Therefore when the owner of
the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” They said to Him, “He will bring those
wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other
vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”
Insights: I want us to focus on the
first part of these verses today: God as a righteous judge. The psalmist cries out, “Your
hands made me and formed me; give me understanding so that I
can learn Your commands. Those who fear You
will see me and rejoice, for I put my hope
in Your word. I know, Lord, that Your judgments
are just and that You have afflicted me fairly. May Your
faithful love comfort me as You promised Your servant. May Your
compassion come to me so that I may live, for Your
instruction is my delight (119:73-77, italics
mine).” The psalmist knows God is a
relational God and the best way to know God is to spend time with Him in His Word. It is for this reason he calls God’s
instructions his delight. The psalmist
also understands the fear of the Lord and it is for this reason he puts his
hope in God’s promises which are found in His Word. There are two eternal judgments and everyone
is going to face one of them. The first
is for Believers and is known as the Bema
seat of Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
deal with this subject matter. The
second is for the Condemned and is known as the Great White Throne
Judgment. Revelation 20:11-15 deal with
this subject matter. It is my opinion
that these farmers fell into the later judgment because the parable tells us
that God will bring those wretches to a wretched end. That wretched end is eternal damnation in the
lake of fire, otherwise known as hell.
This damnation is known as the second death and is always in reference
to those who do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. I think the part of this parable that is the
most shocking is that verse 41 is the crowd giving the correct response back to
Jesus regarding themselves. In other
words, we know from verse 45, which we will look at tomorrow, that the
religious leaders were there in midst of this crowd and more than likely the
ones giving the answer back to Jesus.
They recognized their eternal direction and did nothing about it. As such, they prove God’s judgments are just
and fair. Jesus is giving them
opportunity to repent and they reject His offer of grace. How incredibly sad!
Questions:
- Do you have a proper biblical fear of the Lord and His
power?
- Are you living an obedient life?
Prayer: Righteous Judge, Your ways are perfect and Your judgments are
always right. Purify my heart and mold
me into the person You desire. Protect
me from wickedness and be merciful I pray.
Amen.
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