“Accepting Jesus into your heart” is a phrase often used to describe becoming a Christian. I question the clarity of that word though. In my personal opinion, the word “accepting” makes it sound too easy. Like accepting a Christmas gift from a loved one or accepting a new friend into your life. Those metaphors are way too convenient to describe what actually following Jesus is like. Actually following Jesus is submission. It’s the total surrender of every area of our lives to Jesus’ rightful authority as the crucified and risen King. Not following Jesus is rebellion.
This year at Calvary, we’re learning to…
“Live The Cross-Shaped Life” – Cruciformity is learning to embody the self-sacrificial love of King Jesus, which God always deserves and honors.
God doesn’t always make things easy for His people, but He always makes it worth it. The living, breathing proof of this is Jesus. Everything about Jesus is humble self-sacrifice from birth to death, but God brought Him back to life and crowned Him King of kings. That’s cruciformity, and we’re learning His cross-shaped story as we preach through the Gospel according to Matthew.
We’re also learning cruciformity in the beatitudes, the cross-shaped attitudes of God’s kingdom people. We’ll be memorizing all eight beatitudes this year; we’re all the way up to the seventh:
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9 NIV)
Blessed are the peacemakers. Christians get to not only have peace with God but also to make peace with others. We’ll talk more about this kind of peace and the opportunity we have to make it in the next few weeks, but I want to point out that, though Christ Himself was a peacemaker, He faced a ton of hate, especially during Holy Week.
THE STORY
During Holy Week, the kingdoms of God and of this world collided. (21:23-27)
Over the next few months, we’re studying Holy Week…Jesus’ week in Jerusalem that culminates in His crucifixion and resurrection. Matthew tells the story of Holy Week in chapters 21-28. 8 chapters for 8 days. Jesus entered Jerusalem on a Sunday. Then, on Monday, he cast out the money-changers and those selling sacrificial animals from the temple, and began to heal the hurting and teach people about God. It’s in response to all of this that the religious come to Jesus. Peace is not possible when the kingdom of this world collides with the kingdom of God.
23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
The temple leaders are essentially asking Jesus, “Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to do all these things? Who died and made You king?” Their question is about authority. The temple leaders had always been in charge, but here comes Jesus, who’s demanding and making change for God’s glory and others’ good. Many still question Jesus’ authority today. Some trust other authorities such as science and reason. “If it can’t be observed and tested by the scientific method, then I don’t buy it.” Others trust personal experience and opinion. “The most important truth to me is my truth.” Still others might trust the opinions of others…whatever their friends, family, or favorite public personality says. But we trust in King Jesus.
24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Now, Jesus has been clear throughout His ministry that He represents God, so He doesn’t even answer their question. In fact, John the Baptist, who came before Jesus, also claimed to represent God and then endorsed Jesus. So if the temple leaders can’t come to terms with John the Baptist, they’ll never submit to Jesus. And they don’t. The temple leaders chose to play dumb rather than discredit the popular John the Baptist…let alone submit to Christ’s authority.
Jesus now tells three parables to rebuke the religious leaders for their rebellion against God. We’ll look at the first two this week and the third next week
Parable #1: The Obedient and Disobedient Sons (21:28-31a)
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29 ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 31a Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered.
The point of the parable is clear: Actions speak louder than words. The religious leaders themselves acknowledge this! So Jesus teaches a cross-shaped lesson and wants the religious leaders to embrace it…
A Cross-Shaped Lesson: The “bigger sinners” actually repented. (21:31b-32)
31b Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”
When tax collectors heard John the Baptist’s message of repentance–that they should not take more taxes than necessary–they repented! When the prostitutes heard John’s message of repentance–that they should turn from sexual sin–they repented! When the religious leaders heard John’s message of repentance–that they should teach and embody the ways of God–they rejected it! When the religious leaders saw the transformation of tax collectors and prostitutes into disciples, they still rejected it! That’s not to say that every tax collector and prostitute repented and followed Jesus, but it was a surprisingly large amount compared to how few religious leaders are following Jesus. Yet Jesus still left the door open for the religious leaders to come in. He wants them to!
I’m concerned about all the people who might be paying lip service to God today. A lot of people might say, “I believe in God,” or even “I believe in Jesus,” but true repentance is shown through action. Accepting Jesus is submitting to Him and His ways. It’s not paying Jesus lip service, over-promising and then under-delivering. True, saving faith requires us to give up our own authority and recognize Christ’s. That may sound difficult, but it’s easy for those who recognize His worth! The tax collectors and prostitutes that Jesus reached out to recognize Jesus’ worth and authority; do we?
Parable #2: The Rebellious Tenants (21:33-41)
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.”
Jesus appears to base this parable on a passage from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah:
“I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit…The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.” (Isaiah 5:1-7)
Isaiah used the vineyard as a metaphor for God’s people Israel. The vineyard was supposed to produce good fruit for the one who planted, cultivated, and protected it. In Isaiah, the good fruit was justice and righteousness. Justice and righteousness are a way of summarizing obedience to all of God’s law, which Jesus would summarize as “loving God with all of your heart and mind and soul and strength” and “loving your neighbor as yourself.” Right relationships with God and people.
