Finishing the project

Luke 14:28-30 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Jesus described the all-too-familiar problem of lowballing estimates for projects.  In a corporation, it’s common practice to preach cheap to management then ask for leniency when there are cost overruns.  And given the miserly control and fear of investment among C level executives, it is arguably the only way to get anything meaningful and substantial done.  Projects are treacherous ground even so because funding can be pulled any time.  Monies are counted quarterly no matter what projects are happening.  I will personally testify about 60% of my projects being canceled before completion, with people who were vital to those projects summarily laid off.

But this mini-parable is applied to a life following Jesus.  The level and cost of a lifelong commitment is often underestimated.  If you’re going to put parents, family or life’s pursuits ahead of your devotion to Jesus Christ, don’t bother saying you’re his disciple.  The balance here is that devotion to Christ will make you love your family even more.  It’s a matter of what reigns supreme.  And in this passage, Jesus stresses the long-term nature of a life given to him.  If your weariness causes you to abandon following him, you failed in your original estimate of cost.  Those around you who said it was only a phase are proven right in what they said.

There is no management to appeal to in order to increase corporate commitment to the project called my life.  Jesus paid for that life on the cross once for all.  It’s never the case that there isn’t help for me to continue in my following him or in all he’s called me to.  But there is also a giving up I can fall into if I try to do things on my own too much, things don’t go my way or my resilience is so low that fatigue makes me simply walk away.  Following Jesus, carrying my particular cross and letting him mold me into all he wants me to be is a lifelong project.  Indeed, I am his project.  For life.  May I finish (or be finished) well.

The Banquet of the Secondary invitees

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝟮𝟮:𝟴‭-‬𝟭𝟬 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀, ‘𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘆. 𝗚𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱.’ 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱. 𝗦𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀.

In the story Jesus told, there was a wedding feast given by the king of the land. He announced the opulent food and ambience of the event as he invited people to come. But they refused, even mistreating and murdering those the king sent to invite them. The king was furious and concluded that his original intended guests were not worthy of the invitation and that he would invite ANYONE who would come. Guests of all types were gathered and the hall was filled.

The story was directed squarely at the religious rulers present at its telling. They were certainly invited to the feast of the Most High God, and knew all about the joy of fellowship and the delights offered in eternity. Yet the person of Jesus was odious to them; they would not receive instruction or even advice from him. Their highbrow positions were more important than hearing the very Word of God they purportedly held to.

For them, Jesus was a servant inviting them to the wedding feast. They would refuse the invitation and kill that servant in their obstinate pride. Meanwhile the common people, whom they lorded themselves over, would accept the invitation and inherit eternal life and a place at the feast. Jesus was saying that the Kingdom of God turns humankind’s caste systems on their head. Society’s oppressive hierarchies are in opposition to God.

If I am angered or insulted by God’s invitation extended to people deemed unworthy, dirty, sinful or “beneath” me in any way, I place myself among the gnashers of teeth, excluded from the banquet. The story does go on to speak of one removed from the banquet because he was not in wedding attire, but my action is to “Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find”, for that is the heart of the Lord. And may I learn to love and serve all so gathered.

Endangered place and nation

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟭𝟭:𝟰𝟳-𝟰𝟴 𝗦𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱, “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼? 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀. 𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.”

Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, with many witnesses, including Pharisees who could not deny the miraculous work. Some of them began following Jesus at that point, but others returned to Jerusalem, concerned for what this meant to their standing and security. Their words above indicate a fear of lost prominence (“our place”) and the nation of Israel itself (“our nation”).

It was presumed, then, that Jesus was as they were, power-grubbing authority hounds who lorded what they knew and what they did over the people. And of course Jesus was after political control, inciting rebellion against the Roman occupiers. Jesus had never given any indication of those claims and projecting motives was just wrong.

