December 26, 2010
This sermon was preached from the perspective of Stephen
Dear friends in Christ.
I want to thank you for the opportunity of being with you this morning to tell you my story. Though I’m sure that many of you already know my story quite well from your days in Sunday school, my story is a story that bears repeating. I don’t say that because it is a story about me, and I have the opportunity of relating it to you today. But I say this because it is a story that will teach you the all important truth that 1 + God = The Majority!
You see, my story begins back in the days after Pentecost. I’m sure you remember how it was, the sound of rushing wind came to the place where the Apostles were and then tongues of fire separated and came to rest on their heads. The Apostles began speaking in all sorts of different languages and some from the crowd mocked them saying that they had too much wine. That was when Peter stood up and preached to the people telling them exactly what was happening; how the Lord had poured out the Holy Spirit on his people in fulfillment of his promise. He told the people about Jesus and what his life, his death, and his resurrection had meant for them. He called on the people to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and on that day roughly 3000 people were added to the number of believers!
Well, it didn’t stop there. The believers continued to meet together and the Apostles continued proclaiming the gospel message of salvation, performing the miraculous signs and wonders that the Lord enabled them to do, and the Lord continued to bless them! Day after day he continued to add to their numbers until the number of believers was up, well over, 5000. So many had been added, that a complaint arose, stating that some of the widows were being over looked in the daily distribution of food. So, when the complaint came forward, the Apostles suggested that 7 men be chosen from among the believers to help out in the daily distribution of food. Thus, when the church acted and chose us, I was one of the men who was chosen to do just that, as it says in our lesson today: “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. (Acts 6:8–10, NIV)
Though I had been chosen to help in the ministry of distributing food, it was the Lord who allowed me to also perform miraculous signs like the Apostles, and it was the Lord who led me out to proclaim his Word. As I proclaimed his Word, there were some who began to oppose me and the message I was bringing. Yet, this was not the first time opposition had arisen against the preaching of the gospel, for if you really think about it, Jesus’ ministry on earth was filled with opposition by the Pharisees, the Teachers of the Law, in fact the entire Sanhedrin—the ruling body of religious leaders in Israel—was essentially opposed to the message that Jesus brought. So, it really was no wonder that the Apostles faced opposition as they preached. Take for example Peter and John. Early on in the days after Pentecost, they had healed a crippled beggar in the Temple Courts and then used the opportunity to proclaim the gospel of salvation to the people who had gathered around. But shortly after they had finished, some form the Priests and Sadducees took them off to the Sanhedrin for trial, because the Priests and the Sadducees were greatly disturbed that these Apostles were preaching the resurrection. At the close of the trial, just before they were released, the Sanhedrin ordered them no longer to preach the Name of Jesus, to which they declared their plan to follow the will of God rather than the will of men. When they gathered with the other believers and reported what had happened, they prayed and praised God, the Lord shook the place where they were praying and the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit continued proclaiming the message of salvation through faith in Jesus. Thus, God himself demonstrated that 1 + God = the Majority!
Again opposition arose because the High Priest and the Sadducees were filled with jealousy against the Apostles and they arrested them, once again, for preaching about Jesus. Again they were put on trial before the whole Sanhedrin and ordered no longer to preach about Jesus. Again their response was that they must obey God rather than men because they knew that 1 + God = the Majority. This time, however, the Apostles were whipped! Yet, as they left, they left rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering for the Lord Jesus, their Savior and even though they suffered they were confirmed in their knowledge that they were the Majority because they were partnered with God.
Again the leadership grew jealous of what was happening in the camp of the Lord because the number of disciples was increasing daily and because quite a number of priests were coming to faith in Jesus as their Savior. Because of this, the Sanhedrin, the religious leadership of the Israelites, undoubtedly felt as they did when Jesus walked the earth; they felt that they were losing their positions of power and control over the people. It was at this time that opposition arose against me from the Synagogue of the Freedmen, as it was called. They began to argue with me and against the Word of God which I was proclaiming. But they could not stand up against the Holy Spirit by whom I was speaking, and in that moment it became clear that 1 + God = the Majority. It was not by my power that they could not stand up, but by the power of God himself who was on my side and who was proclaiming his eternal power of salvation through his Word, which I was privileged to speak. So, because they could not stand up against the Lord, they did what all stubborn unbelievers do; they lied. Just like they paid false witnesses to testify against Jesus, “they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. 1 Then the high priest asked him, “Are these charges true?” (Acts 6:11–7:1, NIV)
In their zeal to be rid of me, they accused me of blasphemy—profane or sacrilegious speech—against Moses, against God, and against the Temple. But even though I stood alone against those 70 elders of Israel made up of the High Priest together with the Pharisees and Sadducees, I knew I was the Majority that day, because I stood with the Lord beside me. In that day the Lord Jesus fulfilled his promise and gave me the words to speak through the Holy Spirit! For as it came time for me to speak in my defense, suddenly my face began to shine like an angel and the Holy Spirit enabled me to defend myself through the power of God’s Word.
