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WHAT MORE CAN GOD DO TO PRODUCE GODLY PEOPLE?
In
the name + of Jesus.
The parable Jesus told is linked to our Old Testament lesson. That parable, The Song of the Vineyard, would have been well known to Jesus’ audience, although I guess it is more of a lament than a song. After citing all the work he had done to make a fertile and productive vineyard, the Lord did not find the good fruits he was looking for. Instead of good grapes, the vineyard yielded only bad grapes. The Lord then posed this question: “What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it” (Isaiah 5:4)? Because of the Lord’s work and the Lord’s care, the vineyard did not lack anything. Yet, it produced nothing good. The Lord was grieved by this, and judgment followed.
The parable
recorded in Matthew’s Gospel was told with Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard in
mind. In this case, the vineyard was
given to certain tenants. The tenants
had done nothing to build the vineyard.
They did not furnish it with a fence and a tower for protection, nor did
they lay down a winepress for a pleasing vintage. Yet, they were given charge of the vineyard. When it came time for the harvest, the master
of the vineyard sent messengers to receive some of the fruits from his
vineyard. The tenants seemed to think
that the master no longer had the rights to his own vineyard. Their total access to it made them think that
they had authority over it. Some of the
master’s messengers they beat; others they killed. “Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect
my son’” (Matthew 21:37). The tenants demonstrated how much they despised their
master by killing his son, assuming that they would become the possessors of
the vineyard with the death of the master’s son.
Now, the vineyard
is the kingdom of God. The Lord had chosen
the people of Israel for his very own.
He set them apart for blessings.
He promised to supply them with everything they needed. He granted them the Promised Land, giving
them fields they had not tilled, vineyards they had not planted, and cities they
had not built. In turn, he sought their
obedience and praise. When he did not
get it, he dealt with them patiently. He
sent prophets to call the people back to him.
Some prophets they beat; others they killed. Finally, God the Father sent his Son to the
people. Surely, if they were God’s
people, they would respect God’s Son and listen to him. Of course, you know the end of the
story. The religious leaders plotted to
kill the Son of God, convinced that this would preserve their prestige and
their nation. About 72 hours after Jesus
had told them this parable, they carried out their plans and killed the master’s
son.
The lament from Isaiah
can be repeated here. “What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it” (Isaiah 5:4)? In fact, we can consider
that question in an even greater context.
What more can God do to produce godly people?
We can go all
the way back to Creation. God formed the
man and the woman to live in a perfect world.
They were created in the image of God, being in perfect harmony with God. They were not only eager to do God’s will,
they could do it. God had provided for
them everything they needed. The earth
was not lacking in food, in beauty, and in peace. In turn, God called on his people to honor
and thank him with obedience to his commands.
What more could God have done to produce godly people? That’s how he made them. But the man and the woman abandoned their
state of innocence and peace. They tried
to steal glory and honor by taking the one thing God had forbidden. That rebellious nature has not subsided in
anyone since then.
What more can
God do to produce godly people today? God
provides everything we need. He causes
the sun to rise each day and sends rain to water the earth so that it
produces. He causes the seeds to sprout
and to bring forth food for people and animals alike. He continues to bring forth new generations and
blesses them with intelligence and creativity.
He puts us in vocations so that our lives have purpose and so that our
skills and interests can serve for the benefit of other people. And even though the world is flawed, it still
retains its beauty—lakes and mountains, rainbows and flowers, music and
laughter. God has not been stingy with
his gifts. In turn, he wants people to
recognize his goodness and to respond with loving and willing obedience to his
word. What more can God do to produce
godly people?
Like Adam and
Eve, we turn from our Lord, convinced that true happiness comes from taking
what God has forbidden. We live for
ourselves, as if God’s purpose for us is stupid or cruel. When God instructs us to control our speech,
to curb our lusts, to be generous with our money, and to forgive freely, we
regard God as an intruder. We react as
if God has no business telling us how to live our lives—even though he has
given us everything. We do not give God
the fruits, that is, we do not give God the good works he made us for. Repent.
