\u2014 The song of the vineyard.
\nPsalm 118:22<\/strong> <\/span>\u2014 The stone the builders rejected.
\nMatthew 16:13\u201318; 21:33\u201343; 24:1\u20132<\/strong> <\/span>\u2014 Peter\u2019s confession; Matthew\u2019s parallel account; the temple\u2019s destruction foretold.
\nLuke 3:22; 19:28\u201348; 20:9\u201319<\/strong><\/span> \u2014 The beloved Son; the triumphal entry; the parable of the tenants.
\nActs 2<\/strong><\/span> \u2014 Peter\u2019s sermon at Pentecost.
\n1 Peter 2:6\u20138<\/strong> <\/span>\u2014 The precious cornerstone and stone of stumbling.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\n

The following is a Claude AI Exposition and Supplemental Bible Study of
\nLuke 20:9-18, from the sermon by
\nPastor David Jerome at East Valley International Church<\/strong><\/a>, November 1, 2026.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

About This Study Companion<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For more than three centuries, Matthew Henry\u2019s Commentary on the Whole Bible has helped ordinary believers move beyond a quick reading of Scripture into careful, devotional study. Henry wrote not for scholars alone but for families, pastors, and everyday Christians who wanted to understand God\u2019s Word and live it out.<\/p>\n

These sermon supplements are offered in that same tradition, as East Valley International Church\u2019s own \u201cMatthew Henry\u201d style commentaries. Each one is a written study companion to the message preached from our pulpit, providing additional analysis, historical background, and explanations of the biblical texts discussed. They are not intended to replace the sermon, which remains the primary proclamation of God\u2019s Word to His people. Rather, they are an aid to deeper personal and group study. Biblical commentaries remain among the best ways to dive into the details of Scripture, and these companions invite you to do just that.<\/p>\n

\n

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You Were Warned<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants and the Stone the Builders Rejected<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

A Sermon and Bible Study on Luke 20:9\u201318<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

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Synopsis<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

In Luke 20:9\u201318, Jesus answers the Sanhedrin’s challenge to his authority with a parable drawn from Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard. An owner sends servant after servant to collect his fruit, and each is beaten and sent away empty. Finally, he sends his beloved son, whom the tenants recognize and kill to seize the inheritance. “You Were Warned” traces this story through Israel’s history of rejected prophets, Jesus’ claim to be the Son and heir, and Psalm 118’s rejected stone. God’s patience is real but not endless, and every life must finally be built upon the Stone or broken by it.<\/p>\n

The text:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014 Luke 20:9\u201318 (KJV)<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Introduction: The Night the Warnings Were Ignored<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

On the night of April 14, 1912, the wireless operators aboard RMS Titanic<\/i> received a series of ice warnings from ships steaming ahead of her in the North Atlantic. Some were acknowledged; at least one never reached the bridge. Late that evening, when the nearby steamer Californian<\/i> radioed that she had stopped for the night because she was surrounded by ice, Titanic<\/i>‘s senior operator, buried under a backlog of paying passengers’ telegrams, cut the message off and told the Californian<\/i> to be quiet because he was busy. Less than an hour later, the great ship struck the iceberg. The inquiries that followed established a fact more haunting than the collision itself: the disaster did not come without notice. Titanic<\/i> was warned, repeatedly, by people who had seen the danger with their own eyes.<\/p>\n

Scripture tells a far larger story of the same shape, and in Luke 20:9\u201318 the Lord Jesus compresses that entire story into a single parable. It is Tuesday of Passion Week. Jesus is teaching in the temple courts of Jerusalem, and within three days the men standing in front of him will do precisely what this parable predicts. He tells them what they are about to do, why they are about to do it, and what it will cost them. It is a parable about ignored warnings that is itself one of the last and sharpest warnings these men would ever hear from his lips.<\/p>\n