Though they accused me of blasphemy against God, through the Holy Spirit I proclaimed to them the history of God’s gracious dealing with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the Israelites and in doing so the Holy Spirit revealed how I was actually exalting the God of the covenant and his gracious promises, while the Sanhedrin had forsaken the covenant God. Though they accused me of blasphemy against Moses, through the Holy Spirit I reminded them of the Israelites history of rejecting Moses as God’s given leader and their breaking of God’s covenant with them by turning to idolatry. Thus, the Holy Spirit revealed that I was honoring Moses as God intended by following the Lord’s Word while the Sanhedrin had blinded themselves to the meaning of the law given by Moses as well as the promise of the Savior that Moses prophesied. Though they accused me of blasphemy against the temple, through the Holy Spirit I proclaimed to them the history of the tabernacle and the temple as a place to go and worship the Lord through the sacrifices he gave, while the Israelites had changed the temple into an idol by merely going through the motions of worship. Thus the Holy Spirit revealed that the message I proclaimed gave the temple the place the Lord wanted it to have while the Sanhedrin had perverted both the right view of the temple and the God-pleasing use of it.
Even as I was speaking they began to grow antsy. Like little children they covered their ears so they wouldn’t have to listen to what I was telling them. They ground their teeth in anger because they could not fact the Lord’s judgment on them when I said, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.” 54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:51–60, NIV)
Even though they thought they had won by killing me, I was the victor that day, because 1 + God = The Majority! Even in death I was allied with the Lord and through faith in him, I was given a seat of honor in his heavenly kingdom. I was honored as the first of God’s martyrs in the New Testament, and I was honored to be the one whose story gives strength to all of God’s people who face hardships, trials, frustrations, persecution, and even martyrdom. I was given this honor so that God might be glorified when people see from my story the absolute fact that 1 + God = the Majority!
Now, why do I tell you all this? Because you need to know and be certain that 1 + God = the Majority! You need to know this because whether you realize it or not, you are already being persecuted for being a Christian. More and more people are complaining against Christianity and more and more court cases are coming up about Christian symbols, prayer, and many other Christian freedoms that have begun to offend others. In fact, take a look at this clip from October 2008 in which Paul Washer speaks about persecution in our day. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7UyZYpeReY)
I do not tell you these things or show you this clip to scare you, but to encourage you. Though we have enjoyed an unprecedented time without persecution, it has begun. It is continuing and it is growing. But no matter what kind of persecution we may face, remember my story and remember that no matter what 1 + God = the Majority! Through faith in Jesus you are God’s redeemed child! Through faith in Jesus all your sins have been forgiven. Through faith in Jesus, your place in heaven has already been prepared for you. Through faith in Jesus you are already victorious. Through faith in Jesus you are the Majority because you are aligned with God. Through faith in Jesus, no matter what happens in this world you are victorious, as the Apostle Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21, NIV) So no matter what happens, you are the majority with God. If you live out your days and fall asleep in the Lord at a good old age, you are blessed. If your life should be cut short by an accident or even a sickness, you are still blessed because you will be at home with the Lord all the sooner. If you should face what I faced, and be murdered for what you believe in, you will be blessed because the Lord will reward you with eternal life! This is our comfort whether we live or whether we die we belong to the Lord, because 1 + the Lord = the Majority. There is no one who can snatch us out of his hand. There is no one who can take away our salvation.
Though the days will eventually grow even more evil than the days I faced, the Lord is on your side. When you face frustration, hardship, trouble, persecution, suffering, or even death, take my story with you. Hide it in your heart so that no matter what you face you always remember that 1 + God = the Majority!
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
Showing posts with label Sanhedrin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sanhedrin. Show all posts
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Be Faithful Tenants of the Lord's Vineyard (Luke 20:9-19)
Dear friends in Christ.
