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. Luke 20:13
The parable of the vineyard is directed very pointedly at the Jewish leaders at the time the Lord Jesus was there. The owner of the vineyard is God. The husbandmen who were responsible for the vineyard are the Jewish religious leadership: the priests and scribes and Levites. To them were committed the ordinances of the temple sacrifices and the spiritual guidance of the nation. Down through the centuries they had failed in many ways, deviating from the Word of God, and abusing their responsibilities. The servants who were sent to receive the fruit of the vineyard were the prophets, who had been shamefully mistreated and even killed. And the son of the vineyard owner is a picture of the Lord Jesus. When the owner said, I will send my beloved son; it may be they will reverence him when they see him, he would normally be right. But in the parable, the son is rejected and killed. And that is what happened with the Lord Jesus. But the Jewish leaders did not get the message as Jesus declared it.
The Jewish priests and scribes gave only token recognition of God as the owner of the vineyard. In their minds, and in their practices, Judaism was theirs, with all of the components of their religion. They made all of the rules regarding its observance, and rejected all who opposed them. Only a few days would pass after the telling of the parable until they would scheme to get rid of Jesus, and would carry out their bloody scheme in total rejection of Him as the Son. Just as the actions of the husbandmen in the parable made no sense, it made no sense for the Jewish leaders to reject and kill the Lord Jesus as they did. When they completed their vile deed, did they think about the parable? When religion all around us gives no room for the person of Jesus Christ when He interferes with their religious positions and practices, do they realize that they are fitting themselves into this parable?
But there is another vineyard that offers an entirely different picture of this parable. Within this vineyard are people who at one time rejected and despised the messengers of the owner of the vineyard. Those who preached the Gospel and those whose lives were a testimony for God were shunned and opposed. But we have been changed by grace. The Gospel has transformed former rejectors and despisers into worshipers, those who truly reverence the Son. In the vineyard of God’s Assembly, we acknowledge the lordship of its Owner, and render service to Him. In the tiny sphere of the acceptance of the Son, we contrast sharply with the professing world around us that has no room for the Son.
Let us reverence the Son today, as we occupy and serve in His vineyard. It is only by His grace that we are here. – Jim MacIntosh