The Lord of the Vineyard; Luke 20:9-16

Delivered during the Sunday Morning Worship Service, 2/23/2025. The confrontation between Jesus and the "usurpers of the Temple" continues with a scathing commentary on their illegitimate claim to authority in the Parable of the Wicked Tenants. In this familiar story, the tenants try to arrogate ownership of the vineyard by first mistreating and beating the servants sent to collect the harvest, and ultimately by killing the son. We will discuss the various allegorical elements of the parable, such as the vineyard owner, the vineyard itself, the tenants, the servants and the son. There are four great themes brought out in this parable-- two of which we will focus on in this message: the prophecy of the Crucifixion and the fact that God will ultimately get fruit from His vineyard-- regardless of who the tenants are. As the current "tenants" of this vineyard, a particular focus is placed on the church to produce the true fruit of the Kingdom and not a vineyard of wild grapes-- for the Lord of the vineyard.