A Vacated Vineyard

Terry Siverd
05/30/21 - Sun AM

Link to sermon video: A Vacated Vineyard - T Siverd

A VACATED VINEYARD

Sermon By Terry Siverd / May 30, 2021 / Cortland  Church of Christ

Matthew twenty-one describes Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem for the last time prior to His crucifixion.  What begins as a triumphal entry quickly takes a somber and ominous turn.  In Mt.21:12f we read of the cleansing of he temple - - foreshadowing a soon-coming judgment.  In Mt.21:18f, this cleansing of the temple is followed by the cursing of the fig tree.  Here again, the actions of Jesus predict the inevitable.  In Mt.21 & 22 Jesus records two eye-popping parables, both directed toward Jerusalem's corrupt leaders.  In the first (the parable of the landowner / Mt.21:33f) we read the crowd's response to Jesus question (Mt.21:40) - - When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will He do to those vine-growers?  In this case they crowd answered accurately saying (Mt.21:41) - - 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 season Jesus endorsed their answer affirming (Mt.21:43) - - Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.  Mt.21:45-46 concludes this parable by observing - - When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parable, they understood that He was speaking about them.  And when they sought to seize Him, they feared the multitudes, because they held Him to be a prophet.  The second parable (the parable of the marriage feast / Mt.22:1f) is equally direct and condemning.  Note vs.7 - -   The king was enraged and sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and set their city on fire.  All of these teaching are focused on GOD'S JUDGMENT UPON THE JERUSALEM OF OLD.  We must note this theme carefully if we intend to properly comprehend Jesus' Olivet Discourse in Mt.24.

This morning I want us to review the happenings of Mt.23, which also serves as a preview for Mt.24.   Last week we closed our lesson with a reference from Leviticus 26:14-18 - - If you do not obey Me...I will set My face against you...then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.  Here in Lev.26 we read repeatedly of this sevenfold wrath (Lev.26:18, 21, 24 & 28).  This morning I've titled my sermon, A Vacated Vineyard.  Like Lev. 26, Isaiah chapter 5 provides  additional insight as to the background to Mt.23.    Read from Isa.5:1-7.  As we will see in Mt.23, this Old Testament text contains a predicition of multiples woes.  cf. Isa.5:8ff.  

Mt.23 contains the severest and sternest words ever spoken by Jesus.  God is long-suffering and forgiving but the leaders of Judaism had proven to be continually defiant and disobedient.  It is not enough to say that the Jewish leaders of the first-century were inept and incompetent.  Furthermore, it would be quite inaccurate to assess that they were well-intentioned, although sorely mistaken.  The opening verses of Mt.23  testify of their pride, arrogance and hypocrisy - - dispositions that God hates.  Prov.6:16f records - - There are six things which the Lord HATES, Yes, seven which are an ABOMINATION to Him:   haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And on who spreads strife among brothers.  

These words provide an apt summary of the leaders of first-century Judaism.

The leaders of Israel were not just scoundrels, cads or rascals.  Here are some of the words used to describe them:   pretenders … fools … blind … self-indulgent … unclean … rotten … corrupt … serpents … murderers … sons of hell.  They were the epitome of WICKEDNESS.  They represented THE HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY.  They had become loathsome to God.

Mt.23 speaks of SEVEN WOES.  These seven woes are directed at the scribes and Pharisees (the leaders of first-century Judaism).  cf. Mt.23:1b / Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES.

First Woe – Mt.23:13-14 / you shut off the kingdom of heaven to men … you devour widows' houses

Second Woe – Mt.23:15 / you travel about on land and sea to make one proselyte … you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves

Third Woe – Mt.23:16-22 you blind guides

Fourth Woe – Mt.23:23-24 / you tithe mint & dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law...you strain out a gnat and swallow a camel

Fifth Woe – Mt.23:25-26 / you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence

Sixth Woe – Mt.23:27-28 / you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones & uncleanness

Seventh Woe – Mt.23:29f / you say, 'if we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with (evil)'...you serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell

Summary / Mt.23:34-38

Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.  O 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 gather her chicks under her wings, and YOU WERE UNWILLING.  Behold YOU HOUSE IS BEING LEFT TO YOU DESOLATE!

First-century Judaism witnessed the arrival of Jesus nothing was as it should have been.

The temple had become a den of thieves.  The fig tree had become a thicket of lies.  The teachers of the Law of God had become lawless, or stated another way:  a law unto themselves.  Those who should have ministered with the prophets were murdering the prophets.  Leaders who should have been pure and trustworthy had become outright hypocrites...self-indulgent snakes.  Ones who should have led the way and opened doors become blind guides blocking the entrance to God's kingdom.  Having once been Jehovah's beloved vineyard they were soon to become a vacated vineyard, void of God's presence.

In closing, if we could return once again to Isa.5 - - Those who had been “beloved” by God had become “worthless”.  Rather then being purveyors of justice, they brought bloodshed.  Instead of promoting righteousness, they brought about cries of distress.  In showing their true colors, they did the unthinkable - - putting to death God's only begotten Son.  cf. Mt.21:38-39