Luke 20:9-19- Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Parable of the Wicked Tenants

When Jesus tells a parable it is for the purpose of teaching some kind of lesson. With the Pharisees there seems to be lessons aimed specifically at them that in regular language they would ignore.

In the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Luke 20:9-19), Jesus compares God to a man who planted a vineyard. The vineyard was leased while the vineyard owner went to another country for while. The vineyard owner sent servants to get some fruit. He sent three different servants and each was beaten or wounded and sent away empty handed. This was the way to explain how God has sent prophets to deliver a message that not only was rejected, but the messengers Jeremiah, John the Baptist, as well as others were stoned, harmed or killed (Got Questions- Parable of the Tenants). 

Finally, the vineyard owner (God) sends His son (Jesus), who the tenants saw as a threat. They though of the son was being sent then the owner must be dead and the son, if killed, would no longer be heir to the vineyard and the tenants could keep the vineyard.

The tenants in the parable are to be the religious leaders and various people who rejected every messenger of God. Jesus references Psalm 118:22 when he said, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" when he closes out the teaching of the parable. Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith. Without Jesus's life, miracles, death and resurrection, and his fulfilling of the prophecies, following Christ would be flawed.

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Mark 6:7-13- Shake off the Dust

Shake off the Dust

In Mark 6:7-13, we read about Jesus sending out the twelve apostles/disciples. In verse 8, Jesus charged/commanded them to only take one tunic (garment of clothing) and and sandals. They were not to take any bags or bread or any money in their belts. In my reading from Dave Guzik, he states that the rule/law was that Jewish rabbis were not to have the appearance of doing any other business in the temple. So, when Jesus sent out the twelve (2 by 2) they also were not have the appearance that they are doing any other business than spreading the word of Christ. Not having those items also put them in position to have more faith in God that He would provide for them while He did their work. If a preacher/pastor doesn't have have faith in God, then how can they teach others to have that faith?

A second point that I found interesting was the command in verse 11 to "shake off the dust" if any place would not have them or receive their message. The practice of this comes from Jewish people shaking off dust as they would travel through Gentile/non-jewish cities. it was seen as a way to not want to take anything from a city that was not Jewish. Do you see the connection? If a person or place does not receive the word of Christ then do not take that mentality or way of thinking with you in any way shape or form. That includes anything as small as dust. It is not your job as a pastor/preacher or follower of Christ to convince people to receive Jesus. You can share the faith, but you do not have to argue with them until you are blue in the face or until they accept Jesus. You deliver the message. They choose to receive it or reject it. Jesus did not need to argue and neither do you.

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