Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Welcome to the final week of our Stories series. This bad boy has lasted nine weeks. But a lot of you have told me that you wished it was even longer. And that’s not surprising, because nine weeks isn’t a really long time when you get to listen to Jesus.

In every week of this series, we have explored a story that Jesus told. We call these stories “parables.” A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It’s a story where Jesus uses familiar, recognizable things to illustrate what it is like to follow Him and be His disciple.

We’ve explored some incredible, hard-hitting stories in this series. And this last one is no exception. Jesus really drops the hammer in this story. We’re wrapping up the series with The Parable of the Tenants in Matthew 21. Let’s pray, and we’ll get into the final story in our series.

Matthew 21, starting in verse 33. This story is a little bit longer than some of the others, but it’s good. Jesus said, “Listen to another parable: 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.

When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

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.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

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. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.” (Matthew 21:33-46, NIV)

Kind of a long story, but we’re going to break it down and explore what Jesus wants to teach us through this story. By the way, you’ll especially appreciate this if you were here last week. Did you notice who Jesus was targeting with this story? Matthew tells us in the last couple of verses. The chief priests and the Pharisees. In other words, religious people. Jesus’ very favorite target. If you weren’t here last week, you need to get on our website and check out the message to fully appreciate this.

Now let’s get into our story a little deeper. This story is all about a landowner who had planted a vineyard. This guy obviously cared deeply about his vineyard. He went to great lengths to secure it with a wall and a watchtower. It was incredibly valuable to him.

The landowner had to go on a journey, but he didn’t want to leave his vineyard unattended, so he rented it out to some farmers. This was a pretty common practice in the first century. Wealthy landowners would rent out their farmland to tenants who were expected to work and take care of the land.

In verse 34, Jesus tells us that, “When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.” (Matthew 21:34, NIV)

The landowner entrusted his tenants to harvest the grapes. When harvest time came, he sent some of his servants to collect what was rightfully his.

But the landowner didn’t realize how greedy the tenants had become during his absence. They believed that, since they were the ones working the vineyard, then the vineyard should belong to them. Jesus tells us that because of their greed, “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.” (Matthew 21:35-36, NIV)

This situation went from being ugly to being bloody. In desperation, the landowner finally decides to send his own son.

Jesus tells us, “Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

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.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.” (Matthew 21:37-39, NIV)

The tenants had beaten and murdered his servants, but the landowner thought, “Surely they will respect my son.”

In this culture, when the son visited the vineyard, it was as if the landowner had come himself. But the tenants saw this as their chance. This son was the heir to the vineyard that they wanted, so they killed him as well.

Jesus told this parable to the religious leaders of his day. Once he finished the story, he asked them a leading question. What should the landowner do to these wicked tenants?

The religious leaders fell right into his trap. They said, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” (Matthew 21:41, NIV)

They took the bait and incriminated themselves with their answer. And Jesus pounces on it.

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? (Matthew 21:42, NIV)

Jesus looked at them and said, “Have you never read the Scriptures?” Do you know how insulting this was to the Pharisees? All they did was read the Scriptures! All they did was study the Old Testament, which was all the Bible that they had at that point. And yet Jesus looks at them and says, “Have you ever even opened the Bible? Do you know anything at all about it?”

Jesus quotes from Psalm 118 and He applies that Scripture to Himself. He refers to Himself as the capstone. The capstone was the stone that was built into the corner of a building. The building was designed so that everything rested on the capstone.

Jesus is telling Him, “I’m the foundation. It’s all about me. But you’ve made it all about you.”

He reveals that this parable is about them. For centuries, the religious leaders in Israel had mistreated the servants of God. They had mistreated and killed the prophets God had sent to them.

But now, God had sent His own Son. And through this story, Jesus reveals that He knows the religious leaders are going to kill him, too.

Because of this, Jesus looked them dead in the eye and said, “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.” (Matthew 21:43, NIV)

And then Matthew wraps up the parable by telling us, “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.” (Matthew 21:45-46, NIV)

The religious leaders put it together. They know Jesus is calling them out once again. He was never afraid to take them down in public, and each time, their hatred for Him grew. They were afraid to arrest Him at this moment because the crowd was hanging on His every word, but their time would come shortly.

