We are the Tenants

 

Based on Matthew 21:33-46

            Last week, we considered one of the questions that Matthew’s church was asking: why is it that the chief priests and elders didn’t get who Jesus is. We considered that the leaders were blinded by their power and could not see, or admit to themselves, that Jesus clearly had divine authority. How else could he work the miracles he did, the healings, and the teachings? It was so obvious, but they could not see it. All they saw in Jesus was a threat that needed eliminated. They misappropriated their authority. They forgot that their authority had been given them by God, that it was not their authority to protect. Power can play tricks on people.

            This week, we are going to see how Matthew takes one of Jesus’ stories to answer another question his church asked: why was the Temple destroyed and Jerusalem wiped off the map. This story of the wicked tenants that Jesus tells, based on a prophecy from Isaiah 5:1-7, helps explain why God allowed the Temple to be destroyed, the chief priests and elders to be killed or otherwise dispersed, and their leadership to be taken away from them.

            Let me give you a quick review of some history that will help us understand better what Matthew, through Jesus, is doing with this story. Around 70 AD there was a rebellion in Jerusalem against Rome. It was the latest in a number of uprisings that had occurred over the years. This one was the final straw. Caesar sent in the military who proceeded to destroy the Temple, heavily damage the city of Jerusalem, and, for good measure, renamed the city Aelia Capitolina which remained a Roman colony until 638 when it was occupied by the Arabs.

            As you can imagine, this was a deep shock to Israel. The Temple was at the center of their religious practice. It was the place where God dwelt. The center of their religion was wiped out. How are they to practice their religion without the Temple? What did this say about their relationship with God? It was incredibly destabilizing for Jews, a time of deep crisis, being forced to rethink how to practice their religion and to worship God. Those who followed Jesus, of course, saw themselves as the new Israel, if you will. The Temple in Jerusalem was no longer needed because those who follow Jesus become temples where the Holy Spirit dwells. But now I’m slipping away from history and getting into theology. Let’s get back to the story of the wicked tenants.

            In this story, it is pretty easy to see who represents who. The landowner, of course, is God. The wicked tenants are the chief priests and elders and, perhaps, the Pharisees who get included later in today’s passage. The servants sent by the landowner are prophets. The son he sends is Jesus. It is significant that the wicked tenants throw the son out of the vineyard and kill him. Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem. The vineyard, by the way, represents Israel and/or the kingdom of God. The other tenants that the landlord hires represent perhaps the leaders of the church, or maybe all the followers of Jesus.

            The key verse in this story, and maybe one of the most important verses in Matthew, is verse 43: “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.” Why was the Temple destroyed and the chief priests and elders scattered? Why was Jerusalem destroyed and turned into a Roman colony? Because the leaders, the chief priests, the elders, the Pharisees, they all rejected those whom God had sent. They rejected the prophet John. They rejected and even had killed the son of God, Jesus. So, God took the kingdom of God away from them. That is why this terrible thing had happened. Because of the wickedness of the leaders, the Temple was lost.

            But God had not abandoned Israel. The vineyard was not destroyed. Only the wicked tenants had been removed. According to this story, God selected other tenants to care for the vineyard. In other words, God placed those who believed in Jesus and followed the way of Jesus into the vineyard. The tenants in God’s vineyard now, the leaders of Israel, is Matthew’s church. The point that Matthew is making is that Israel still exists. The disciples of Jesus are the other tenants that the landowner leased the vineyard to who will give the produce at harvest time. It is the disciples of Jesus, the church, that produces the fruits of the kingdom.

            For Matthew’s church, comprised mostly of Jews but also a few Gentiles, this would be an encouraging word indeed. It helped them come to grips with the loss of the Temple. It helped them understand that they, as Jewish disciples of Jesus, continued the religion, maintained the relationship between God and the chosen people Israel. The church represented the continuation of God’s covenant with Israel. God did not abandon Israel. God had simply taken away the authority of the chief priests and elders and laid the authority on the apostles. And instead of having a physical Temple in a city, each believer became a temple where God resided.

            So, what about us? To answer that question could open a huge can of worms. You all know how fraught is the history of Judaism and Christianity. Matthew does an excellent job of explaining to 1^st century Jewish Christians why the Temple was destroyed and the priesthood was scattered. That was a critical question that needed answered in those days. But in our context, as a predominantly Gentile Christian tradition in the 21^st century, we don’t share that same question. This story of the wicked tenants doesn’t apply to us or have the same significance as it did for Matthew’s church back in the 1^st century. Any attempt I could try to make to close that distance is too much. It’s too complicated and, frankly a painful story.

            What I want to suggest is that because you and I are followers of Jesus we can identify ourselves as tenants in God’s vineyard. I have talked about this for a couple weeks now. You and I are workers in God’s vineyard, the kingdom of God, which is all around us, not something we only experience when we get to heaven. We are workers in God’s kingdom right now. We are currently tenants, working to produce the fruits of the kingdom, that is, to live righteous lives. Some of us have been working in the vineyard all our lives, some of us later in life, some of us have strayed off the vineyard and then came back, but we are all tenants working in God’s vineyard right now. This is our task.

            On this World Communion Sunday, we are reminded that we work in one small area of God’s vineyard. We work on a global team. If you think about each church as a work team, there are thousands upon thousands of work teams all around the world. We are reminded of that today. We are challenged to be willing to work alongside of and partner with all these other work teams around us in the common work of producing the fruits of the kingdom.

            Let’s keep at it. Having been chosen and called by God to work in God’s vineyard, we work, serving God, offering our lives, our relationships, our jobs, our creative pursuits, our everything, we offer to God. Let us keep working with all who serve God, not judging or pushing aside but partnering, working alongside, each doing our part to produce good fruit.

            A few days ago, I was talking with my spiritual director. We were sharing about these challenging times we are going through as a country. The pandemic, the economy, the election, the civil unrest, it’s overwhelming. It’s impacting everyone. Everyone is dealing with loss, grief, some confusion, some fear, some anger. I said to her that now more than ever we need to practice grace, compassion, gentleness, kindness. In other words, practicing the way of Jesus, producing good fruit of righteousness, is so important for the sake of our society. We all feel the strain. As we are able, we have to do the work, in all our encounters with others day by day, to act in ways that heals and lifts up. The pandemic may have thrown our plans out the window and upended our lives. Uncertainty about what may happen in the months ahead can be a little scary. But we know what we have to do today: live a righteous life, be gentle, be gracious, be compassionate. I feel our society right now depends on us being the best tenants in God’s vineyard that we can be.