In what ways does Luke 20:15 challenge our response to divine authority? Setting the Scene Luke 20:15: “So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?” Jesus has just described the tenants’ deliberate, calculated murder of the vineyard owner’s son. He is foretelling His own rejection and crucifixion while exposing the human impulse to resist God’s rightful rule. A Stunning Portrait of Rebellion • The tenants knew whose son he was—yet they still killed him. • They carried the body “outside the vineyard,” mirroring Jesus’ crucifixion “outside the city gate” (Hebrews 13:12). • Their goal: seize what belongs to the owner by eliminating his final representative. How Verse 15 Confronts Our Response to Divine Authority 1. Willful rejection can look civilized. – These men did not act in ignorance; they plotted (Psalm 2:2). – Anytime we dismiss God’s Word, we echo their mindset. 2. Access to privilege does not guarantee obedience. – The tenants had long enjoyed the vineyard’s fruit (Isaiah 5:1-7). – Stewards can become squatters when gratitude fades. 3. God’s patience is not permission. – Multiple servants had already been beaten (Luke 20:10-12). – “Do you presume on the riches of His kindness…?” (Romans 2:4-5). 4. Rejecting the Son rejects the Father. – “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” (John 5:23). – There is no neutral ground; refusal is rebellion (1 John 2:23). 5. Judgment is certain and just. – Jesus’ question—“What then will the owner…do?”—demands an answer. – The crowd rightly replies: “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end” (Matthew 21:41). – Acts 17:31 affirms a fixed day when God “will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed.” The Son’s Authority Today • All authority in heaven and on earth is His (Matthew 28:18). • He is “the heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2). • To accept His word is to receive life (John 12:50); to reject it invites condemnation (John 12:48). Practical Responses • Examine areas where you may be resisting clear biblical commands—finances, relationships, forgiveness, purity. • Cultivate gratitude: remember the privileges of the “vineyard” entrusted to you—salvation, Scripture, fellowship. • Submit daily to Christ’s lordship, not merely His blessings (Luke 6:46). • Proclaim His authority lovingly, recognizing others’ need to hear the Owner’s final appeal before judgment arrives (2 Corinthians 5:20). |
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