Reflections on the Gospel - The Parable of the Wicked Tenants - Matthew 21:33-46
Read the text here: Matthew 21:33-46
Crazy Love
One of the challenges to
interpreting the parables is that many of them have long established
interpretive traditions and these tend to color and influence our reading of
them, even if unintentionally. In some
cases this is a good thing. In some
cases, not so much. The parable for this
morning is one of these latter. The
parable of the wicked tenants has a long, sad and violent history as being a
proof-text for anti-Semitic activities. This
interpretation suggests that the Jewish people, like the wicked tenants, have
destroyed the servants (prophets) and the son (Jesus) and because they are
guilty of killing Jesus they should be put to the sword and persecuted. This is
NOT what this parable is about. That
interpretation completely misses the mark and, more than that, is thoroughly
anti-Gospel. So there is no
misunderstanding: I completely reject that interpretation!
As is common in most of Jesus’
parables they tend to focus either on God (the land-owner in this case) and/or
on US. WE are the wicked tenants. WE are the ones who have rejected Jesus, and
killed the servants and the son. WE are
the ones who are always trying to get something for nothing (see ELW hymn #349
– Ah, Holy Jesus – verse 2!). God, the landowner, has called us to work in
the vineyard of the world. But we decide
we want the fruits of the land for ourselves and we refuse to give back to God
that which is rightfully God’s. And we
beat and mistreat and murder those who would call us to be responsible. And what does God the landowner do in
response? God keeps sending servants, until
finally God sends God’s son. In other
words, God never gives up on us. This is
the amazing part of the story, and the part that is too often missed. Certainly the attitude of the tenants is kind
of crazy. Do they really think they can
get away with this plot to take over the vineyard? But what about the landowner’s constant
efforts to establish a relationship with the tenants and never giving up, no
matter how many servants are badly treated?
Well, that is kind of crazy too.
That’s the thing about God’s grace – it isn’t sensible, it isn’t logical
– it just is – abundantly!
So, after all that they do, how
should the landowner treat the tenants in the end? “They should be put to the sword and utterly
destroyed!” Now, who says that? The Pharisees and scribes who are listening
to Jesus tell the story. Jesus doesn’t
say that! And in speaking those words of
condemnation the Pharisees and scribes condemn themselves! And…
“…that's part of Matthew's
narrative strategy, I suspect, to have his opponents voice their own
condemnation. But it invites us to consider a different question: not what will that landowner do, but what did that landowner do. And to that
question we have Jesus' own answer: the landowner sent his son, Jesus, to all
of us who have hoarded God's blessings for ourselves and not given God God's
own due. And when we killed him, God raised him the dead, and sent him back to
us yet one more time, still bearing the message of God's desperate, crazy love.” Dr. David Lose, Philadelphia
Lutheran Seminary
This parable is, like the others, about the abundant and
extravagant grace that God has for us!
In this parable Jesus is illustrating how God goes to extravagant and
excessive, even illogical and crazy extents to shower this love and grace upon
us. And no matter how many times we
reject God, God keeps at it. God keeps
working on establishing a relationship with us!
This parable is paired in Matthew,
with the Parable of the Two Sons (from last week). Jesus’ words of interpretation that conclude
that parable make it clear that ultimately it is all about faith (see
21:32). So too does the Parable of the
Wicked Tenants point us to issues of faith.
A loving, patient and forgiving God freely and abundantly showers God’s
grace upon us. How will we respond? Will
we accept this gift? Will we respond to
the gift with faith and trust that leads us to act in responsible and generous
ways towards God and others? Or are we
content, like the tenants, to assume that we can get something for nothing? And to take God’s crazy love for us for
granted?”
Please note - this is a repetition of an article I wrote in 2011 during a sermon series on the parables...
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