In 1870 a young man named William Wilberforce began his political career as an independent member of the British Parliament for Yorkshire. Just five years later this young man underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a life-long concern for reform. When he came into contact with Thomas Clarkston and a group of anti-slave trade activists a couple of years later, he was persuaded to take up the cause of abolition, and he then spent the rest of his life faithfully devoted to the cause of abolishing slavery in England. Though he faced daunting odds, mockery, critics, and some serious discouragements that simply made him want to throw in the town and chuck the whole thing, he continued to labor faithfully in the vineyard of parliament hoping that one day the harvest would be the ending of slavery. Finally, in 1833, some 46 years after he took up the cause, William Wilberforce passed away a mere 3 days after he learned that his faithful labors had finally brought about the Slavery Abolition Act.
Well, in the same way that William Wilberforce labored so faithfully in the vineyard of politics, this morning our Savior is calling on each and every one of us to be faithful laborers in his vineyard through the parable that he is teaching. Now, when Jesus spoke these words, it was Tuesday of Holy Week. He was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel to them, when the Chief Priests, the teachers of the law and even the Elders of the people came to him, demanding that he tell them by what authority he was doing these things and teaching as he was. Though most people would have grown a little fearful and not a little nervous to see representatives from the Sanhedrin, the Israelite’s board of religious leaders, Jesus simply looked them in the eyes and took control of the situation by asking them about John’s baptism. This stopped them in their tracks, because they simply weren’t prepared for Jesus to be asking questions. They huddled up, and after discussing the question among themselves, they decided that they didn’t know the answer to Jesus’ question. So, Jesus, in turn informed them that because they didn’t know the answer to his question, he would not provide them with the answer to theirs, and he turned to the people and continued teaching as he had been before telling them this parable. Jesus said:
“A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “May this never be!”” (Luke 20:9–17, NIV)
Can’t you just imagine the tension in the air as these religious leaders listened to Jesus telling them their own sad history? Can’t you just see the Chief Priests, the Elders, and the Teachers of the Law simply glaring at Jesus as he looked directly at them with his divinely authoritative gaze? Can’t you just imagine the hatred welling up inside of them as Jesus simply sat before them and told them and the crowd how these religious leaders had not been faithful tenants of the Lord’s vineyard because they had let go of the Word of truth and replaced it with their own righteous ideas? After all, as Jesus spoke about the owner who sent his servants to the vineyard to receive his share of the harvest, he revealed exactly what the Israelites had done throughout their history. They had not been faithful tenants of God’s vineyard. They had not held on to the Word of truth. Rather, they had wandered away from the Lord. So the Lord had sent prophets to them, prophets to proclaim God’s Word to them and to lead them back to him, but they refused to listen. Instead, they mistreated the prophets, drove them away, and even killed them. Even now as the very Son of God was speaking to them, they were making plans to kill him so that they might take the inheritance for themselves. You see, they wanted to get Jesus out of the way so that they could continue to rule the people. They were not worried about holding on to the Word of truth, which Jesus was proclaiming to them rather, they were worried about holding on to the word that they proclaimed. They were more concerned about keeping the status quo in which they were looked upon as the brightest and best of society because of all their righteous acts, than they were about serving God. The religious leaders would rather have all the Israelites follow and emulate them than see the people flock to Jesus and listen to him.
But it was because of their unfaithfulness that they finally lost everything. Though the Apostles went around Jerusalem proclaiming the message of the risen Christ, it was the religious leaders of Israel who tried to stop them at every turn. When persecution broke out against the church and all the believers left Jerusalem, they took the gospel with them and began the fulfillment of Jesus’ words that the vineyard would be taken away and given to others. Finally, in 70 AD the Lord carried out his judgment against those who had rejected him when the Roman armies marched into Jerusalem and completely destroying the Temple, the City of Jerusalem, even pretty much bringing the Nation of Israel to an end until it was re-established by the United Nations in 1948. But even though Israel has been re-established as a nation, the Temple is still lost, their religion is an empty shell of what it once was, very few Israelites believe in Jesus as their Savior, and those who once had everything in the gospel of salvation which the Lord communicated to them, have lost everything because they were not faithful tenants of the Lord’s vineyard.
