Beloved Vineyard

Notes on a sermon from Matthew 21:33-46

This is the parable about the "Tenant Farmers" who take over the Vineyard of the Lord and act like they own the place.  It's pretty clear that Jesus is aiming the parable at the religious leaders of His day, but it's also aimed at the religious leaders of our day (including preachers like me), warning us that the vineyard belongs to Him, not to us. 

So in the story the focus is on the Owner and the Messengers, and the Tenant Farmers who kill the Son.  But what becomes of the vineyard? 

No matter what the Tenants are doing, the vineyard is still the Beloved of God.  No matter how well or how poorly the Tenants are caring for God's vineyard, He loves it with an unbelievable love.  No matter whether the religious leaders or pastors or whoever is "in charge" are sincere and upright people or totally evil, God loves His people with a love that passes all our understanding and all our imagination.  No matter whether the people of God are well cared for by their leaders or not, they are always well-beloved by the Father whose Son gave His very life for them.

I know that sometimes the people of God suffer greatly because of the sins of their leaders, and need deep healing for that suffering and those wounds.  But deeper than those wounds is the love of God for them.  That love sustains them even through the worst from their leaders, heals them with His tender love and compassion, and lifts them up again in His care. 

The tenants come and go, but the vineyard is the Lord's Beloved forever.