Our thesis is simple and sobering. God is extraordinarily patient, but his patience is not indifference. The history of redemption is a history of warnings given, and warnings scorned, culminating in the sending of the Son himself. And the rejected Son becomes the Stone on which every human life finally turns. No one who meets that Stone, whether in faith or in judgment, will be able to say he was not warned.<\/p>\n

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The Setting: A Parable Told in the Temple Courts<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

An Answer to the Question of Authority<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Luke places this parable immediately after a confrontation. The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, the three groups that made up the Sanhedrin, had demanded to know by what authority Jesus had driven the merchants from the temple (20:1\u20138). Jesus answered their question with one of his own: was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Trapped between the people’s reverence for John and their own unbelief, they pleaded ignorance, and Jesus declined to answer them directly.<\/p>\n

But he did not leave them without an answer. The parable is<\/i> the answer. By what authority does Jesus act in his Father’s house? By the authority of the owner’s beloved Son. Luke notes that Jesus spoke this parable “to the people” (v. 9), yet verse 19 tells us that the scribes and chief priests “perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.” The crowd was the audience; the rulers were the target. Jesus was warning the nation’s leaders in front of the nation they led.<\/p>\n

Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

No one in the temple courts could hear the words “A certain man planted a vineyard” without thinking of Isaiah 5:1\u20137. There the prophet sings a love song about his beloved’s vineyard, planted on a fertile hill, cleared of stones, set with choice vines, guarded by a tower and equipped with a winepress. Yet when the owner looked for grapes, it brought forth wild grapes. God then asks the question that lies behind our parable:<\/p>\n

What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014 Isaiah 5:4 (KJV)<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Isaiah leaves no doubt about the identity of the vineyard: “the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel” (Isa. 5:7). Matthew and Mark echo the hedge, the winepress, and the tower from Isaiah’s song; Luke tells the story more sparely, but the allusion is unmistakable, and the scribes knew Isaiah better than anyone in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

There is, however, a crucial shift. In Isaiah the problem is the vineyard itself: the vines produce worthless fruit. In Jesus’ parable, the problem is the tenants<\/i>. The vineyard is not condemned; its caretakers are. The religious leaders of Israel had been entrusted with God’s people, God’s Word, and God’s house, and they had come to treat that trust as ownership. That shift from vineyard to tenants is the hinge of the entire parable, and it is the hinge of its application to us.<\/p>\n

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The Vineyard and Its Tenants (v. 9)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The scenario Jesus describes was entirely familiar to his hearers. Wealthy landowners often leased their estates to tenant farmers, who worked the land and paid rent in the form of an agreed share of the harvest. Absentee landlords were common in first-century Galilee and Judea, and so was resentment toward them. Nothing about the opening of the story would have struck the crowd as strange.<\/p>\n

A new vineyard does not produce a harvest quickly. The Law forbade Israel to eat the fruit of newly planted trees for three years; the fourth year’s fruit was holy to the LORD, and only in the fifth year could the owner enjoy it (Lev. 19:23\u201325). The owner in the parable has invested years before he sends for anything. Luke alone adds that he went away “for a long time” (chronous hikanous<\/i>), a phrase that quietly underscores the long patience of God. From Sinai to the temple courts, well over a thousand years of Israel’s history lie folded into those few words.<\/p>\n

Notice what the tenants had received, and what was asked of them in return:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • A vineyard they had not planted.<\/li>\n
  • Land they did not own.<\/li>\n
  • Protection and provision prepared before they ever arrived.<\/li>\n
  • A single obligation: to render the owner his share of the fruit at the proper season.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Paul’s question to the proud Corinthians fits the tenants exactly: “What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7). The tenants’ first sin was not violence. It was forgetfulness. They forgot whose vineyard it was.<\/p>\n

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    The Servants: A History of Rejected Warnings (vv. 10\u201312)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

    “At the season,” the owner sends a servant to collect his share. The tenants beat him and send him away empty. A second servant is beaten and “entreated shamefully” (atimasantes<\/i>), treated with contempt and dishonor, and also sent away empty. A third is wounded (traumatisantes<\/i>, the root of our word “trauma”) and thrown out. The abuse escalates with each visit.<\/p>\n

