Luke 20 - Rejecting the King

We've been looking at a short series of parables from Luke's Gospel, and we look at the final one from Luke 20 that we've just read together.

You can listen to the others back online on our church website. I encourage you to look at that and any feedback we always appreciate.

Well, let's pray.

Before we look at God's Word together, let's do that now.

Our Father God, we have been reminded, as we've gathered today, of how fragile our lives are.

And Father, we recognize too that one day we will come to an end on this earth.

And so we pray and we ask that you will not let these moments or days pass us by without us reflecting and thinking hard about our own lives today,

how we live for you, and what is to come.

And we pray that by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would take your Word,

and you would drive it deep into our hearts and into our lives,

so that not one of us will leave this building

without meeting the Lord Jesus Christ,

our King,

our Saviour,

our Father,

and our Lord.

So, Father, please,

do your work amongst us.

Rebuke us where we need to be rebuked.

Comfort us where we need that comfort.

And build us up in the faith, we pray.

We ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Not long after Barack Obama was elected president for the very first time,

I met a businessman from the US.

And to make conversation, I asked him,

what do you think of your new president?

He replied rather angrily,

he ain't my president.

He then proceeded to explain how he never wanted him

and never voted for him.

However, even though he doesn't like Obama,

he is still his president.

No amount of rejection can actually change that fact.

Now, in a universal sense,

Jesus has been appointed King

over all peoples and over all nations.

We might not like that he is King.

We might not have voted him in as King.

But he is our King.

This became crystal clear when Jesus arrived into Jerusalem

as he was riding on a colt.

That very act of riding towards Jerusalem on a colt

fulfilled God's promise of an appointed king that was to come.

We can read about the crowd's reaction in chapter 19 of Luke,

if you just flick back a page.

Luke chapter 19, verse 38.

Luke 19:38

Here's the crowd's reaction as Jesus came.

Luke 19, verse 38.

Luke 19:38

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest

as the crowds celebrated the arrival of King Jesus.

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus,

Teacher, rebuke your disciples.

Tell them to stop behaving like this.

I tell you, Jesus replied,

if they keep quiet,

then the stones will cry out.

In other words, he's being very pointed towards them.

He is saying,

you might not like the fact that I am King.

You might reject my kingship,

but there is nothing and there is no one

who can stop me being King.

Of course, this only intensified

Jesus' relationship with the religious leaders.

It brought them into great conflict.

In verse 47 of chapter 19,

we read that every day,

Jesus was teaching in the temple,

but the chief priests,

the teachers of the law,

and the leaders among the people

were trying to kill him.

So the big question that is being put to us

in these couple of chapters

is, are we as people going to accept

or are we going to reject Jesus as King?

Now Jesus confronts us with this head on.

He tells us a parable

in chapter 20, verse 9,

that we had read to us.

Have a look at verse 9 with me of chapter 20.

He went on to tell the people this parable.

A man planted a vineyard,

rented it to some farmers,

and went away for a long time.

Now this whole theme of vineyard

that we have through the parable

is not just a nice way of introducing a story.

It was intentionally confrontational

on Jesus' part.

Have a look back.

Keep your finger in Luke 20

and flick back to Isaiah chapter 5, verse 1,

Isaiah 5:1

where we see the significance

of what the vineyard actually means

and what it was all about.

and why Jesus chose

that particular symbol.

Isaiah chapter 5.

Isaiah 5 · chapter mention

And we'll read at verse 1.

Verse 1 reads,

I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard.

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

And the question we need to ask,

well, who or what is this vineyard?

Well, the answer came, didn't it,

at the very end in verse 7.

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

is the house of Israel.

And the men and women of Judah

are a garden of his delight.

And what did he want

from this vineyard,

from this people?

Well, he looked for justice,

but saw bloodshed.

He looked for righteousness,

but heard only cries of distress.

Back to Luke 20.

So as Jesus starts out

on this story,

this parable of the vineyard,

Jesus is talking specifically

to the religious leaders.

And they're listening very carefully.

And as Jesus is talking to them,

it's beginning to twig.

The penny is beginning to drop.

They're thinking,

well, we're Israel.

We're God's people.

We are the vineyard.

