Sermon Notes for PASSION SUNDAY 22 March 2015 Anno Domini
The C ollect.
WE beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
One salient point of this Collect is government in the House of God – not just the secular arm, but the religious and spiritual as well. Just as a nation wavers and stumbles under wicked kings and rulers, so does the Church of God under immoral and unrighteous ministers and Episcopal shepherds. Today’s sermon text touches upon the same subject.
9 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. 10 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. 11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. 13 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. 14 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. 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. 17 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? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.19 And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. (Luke 20:9-19)
The Lord often refers to His people as a Vineyard, or a Garden. Solomon makes reference to the church as the Bride of Christ in SS 4:12 – “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard.”
In Bible times, and even today in Asia and the Middle East, gardens were enclosed by walls of either hedge or adobe to protect the INSIDE from the OUTSIDE. Additionally, there is usually a source of water dug in wells inside the enclosure, and a watchtower from which the farmer can watch for intruders. So this vineyard of God is like that Garden enclosed. It has its own source of the Water of Life that is sealed only to those of the Garden. That Water of Life is a Type of Christ, and the High tower is a Type of God the Father. The Wall of Enclosure is a Type of the Holy Ghost separating the people of God from those of the world.
God has made a fence around His people to keep the world from coming into it. Our behaviors and associations are hedged about so that we do not grow wild as the tares and briars of the field.
Our parable today comes after Christ has vanquished the Sanhedrin in their attempt to undermine Him in the Temple when they demanded to know by what authority Jesus spoke these things. Jesus exposed their treachery and ignorance publicly. It also comes just two days before His betrayal and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. He has, on many occasion, told the disciples plainly that He will be crucified, and that this is the reason for His going up to Jerusalem for the Passover. In fact, Jesus Christ is the long awaited Passover Lamb of God which was fore-shadowed in the first Passover in Egypt. It is Tuesday – and on Thursday evening, He will be betrayed! Though He has plainly spoken to the disciples, He will now address the Jewsih scholars and rulers in a Parable which is very clearly discernible
Now He speaks to the people, and subtly to the Jewish leaders present as well. He makes reference to a certain man… the Lord of Hosts.
9 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.
The certain man represents God the Father. While it is true that God created all things by the executive agency of His Son, in a grander sense, He created the church by way of the Promise given to Abraham, and hinted at in the Garden to Eve. The people of God (church – both Old and New Testament) is typified by the Vineyard.
The planting of the Vineyard has been the establishment of His elect people, of the church, and of old Israel. God labored long and patiently in leading His people to the Land of Promise, and in leading you to a favored place in His Kingdom, too.
Matthew, in a parallel account, adds: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen (Matt 21:33) He hedged it about to keep the world out (as in SS 4:12-13).
He digged a winepress in it – perhaps an allusion to His coming sacrifice in blood of purchasing His people out of their sins and bondage.
Built a Tower – set watchers over the people to warn them of thieves and unsavory types who would attempt to invade the garden. Ultimately, the High Tower is God, and the under-shepherds are His ministers. They have done a very poor job of defending the truth and doctrines of the Gospel in our day, have they not?
and let it forth to husbandmen; the husbandmen here referred to are those rulers of Israel whose duty it was to preach and to teach, to counsel and to warn.
and went into a far country for a long time; the time from the giving of the Law until Christ.
10 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. 11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
God sent His prophets unto them. Their treatment of the prophets was a gradually escalating trend of cruelty and ill-treatment. Jeremiah was imprisoned, Isaiah was sawn asunder. Abel was murdered by his own brother, Cain. They laughed at Hosea and Noah.
13 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.
Finally, God determines it is time to send His Only Begotten Son. He did so wittingly, knowing that they would treat Him with harshness and even murder Him.
14 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. 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him
This exposes the greed and jealousy of the Jewish leaders in wanting to destroy Christ. They knew full well that He was the Heir of the Father, yet they wanted no interference with their own power. They had Christ beaten, taken outside the gates of the City – Via Dolorsa – and finally murdered Him.
What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?
If you were a powerful King who sent His Son to claim the fruits of His own Garden, and the keepers murdered Him, what would YOU do?
16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others
Christ would take the Kingdom from the Jews and give it to a nation bearing the fruits thereof. Remember His rebuke to the Jewish leaders? 42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. (Matt 21:42-43)
And when they heard it, they said, God forbid It is abundantly clear by their response that they Knew Christ spoke of them (the Jewish leaders).
17 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? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
The very cornerstone of the Great Pyramid at Giza lay half buried at its base and kept getting in the way of the workers. They often cursed the stone until, nearly completed with the pyramid, they discovered that this was the capstone. By that time, it was too late to erect it to the top of the structure. So the Great Pyramid remains unfinished without its capstone. Without Christ as the Chief Cornerstone of our Church, we are unfinished. In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD. 20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. (Isaiah 19:19-20)
The Dollar Bill depicts that Chief Cornerstone above the pyramid on the National Seal.
19 And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them
There is an old adage that says: If the shoe fits, wear it! The shoe did fit the Jewish leaders and they were incensed to the point of desiring to murder Christ on the spot – but they feared the people – they were political creatures and must consider how they would be viewed by the people. They would, rather, allow Rome to do their dirty deed of murder.
We are that Vineyard to which Christ refers. He has planted us, purchased us, and set watchers on the towers above us to keep us from error.
He has made a winepress, flowing with His own blood and sacrifice, in the midst of the Vineyard.
He has hedged us about to keep us separated from the world and its weeds of sin.
Have you heeded the watchman’s warning of the world of sin and filth?
Have you remained within the limits of behavior that God has set for you?
Have you drunk from the winepress of His Blood shed for you?
Are you eager for the return of the Owner and Heir of the Vineyard, or do you tremble to know that He is Coming to receive His own and to judge those who have not been faithful?
Decide today upon which side of the Line of Decision you shall stand when He returns.
AMEN