Sermon Text – Matthew 21: 33 – 43



Sermon on Matthew 21: 33 – 43 – Where’s Your Fruit?

“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 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. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ( NIV )

They didn’t realize how good they had it. God had placed them in a beautiful garden. Their work was to take care of it. But there were no weeds, no thorns, no thistles to deal with. A natural, maintenance-free irrigation system in the form of rivers and streams that watered the garden on a daily basis. Every day found them living the dream as the old saying goes, “find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” They didn’t realize how good they had it. Their sin would lead them to see this. Disobeying God, being banished from the Garden of Eden, being forced to work the ground by the sweat of their brows, being reminded that dust they were and to dust they would return.

In our text for today Jesus tells the parable of some tenants who didn’t realize how good they had it either. The parable of a landowner who planted a beautiful vineyard and went to great lengths to provide nothing but the best. Putting a wall around it to protect it to from thieves and wild animals. Digging a winepress to make work easier for onsite processing. Building a watchtower for even more safety and security. No expense was spared when it came to this vineyard. We’re told that the landowner…“rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.” Now a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Let’s take a look at some of the details of this parable. The landowner would be God. The vineyard would be God’s people. Look at what God had done for his people over the years! Richly and abundantly providing for them. Delivering them from slavery in Egypt and giving them the Promised Land of Canaan. No expense was spared when it came to God’s people. For them it was nothing but the best! Do you think God was entitled to a share of the harvest when it came to the fruit of His vineyard? Absolutely! But God’s people didn’t see it that way. They were too occupied with their work and the pleasures and treasures of life to give God his rightful share.

Jesus tells us, “When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.” How sad that God’s people not only despised the message, they shot and killed the messengers as well. In the words following our text, Matthew tells us, “when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.” But wait a minute! Didn’t Jesus once say in his Sermon on the Mount, “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of God?” The chief priests, Pharisees, and teachers of the law were very religious in the eyes of people. They never missed a weekend in church and when it came to their offerings, it was the ten percent tithe, far surpassing the giving of many religious people in our day. So what was it about them that made them deserving of Jesus’ parable in our text? Using the words of the prophet Isaiah, Jesus once said, “these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me …I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Sad to say, the “fruit” they produced wasn’t done out of love for God, which means in the eyes of God it really wasn’t fruit at all.

What about you? Where’s Your Fruit? It’s safe to say that I. Your Lord looks for it. Thankfully it’s also safe to say that, II. Your faith produces it. Just think of how God has blessed the vineyard we call Good Shepherd over the years! From a small group of believers gathered at a local hotel to a large group of believers gathered in beautiful facilities. A church, a school, a preschool in a prime location and growing and prosperous area. A landowner who has planted us, blessed us, and given us nothing but the best. Do we sometimes take it for granted? Do we sometimes fail to give credit where credit is due? Does God have the right to ask for fruit from his vineyard? Does God have the right to ask us to be about the work of strengthening the saved and reaching out to the lost? Does God have the right to ask that our time, our talents, our treasures be put to use in serving him? Absolutely! Do we see it that way? Or do we sometimes become too occupied with our work and the pleasures and treasures of life to give God his rightful share?

Do we see opportunities to give and to serve as a joy and privilege or as a burden and obligation? Ever said no to an opportunity to serve because last time you did, you didn’t get your way, or no one said thank you? Ever said no to an opportunity to serve because it seems you already do so much and others seem to do so little? If so, we need to ask the questions, why do I give, why do I serve, who am I serving, myself or my Lord? Jesus once said that Pharisees and hypocrites do things to be seen by others and “I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” Truth be told there’s a little bit of that self-righteous, work-righteous Pharisee within us all. He’s part of our sinful nature, one that needs to be drowned by daily contrition and repentance.

Fellow laborers in the vineyard of our Lord, listen to what the landowner does in our text, “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.” In his gospel, Luke makes this parable even more vivid when he records the words of the landowner saying, “What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.” And one can’t help but be reminded of the words of our Heavenly Father at the baptism and transfiguration of His only Son saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.” This parable is mind boggling when you think about it. How likely would it be for a landowner whose servants have been mistreated and killed by his tenants to send his own son? Yet such is the mind boggling love of God for us as the Apostle Paul writes, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

A Savior who was despised and rejected by men as the prophet Isaiah writes. A Savior who was abused, disrespected, mistreated, and crucified for the sins of the world. For our neglect of God’s Word and God’s Work, for the times our service has been about us instead of God, for the times we’ve failed to produce the fruit God is looking for in our lives. For these and all of our sins, the Son of the Heavenly Landowner was thrown out of the vineyard and nailed to a cross on Calvary. Crucified, died, and buried, only to rise on the third day to bring about the fulfillment of the words in our text, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.” We believe this because the Holy Spirit worked this faith in our hearts through Word and Sacrament. We cherish this as we make the most of every opportunity to have that faith strengthened through Word and Sacrament. We know that this faith with which God has blessed us will naturally produce fruit out of love for God.

Look for opportunities to produce that kind of fruit because Jesus tells us in the book of John what happens to branches that fail to produce that kind of fruit when he says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” At the end of his parable Jesus asks, “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They replied, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time…Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

Dear friends in Christ, may Jesus’ words here not go in one ear and out the other. May they continue to be a warning, a call to repentance, an encouragement to always be about the work our Lord calls us to do here. Cherish the blessings God has given you. Cherish the blessings God has showered on our congregation. Cherish the relationship you have with your Lord. Cherish the opportunities God gives you to produce fruit remembering the words of the Apostle Paul, “Christ died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Men of Good Shepherd, remember that as you look to get involved, as you give prayerful consideration to serving on the Ministry Coordinating Council, and attending voters meetings. What goes on at them is instrumental in carrying out the work God calls us to do in this portion of his vineyard. Ladies of Good Shepherd, remember that as you look for opportunities to serve, getting involved Servae Christi, LWMS, and the like. Children of Good Shepherd, remember that as you listen to and obey your parents, go to Sunday School, bring your mission offerings, and memorize your lines for the Children’s Christmas service among other things. Teens of Good Shepherd, I know it probably seems like you are often overlooked, but you’re closer to being the future of Good Shepherd now more than ever. Remember that as you live the vow you made on your confirmation day to remain faithful to your Lord and to His Word, to support your church with your time, your talents, and your treasures. No matter how big or small they may seem to you, they’re huge in the eyes of God, and he sees them as fruits of faith offered out of love for Him.

Yes, people of the vineyard of Good Shepherd, young and old alike, give thanks that the Lord who called us to faith is the same Lord who will provide opportunities to produce fruit of faith out of love for him. Fruits of faith that continue to put our Lord and the work of his vineyard first. Fruits of faith that our Lord looks for as evidence of a strong and healthy connection to the vine. May Good Shepherd always be the kind of vineyard about which it is said, “these people not only honor me with their lips, they honor me with their hearts and their lives! They produce abundant fruit and I tell you the truth, that fruit is going to last!”

Amen.

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