This story that Jesus is telling us

is a story about us.

And as the story progressed,

they did not like this story.

Verse 19.

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.

Now, what Jesus was speaking pointedly

to the religious leaders,

he is now speaking directly to us.

You see, this story

is also our story too.

This is a story about our response

to King Jesus,

whether we accept him

or whether we reject him.

So there's three big things

that we're going to look at

as we look at this parable together.

First, we see the King's persistent grace

towards us.

Look at verse 10.

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.

Now, if it was you or I

who were telling this story,

if it was us who had made it up,

we probably would have gone

straight into verse 15.

Have a look there in verse 15,

the middle part of verse 15.

What then will the owner do?

What then will the owner

of the vineyard do to them?

He will come and kill those tenants.

I think that would be our response.

We would show no mercy.

They had their chance.

They didn't do it.

They beat up the servant.

Well, now we'll take it out on them.

But I want us to notice

that that's not how God deals

with his people.

He is persistent.

He is never giving up.

He is longing

that people will change their lives

and turn to him.

So after he has sent the first servant,

what do we read in verse 11?

He sent another servant.

But that one also they beat

and treated shamefully

and sent away empty-handed.

But he persists.

He doesn't give up.

Verse 12.

He sent still a third.

And they wounded him

and threw him out.

You see, throughout history,

God has pursued his people

through his word.

That's in effect the big story of Israel

throughout the Old Testament.

We read time after time

that God kept on sending his servants.

He kept on sending his prophets

to teach them,

to warn them,

to call them to himself.

One after another they came.

Century after century,

calling the people,

come back to your king.

Come back to your true king.

But they refused to listen.

This persistent grace of God

is reflected in the very words of Jesus.

Have a look back in Luke chapter 13.

Luke 13 · chapter mention

Jesus knew the significance

of the servants who kept coming

and the prophets who kept teaching.

Listen to what Jesus says in,

sorry, it's Luke chapter 12

Luke 12 · chapter mention

and verse,

no, Luke 13, verse 34.

Luke 13:34

Sorry, Luke 13, verse 34.

Luke 13:34

As Jesus looks over Jerusalem,

the city and its people,

this is what he says,

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

you who kill the prophets

and stone those sent to you,

how often I have longed

to gather your children together

as a hen gathers her chicks

under her wings.

But you are not willing.

And I think that's the pattern

of God with us.

He continues to pursue us.

He persists in grace

while we resist in rebellion.

Day after day,

year after year,

God in his faithfulness

has provided those

who will lovingly teach God's word.

For some of us,

that's from the very beginning

within our own homes,

through Sunday school,

within the church family,

God has intervened

time and time again,

persisting with his grace.

God in his grace

brings his word,

longing that we would

gather to him,

just like a little chick

finds its shelter

under its mother's wings.

But the depth of this pursuit

of God's grace

is seen in the sending

of his very own son.

Back in Luke 20,

he sent one servant,

then another servant,

then still a third servant,

and then in verse 13,

we read this,

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.

Now it's not hard for us

to see what Jesus

is saying here,

is it?

God has not

withheld his love

from us.

He has given to us

the ultimate prophet,

the final word,

Jesus Christ himself,

the God-man

who came into this world,

the one,

the person in whom

we find forgiveness,

peace,

and joy

and eternal life.

He gives to us

his own son.

But those who listened

didn't want to hear

what Jesus had to say.

They didn't want

Jesus as king.

And the great tragedy

of this story is

that they began

to act out

this story

in real life.

the tenants

became real.

Within three days

of Jesus telling

this story,

the same people

who listened

had Jesus

hanging on a cross.

Now we need

to be so careful

that we don't

become like them.

You see,

to reject God's word,

to ignore what God

has to say to us

through his son

is to kill him.

Look what they say

in verse 14.

This is the heir.

Let's kill him

and the inheritance

will be ours.

We don't want

Jesus ruling us.

We want to be the boss.

And so we kill him.

We shut him out

of our lives.

We close over his word.

We neither look at it,

read it,

nor listen to it.

We crucify him

so that he has

no part

in our lives.

But what seemed

to be such

a tragic death

as Jesus died

on the cross

was actually

God's ultimate

and greatest

act of grace

towards us,

his people.

