When the son is the Son

Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Matthew 21:37-39

Have you ever heard a story and then realized that the story was really about you?

Jesus tells a story about a vineyard owner who sends his servants to collect what belongs to him. The tenants beat one servant, kill another, and stone another. Finally, the owner sends his son. Surely they will respect him. But they don’t. The tenants recognize that he is the heir, and they decide to kill him. “Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.”

Jesus’ listeners would have understood the wickedness of such a plan. But there is something even more remarkable about this story. The son of the vineyard owner turns out to be more than a character in a parable. He is the Son of God.

Jesus is telling the story about himself. The vineyard is God’s people. The servants are the prophets whom God sent to call his people to repentance and faith. Again and again, God’s messengers were rejected. Finally, God sent his Son. And what did they do? They rejected him too.

The wicked tenants wanted the inheritance for themselves. We can recognize something of ourselves in them. We want to be in control. We want what belongs to God. We resist his Word when it calls us to repent and trust him.

But Jesus does not turn away. The Son of God goes to the cross willingly. He bears our rebellion, our rejection, and our sin. He is killed, but death cannot hold him. The rejected Son rises again. And now the story has a glorious ending. The Son who was rejected has become the Savior. The inheritance the tenants tried to steal is given freely to those who trust in him.

Jesus is not merely the son in a story. He is the Son of God, sent by the Father to save you. Trust him. And rejoice that the Son who was rejected has made you an heir of eternal life.

Prayer:

Show your face in mercy, Lord. May your people be restored. Amen.

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