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Bro. Bill Nichols
John the Baptist had clearly testified that Jesus was the Messiah. If John was a prophet whose words were true, they ought to have believed. On the other hand, it would be political folly for the Pharisees to attack the legitimacy of John the Baptist or to deny his authority as a prophet of God.
After all, John was enormously popular with the people and he was just recently martyred at the hands of the despised Herod. For the Pharisees to question John's authority was to attack a national hero.
And they knew better than to do that, so they pleaded ignorance. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say from heaven, he will say, Why then believeth ye not him? So they're already on the defensive.
And in verse 6 it says,. But and if we say of men, all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet. Now this revealed their hearts. They didn't really want an answer. They didn't have an answer and they weren't prepared to receive the truth.
They had rejected the message from John and they would reject the message from God's Son. Well, when did they actually reject the message from John? We get that in Luke 7 verse 24 and following. I'm going to quickly read that.
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John. What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? And then he repeats that phrase three or four times. And when we get down to 29, it says this,.
And all the people that heard him and the publicans justified God being baptized with the baptism of John. But that was not all the people. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves not being baptized of John.
So they rejected John and they rejected John's message that Jesus was the Lamb of God. And so what did they answer? Verse 7 it says clearly,. And they answered that they could not tell whence it was. So they're saying, Oh, we can't tell you whether John is from heaven or from man.
So they decided that silence was a better part of valor. And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. So now we come to the parable. Jesus ignores their question and speaks directly to the people in the presence of the Pharisees with a parable.
And he begins to speak to the people this parable. A certain man planted a vineyard and led it forth to husbandmen and went into a far country. Okay, just to clean it up. God is that certain man. The certain man alludes is a picture of God, of God the Father.
The vineyard is a picture of Israel and the husbandmen to whom the vineyard was left in their charge was the religious leaders of Israel. Verse 10,. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard.
But the husbandmen beat him and sent him away empty. That was one of the prophets, one of the first of many. And again he sent another servant, another prophet, and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty.
And again he sent a third, and they wounded him also and cast him out. And then said the Lord of the vineyard, this would be God the Father, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that they will reverence him when they see him.
Clearly that beloved son is a reference to Jesus. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance might be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What therefore shall the Lord of the vineyard do unto them? Verse 16, He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. Now this probably pictures the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.
It certainly refers to the church age. In Romans 11 verse 25, it says this, I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
God forbid. Only Luke records this hostile reaction from the crowd. The response suggests that they grasp the meaning of the parable. Now Matthew does the same passage a little bit differently with a little more detail.
And I'm going to read that one as well. So if you would please turn to Matthew 21 and we'll pick it up at verse 20. And you will see that we are right at the very beginning of this discussion. What happens when the Lord of the vineyard returns?
Matthew 21 verse 40. When the Lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will He do unto those husbandmen? And they say unto Him... Now this is the people speaking back to Jesus. They say unto Him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men and let out His vineyard unto other husbandmen which shall render Him the fruits in their season.
So when the Lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will He do unto those husbandmen? And they say unto Him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men and let out His vineyard unto other husbandmen which shall render Him the fruits in their season.
So now we come to the prophecy. Verse 42. Jesus saith unto them... Now Jesus is responding. Did ye never read in the Scripture, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?
This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you. He's speaking to the Pharisees. And He's saying the kingdom of God shall be taken away from your charge.
And it will be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken. But on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spake of them.
But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitude, because they took Him for a prophet. Now I want to reread that prophecy, but in Luke. It's on Luke 20, verse 17. And He beheld them and said, What is this then that is written?
The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become head of the corner. Whosoever shall fall on that stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on Him, and they feared the people, for they perceived that He had spoken this parable against them, against the scribes and the Pharisees.
And again, the scribes and the Pharisees sought to lay hands on Him, but they were afraid of the multitude. So what did they do instead? They watched Him and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of His words, so that they might deliver Him unto the power and the authority of the governor.
What they hoped to do is leave Jesus to the governor. The governor at that time was Pontius Pilate. But they needed something with which to charge Him. So they'll try to get Jesus to say something that will anger the Romans.
And so here's what they ask. And they asked Him, saying, Master, we know that Thou sayest and teachest rightly. Neither acceptest Thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly. That was their flattery.
And now here's their question. Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar or no? But He perceived their craftiness and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Show me a penny, whose image and superscription hath it.
And they answered and said, Caesars. And He said, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesars, and unto God the things which would be God. Now, who could argue with that? I'd like to take a couple of minutes and tell you that today, of all days, we should remember the total sovereignty of God.
