Link Matt 21:37 & John 3:16: God's sacrifice.
Connect Matthew 21:37 with John 3:16 regarding God's ultimate sacrifice.

The Vineyard Parable and the Father’s Heart

• Context: Jesus tells the parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-46) to expose Israel’s leaders’ rejection of God’s messengers.

• Key verse: Matthew 21:37 — “Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.”

• The landowner represents God; the vineyard, Israel; the servants, the prophets; the son, Jesus.

• “Finally” shows every prior appeal has been exhausted. Sending the son is the climactic step, revealing both the owner’s patience and the stakes involved.


Heightening the Offer: The Son Arrives

• Progressive revelation:

– Prophets came with warnings (2 Chronicles 36:15-16).

– Last of all, God sends His Son—no higher ambassador exists (Hebrews 1:1-2).

• Expectation: “They will respect my son.” The Father’s hope underscores the depth of His goodwill toward rebels.

• Cost: The owner risks the irretrievable loss of the one most precious to him; likewise, God sends His “beloved Son” (Mark 1:11).


John 3:16—Divine Love in Action

John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

• “Gave” parallels “sent” in Matthew 21:37; both verbs highlight intentional, sacrificial initiative.

• Scope of love: “the world” includes the very rebels who would kill the Son (Romans 5:8).

• Purpose: rescue from perishing and secure eternal life. The outcome the tenants refused is freely offered to all who believe.


Scripture Echoes of the Ultimate Sacrifice

Isaiah 53:6 — The Lord lays our iniquity on the Servant.

Galatians 4:4-5 — God sent His Son “born of a woman… to redeem.”

1 John 4:9-10 — God’s love revealed “in that He sent His one and only Son… as an atoning sacrifice.”

Romans 8:32 — “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all…”


Living in Light of the Gift

• Assurance: If God has given His Son, nothing can separate believers from His love (Romans 8:38-39).

• Gratitude: Worship flows naturally when the magnitude of the sacrifice is grasped (Revelation 5:9-10).

• Proclamation: The same love that reached us must be shared (2 Corinthians 5:20).

How can we apply the lesson of Matthew 21:37 in our daily lives?
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