It’s not that Jesus would ever uphold their leadership; they ran a corrupt system of perverse and diluted spirituality. That meant they were indeed in danger of losing their “place”. But that was happening in any case for in 70 AD the nation rebelled and their entire system was destroyed, temple and all. Towards the religious practice of Jews of Israel, Jesus could be seen as more of a reformer than rebel. Yet, the authorities would have none of it.

It is upon me to not defend my position or my nation or my church or my family from Jesus. Why would I do that? Because I am afraid of the change Jesus would bring. I might lose authority or influence. My country might become “weak” in its defenses or standing among nations. I might have to eat humble pie and admit and turn my sin and patterns of control and coercion.

I may never say I’d oppose Jesus and strongly state my allegiance to everything he says or does. But in fact the Holy Spirit is inexorable in revealing ways I still cling to my own ways, possessions and importance. Prestige is a subtle yet vicious idol.

God is good and grants all humanity with fulfillment, justice and truth. We have stuff and position and blessed trajectory in life all from God’s hand. None of that is retracted or relented. The temptation and worldly encouragement is to construct surroundings and systems that protect and accumulate those blessings in ways that benefit us above all else. That’s idolatry. That’s being afraid for “our place” and “our nation”.

Christ in us is better than that and

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀 𝟭𝟬:𝟮𝟮 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁.

that is, wealth of all kinds. Let me (and let us) rest in that.

Drivers and leaders

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟭𝟬:𝟰 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲.

In the 10th chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus spoke of himself as the good shepherd. And he described what that meant. In this verse, he spoke of how a shepherd leads his flock. They go nowhere he has not been before them. Nor are they left in silence without a voice to follow.

In sheep tending there is both a time to drive the sheep forward and a time to have them follow. Both modes of movement have their place and there is no difference in the caring heart of the shepherd. But in human relations, drivers of people use motivational means that belittle, shame and coerce. Leaders only ask people to follow and learn to trust their course of action and motives.

There was only ever one perfect shepherd; yet the model he set forth for leaders are clear. Nor was the contrast between his brand of leadership and that of the religious rulers who opposed him.

This has deep application.

I have grown weary and suspect of the driving leaders of this world. Industry and the corporate world will celebrate the achievements of such people – that their relentlessness with vision, goals and even people is at the heart of their superior success. Even as I may use the inventions and products from their years of reign and rule, I know well that the system that vaunts their style gives short shrift to leaders who nurture creativity and diligence in those under them in authority while producing people as well as things.

Corporate and ecclesiastical structure and values both tend to support driver/leaders; just the truth. The term “reports” has been fitted onto people under them as if their only role in life is to show pre-scripted progress. At all costs they will present evidence of doing well against expectations – even fabricating such evidence; for to not do so endangers their livelihood. (although that livelihood is actually in constant danger from the driver).

It is no compromise to accomplishment or mission or schedule to foster growth; the best leaders constantly work themselves out of their jobs. Servant/leaders who help their followers neither leave a wake of the wounded nor fail to make forward progress.

We are all invited to find shepherds in our lives who go before us instead of driving us from behind.

Whom to fear

Luke 12:4-5 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!“

Fear has many expressions and many causes. There is rational and irrational fear. Jesus is speaking of real fear of real danger. There is, among the reactions to the proclamation of the gospel, with its declaration of sin, the possibility of murderous hatred arising in those convicted by the Holy Spirit of their sin yet obstinately impenitent. Indeed, tradition tells us all the apostles (possibly John excepted) were killed for their faith. And to this day, martyrs are murdered.

Jesus said that the judgment of God is far more fearful than losing one’s physical life on earth. God, too, can take this life. But only God can eternally condemn to hell. THAT should cause a deeper fear.

Jesus would himself show the limitations of murders. “Dead men tell no tales” is patently false in Jesus. With Jesus, the dead don’t stay dead. The flip side to condemnation in hell is eternal life in heaven. Life after death is promised to believers.

Now, one doesn’t earn eternal life by being murdered for one’s faith. Only the blood of Jesus buys that. But there is a shrinking back in fear that can dog believers and frighten them right out of bearing witness.

