Good News or Bad
Scripture References
Isaiah 43:16-21
Israel’s Only Savior
16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.
Philippians 3:4b-14
Righteousness Through Faith in Christ
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,[3] blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Straining Toward the Goal
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Luke 20:9-20
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
9 And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant[2] to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 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’?[3] 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 20 So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.
Sermon Script
Good News Or The Bad?
What do you want first… The good news or the bad? Well, it might be a good day to go with the good news… He is Risen! (He is risen indeed, Alleluia!) Best day ever!!
Now that I spoiled the climax of Holy Week, we can all go home early and call it a successful day. Well, hold on, maybe not. The bad news is… you must bear with me just a little bit longer… I present to you these contrary news flashes to make a point. When someone asks if you want the good news or the bad news, it is usually a prerequisite to delivering a difficult message. Not usually our first choice.
I have heard the good verses the bad news question multiple of times. It might be a message from a mechanic working on my combine, or one of the guys reporting on a cow check. Truth to be told, I don’t want the good news or the bad. Primarily because my thoughts are always tuned in to the worst-case scenario. It seems the bad can spoil the good and my knee jerk reaction lends an ear to that small voice warning me… “Don’t punish the messenger.”
This is the context looming in the temple as Jesus told the parable of the tenants in the Gospel of Luke this morning. In this parable, Jesus speaks of the beloved image of Israel as the vineyard, owned by the Lord, and dishes out to the scribes and chief priests a message they did not want to hear. In fact, those leaders dwelling in the temple that day, like me, did not want to hear the good news or the bad.
Jeruselem Chaos
Let’s take a little time for an overview of the situation unfolding in Jerusalem. Jesus’ triumphal entry into town was just the day before. I bet there was still an echo lingering in the air of those shouting… “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Yet, at the same time, tensions were running high as the temple had just been cleansed of the merchants and money changers. To make things more chaotic, Pilot is in town with his minions as the city is preparing for the Passover celebration.
So, we have differing perspectives from those to whom Jesus speaks. There are the grumpy unrepentant chief priests, who held their positions and kosher laws in high esteem. Then there are the cheering group of pious Jewish people who are tired of being taken advantage of. Next to those folks where individuals who felt that they were being unfairly treated by not being able to sell goods in the temple. Then on the outside looking in were the Romans who didn’t really care what was going on.
Parable Of The Tenants
When Jesus says that the tenants are not sharing the fruit with the master in the parable, the priests and most of the people in the temple knew exactly which group He was referring to. It is conceivable that a portion of the audience identified good news when Jesus spoke these words. Alternatively, the accused wicked priests, sought to punish the messenger for the bad news given to them.
Let’s once again listen to the message Jesus conveys in this parable. Jesus asks us to envision the landowner collecting his rent. The vineyard tenants, clearly the religious leaders who are charged with tending the nation, are scoundrels who do not want to pay what is due. They beat a messenger, humiliate another, and send yet another away empty handed. Finally, the landowner sends his son. The worthless tenants see him and think that if they kill him, they will gain possession of the vineyard. That is exactly what they did. A plan Jesus rightly portrays as foolishness.
Jesus cleverly ends this parable with a question in verse 15… “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?” The answer is quite direct as He says, “He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” Jesus is clearly delivering this message to the scribes and chief priests.
The Stone The Builders Rejected
Like I mentioned earlier, it is not good news to them as it is making them angry enough that they want to kill Jesus. But they can’t yet. Because… they are afraid of what the potential reactions of the crowds might be. Jesus then quotes Psalm 118:22 that foretells the rejected son becoming the foundation of believers… He says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
Now I ask again… What do you want first? The good news or the bad? We can come up with several good or bad news scenarios in this parable. No doubt it depends on if you are looking at it from the perspective of those religious leaders or from our own eternal point of view. Nevertheless, we know coming up on Good Friday, the bad news is ultimately the good news with the stone the builders rejected.
But before we go there, I would like to emphasize the central message of this parable. This is where the servants deliver bad news, and the owner requests that the tenants refrain from punishing the messenger. That is the message I would like to articulate in the culture of today’s world.