But before we start acting all high and mighty, we need to realize that the same thing could happen to us. Though we have the gospel now, though we know who Jesus is and all that he has done for us, if we are not faithful tenants of God’s vineyard, if we do not hold fast to the word of truth, our fate will be the same as the Israelites. If we begin to take God’s Word for granted and let all sorts of worldly reasons keep us away from worship, we will begin to grow weak in our faith. If we come up with all sorts of excuses why we have no time read and study God’s Word for ourselves, we will begin to distance ourselves from the Lord. If we begin to listen to the world’s ideas on religion rather than what the Bible teaches us, we will be walking the same road of unfaithfulness that many of the Israelites did, and we will be in danger of turning our backs on the Lord. This is why the Lord is warning us to hold fast to the Word of truth, for it is only in the Bible that we learn about Jesus. It is only through that word that we receive the comfort of knowing our sins have been forgiven for Jesus’ sake. It is only through that word that we come to know our Savior.
Sadly, much of America has become like Israel was at Jesus’ time. There are many in our great land who may have once been very faithful tenants of the Lord’s vineyard, but now they are more interested in keeping that vineyard for themselves. Though it was once expected that everyone believed what the Bible had to say, now there are many more who question the Bible and place their faith in other teachings—teachings that make sense to their reason and their logic. There are many who would rather trust in false teachings like Scientology, or false religions like Mormonism, rather than trust what God says in the Bible. If fact, all we have to do is take a look at what has been going on in Lutheranism over the past year, and we know that there are many religious leaders who are no longer serving as faithful tenants in the Lords’ vineyard, because they are rejecting the precious cornerstone of Christ and are building their faith on something other than their Savior.
Well, that is what the religious leaders of the Israelites were doing as unfaithful tenants in the Lord’s vineyard. As Luke tells us, “Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.” (Luke 20:17-19 NIV)
Now, if you go home after Church and look this section up in your Bibles, you might come across a little number or a letter following the word capstone. If you follow that letter or number down to the foot note it is indicating, you will find out that the this passage could also read, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This is quite interesting because cornerstones were the most important stone of the foundation. It was the stone used to set the foundation straight and give the building strength. The capstone, though it was not part of the foundation was also an important stone. For the capstone was stone found at the top of an arch or a dome, and it was the stone that held all the others in place. While it might surprise you that this passage could be translated either way, don’t let it bother you. For both the capstone and the cornerstone were very important stones for the building process, and if you left one out the building would fall. In other words, as Jesus looked directly at those unfaithful tenants who had murdered his prophets and were now seeking to kill him and do away with him, Jesus was telling them that by rejecting him they were rejecting the most important stone of all. They had left out the very stone that held the entire building together. Not only were they trying to build their church and their religion without him, but they were trying to push, pull, and drag Jesus away from the building site altogether.
Sadly, that is what many churches in our day and age are trying to do. They too are acting as unfaithful tenants in the Lord’s vineyard as they try to build without building on the rock of Christ. Though they might talk about Jesus and tell what he did, they try to hack away at that rock by teaching that Jesus really didn’t do all the miracles the Bible says he did. They try to break it to pieces by saying that Jesus wasn’t really the Son of God, but he was just a regular human being. They try to haul it away by saying that Jesus really didn’t die on the cross, he just fainted and was revived later by the cool air of the tomb. Though they try to break this rock up by driving bulldozers over it, all that happens is that the bulldozers are smashed to bits. Though they dig holes underneath it to plant explosives, the rock falls on them and they are crushed by the Lord’s judgment
This is why the Lord is telling us to build on the Rock of Christ, because he is the most important stone. Not only is he the cornerstone of our faith, he is the capstone. Without him, we would have nothing, because he is the one who has freed us from sins by his death and resurrection. Without him, we would be nothing, because he is the one who sustains us in the faith that he is our Savior. But with him we have everything. So continue to build your faith on the rock of Christ, through the Word of God that he has given you in the Bible. This is what it means to be a faithful tenant in the Lord’s vineyard.