They would fulfill this parable exactly. They would be the ones who would mistreat and murder the very Son of God.

There is some powerful stuff in this story, but the more I studied this parable, the more I became convinced that verse 43 is the linchpin.

Jesus told the religious leaders, "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.” (Matthew 21:43, NIV)

You talk about a power packed statement. This is beyond huge. It hacked off the religious people who heard it, but the warning Jesus offers here wasn’t just for them. His warning to the religious leaders still carries a ton of weight for us as His church today.

In our story, the tenants decided that it was all about them. They believed that they were doing all the work, so they should get all the reward. And this selfish thinking actually pushed them to murder the landowner’s servants, and even his own son.

In the same way, the religious leaders in Jesus’ culture believed it was all about them. They wouldn’t tolerate anyone who told them otherwise. It’s why they killed the prophets. And it’s why they killed Jesus.

Listen to what Jesus said about these people in Luke 20. “While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces

and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” (Luke 20:45-47, NIV)

For these people, following God had become a spiritual showcase. Instead of serving, they wanted to be seen. They wanted people to recognize how spiritual they were. They wanted all the perks and fringe benefits that their position gave them.

But Jesus said that these people would “be punished most severely.” Following God is not about you and it is not about me. It is all about Jesus.

This is why I completely reject titles. I don’t ever want someone to call me “Reverend” or anything like that. Those titles tend to set that person up as the one to be seen and the one to be “revered.”

The truth is that I don’t care how you see me. I want you to see Jesus. I don’t want you to revere me. I want you to revere Jesus.

But the religious leaders in Jesus’ day had designed a system that was all about them. They wanted prominence. They wanted position. They wanted the titles and the honor and the reverence that they thought they deserved.

Now we all know that this would never happen in the church, right? We would never make it all about us, would we? Of course not (he said sarcastically).

Think about this…how many of us judge the quality of our church based on what we get out of it? I really enjoyed the songs today. Or, I didn’t like the songs today.

That was a good message today. I really enjoyed it. Or, Mike was off his game today. I didn’t like that message.

Here’s the deal with all of that…we don’t care. We’re not doing a single thing today so you can just “enjoy it.” That is a completely self-centered way of thinking.

Instead of servants, the American church has become a gathering of consumers. We treat church like a restaurant. If it tastes good, I’ll come back. If not, I have a lot of other options the next time I’m hungry.

Listen. I’m as serious about this as anything you’ve ever heard me say. We don’t do anything on this stage so you can enjoy it. Not one single, solitary thing. Everything we do here, we do for two reasons.

1. We want God to enjoy it.

2. We want you to encounter Jesus.

And yes, our thinking is in that order. We think about God before we think about you. We care more about what He thinks than about what you think. And when it comes to you, we’re not here to entertain you. We want you to meet Jesus.

I’ll say it again…what you think of me…what you think of anyone on this stage…we don’t care. Do you like me? Do you not like me? Did you think the music was good or bad? We just don’t care. What do you think of Jesus? Did you encounter Him today? Is He changing your life? Has He saved you for all eternity? That’s what we care about.

You might think this is harsh, but there’s a very good reason why we feel this way. It’s because everyone on this stage knows, “It’s not about me.”

I know that it’s not about me. Listen…some of you are here, not because you’re following Jesus, but because you’re following me. You’re here because you find my preaching different or entertaining or something like that. You are here because you’re following me. You know where following Mike Edmisten will get you? Hell.

Following Jesus leads to heaven. And I care way more about your eternal soul than about what you think of me or my preaching.

If you like me, that’s fine. If you don’t like me, that’s fine too. If you speak highly of me, I’m ok with that. If you criticize me, I’m ok with that too. You know why? Because it’s not about me. Your opinion of me isn’t going to make one diddley difference. What do you think of Jesus? How is your relationship with Jesus? That’s what matters.