We should recall that at the time Jesus spoke these words, Israel was ruled with and by a corrupt and evil government. And yet Jesus told them to submit to that government. He said, Render unto Caesar.
But more than that, they should submit to God. Render unto God. We've got two things here. Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things which are God's. We are in the final stages of an election cycle to determine who will govern us for the next four years.
The news outlets have already returned their verdict. The courts have yet to decide. We do not yet know the outcome. But God does. And we know that God is good. And we know that God is just. And we know that God is sovereign.
And we know that God loves His children. And we know that we will win in the end. We will live eternally in the presence of God. And that's what really matters. As far as this country is concerned, we have been blessed by God.
And hopefully that blessing will continue. But if it does not, we can take comfort in the fact that our true home is in heaven. And our true King is Jesus. And if our prayer was to bring us closer to God as a nation, to be more Christ-like, what better way than to put our focus on Jesus rather than on who's in charge of this world.
Now we all know who's in charge of this world right now. It is the Prince of the Power of the Air because God has left Him in charge now. But Jesus said this in John 16, verse 33,. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace.
In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. And now I would like to remind you of the Lord's prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. I'd like to take a minute and allow for comments or questions. What do you think? How should we behave in these days?
Yes, sir. Me either.
And I totally agree. Maybe we have put too much of our attention on the nation we're living in and not the nation that we're citizens of. And I hope this is not the case. Maybe this is God's way of telling us, focus on Jesus, not on who's the president of this country.
How should we treat Him? If it turns out to be either one, we should love Him and we should pray for Him and we should honor the office of the presidency and we should ask God to guide Him. And that's the best, I think, that we can do.
Whether it's the person that we want or the person that we wish it wasn't. Whether God is going to send us through a period of... I couldn't think of a word to say. Or whether He's going to continue to bless us.
Will He continue to bless us or will He cease to bless us on this earth? But we know one thing for certain. He will bless us in the next world and that's eternal. And this is only for less than a second in His time.
Anything else? Now, I thought to go on, but I think that I'm just going to finish with this verse and we'll pick it up here next time. And they could not take hold of His words before the people. And they marveled at His answer.
And they told and they held their peace. Jesus had told them to submit to the government, to render unto Caesar. But more than that, to submit to God. To submit to render unto God. And now we're going to come to a new group, the Sadducees, with a preposterous question about something that they didn't even believe in in an attempt to trick God, trick Jesus into saying something that even He didn't believe.
But they're not going to be successful at that either. Are we at the time that I should quit or should I go on? A couple of minutes? Well, let me just go a little bit more then. Then came to Him certain of the Sadducees, which denied that there is any resurrection.
And they asked Him, saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us that if any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife and raise up seed unto his brother.
There were therefore seven brethren, and the first took a wife and died without children. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her, and in like manner the seven also, and they left no children and died.
So all the men now are dead. And last of all, the woman also dies. Therefore in the resurrection, Whose wife is she of them? For seven had her to wife. And Jesus answered, saying to them, The children of this world marry and are given in marriage.
Now, marriage is for this world. One of the reasons for marriage is to procreate, to have children. That need will be gone in the next life because no one will die. There's no need for any more procreation.
In the resurrection world, there is no death. But they which are accounted worthy to obtain that world, the resurrection world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor given in marriage.
Neither can they die anymore, for they are equal unto the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. So there's no need for procreation. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Now when Moses was at the burning bush, Abraham was dead, Isaac was dead, and Jacob was dead. And yet, God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living, for all live unto Him. And so what he is saying effectively is, yes, the resurrection is real.
And certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. You see, he's made the case for him. They're amazed with the ease with which Jesus took and displayed while dismissing the Sadducees and their challenge of the resurrection.
And after that, they does not ask him any question at all. But he has a last question for them. And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
David therefore called him Lord. How then is he his son? And they don't know the answer to that either. And then in the audience of all the people, including the Pharisees and the scribes and the Sadducees and them all, he saith unto his disciples, Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes and love greetings in the market, and the high seats in the synagogue, and the chief rooms at the feasts, which devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers, the same shall receive greater damnation.
And that's the last verse of chapter 20. But then chapter 21 begins with this. And he looked up, and he saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all of these have of their abundance cast in unto the offering of God. But she of her penurity has cast in all the living she had.
She gave out of her lack of monies all that she had. And they gave out of their abundance what they had left over and could spare. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, and thank you for all the many blessings you have given us.
Thank you for giving us this opportunity to draw nearer to Jesus, to draw nearer to God. Bless us and keep us, bless our nation, protect us, give us the wisdom and courage to deal with the days to come.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.