Yes, be faithful tenants in the Lord’s vineyard, just as you have been faithful tenants in your other rental contracts. Be faithful tenants of the Lord who hold on to the Word of truth as your most treasured possession. But as you hold on to it, don’t simply keep it for yourselves, rather use it to build God's church on the Rock of Christ. Use it to build each other up in your faith as you travel together on the path to heaven, and use it to tell others so that they too might be added to the Lord’s vineyard and share in our pleasure of being his faithful tenants.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Le Sueur, MN
In 1870 a young man named William Wilberforce began his political career as an independent member of the British Parliament for Yorkshire. Just five years later this young man underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a life-long concern for reform. When he came into contact with Thomas Clarkston and a group of anti-slave trade activists a couple of years later, he was persuaded to take up the cause of abolition, and he then spent the rest of his life faithfully devoted to the cause of abolishing slavery in England. Though he faced daunting odds, mockery, critics, and some serious discouragements that simply made him want to throw in the town and chuck the whole thing, he continued to labor faithfully in the vineyard of parliament hoping that one day the harvest would be the ending of slavery. Finally, in 1833, some 46 years after he took up the cause, William Wilberforce passed away a mere 3 days after he learned that his faithful labors had finally brought about the Slavery Abolition Act.
Well, in the same way that William Wilberforce labored so faithfully in the vineyard of politics, this morning our Savior is calling on each and every one of us to be faithful laborers in his vineyard through the parable that he is teaching. Now, when Jesus spoke these words, it was Tuesday of Holy Week. He was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel to them, when the Chief Priests, the teachers of the law and even the Elders of the people came to him, demanding that he tell them by what authority he was doing these things and teaching as he was. Though most people would have grown a little fearful and not a little nervous to see representatives from the Sanhedrin, the Israelite’s board of religious leaders, Jesus simply looked them in the eyes and took control of the situation by asking them about John’s baptism. This stopped them in their tracks, because they simply weren’t prepared for Jesus to be asking questions. They huddled up, and after discussing the question among themselves, they decided that they didn’t know the answer to Jesus’ question. So, Jesus, in turn informed them that because they didn’t know the answer to his question, he would not provide them with the answer to theirs, and he turned to the people and continued teaching as he had been before telling them this parable. Jesus said:
“A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “May this never be!”” (Luke 20:9–17, NIV)
Can’t you just imagine the tension in the air as these religious leaders listened to Jesus telling them their own sad history? Can’t you just see the Chief Priests, the Elders, and the Teachers of the Law simply glaring at Jesus as he looked directly at them with his divinely authoritative gaze? Can’t you just imagine the hatred welling up inside of them as Jesus simply sat before them and told them and the crowd how these religious leaders had not been faithful tenants of the Lord’s vineyard because they had let go of the Word of truth and replaced it with their own righteous ideas? After all, as Jesus spoke about the owner who sent his servants to the vineyard to receive his share of the harvest, he revealed exactly what the Israelites had done throughout their history. They had not been faithful tenants of God’s vineyard. They had not held on to the Word of truth. Rather, they had wandered away from the Lord. So the Lord had sent prophets to them, prophets to proclaim God’s Word to them and to lead them back to him, but they refused to listen. Instead, they mistreated the prophets, drove them away, and even killed them. Even now as the very Son of God was speaking to them, they were making plans to kill him so that they might take the inheritance for themselves. You see, they wanted to get Jesus out of the way so that they could continue to rule the people. They were not worried about holding on to the Word of truth, which Jesus was proclaiming to them rather, they were worried about holding on to the word that they proclaimed. They were more concerned about keeping the status quo in which they were looked upon as the brightest and best of society because of all their righteous acts, than they were about serving God. The religious leaders would rather have all the Israelites follow and emulate them than see the people flock to Jesus and listen to him.
But it was because of their unfaithfulness that they finally lost everything. Though the Apostles went around Jerusalem proclaiming the message of the risen Christ, it was the religious leaders of Israel who tried to stop them at every turn. When persecution broke out against the church and all the believers left Jerusalem, they took the gospel with them and began the fulfillment of Jesus’ words that the vineyard would be taken away and given to others. Finally, in 70 AD the Lord carried out his judgment against those who had rejected him when the Roman armies marched into Jerusalem and completely destroying the Temple, the City of Jerusalem, even pretty much bringing the Nation of Israel to an end until it was re-established by the United Nations in 1948. But even though Israel has been re-established as a nation, the Temple is still lost, their religion is an empty shell of what it once was, very few Israelites believe in Jesus as their Savior, and those who once had everything in the gospel of salvation which the Lord communicated to them, have lost everything because they were not faithful tenants of the Lord’s vineyard.
