Jesus often used parables to reply to those who opposed Him In the parable of “The Two Sons” (Mt 21:28-32), Jesus responded to those who had rejected John the Baptist 

In the parable of “The Wicked Vinedressers” (Mt 21:33-46), Jesus vividly describes the sinfulness of those religious leaders who were rejecting the very Son of God! 

Mt 21:33-46

 33* ¶ “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.

 34* “When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.

 35* “The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third.

 36* “Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.

 37* “But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

 38* “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’

 39* “They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

 40* “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?”

 41* They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

 42* Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?

 43* “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.

 44* “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

 45* When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.

 46* When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.

THE VARIOUS ITEMS OF THE PARABLE ARE EVIDENT... 

The vineyard immediately brings to mind Israel 

   1. The figure of a vineyard referring to Israel was well-known - cf. Isa 5:1-7

 Isa 5:1-7

5:1 ¶ Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

 2 He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.

 3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard.

 4 “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?

 5 “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.

Here in Matthew it is not Israel as a nation per se... Rather, “the special advantages and opportunities which were given to the people as the chosen seed” (W.M. Taylor, The Parables of Our Savior) 

For later Jesus explains the vineyard (or kingdom of God) “will be given to a nation producing the fruit of it” - cf. vs. 43 

1. The landowner who planted the vineyard is God 

2. The wicked vinedressers represents Israel’s leaders - cf. vs. 45 

   a. Their chief priests, scribes, elders, and all their followers 

   b. Therefore, the physical nation of Israel as a whole 

3. The servants who were sent in behalf of the landowner represents the prophets 

   a. As a nation, Israel rejected many of her prophets - cf. 2 Chr 36:15-16

2 Chron. 36:15-16 

 15 The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place;

 16 but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy.

   b. Note the plaintive cry of Jesus over Jerusalem later on - Matt 23:37

Matt 23:37 

 37* “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

4. The landowner’s son is Jesus Christ Himself 

THE SUCCEEDING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS REVEAL JESUS’ INTENT... 

This was an effort to help them see why God would be just 

   a. In bringing condemnation upon Israel 

   b. In giving the blessings of Israel to those more deserving - cf. vs. 43 

Indeed, their rejection of Jesus had been foretold in the Scriptures - vs. 42; cf. Psa 118:22

Psa 118:22

 22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.

   a. The “builders” were the religious leaders of the nation 

   b. The “stone” which they rejected was Christ 

   c. Yet, this stone would be made a “chief cornerstone” by God Himself 

       1) In which God would build a something “new “ 

       2) I.e., the church in which both Jew and Gentile were fellow citizens of the household of God- cf. Ep 2:19-20 

In elaborating on “the stone which the builders rejected”, Jesus reveals the terrible consequence for those who reject it - vs. 44 - “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

 Another way of saying it is anyone who opposes Christ is destined to fall, even be “pulverized” 

The same was said of those who would not trust in the Lord in Isaiah’s day - cf. Isa 8:13-15 

Isa 8:13-15

 13 “It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.

 14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

 15 “Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught.”

The main lesson of this parable can be summarized in the words of Psalm 2:12... 

Psalm 2:12

 12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

So obvious was Jesus’ meaning and intent in telling this parable, that the religious leaders’ would have arrested Him at that moment had it not been for the people  - vss. 45,46. 

What application can we make for ourselves from this parable?  Is there a lesson for us today that can be drawn...?

GOD OFTEN BESTOWS WONDERFUL PRIVILEGES…

  1. This He had done with the nation of Israel

   a. Like a precious vineyard, God planted Israel in Canaan 

   b. He blessed the nation with laws, priests, prophets, and other special privileges 

   c. He eventually sent His only begotten Son as their Messiah

How about us today?

   a. Have we not received wonderful privileges from God? 

   b. We enjoy free access to the Word of God, and the freedom to worship without fear of persecution; many in the world do not 

   c. We are blessed to hear things that prophets, kings, and saints of old desired to hear and were not able - cf. Mt 13:16-17 

SECOND, NOTE HOW PEOPLE OFTEN MAKE BAD USE OF THEIR PRIVILEGES... 

  1. The history of Israel as a nation established by God 

   a. They consistently murmured against God in the wilderness 

   b. They turned away from God time and again during the period of the Judges 

   c. They persecuted His prophets, and eventually rejected His own Son 

What about us today? 

   a. We have blessings given to us through Christ 

     1) The forgiveness of sins through His blood

     2) The aid of the Holy Spirit in putting to death the deeds of the body 

     3) The joy of fellowship in the family of God

     4) The privilege of sharing the gospel with a dying world

And yet Christians often turn their back on such blessings 

    1) They sin, and do not seek forgiveness 

    2) They do not seek the help God gives to deal with the problem of sin 

    3) They neglect their brethren by forsaking the assembling, and by not developing close relationships with them  

    4) They make little or no effort to spread the precious gospel of Christ 

THIRD, NOTE THE AWFUL JUDGMENT THAT COMES UPON THOSE WHO MAKE BAD USE OF THEIR PRIVILEGES... 

  1. Again, the nation of Israel is an example 

   a. They suffered forty years of wandering in the wilderness 

   b. God allowed neighboring nations to be a thorn in their side 

   c. They endured Assyrian and Babylonian captivity 

   d. God destroyed their temple and their religion by the Syrians (167 B.C.) and the Romans (70 A.D.) 

   e. He has indeed taken away the kingdom of God from them, and given it to a nation bearing the fruits of it - cf. Mt 21:43

Would God bring such judgments against His church or people today if they abuse their privileges?   Consider the words of Jesus -

Jn 15:1, 2 

 15:1* ¶ “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

 2* “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

Jn 15:6
 6* “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

Rev. 2:4-5

 4* ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

 5* ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent.

Rev. 2:16

 16* ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

Rev. 3:1-3

 3:1* ¶ “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

 2* ‘Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

 3* ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

Consider what was written to the Hebrew Christians Heb 10:26-31:

Heb 10:26-31

 26* For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

 27* but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.

 28* Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

 29* How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

 30* For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”

 31* It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Clearly, if we do not utilize our special privileges…

   a. God will take away the blessings we have (i.e., the kingdom of God)

   b. And give it to someone who appreciates it (i.e. bears the fruit of it) 

Let us be careful how we receive them (cf. Jn 13:20), for the next time the Beloved Son is sent, He is coming in terrifying judgment! - 2 Thess 1:7-10: 

2 Thess 1:7-10

 7* and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,

 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

 9* These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

 10* when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed--for our testimony to you was believed.

Indeed, as Jesus said:

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.” - Luke 12:48 

 (thanks to Mark A. Copeland for  adapted notes above)