Through his death,

Jesus was taking

the blame

for all the times

we have rejected him

and ignored him.

This king came down

and he died for us

so that we could be forgiven

and know his good

and kind

and loving rule.

God has been persistent

in bringing his word

and giving to us

of his son.

So he is persistent

in his grace.

But there's a second thing.

There is the king's

irreversible judgment

upon us.

You see,

while God is persistent

with his grace,

it will not be available

forever.

Eventually,

a time will come

when rather than

us experiencing

his grace,

we will experience

his judgment.

Look at verse 15.

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.

You see,

God is patient.

God is long-suffering.

But the day will come

when his patience

has run out.

He will bring

his judgment

on all those

who have refused

to bow the knee

and acknowledge him

as king.

Now let's remember,

God is not some

mean and capricious,

violent God

who wakes up

having a bad day

and decides to

take it out

on his people

and go,

oh, I'll just strike

that one down

or I'll strike

that one down.

No,

God's judgment

comes

at the very end

it is a culmination

of a long,

long process

of pursuing grace

down through the years.

It is his very

last act

of work.

You see,

God's judgment

is God giving to us

what we have asked for.

If we persist

in rejecting him,

he will eventually

reject us.

If we tell him

often enough,

I don't want you,

he will separate us

from him

for all eternity.

C.S. Lewis

put it like this,

there are only

two kinds of people,

those who say,

thy will be done

to God,

or those to whom

God in the end

says,

thy will will be done.

God in the end

in other words,

all that are in hell

choose it

because they have

rejected Jesus

as king.

Our judgment,

if it were to come,

is ultimately deserved.

We only have

ourselves

to blame.

And part of that

judgment

will also mean

the removal

of God's grace.

Look at these

searching words

again in verse 15.

What then will

the owner of the

vineyard do to them?

He will come

and kill those tenants,

there will be punishment,

and give the vineyard

to others.

Now let's remember

who Jesus is speaking to.

He was talking

to the people

of Israel

and to her leaders.

They were a rich

and privileged people.

God had chosen

these people

out of all the nations

of the earth.

He had set

his love

upon them.

He had rescued them.

He had provided

for them.

He had given them

blessing

after blessing.

But they had

stubbornly

refused

his grace.

You see,

to refuse

his grace

means

he will remove

his grace

from us

and give it

to others.

And if God

did that

with Israel

and opened

the doorway

to the Gentiles,

to people like

you and me,

do you not think

that God can do

the same again

with his church,

with his people?

You see,

just as God

looked for fruit

from the leaders

of Israel,

he looked

for righteousness,

but he heard

cries of distress.

He looked for justice,

but he saw bloodshed.

He looked for those

who would produce fruit,

a life in keeping

with a follower

and a disciple

of Jesus.

He looks for it.

Verse 10,

at harvest time

he sent a servant

to the tenants

so they would

give him

some of the fruit

of the vineyard.

He has entrusted

to us the church

with the blessing

of his grace.

If you are a believer

today,

if you are part

of God's family,

God has given you

and entrusted

his grace

into your life

to work it

in your own life,

to share it

to the world.

And if we fail

to use that grace,

if we fail

to put that grace

to work

in our own lives,

he will take it

and he will give it

to another.

God does not owe us.

We have no special

claim on God.

The great tragedy

is that those

who have had a taste

of God's grace

grace,

but do not

produce fruit.

He will remove

that grace from us

and give it to one

who will produce fruit.

Are you

ignoring

God's grace

in your life?

Are you

persisting

in sin

and disobedience

and walking

your own way?

God's grace

will be

be very,

very careful

that you do not

misuse

or abuse

his grace.

So God

is persistent.

The king

will come

to judge.

And third,

the king's

eternal rule

over us.

Those who

listen to Jesus

may have

rejected his rule.

they may

have killed

him and hung

him on a cross.

But he still

rules

over us.

He rules

by

his resurrection.

Look at

verse 16.

We'll read

the middle

of verse 16.

When the people

heard this,

they said,

may this

never be.

In other words,

they couldn't

contemplate that

God would

ever,

ever remove

his favour

or his grace

from them.

