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Now
listen to this story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall
around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout
tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another
country. At the time of the grape harvest he sent his servants to collect his
share of the crop. But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one,
and stoned another. So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to
collect for him, but the results were the same. Finally, the owner sent his son,
thinking, `Surely they will respect my son.' But when the farmers saw his son
coming, they said to one another, `Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on,
let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!' So they grabbed him, took him
out of the vineyard, and murdered him. “When the owner of the vineyard
returns," Jesus asked, "what do you think he will do to those
farmers?" The religious leaders replied, "He will put the wicked men
to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share
of the crop after each harvest." Then Jesus asked them, "Didn't you
ever read this in the Scriptures? `The stone rejected by the builders has now
become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous to see.'
What I mean is that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to
a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone
will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls." When
the leading priests and Pharisees heard Jesus, they realized he was pointing at
them--that they were the farmers in his story. They wanted to arrest him, but
they were afraid to try because the crowds considered Jesus to be a prophet. (Matthew
21:33-46 NLV). The readings that tell the story of Palm Sunday cover 141 verses in the Gospel of Matthew. So much happened that day. Today’s reading points to the judgment of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. There is a wonderful lesson here. From the time that we were little children, many of us learned to say, "Jesus died for me." Sometimes I wonder what that means to some of the people that I have heard say it. I especially wonder when I occasionally hear the phrase, "Jesus died to save our sins." Even when it is correctly stated that Jesus died to save us from our sins, what does that actually mean to us? This week and this day bring us face to face with the Biblical and other images of the atonement, the act of God that reunites us with Him as His children. But consider also the part that others played. What possessed the scribes, priests, elders and Pharisees to want Jesus dead? Who declared that war and why? Caiaphas and the others were concerned that Rome would get wind of Jesus' popularity and make trouble for the Jews. They were afraid that Judaism itself would be blamed and the Temple desecrated. They didn't even want God to mess with their religion, let alone Rome! Even with that understanding, and with the advice of Caiaphas that it was better that one man die than that the whole nation perish, I have a hard time imagining why they would become so blood-thirsty. I agree with the sniper's instructor. Killing doesn't make sense. Then again, it never does, but when I pick up the newspaper or turn on the TV news, I hear one account after another of someone being killed. People die every day over politics and national causes, let alone over dope, or for a few dollars in a cash register. As impossible as all of that is to understand, the bigger question comes when we consider that Jesus went to Jerusalem knowing what would happen there. When they arrested Him, He did nothing to stop it. When they accused Him falsely, He didn't defend Himself. And when they went through with their plans, He didn't stop them. It staggers your imagination even more by knowing that Jesus let it all happen...all the suffering and the dying...for you. You matter that much to Him. Now repeat that phrase, "Jesus died for me." What a reason to celebrate in humility and awe! |
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