    Luke’s account differs from Mark’s in one telling detail. In Mark, some of the servants are killed (Mark 12:5). In Luke, the servants are beaten, humiliated, and wounded, but none is killed. Luke reserves death for the son alone, so that the climax of the story stands out in stark relief. The servants suffer; the son dies.<\/p>\n

    Jesus’ hearers did not need the servants identified. Their own Scriptures had already summarized Israel’s history in nearly identical terms:<\/p>\n

    And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.<\/i><\/p>\n

    \u2014 2 Chronicles 36:15\u201316 (KJV)<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The record bears it out. Micaiah was struck on the cheek for telling a king the truth (1 Kings 22:24). Jeremiah was beaten and put in the stocks (Jer. 20:2) and later lowered into a muddy cistern to die (Jer. 38:6). Zechariah the son of Jehoiada was stoned in the very court of the house of the LORD (2 Chron. 24:20\u201321). Jesus himself lamented over Jerusalem as the city “that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee” (Luke 13:34), and Stephen would later ask the Sanhedrin, “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?” (Acts 7:52).<\/p>\n

    Twice Luke repeats that the servants were sent away “empty.” The tragedy is not merely the violence; it is the barrenness. God was looking for fruit. Isaiah described the fruit he sought with a Hebrew wordplay: God “looked for judgment (mishpat<\/i>), but behold oppression (mispach<\/i>); for righteousness (tsedaqah<\/i>), but behold a cry (tse’aqah<\/i>)” (Isa. 5:7). The fruit God wants from his people is justice, righteousness, faithfulness, and above all repentance. John the Baptist had demanded exactly this: “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). Only moments earlier, these same leaders had refused to say whether John was sent from heaven (20:5\u20137). John was, in effect, the last servant, and they had sent him away empty too.<\/p>\n

    The most startling feature of this section is not the tenants’ cruelty but the owner’s persistence. Any earthly landlord would have sent soldiers after the first servant was beaten. This owner sends a second, and a third. That is not weakness; it is mercy. Paul warns against despising “the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance” (Rom. 2:4). Every servant sent was another warning, and every warning was another opportunity.<\/p>\n

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    The Beloved Son: Heaven’s Final Appeal (v. 13)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

    “Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do?” The question echoes the anguish of the prophets. Through Isaiah God asked, “What could have been done more to my vineyard?” (Isa. 5:4); through Hosea he cried, “O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee?” (Hos. 6:4). These are not the words of a God who is puzzled, but of a God whose heart is laid open. The divine deliberation issues not in retaliation but in a costlier mercy: “I will send my beloved son.”<\/p>\n

    The phrase “my beloved son” (ton huion mou ton agap\u0113ton<\/i>) is exactly what the Father’s voice declared over Jesus at the Jordan (Luke 3:22). It also reaches back to Genesis 22:2, where God speaks to Abraham of “thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest,” a phrase the Greek Old Testament renders with the same word, agap\u0113tos<\/i>. The beloved son sent to the vineyard is the beloved Son whom the Father will not spare (Rom. 8:32).<\/p>\n

    Here Jesus makes one of the most profound claims of his ministry, and he makes it in a story. The prophets were servants; he is the Son. He is not the latest in a long line of messengers but belongs to a different order altogether. The writer of Hebrews draws out the same contrast: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things” (Heb. 1:1\u20132). The leaders asked Jesus where his authority came from. He has just told them: it comes from the fact that he is the heir.<\/p>\n

    Luke alone records the owner’s words “it may be” (is\u014ds<\/i>, “perhaps”). This is not a confession of divine ignorance; it is the language of the story, expressing what any reasonable owner would hope, and it underscores that the Son’s coming was a genuine appeal rather than a trap. Mark adds that the Son was sent “last of all” (Mark 12:6). Taken together, verse 13 reveals three things:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • The heart of God.<\/b> His deliberation ends not in vengeance but in the gift of what is dearest to him.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • The identity of Jesus.<\/b><\/span> He is Son, not servant; heir, not hired hand.<\/li>\n
    • The finality of the moment.<\/b> <\/span>There is no one left to send. To reject the Son is to reject the last word heaven has to speak.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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      The Logic of Rebellion (vv. 14\u201315a)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