God's not

going to have

the last say.

We'll have

the last say.

We'll kill

him.

Verse 17,

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.

The imagery

is so striking.

The one

stone that

the builders

throw into

the waste

pile and

see no use

of has

become the

most important

stone in

the whole

building.

The capstone

was that last

and final

stone that

went on the

top and

held everything

together.

And Jesus

is saying,

I am that

stone.

You found

no use for

me.

You didn't

want me.

You rejected

me through

your life,

but I am

the capstone.

I am the

one who

rules and

who reigns

over you.

And I

think Jesus

is pointing

very clearly

to his

resurrection.

In three

days of

Jesus telling

this story,

Jesus was

rejected.

He was

tossed to

one side,

rejected,

killed,

and hung

on a cross

by the

people.

But three

days after

that event,

Jesus rose

victoriously

from the

grave over

his enemies,

defeating

death,

triumphing

over the

grave.

By his

resurrection,

Jesus has

become the

capstone.

He rules

over all.

But it is

not just

his resurrection.

He rules

on his

return.

You see,

not everybody

sees it this

way.

not everyone

except that

Jesus rose

and that

he is

king.

They still

go on

rejecting

and refusing

his kingship.

But the

risen king

will come

again.

And all

who have

resisted

him

will see

and will

know

that he

is king.

Verse

18.

Everyone

who falls

on that

stone will

be broken

to pieces.

But he

on whom

it falls

will be

crushed.

You see

what it's

saying?

If we

persist in

our rejection,

if we

continually

push

against

his

gentle

spirit,

it will

be like

walking

into a

large

stone

or rock.

It will

break us

and destroy

us.

Verse

18.

Everyone

who falls

on that

stone will

be broken

to pieces.

In fact,

if we

continue in

our rejection

of him,

if we

insist on

ignoring his

grace and

favour towards

us,

then we

will not

only be

broken,

we will

be crushed.

Look at

the end

of verse

18.

But he

on whom

it falls

will be

crushed.

One day

the risen

Lord Jesus

will come

again and

establish his

eternal

kingdom and

he will

bring all

his people

who love

him and

know him

and they

will be

part of

that for

all eternity.

But those

who have

stood opposed

to him,

those who

have fought

against him,

who have

resisted his

spirit and

his grace,

all who

have used

and abused

his grace,

will be

crushed

beneath his

power.

This week,

as I had

time with

Mrs.

Daunt and

as I've

been talking

with Jean,

it's been a

privilege.

For somebody

like Mrs.

Daunt,

she's now

with her

king because

she trusted

in her

king.

A simple

faith and

that is

where she

is with

the Lord

today.

Last night

some of us

were with

Jean and

in her

confused mind

she still

was able to

utter the

words,

I know

where I'm

going.

Isn't that

great?

She trusts

her king.

She has

accepted her

king.

she knows

grace in

her life.

The question

is,

do we all

know that

grace?

Have we

taken it

in and

accept Jesus'

rule over

every aspect

of our

life,

letting him

rule as

we submit

to him?

Don't let

these days

pass without

God doing

that work

in your

life.

let's

pray.

Lord Jesus,

we bow

before you

in humility

for you

are king.

You are

our lord

and you

are our

savior.

We thank

you so

much for

your

persistent

and amazing

grace,

continually

chasing

after us,

longing that

we would

gather to

you,

just like

the chick

gathers under

the wings

of its

mother.

We thank

you that

we can

find safety

and security,

joy and

peace within

you.

And

father,

we pray

that if we

have not yet

trusted or

if we have

been resisting,

that you

would break

our spirit,

that we

would bow

and accept

you and

love you

and adore

you.

And we

pray that we

ourselves would

have opportunity

that we may

share of this

grace with

all those that

we meet this

coming week,

opportunity to

share of the

hope that we

have in Christ

and the joy

that it

brings.

Please help

us,

father.

We ask

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going

to sing

together

a hymn

about the

kingship of

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Behold our

God,

seated on

his throne.

Come,

let us

adore him.

If Jesus

is your

king and

you know

his grace,

then sing

it out

loud to

encourage one

another as

we give our

praise to

the Lord.

Let's stand

together as

we sing.