Surprise Persistence
by Eric Engelmann
All content © 2024 Static Force, LLC
When are we?
30 AD. This is near the end of Jesus' ministry on earth.
Where are we?
Jerusalem, in Israel. It's the place Jesus has said that prophets go to get killed. Jesus won’t get killed here – He’ll be sentenced here and be killed just outside the city.
Why are we here now?
We're going to look for the theme of permanence. Things that are permanent last. Permanence means something is going to be around for a long time. Rocks and stones are good pictures of permanence.
In the passage we're going to look at, rocks are not only explicitly talked about, they are also implied.
Biblically, we're going to a rock hunter's paradise. The main characters own rocks, or run enterprises built with rocks or in rocks.
The parable in this passage is a riddle. What do the farmers represent? The landowner? The son? Spoiler Alert! I think the farmers represent the government of Jerusalem in Jesus' time. The son represents Jesus, and the landowner is Jesus' Father in Heaven.
Scripture
Listen for indications of permanence -- things that last.
Matthew 21
Verse 33 “Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country.
NOTE: "Setting a hedge" can also mean "building a wall", probably with rocks. "Digging a wine press" can imply excavating into rock. Jesus is talking about a kind of spiritual permanence -- a secure spiritual dwelling. The landowner represents the Heavenly Father. The "farmers" were people who agreed to live in this spiritual community.
Verse 34 When the season for the fruit came near, he (the landowner) sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit.
NOTE: I think the servants were the Old Testament prophets.
Verse 35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they treated them the same way. 37 But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, then killed him.
That's the end of the passage.
-- Matt 21:33-39
In the Future
Jesus will be tried by representatives of the Jerusalem government. He will admit He is the Christ and say, "After this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky.”
Afterward, Jesus will be crucified and stay dead for three days.
Further in the future, God will make good on His promise that the government of Jerusalem and the people of the world will respect His Son. When Jesus comes on the clouds of the sky and shows His permanence, may as many as possible be respecting Him.
All content © 2024 Static Force, LLC