9 And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And 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 destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” Luke 20-:9-18
Have you ever, when receiving a new book, turned to the last chapter to see how the story ends?
Well, this
is what we seem to be doing with today’s reading from Luke. As we move into Advent,
we are looking forward into the last chapter of Jesus is life whilst we await
the celebration of His birth.
The story opens a day or two after Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and the minor miracle, often unrecognized, which sees Jesus riding down the Mount of Olives and up into Jerusalem sitting on an unbroken donkey colt; amidst a crowd of people waving palm fronds; laying their coats on the ground ,and shouting at the top of their voices; the colt unperturbed, by the noise and recognizes the authority of the ruler of the Universe, who said in Psalm 50: 10-12 “All the cattle on a thousand hills are mine, I know all the fowls of the mountains and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.”
Today’s gospel reading, picks up the story after Jesus has expelled the money changers from the temple’s outer court for inflating the currency exchange. This was a practice clearly forbidden in the Torah and which was made possible because the Roman coinage, bearing the image of Caesar, could not be used to purchase sacrificial birds or animals . Unlike the Donkey, the scribes and Pharisees have to ask “By whose authority do you do these things? Jesus answers them with a question about John the Baptist’s authority. A simple question which, quite literally, puts the fear of death into them and which because of the crowd, they decline to answer. This public humiliation so enrages them that from that point on they plan to kill Him.
Jesus then
goes on to tell the story of the Vineyard, prophesying His own death at their
hands and the fall of Jerusalem 40 years later. The parable reminds us of Jesus
willing sacrifice for our redemption and our responsibility to be faithful
servants in his vineyard
One wonders
if any of the scribes and Pharisees confronting Him recognized the 12-year-old
boy from 21 years earlier who, following His Bar mitzvah, was found questioning
and debating with the elders in the Temple. One wonders too, if any of those
hearing His words survived to recall his present prophesy 40years on as
Jerusalem was being ransacked
As we move
into advent and the celebration of Jesus birth, we have read the last chapter in the Story and
know that Jesus not only died as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world
but was raised to life again and, as we celebrated on 22nd of
November, will come again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 21
11:15} and we say with the Apostle John “Amen. Even so,
Come Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22: 20)
- Barb Edgecombe-Green