      “But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir.” This is perhaps the most chilling line in the parable. The tenants are not confused. They know exactly who he is, and that is precisely why they decide to kill him. Their rebellion is not the product of ignorance but of recognition. Nicodemus could say, “We know that thou art a teacher come from God” (John 3:2), and after the raising of Lazarus the council reasoned that if they let Jesus alone, all men would believe on him (John 11:47\u201353). They saw the signs, weighed the evidence, and chose their position over their Messiah.<\/p>\n

      “Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.” Joachim Jeremias famously suggested that the tenants might have assumed the owner was dead and that an estate without an heir could be claimed by those in possession of it. Scholars such as Klyne Snodgrass have questioned whether that legal background is necessary, but the moral logic is plain either way. The tenants want the vineyard without the owner. That is the essence of sin from Eden onward: to keep the gifts of God while getting rid of God. The kings of the earth say it openly in the second Psalm: “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Ps. 2:3).<\/p>\n

      The words “come, let us kill him” carry an even older echo. In the Greek Old Testament, they are almost word for word what Joseph’s brothers said when they saw the beloved son of their father approaching (Gen. 37:20). The pattern is unmistakable. The father’s favored son is rejected by his own brothers, cast out, and handed over to death, only to become the one through whom his brothers are saved.<\/p>\n

      “So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.” In Mark, the son is killed and then thrown out; in Luke and Matthew he is first cast out and then killed. The order matters. Jesus would be led out of the city and crucified outside its walls. “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Heb. 13:12). Standing in the temple, three days before Golgotha, Jesus describes his own death to the very men who will arrange it.<\/p>\n

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      The Verdict: “God Forbid!” (vv. 15b\u201316)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

      “What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?” In Matthew’s account, the listeners pronounce the verdict themselves (Matt. 21:41). In Luke, Jesus answers his own question: “He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others.”<\/p>\n

      Both halves of that sentence were fulfilled. Within a generation, Jerusalem fell to the Romans in A.D. 70 and the temple, the seat of these tenants’ power, was destroyed. Jesus had wept over that coming judgment only days earlier (19:41\u201344), and he would describe it in detail before the week was over (21:20\u201324). The vineyard was given “to others”: to the apostles whom Jesus appointed to sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (22:29\u201330), and through them to a renewed people of God drawn from both Jew and Gentile. Matthew records the fuller form: “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matt. 21:43).<\/p>\n

      Care is needed here. The parable is not a crude announcement that God has finished with the Jewish people. The judgment falls on the tenants<\/i>, the unfaithful leadership, while the vineyard itself is preserved and placed in new hands. The first new tenants were themselves Jews, and Paul insists that “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew” (Rom. 11:2).<\/p>\n

      The crowd’s response is instructive: “God forbid” (m\u0113 genoito<\/i>), “May it never be!” This strong expression, so familiar from Paul’s letters (Rom. 3:4; 6:2), occurs only here in the Gospels. Their horror proves that they understood the story perfectly. They grasped who the tenants were, who the son was, and what the owner would do. The problem was never comprehension. The problem was submission. To understand a warning is not the same as heeding it.<\/p>\n

      \u2767 \u2726 \u2767<\/span><\/p>\n

      The Rejected Stone (vv. 17\u201318)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

      The Look and the Psalm<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

      “And he beheld them.” Luke uses a vivid verb (emblepsas<\/i>) for a fixed, penetrating gaze. Jesus looks the protesters in the eye and answers their “God forbid” with Scripture: “What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?”<\/p>\n

      The quotation comes from Psalm 118:22, part of the Hallel psalms sung at the great feasts, including Passover. Only days earlier the crowds had greeted Jesus with words from the same psalm: “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 19:38; Ps. 118:26). Now Jesus directs their attention four verses earlier, to the stone the builders threw away.<\/p>\n