It’s not only physical death that scares them, it’s the assassination of their character and the shaming of their words and lives that drives them into frightened, dark corners of the soul. Satan knows all too well the success of keeping people in shame.

Between shame casting and believer who interpret the Great Commission as “Go into all the world and be obnoxious to every creature”, effective Christian witness is stymied. Jesus message to only fear God needs adoption by all believers. It is a core belief that undergirds the love of God in action.

Where am I/where are we in the mix? Somewhere in the middle I think. But this admonition is a spark plug, a spur to my faith. May I heed and react in loving obedience.

Blessing on a precursory life

Luke 1:76-79: And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit usfrom on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Zechariah had been struck with being mute during his wife Elizabeth’s entire pregnancy.  For he had not believed the word spoken by the angel Gabriel in the Holy of Holies as he had performed his priestly duties.  He had regained his ability to speak when he confirmed the name of his newborn son, John (the Baptist).

The prophecy he then uttered could well be seen as pent-up words, stored deep within his spirit for months. It begins with a proclamation of God’s promises over his people Israel, for their redemption and salvation from their enemies.  In the first century, Israel’s “enemy” in that context was the occupying Roman army.  But Zechariah then finished his prophecy with a word for his newborn baby, John.  In these words, we have a precursor to the nature of the salvation which was to define John’s ministry and that of the Messiah, Jesus.

Work in preparing the way of the Lord echoed back to Isaiah 40.  There would be a reformation of repentance that John would be instrumental in performing.  National and personal sin would need to be reckoned with, turned away from in advance of what was to happen.  It was not judgment but tender mercy that would motivate and accomplish the coming move of God, with its forgiveness and salvation in tow. 

John’s ministry would be one of making known, revealing and getting ready.  That work was vital because thoughts and speech about salvation would necessarily imply the political/military kind and that was not to be the way God was going to move on the lives of people.  No, as Zechariah’s words concluded, this was a salvation from darkness to light and from war to peace.  It would require no military advance; indeed, it would penetrate military ranks with the commanders powerless to stop it.  And its fruit was to witness the very visit of heaven to earth.

On this side of all those events, I know well the nature of this salvation, of this Jesus.  Yet truthfully it is easy to fall prey to encroaching darkness even so.  Let me be found coming into the light continually, being cut to the quick and caught up short where I have devolved into former ways of thinking, speaking and acting. 

Let me also know that there is a preparing ministry in my own heart to experience God’s deepest presence and re-establish his salvation in the present and with power.  It’s not that the Lord is unavailable without some prior spiritual pushups; Hebrews 4:16 clearly says otherwise.  It’s that in my human existence, there is a spiritual place of fellowship with God that is only found by pushing through my flesh and intellect.  All the calls to prayer in the NT point there.

Leaving scorn behind

Acts 17:9-10 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.  This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

There are those who make the decision to become a rock in your shoe.  Often, they are searching for prominence and affirmation that has been lacking, so they go on the attack.  Other times, they cannot assume the humility that is required to walk with Jesus, aligning it with human shame, which is a very bad mistake.

The one being led of the Lord in life becomes subject to their scorn and the life-giving message is cast as foolishness or worse.

Paul’s response was to simply leave and go somewhere else.

He spoke for two years in the lecture hall of Tyrannus!  Given his pedigree of scholarship and academic theological acumen – the guy loved to teach – that would be the equivalent of graduate study at a seminary, the absolute finest training one could receive.  Students can spend multiple semesters studying just one of his letters.  Those in Ephesus received the letter itself, spelled out and expounded upon by the author himself.

And his audience was not a contentious group of aspiring graduate students, it was the common Greek folk of Ephesus.  They would bear great fruit for Jesus and become arguably the strongest church outside of Jerusalem.  Yet they would also need to have their love restored later (see Revelation 2:1-7).

