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And they drove him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What then, shall the lord of the vineyard do to them?

Luke 20:15

The way Jesus asks this question implies that the patience of the vineyard owner could reasonably stop here. But yet, we know it was by the very act of sending His Dear Son that He made it possible for many who participated in His crucifixion to be saved from wrath.

Heavenly Father, Your great grace is indeed the great illustration of Your power. You are good beyond our ability to understand the concept. Your faithfulness to Your creation stands as a testimony to Your amazing love and holiness. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But when the tenants saw him, they considered it among themselves, saying, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him that the inheritance may be ours.”

Luke 20:14

Their conclusion was ridiculous. But what could be expected from these, who were so unscrupulous to begin with? They simply made their evil intentions absolutely clear through this choice.

Heavenly Father, thank You for protecting Your people from the evil one. You have made our safety possible by the blood of Your Son. I must never take that for granted. All that I am I owe to You. Thank You for Jesus! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

So the lord of the vineyard said, “What shall I do? I will send my dear son. Perhaps when they see him they will respect him.”

Luke 20:13

This single ‘Perhaps’ is, perhaps, the most inexplicable word in the entire history of the world itself. From our perspective as humans it seems incredibly obvious that these tenants would have no respect at all for the son after so shamefully treating the servants of vineyard owner.

Indeed, the true circumstance that the parable parallels is that God chose to send His Dear Son to earth. It is inexplicable to us that He would expect this evil world in which we are all born as enemies to Him to respect His Son. But that is indeed His expectation. The second Psalm says it so clearly, kiss the Son. To do otherwise is very foolish, and dangerous.

Heavenly Father, I am overwhelmed when I think of Your great mercy in sending Your Son here for us. What love! Thank You! I will forever praise You and Your holiness, faithful love, and profound wisdom. To have an understanding of Your nature is a great mercy by itself. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Again, he sent the third, but they injured him and drove him away.

Luke 20:12

After three times in this parable, the intention of the tenant farmers is obvious. But the Lord has, in reality, been even more patient with humanity.

Heavenly Father, so often I am reminded of how little I am. We are nothing compared to You. And yet, You choose to speak to us and work in our lives and use us to help each other. Wow! In spite of a messed up world, there is joy yet! There is hope, there is peace! Even in the darkest places, Your light shines. May I never forget that! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

He went ahead and sent another servant, and that one they beat and shamed, sending him away empty-handed.

Luke 20:11

The second attempt is made and rejected. It is very important to understand that God deals with us in accordance with the course of human history. Time is linear in Scripture and His interactions with us are based on our past history as well as our coming future. He remembers what He told us yesterday, and so should we.

Heavenly Father, may we live to study You and how You interact with us. Your Word and Your mercy are our constant guide. You do not stay away, but are active in our lives. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Now at harvest he sent a servant to the tenant farmers, that they should give to him from the fruit of the vineyard; but, the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

Luke 20:10

The perfectly reasonable expectation was to receive a share of the increase due to the master’s ownership of the vineyard. There was no cause at all for the treatment of this servant.

Heavenly Father, thank You for constantly guiding our steps. We live out our lives thinking we may do this or that, but You have a plan all along. No matter what we do, our main course is to honor You with all that we are and all that we do. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But He began to tell the people this parable, ‘A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a considerably long journey;’

Luke 20:9

Jesus is telling this as a follow up to the question just asked of Him. He had no intention of leaving that subject quickly. By the end of this parable, the scribes and priests knew it was about them.

The journey mentioned here is just a part of the story of the parable. It highlights the fact that a lot of time is passing, but is not meant to indicate that God is on a journey somewhere. He is active and involved with His creation.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your work with us. We do not even understand what that represents from Your perspective. We cannot fathom the mercy, grace, and love it takes for You to even do that. We are inadequate for every task, and yet You have made us able through Christ. I praise You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor shall I tell you in which authority I do these things.’

Luke 20:8

The way Jesus answers, He suggests that His authority parallels that of John. Many people are dissatisfied with this answer. But it is actually a very Divine way to answer. More truth is not given to those who will not listen to what they already have.

Heavenly Father, thank You for how You interact with us. You make it straightforward. You are honest and clear with us. Your wisdom is so wonderful! How can we ever exhaust Your knowledge? Forever we will be learning. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

Luke 20:7

This is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. After all the Truth that God had made available to mankind, many of Christ’s own people could not recognize Him. The resistance to the Truth is real. Even having Jesus, the very Son of God Himself in front of them was not enough to break their bondage to half-truth and complacency.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the Whole Truth. Without it we would live in a world of smoke and mirrors, never knowing anything no matter how convinced we felt. You are so kind. Even though Your Truth tells us of judgement, and the facts about sin, to live without that is to literally live a lie. You are worthy of all praise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But if we say ‘from men’ all the people will stone us to death because they are convinced John was a prophet.

Luke 20:6

The Jewish leaders had no problem with ignoring the beliefs of the people. But they definitely didn’t want to rock the boat. They were not wrong in their estimation of the popularity of John.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mercy and help in times of difficulty. You know what is best for us and You can lead us in the best ways. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.