      Many scholars have noted that the move from parable to psalm turns on a Hebrew wordplay: the word for “son” is ben<\/i>, and the word for “stone” is ‘eben<\/i>. The rejected son of the parable is the rejected stone of the psalm. The builders, Israel’s leaders, inspected this stone and discarded it as unfit. God took the discarded stone and made it “the head of the corner” (kephal\u0113 g\u014dnias<\/i>), whether that means the cornerstone that aligns the whole foundation or the capstone that completes the structure. Either way, it is the decisive stone, the one without which the building cannot stand.<\/p>\n

      This is the resurrection foretold in architectural language. Peter would stand before the same Sanhedrin a few weeks later and say it to their faces: “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other” (Acts 4:11\u201312). The church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Eph. 2:20).<\/p>\n

      Broken or Crushed<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

      Then comes the most fearful sentence in the passage: “Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” Jesus draws on two prophetic images:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • The stone of stumbling.<\/b><\/span> Isaiah 8:14\u201315 describes the LORD himself as “a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence,” over which many “shall stumble, and fall, and be broken.”<\/li>\n
      • The crushing stone.<\/b><\/span> Daniel 2:34\u201335 and 44\u201345 describe a stone “cut out without hands” that strikes the great image of the world’s kingdoms, breaks it to pieces, and leaves it like chaff on the summer threshing floor, carried away by the wind. The stone then becomes a great mountain that fills the earth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        The verb translated “grind him to powder” (likm\u0113sei<\/i>) can describe winnowing, the scattering of chaff, which fits the Daniel imagery precisely. The point of the double image is that Christ is unavoidable. One may stumble over him now, in unbelief, and be broken; or he will fall upon the unbeliever in final judgment and crush him. Either way, the stone remains, and the one who opposes it does not.<\/p>\n

        Many preachers have applied the first half of verse 18 devotionally, as a picture of the sinner who “falls upon” Christ in brokenness and repentance. That is a precious truth taught elsewhere in Scripture (Ps. 51:17), but in this context both halves of the verse describe judgment. The only safe relationship to this Stone is neither to stumble over it nor to stand beneath it, but to be built upon it. Peter makes the contrast explicit: to those who believe, the stone is precious and they “shall not be confounded”; to the disobedient, it is “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence” (1 Pet. 2:6\u20138).<\/p>\n

        \u2767 \u2726 \u2767<\/span><\/p>\n

        You Were Warned: The Word to Us Today<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

        Verse 19 tells us how the leaders responded: “the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him.” They understood the warning, and their answer was to plot the very crime the warning described. It would be easy to leave this parable in the first century, as a word for other people in another age. But the Holy Spirit preserved it for us, and it speaks to us with uncomfortable directness.<\/p>\n

        1. God’s Patience Is Real, but It Is Not Endless<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

        The owner sent servant after servant, and finally his son. But the story does not end with another envoy; it ends with the owner’s coming. Peter explains why judgment seems delayed: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise… but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come” (2 Pet. 3:9\u201310). Paul warns that the one who presumes on God’s kindness “treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath” (Rom. 2:5). Delay is mercy, not permission.<\/p>\n

        2. Privilege Increases Accountability<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

        The tenants in this story were not pagans. They were priests, scribes, and elders, the custodians of the Law, the Prophets, and the temple. “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48). The same principle confronts every person who has grown up with an open Bible, a nearby church, and a lifetime of sermons. The author of Hebrews presses the point: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Heb. 2:3), and again, “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh” (Heb. 12:25).<\/p>\n