There is no need to put up with abuse. That extends way beyond preaching and teaching the Word, but it is particularly true when the discipleship of God’s people is going on, and I would argue discipleship happens in all kinds of places and circumstances.

Also, the fruit borne by giving one’s gifts with abandon far exceeds the investment of time and energy.  When there is an open door, if one is measured in giving, the church is cheated out of part of its inheritance, for Jesus did not give a toe or finger for the church, he gave his life’s blood and entire body surrendered on the cross.  That bought my salvation; may it inspire my giving all.

Gospel as life force

Acts 20:30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.

There was no church in the New Testament for which Paul had cared more and on behalf of whom had  exerted more prayer, ministry and overall effort  than the church at Ephesus.  It was by all accounts the gold standard of churches in Asia at the time of this account.

In the tearful good-bye that Paul had with its elders, he cited many examples of his selfless ministry, his devotion to the truth and his overall life of giving.  Now Paul was not one to boast so his motives in saying all that was to present an example for the leaders.  They were to keep the work of the gospel going even as he had.

The warnings he gave were not vain “what if” statements – they were very real trends he had already seen and encountered in his leadership role.  Indeed, by the time of the writing of the book of Revelation, the Ephesian church had lost its fire, its first love and was in need of revival.

One of the kinds of event that led to its decline was the invasion of the church by those who did not have the gospel as their life force.  They were described as wolves who would come in and prey upon the people, enticing and convincing them to abandon the truth of Christ.  Then Paul said the statement above, pointing to the very leaders he had in front of him.  There would be leaders that would build their own flocks, making up their own truths and stories to gain a following.

The word “disciples’ – “mathetes” in the Greek (from which we get “mathematics”) – are those who don’t just follow, but learn from a teacher.  So the leader(s) that would divide the body would gain those who would be their life-students.  And that’s where the lure is for a to-be-wayward leader.

There is little question that every leader has a distinct style, philosophy and approach to leadership.  Each leader is his/her own person, with an individual mix of gifts and attributes.  However, this verse speaks to the goals of leadership, not the style.  Is it a leader’s goal to create his/her own following at the expense of following Christ.  Too many gravitate towards giving Jesus lip service while dedicating their real effort to guaranteeing their own exaltation.  The underlying motivation is pride – lifting up self above others and at others’ expense.

So, it needn’t be a pursuit of wealth that marks the work of such leaders.  Indeed, pride may be taken in the superior sacrifice of being poor.  The question to ask is who is ultimately being followed in a ministry – Jesus or the local leader?  And it’s a cop-out to say “both”.

May I debase myself, be a blundering, blubbering fool in order to follow Christ.  And if I am tasked and charged with leading others, may I point solely to Him as the teacher.  Of course this means that I must be first a follower.

May I be sure to choose leadership that likewise humbly follows the Master, for self-exalting leadership spawns more of the same; I have seen it.  If pride is seen as normal and good, how terrible will be the demise of the one who practices it.

No compare

Scripture:

Matt 20:16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Matt 20:26-28 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Observation:

In the two episodes (scenes or pericopes) in the 20^th chapter of Matthew, Jesus first tells a parable of workers who were hired to toil at different times of a day. At the end of the day, those who were hired first are dismayed to find that all the workers were payed the same wage, no matter when they began to work. They were upset to say the least but the manager insisted he was free to do what he wanted with his money and there was no breach of agreement. The second part of the chapter describes a scene where the mother of James and John attempts to get Jesus to grant them special positions (on either side of his throne) when Jesus rose to rule. The common misunderstanding was that He would rule physically over Israel in short order, which wasn’t to happen. Nonetheless, the other apostles were very upset about the attempt towards one-ups-man-ship and became indignant. Jesus defused the situation by telling them all that their conception of greatness was wrong at its core – that those who wanted to be great were to serve all the others. Basically, the way upward in God’s Kingdom, is downward in service to others. And Jesus Himself was the greatest example of this – indeed they had not yet seen the level of sacrifice He would do for them – He gave it all!