What more can God
do to produce godly people? Jesus let
the priests and the rabbis come to their own conclusion on the parable. He presented the case, and they rendered the
judgment. “‘When therefore the owner of the vineyard
comes, what will he do to those tenants?’
They
said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let
out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons’”
(Matthew 21:40-41). The Lord may be slow to anger, but his anger will
flare up. He may deal patiently with us,
but his patience does have a limit. And
so it was with the religious leaders who were plotting the death of Jesus. Their rebellion ended up bringing judgment
upon themselves and upon all who dwelt in Jerusalem. The Lord’s judgment was carried out with bloody
and deadly results when Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed by the Romans
in 70 AD. The judgment Jesus had
foretold was fulfilled: “I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from
you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43). Indeed, the has kingdom shifted from being mainly
of Jewish to mainly Gentile. It is good to
consider this warning; for, the kingdom can be stripped from us if we fail to hear
the word of the Lord and do it.
Jesus cannot be ignored. At some point, whether in life or in death, people
will have to face Jesus. He declared, “The stone that the builders rejected has
become the cornerstone… The one who
falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone,
it will crush him” (Matthew 21:42-44). If we fall upon the stone, we will be broken to
pieces. God’s Law shatters any illusions
that we have done enough to be pleasing to God.
But this serves a good purpose.
For, this is what the Lord says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm
51:17). The Lord, however, binds up those who are crushed by the Law, and he causes those who mourn over their sins to rejoice. On the other hand, those who will not repent
of their sin, those who scorn God’s word and deny Jesus Christ, will eventually
have to face him in judgment. Then the
cornerstone will fall upon them, and they will be crushed in judgment.
The Lord, however,
does not produce godly people by threats and judgment. That might make someone behave for a while,
but threats do not change hearts.
Threats only produce fear and resentment. Therefore, the Lord acted in great love on
behalf of rebellious people.
What more can
God do to produce godly people? More
than we deserve. When the master sent
his son to the vineyard, he did so knowing that his son would be killed by the tenants. In fact, that was the plan. Jesus quoted the Psalms, “The stone that the builders rejected has
become the cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22). Everything that their nation and their temple were built
on, the leaders rejected—just as the Psalm foretold it. Despite that rejection, Jesus proved to be
the one on whom the kingdom of God is founded and on which it stands forever.
The Lord allowed
the religious leaders to carry out their evil plot, and it was evil. Yet, God used their evil for his own good purposes. The death of Jesus is the payment for the
sins of the world. The curse which fell
upon Jesus is the curse of our sins.
Jesus was crushed under God’s judgment.
He bore the curse because we had sought to gain glory by taking what God
forbids and by scorning God’s commands.
Jesus died as a wretch and took on the miserable death which is due
sinners. That is the ransom price for
us, and by paying it, Jesus has redeemed us from death and hell. This is why the Father sent Jesus, and this is
why Jesus willingly came to be crucified.
What more could Jesus do to produce godly people? Jesus has restored us to the Lord’s vineyard
where we get to serve him in peace.
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the
cornerstone” (Matthew 21:42). The kingdom of God is founded upon Jesus Christ. We do not have a dead Savior who can’t do
anything for us. Jesus is risen from the
dead and lives and reigns over all things.
He lives to pardon sinners. He
lives to bind up the broken hearted. He
lives to bring healing to people who are scarred by guilt. Jesus cleanses people who are smeared in shame.
Jesus has overcome death to assure you
that you will be raised up to live in everlasting peace. And Jesus has granted you new life already
now. You have not only been saved from
sin and death, you have been saved for good works. What more can he do? Jesus has restored you to the Father and has
restored you to the purpose for which you were created. Jesus has made you God’s people, and he works
in you to produce the very fruits God wants to see in his people. And the Father is pleased with your works
because Jesus has made you pleasing to him.
St. Paul wrote, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14). Just as the tenants did nothing to make the vineyard but received it free of charge, so we have done nothing to gain our place in the kingdom of God. We have been given our place free of charge. What more can God do to produce godly people? And what more can we do, except to respond with thanks and with glad and willing obedience?
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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