But Jesus adds a twist to His parable. His vineyard has tenants, who are to serve the owner of the vineyard by harvesting the fruit. The tenants, as we’ll see, are Israel’s leaders, and they should be working toward good fruit: justice and righteousness, loving God supremely and loving others as yourself. But, according to Jesus’ parable, the religious leaders are NOT doing their job…
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”
If the tenants are Israel’s leaders, then the servants are God’s prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, even John the Baptist, those whom God sent to warn of judgment and call to repentance. But each of the prophets were rejected. The owner then sent his very own son, who is Jesus. Jesus is not merely God’s representative but God-in-the flesh, the second Person of the Trinity who added to His divine nature a human nature in order to carry out God’s plan. But the wicked spiritual leaders of Israel not only rejected Him…they would kill Him! And there would be consequences for that:
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? 41 He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
From this parable, Jesus highlighted…
Two Surprising, Cross-Shaped Reversals (21:42-46)
#1 The rejected Son will be vindicated.
Don’t you love a good plot twist? It’s a tiny hobbit who throws the evil, magical ring into the volcano. Darth Vader is Luke’s father?!?! If George Bailey was never born, life wouldn’t have been so wonderful. Cruciformity is like a plot twist. A reversal. And Jesus is the first one…
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
The first surprising, cross-shaped reversal is that the very One who was rejected would be victorious, would be enthroned. Jesus quoted from Psalm 118:22-23 about the rejected stone that becomes a cornerstone. In Israel, people built with stone much more often than wood. Builders would pick the best stones to build with, and they’d pick the very best stone to be the cornerstone. But, in the biblical metaphor, the “experts” discarded the stone because it looked unimpressive and useless.
It would be like using a small stone in a construction project. From an expert’s perspective, it’s useless; from God’s perspective, it’s essential. The spiritual leaders looked at Jesus and judged Him unimpressive. He was too, I don’t know, poor in spirit, meek, hungry-for righteousness, pure in heart, etc. But God saw Jesus and miraculously made Him King of kings.
#2 The fruitless will be traded for the fruitful.
43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Here’s the second reversal: the ones who rejected Jesus will lose their authority and be judged and the authority they once had will be given to others…to those who do produce kingdom fruit: justice and righteousness…loving God and loving people. The “people who will produce kingdom fruit” are His disciples, His church, a mixture of both Jews and Gentiles who take submission to Jesus seriously and help each follow all of His ways.
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Again, the religious leaders are motivated by love for wealth, honor, and power…not by a sincere desire to know and follow God. They know what Jesus is saying and look for a way to silence him.
THE APPLICATIONS
#1 Whether God accepts you depends on whether you submit to Jesus.
My hope is that you’d follow Jesus because you’ve seen who He is and what He’s like and what He’s all about. Unlike the chief priests and Pharisees who rejected Him. We might not be like those Jewish religious leaders, whose wealth and honor was threatened by Jesus. But the authority of Jesus threatens us in other ways.
Jesus threatens our rule over our own lives, our homes, our businesses, our ministries, our churches, our governments, etc. But those who never really ours to begin with. We’re all just tenants, renters, put in charge of things, yes, but only under the rule of the crucified and King Jesus. Jesus is not optional; He’s essential to every single one of us. Noone survives God’s just wrath for sin apart from forgiveness found in Christ. Noone knows exactly how to live a life that matters, that honors our Maker apart from Christ.
We’re welcoming four new church members today. They have, in their own way, surrendered themselves to Jesus and been accepted by Him! At some point in the past, they began asking for the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus who died for their sin. And they continue to live in allegiance to Him, not perfection, but continually coming back to Him when they fail. Read their stories and get to know them. And if you need help and prayer to begin your walk of submission to Christ, please reach out to us.
#2 The church’s submission to Jesus produces the fruit of obedience.
As churches learn to truly submit themselves to Jesus, we do produce fruit for Him, the fruit of justice and righteousness, love for God, love for others. Calvary Church is far from perfect, but we are growing in this! Thanks to God’s provision and your generous donations of time, talent, treasure, and testimony…
- Our core ministries–like worship gatherings, LIFEgroups, kids and students ministries–are able to be fully staffed and supported in order to make disciples.
- Our missional partners continue to receive support for malign disciples all over the world.
- The benevolent fund meets needs in our church.
- The pantry ministry meets needs in our church and community.
- People who are connected through LIFEgroups and other means look out for each other in times of crisis.
- Ruth Rose leads members to look in after housebound and hurting members.
- People help one another with home and auto repair.
This is all only a result of learning from Jesus, not merely accepting Him but submitting to Him.
Questions for Reflection and/or Discussion
- Why were the Jewish religious leaders unwilling to submit to Jesus’ authority? What areas of your life have you had the most difficulty submitting to Jesus?
- How does the parable of the two sons challenge you spiritually?
- How does the parable of the rebellious tenants challenge you spiritually?
- Have you ever accepted Jesus into your heart? In what ways has that been reflected in how you actually live your life for Jesus?
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