I couldn’t be more serious about this. It’s not about me. It’s not about our staff. It’s not about Brian or Melanie or Josh. It’s not about the band. It’s not about any elder or deacon. It’s not about any person here. It’s about Jesus. Everything we do, everything we say, everything we are…it’s all about Jesus. That’s why personal preferences and opinions are really irrelevant. What you think about me, or our staff, or even our church isn’t going to affect your eternity. Jesus is the only one who makes an eternal difference.

So if you’re looking for a church to cater to your whims and desires, where it can be all about you, you can look elsewhere. It’s not going to happen here, because we actually believe the warning that Jesus gives in our story today.

The religious leaders had made it all about them, and Jesus said that the Kingdom of God was going to be taken away from them.

You talk about a frightening statement! That ought to keep us awake tonight. God owns His Kingdom, and He can take it away from anybody He wants. And because the Pharisees and other leaders had decided that it wasn’t about God, but it was about them, God took His Kingdom away from them. They were kicked out.

And instead, God gave His Kingdom to a people who would produce fruit. When Jesus said this to the religious leaders, He was alluding to the church. The Jewish religious leaders had blown it. Now the Kingdom was going to be turned over to the church.

And this is where the parable comes right down on us. If we are not producing for the Kingdom, we will be removed from the Kingdom. That thought scares the stuffing out of me. Seriously. If you believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that every word He spoke is true, then this should send you into a full body shiver. I don’t know if Jesus ever taught a more serious, more sobering truth. If you don’t produce for the Kingdom, you will be removed from the Kingdom.

That means that if our church doesn’t do everything we possibly can to produce fruit, God’s patience with us will wear out.

If we let fear stop us from going where He wants us to go, God will eventually give up on us.

If allow anything to stop us from pursuing His mission for our church, God will remove His blessing and give it to someone else.

That scares me to death. But it also motivates my life. It pushes me to preach strong and lead with courage and live with vision.

In our story, the landowner gave the tenants chance after chance after chance to do the right thing. Even to the point of sending his son to them. But they beat and killed everyone he sent to them…his son included.

But in verse 40, Jesus tells us that the landowner will eventually come back himself. Jesus said, “WHEN the landowner comes.” Not, “IF the landowner comes.” In other words, Jesus spoke about the landowner’s return like it was a foregone conclusion. And Jesus poses the question…what do you think he will do with those tenants when he returns?

Actually, the religious leaders gave a great answer in v. 41. “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” (Matthew 21:41, NIV)

Our Master is coming back. He is coming with His Kingdom in hand. And He is going to judge us based on how we have handled the blessings He entrusted to us.

God has entrusted the gospel message to us. He has entrusted His church to us. And we will be judged based on how we managed those blessings.

That’s why our church will never denigrate to the point where we constantly take opinion polls. Where we allow personal preference and opinion to sway us. The church is not a democracy. It is a monarchy where Christ is the King. His Word is the final Word, and we’ll go where He tells us to go whether people like it or not.

Listen to verse 43 one more time. I hope this rocks your world, because it should. “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.” (Matthew 21:43, NIV)

God won’t waste his blessings on people who are not producing. There is no room in His Kingdom for someone who is more concerned about what is good for them instead of what is good for God’s Kingdom.

When it comes to our church, we won’t be judged on how many people we made happy. We’ll be judged on how many people we introduced to Jesus.

We won’t be judged by our fans or our foes. We’ll be judged by our fruit.

That’s why it’s all about Jesus. That’s why it will always be about Jesus. Jesus is the one who lived a life without sin. Jesus is the one who died on a cross to set you free from your sinful, broken life. Jesus is the one who is at the Father’s right hand at this very moment, speaking to Him on your behalf. Jesus is the one who is coming back to take you home to be with Him for all eternity.

I can’t do any of that for you. No one here can do any of that for you. That’s a role that only Jesus can play. That’s why our church is laser-focused on Jesus. That’s why His opinion is the only one that matters to us. And that’s why every week, we give you a chance to make a decision for Him.

You can dislike me and still go to heaven. You can hate our music and still go to heaven. You can disagree with our decisions and still go to heaven. But there is no heaven without Jesus.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: Jesus, Matthew 21, Parable of the Tenants, parables, self-centeredness, selfishness, Stories