Last week’s sermon looked at maybe the craziest of Jesus’ parables; the parable of the tenants (Matt 21:33-46). It’s about an investor who renovates his farm to rent to some farmers, who pay ‘rent’ by giving the owner a certain share of the crop. So when harvest time came, the owner sent a servant to ‘collect his fruit’ (v. 34).
The tenants however proceed to mistreat and kill each consecutive servant. Why? Because they no longer want to be just tenants, but owners (v. 38). This parable is specifically directed at the nation of Israel (v. 45). They had forgotten that the Promised Land was a gift, and had rejected or killed the messengers (prophets) God had sent to remind them that they owe God ‘rent’ (i.e. their allegiance).
Yet is this not the general human condition? We hate being told we’re but tenants on this earth, because it means we’re not in charge; God is. As such, we cannot just do whatever we want. The ‘fruit’ God desires is that we live His way.
Yet the crazy thing about this parable is that God keeps sending servant after servant, even though they keep getting killed. Why doesn’t he send the authorities to bring the tenants to justice? Even more insane is the fact that he then sends his son into this volatile environment. The million-dollar question is, why?
It’s because there is something more important to God than his ‘fruit’. That is that he wants a relationship with the tenants; with you and me. The reason he sends his son is to say ‘the way I’m going to deal with your rejection of my grace in creation is by giving you and even greater example of my grace in redemption’. When we see the extent to which our ‘landowner’ has gone to get into a relationship with us, how can we not repent of pretending to be this world’s owner, and rather give God his ‘rent’; a heart that loves and serves him?
