Judgement

Some people who ask questions don't really want an answer. This, Jesus' final parable in Luke, has a vineyard at its core. The Pharisees are pictured as the hired servants in the vineyard. They have not seen that the vineyard is the privilege and responsibility God has given them. Rather than cultivating this privilege, they turn on the owner. But God is patient. Very patient. See how the owner is treated unfairly. The wrath of the owner is expected, but doesn't come at first. The shock is the sending of the son. The Incarnation! Astoundingly, the privileged tenants plot to kill the very son of the owner in the spectacularly misguided hope of inheriting the vineyard. Today, just as it was then, we don't see the terror of God's judgement because we don't see the dreadful nature of our own sinful rebellion. We see others as culpable but not we ourselves. God's intention is fulfilled through the murder of His Son. And the reward of the the vineyard is transferred to other people. Where do you stand?