Application:

The common mistake all the people make in these two stories is comparison. In the first one, the workers who worked the heat of the day compared themselves to those who only worked a few hours. In the second, James and John compared themselves to all the other apostles, probably unfavorably, so that their mother schemed to arrange a special jump in prestige. Jesus’ point in both stories is to learn humility and servanthood. I do not control God’s rewards nor do I even know them with great specifics. I know He does reward, but the timing and the form of that is in His keeping. If I look at the lives of others in either envy or superiority, I have replaced my trust in God with trust in position, possessions, prestige or power, to alliterate. I need to get back to thanksgiving, taking an inventory of all He has already done and already given me and letting my heart fill with gratitude. My comparison is not to others, it is to myself without Christ and without salvation. There is the triumph and the glory, the promise kept and bright future hope. As for others, my delight must be to bless them, not compete with them. If they are bound in that fierce contention for whatever prize they value, that must be a race I forgo. And as I do so, I shouldn’t be surprised that God will exalt my position in His sovereignty. How much better to have God lift me up than my own scratching and clawing, victimizing those all around me. And if He does not, it is still mine to serve and love. For truly, He does those things through me.

Prayer:

Lord it is a divine perspective that Jesus brought to this earth, and to me personally. I thank you and pray for the strength to live in Your wisdom, walking in grace and serving those around me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Murdered heirs and rejected stones – Luke 20:16-17 (October 7, 2013)

Scripture:

Luke 20:16-17 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?

Observation:

The challenge to the authority of Jesus was made as he taught and preached in the temple. Those whose vocation it was to do so were offended at His following and no less so at his doctrine. They asked in whose authority he was doing these things and he asked them to name the authority they ascribed to the actions of John the Baptist. When they wouldn’t answer, he wouldn’t either. Then they challenged to to declare rebellion against Caesar or alignment with him, which would politically alienate Israelites. His wise reply removed all suspicion, saying “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”. Here He has told a parable of tenants who would not pay tribute but instead beat up multiple employees of a landowner and finally murdering his son, thinking they would gain the estate. The response of the landowner was to go there and remove the tenants. The reaction – “Surely not!” – was a shocked one at the insurrection of mere tenants. But Jesus had told this story about their own stubborn hearts and then quoted Psalm 118 about the stone the builders rejected. They were the builders; He was the stone. They were the tenants; He was the son they were to murder. Through the parable, Jesus had revealed the true end of their intentions – murder and theft. They were indignant as He knew they would be, but He had responded to a challenge to His authority with a complete annulment of theirs.

Application:

Do I, in rebellion, question Jesus’ authority on my life or over anything on earth? If so, I should quickly recognize with whom this puts me in league and repent posthaste. Certainly I live in a land and with a people who do not recognize Christ for Who He is, and who raise every objection, throw every political issue and manipulate conversations and events to dethrone Him. I am not Jesus and though I have authority to make disciples, I do not have the position of Messiah, King over all creation. Therefore my humility is a balance of fearlessly proclaiming Him to be who He is, having done all He has done, etc., and walking as a servant before people who proclaim themselves heirs as those tenants in the parable. I must remember I was once in their number, and but for the grace of God would pick up usurping pride in a moment like a bad habit returned. Jesus speaks plainly to the rebellion of this world, and shows its end vividly. If people do not listen, I should fully expect them to crucify the King of Glory in me. This is a cross to bear and one that is particularly hard for me personally, given its shaming sentiment. But let me strengthen myself in the Lord, putting on the full armor of God so that I can withstand the prodding of questions that have no answer and clever reason that reveals hearts that crown themselves with hubris and disdain for everything that would humble them. Humbling them is God’s job, and He will do it in His time and His way. Let me pray for mercy, for it is a terrible thing for a sinner to fall into the hands of an angry God.

Prayer:

Father, grant that I may know when to speak and have the courage to do so when it is time. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear Your call in these season of my life. And work Your salvation in and through me, in Jesus’ name, amen.