The Prophesy Fulfilled The Kings Vineyard the Kings

The Prophesy Fulfilled The King’s Vineyard & the King’s Processional – Chapter 20 & 21 From Wages to Wine, Donkeys to Doves, Figs to Farmers

CRADLE ROLL VS. NEW COMERS Old Money & Noveau Riche Do you feel that your lifelong “goodness” and “faithfulness” “deserves” more than one who experiences a death-bed conversion? How did the loyal brother of the prodigal son react to his father’s response to his wayward brother’s return? Ever wait patiently for a cashier and then someone who just walks up benefits from a newly opened check-out line? Does God show favoritism?

THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD WORKERS Matt. 20: 1 -16 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right. ’ So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing? ’ “‘Because no one has hired us, ’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard. ’ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first. ’ How many times did the vineyard owner go out and hire workers? What was offered for payment?

GRUMBLING & COMPLAINING …that’s not fair, I deserve more! “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour, ’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day. ’ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? ’ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last. ” What’s going on here? How does the landowner respond? How do the workers respond?

JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH A 3 RD TIME Matt. 20: 17 -19 “Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” How transparent is Jesus? Is he hiding anything from his disciples? Why are the disciples so reluctant to grasp what was before them?

A MOTHERS REQUEST Matt. 20: 20 -28 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want? ” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom. ” “You don’t know what you are asking, ” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? ” “We can, ” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father. ” When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 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. ” What does Jesus mean by asking What does Jesus mean by saying they will drink from this cup? them if they can “drink this cup”?

A Sidebar…a story about grape juice with a Christian twist! In 1869: Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch launches the processed fruit juice industry when he successfully pasteurizes Concord grape juice to produce an “unfermented sacramental wine” for fellow church parishioners in Vineland, N. J. By age 19, he graduated from Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary and became an ordained Wesleyan Methodist minister. He ministered first in Westchester County, New York. He continued in the work of ministry until his voice failed him, and he was obliged to direct his attention to other pursuits. Then in 1869, Welch invented a method of pasteurizing grape juice so that fermentation was stopped, and the drink was non-alcoholic. He persuaded local churches to adopt this non-alcoholic "wine" for communion services, calling it "Dr. Welch's Unfermented Wine. “ …and now you know the rest of the story!

WHO’S GREAT? WHOSE FIRST? “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. ” What does it mean to be a “servant”? What does it mean to be a “slave”? What did the “Son of Man” come to do?

JESUS COMES TO JERUSALEM AS KING Matt. 21: 1 -11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away. ” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey. The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

THE TRUMPHAL ENTRY Matt. 21: 1 -11

JESUS AT THE TEMPLE Matt. 21: 12 -17 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written, ” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, ’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers. ’” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David, ” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying? ” they asked him. “Yes, ” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’? ” And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night What does Jesus say about the children in relation to the chief priests?

JESUS CURSES THE FIG TREE Matt. 21: 18 -22 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly? ” they asked. Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea, ’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. ” What is the lesson of the fruitless fig tree?

THE PARABLE OF THE TWO SONS Matt. 21: 28 -32 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard. ’ “‘I will not, ’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir, ’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted? ” “The first, ” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. What is the lesson of the two sons?

THE PARABLE OF THE TENANTS Matt. 21: 33 -41 “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 moved to another place. 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. ” Who is the landowner? Who are the original tenants? Who are the servants? Who is the son? Who are the 2 nd tenants?

PROPHETS DISREGARDED & KILLED THE SON OF GOD IS KILLED • Isaiah • Many of the Prophets by Queen Jezebel • Jeremiah • Ezekiel • Amos • Zechariah • John the Baptizer • Jesus Christ

THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED Matt. 21: 42 -46 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 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. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed. ” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. What is a “cornerstone”? What is it’s purpose?

JESUS CHRIST - THE CORNERSTONE The cornerstone (or foundation stone) concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or replica, set in a prominent location on the outside of a building. “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. ” Ephesians 2: 19 -22