        3. We Are Tenants, Not Owners<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

        “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof” (Ps. 24:1). Our lives, our gifts, our time, our families, and our churches are entrusted to us, not owned by us. This parable carries a particular warning for those who lead God’s people, because it shows that it is entirely possible to manage God’s vineyard while resisting God’s Son. The signs of the tenants’ spirit are not hard to recognize:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Treating a church, a ministry, or a pulpit as personal property.<\/li>\n
        • Silencing or discrediting messengers who call for repentance.<\/li>\n
        • Measuring success by control and position rather than by fruit.<\/li>\n
        • Knowing who Jesus is, and still refusing to bow to him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          4. Recognition Is Not Repentance<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

          The tenants said, “This is the heir,” and then they killed him. It is possible to affirm every article of orthodox belief about Jesus and still refuse him the vineyard. James observes that even the demons believe, and tremble (Jas. 2:19). The question is not whether we recognize the Son, but whether we render to him the fruit that is his due.<\/p>\n

          5. The Son Has Been Sent, and the Invitation Still Stands<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

          Here is the gospel hidden within the warning. In the parable, the son’s death is only a crime. In the purpose of God, it became the means of redemption. Peter told the crowds at Pentecost that Jesus had been “delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” and slain by wicked hands, and then he called those same people to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:23, 38). Luke later records that “a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). Some of the very builders who rejected the Stone were later built upon it. No one is too far gone so long as the voice of the Son can still be heard.<\/p>\n

          \u2767 \u2726 \u2767<\/span><\/p>\n

          Conclusion: Today, If You Will Hear His Voice<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

          The Titanic<\/i>‘s wireless operator was not a wicked man. He was a busy one. The warning came while he was occupied with other things, and he told the messenger to be quiet. Few people today beat God’s messengers or throw them out of the vineyard. Far more simply, they tell them to be quiet because they are busy. The effect is the same.<\/p>\n

          The parable of the wicked tenants tells us that God has not been silent. He sent the Law and the prophets. He sent John the Baptist. And at last he sent his beloved Son, who was cast out and killed, and who rose again to become the head of the corner. Every human life will meet that Stone. The only question is whether we will be built upon him or broken by him.<\/p>\n

          “Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Heb. 3:15). On the last day, no one will be able to say that no one told him. You have been warned. But in the same breath, and by the same Son, you have also been invited.<\/p>\n

          \u2767 \u2726 \u2767<\/span><\/p>\n

          Works Consulted<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

          Beale, G. K., and D. A. Carson, eds. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament<\/i>.<\/strong><\/span> Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
          \nBlomberg, Craig L. Interpreting the Parables<\/i>.<\/strong><\/span> 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2012.
          \nBock, Darrell L. Luke 9:51\u201324:53<\/i>. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament.<\/strong> <\/span>Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1996.
          \nGeldenhuys, Norval. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke<\/i>.<\/strong> <\/span>New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951.
          \nGreen, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke<\/i>.<\/strong> <\/span>New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
          \nJeremias, Joachim. The Parables of Jesus<\/i>.<\/strong><\/span> 2nd rev. ed. New York: Scribner, 1972.
          \nMarshall, I. Howard. The Gospel of Luke<\/i>.<\/strong> <\/span>New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.
          \nMorris, Leon. Luke<\/i>. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries.<\/strong> <\/span>Rev. ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988.
          \nRyle, J. C. Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke<\/i>. Vol. 2. 1858.<\/strong><\/span> Reprint, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1986.
          \nSnodgrass, Klyne R. Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus<\/i>.<\/strong><\/span> 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018.
          \nSnodgrass, Klyne R. The Parable of the Wicked Tenants<\/i>.<\/strong> <\/span>WUNT 27. T\u00fcbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1983.<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n

          Colophon:<\/strong><\/span> Researched and drafted with the assistance of Claude (Anthropic) as a scholarly research collaborator. <\/em><\/span>The author<\/span> retains full editorial authority over the final text.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Here is\u00a0the full transcript\u00a0[Click HERE to close] – Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. A quick poll. The rain, do you like it or do you not like it? All right. Mixed. Yeah. When we were living in the Philippines, we loved the rain because it was the only thing that cooled things off. But we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[46,172,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-e-v-i-c-study-notes","category-religion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9172"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9175,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9172\/revisions\/9175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}