But before we start acting all high and mighty, we need to realize that the same thing could happen to us. Though we have the gospel now, though we know who Jesus is and all that he has done for us, if we are not faithful tenants of God’s vineyard, if we do not hold fast to the word of truth, our fate will be the same as the Israelites. If we begin to take God’s Word for granted and let all sorts of worldly reasons keep us away from worship, we will begin to grow weak in our faith. If we come up with all sorts of excuses why we have no time read and study God’s Word for ourselves, we will begin to distance ourselves from the Lord. If we begin to listen to the world’s ideas on religion rather than what the Bible teaches us, we will be walking the same road of unfaithfulness that many of the Israelites did, and we will be in danger of turning our backs on the Lord. This is why the Lord is warning us to hold fast to the Word of truth, for it is only in the Bible that we learn about Jesus. It is only through that word that we receive the comfort of knowing our sins have been forgiven for Jesus’ sake. It is only through that word that we come to know our Savior.
Sadly, much of America has become like Israel was at Jesus’ time. There are many in our great land who may have once been very faithful tenants of the Lord’s vineyard, but now they are more interested in keeping that vineyard for themselves. Though it was once expected that everyone believed what the Bible had to say, now there are many more who question the Bible and place their faith in other teachings—teachings that make sense to their reason and their logic. There are many who would rather trust in false teachings like Scientology, or false religions like Mormonism, rather than trust what God says in the Bible. If fact, all we have to do is take a look at what has been going on in Lutheranism over the past year, and we know that there are many religious leaders who are no longer serving as faithful tenants in the Lords’ vineyard, because they are rejecting the precious cornerstone of Christ and are building their faith on something other than their Savior.
Well, that is what the religious leaders of the Israelites were doing as unfaithful tenants in the Lord’s vineyard. As Luke tells us, “Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.” (Luke 20:17-19 NIV)
Now, if you go home after Church and look this section up in your Bibles, you might come across a little number or a letter following the word capstone. If you follow that letter or number down to the foot note it is indicating, you will find out that the this passage could also read, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This is quite interesting because cornerstones were the most important stone of the foundation. It was the stone used to set the foundation straight and give the building strength. The capstone, though it was not part of the foundation was also an important stone. For the capstone was stone found at the top of an arch or a dome, and it was the stone that held all the others in place. While it might surprise you that this passage could be translated either way, don’t let it bother you. For both the capstone and the cornerstone were very important stones for the building process, and if you left one out the building would fall. In other words, as Jesus looked directly at those unfaithful tenants who had murdered his prophets and were now seeking to kill him and do away with him, Jesus was telling them that by rejecting him they were rejecting the most important stone of all. They had left out the very stone that held the entire building together. Not only were they trying to build their church and their religion without him, but they were trying to push, pull, and drag Jesus away from the building site altogether.
Sadly, that is what many churches in our day and age are trying to do. They too are acting as unfaithful tenants in the Lord’s vineyard as they try to build without building on the rock of Christ. Though they might talk about Jesus and tell what he did, they try to hack away at that rock by teaching that Jesus really didn’t do all the miracles the Bible says he did. They try to break it to pieces by saying that Jesus wasn’t really the Son of God, but he was just a regular human being. They try to haul it away by saying that Jesus really didn’t die on the cross, he just fainted and was revived later by the cool air of the tomb. Though they try to break this rock up by driving bulldozers over it, all that happens is that the bulldozers are smashed to bits. Though they dig holes underneath it to plant explosives, the rock falls on them and they are crushed by the Lord’s judgment
This is why the Lord is telling us to build on the Rock of Christ, because he is the most important stone. Not only is he the cornerstone of our faith, he is the capstone. Without him, we would have nothing, because he is the one who has freed us from sins by his death and resurrection. Without him, we would be nothing, because he is the one who sustains us in the faith that he is our Savior. But with him we have everything. So continue to build your faith on the rock of Christ, through the Word of God that he has given you in the Bible. This is what it means to be a faithful tenant in the Lord’s vineyard.
Yes, be faithful tenants in the Lord’s vineyard, just as you have been faithful tenants in your other rental contracts. Be faithful tenants of the Lord who hold on to the Word of truth as your most treasured possession. But as you hold on to it, don’t simply keep it for yourselves, rather use it to build God's church on the Rock of Christ. Use it to build each other up in your faith as you travel together on the path to heaven, and use it to tell others so that they too might be added to the Lord’s vineyard and share in our pleasure of being his faithful tenants.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Le Sueur, MN
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