You Are A Tenant
Ponder this… Regardless of whether you are renting a vineyard, a house, or any type of property, you are considered a tenant. Now the owner is going to want “fruits” off of their investment, so you are obligated to offer something for what you are renting. If you don’t do that, then there will be a messenger knocking at your door wanting to make some sort of arrangements. Delivering some news that you do not want to hear.
So, wouldn’t you agree, in this modern-day parable of you and I, we must have a relationship with the owner. One that is trusting, relational, and transparent. We must respect the owner and abide by his demands. The owner on the other hand, wants a good tenant that is kind to his neighbors, takes good care of the property, and respects and obeys him. Can you see where I am going with this?
These relationships are essential to maintaining a healthy spiritual connection, providing they are kept in proper order. With that being said… be mindful of the fact that you and I are the tenants…
I Can Do It By Myself
When our family was growing up, the girls were heavily involved in showing horses. Practicing during the week, then off to a show nearly every weekend throughout the summer. As the years went by, the skill and level of competition increased. So, we were several years into it by the time our youngest come along. Of course, the only event little ones can compete in was a class called “lead line.” That is where a parent would lead the horse and then ultimately every little competitor would get first place. Well, she started riding on her own since she was able to walk and was quite insulted with these rules. She would go through her list… “I don’t want anyone holding me, touching me, leading me…” And her list would go on and on. She didn’t want anyone near her because she could do it by herself.
Aren’t we all like that at times? I want to be the boss. I want to be in control. I want to do it by myself. But why wouldn’t we, the world is constantly saying “act like an owner,” when in fact we are just tenants. We get this from a young age. How many toddlers have you heard say… “I can do this by myself?” Then as we get older, we find ourselves saying the same thing. It is times like these we are acting like owners.
Tenants Acting Like Owners
Saul, later known as Paul, thought he was an owner as he marched down the Damascus Road. He was taking it upon himself to rid the world of those people that called themselves Christians.
Then there were the Children of Israel who thought they too were owners. They were taking control of their lives with pagan idols despite what Isaiah was trying to tell them.
Yet to this day, do we not also tend to live in the illusion of independency and self-sufficiency? When in all reality, our real condition is in the light of the contrary? Whether you admit it or not, that makes us (once again) tenants… acting like owners. Then when a messenger comes along and tells us differently, we want to punish him and send him away. Then another messenger comes along, and we treat him the same way.
Who Is Your Messenger?
So, it’s fair to ask, who are those messengers in our life? The bearer of bad news? Well, it can be our parents, our friends, or it could be a doctor… it can also be disappointments, tragedies, or lost opportunities. Anything that comes along and gives you this message… “You are not in control of your life.”
Life will not let you control it… You cannot act like the owner… and I realize I keep circling back to this same message… that you are the tenant, and the events around you serve as messengers. It might be good news, or it might be bad. Either way, think about a time when you got a message from the owner…. Now ask yourself this question… “How did I treat the messenger?”
Paul was sent a message on that road to Damascus. Here was a man who thought, just like the chief priests, that he was following God’s law through the Torah. But he forgot the One that Moses served who give mercy and love… The very Jesus whom Paul hated, loved him and turned his life around. He was blinded so he could see what he has done and where he needed to go. As you are aware, the Apostle Paul then devoted his life to the owner.
Likewise, the people in Judea were blinded by their sin and thus the owner used the Babylonians to send a message through exile. They returned singing Psalm 126… “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy… The Lord has done great things for us.” All these messages, whether it is good news or bad news, are sent by the hand of God. The owner and creator of all things… as a reminder that “you are not in control of your life; you are my tenant whom I love.” Mercy in the message sent by the loving hand of the stone the builders rejected.
Build Your Life On Christ
That stone… either you will build your life upon it or be crushed by it. There is nothing in between. If we build our life upon Christ, we too will sing with laughter and shout for joy. Who knows, we might even sing praises with the ostriches and the jackals like Isaiah declared in the Old Testament lesson for today. In fact, Jesus calls us to sing praises with those as far as the left is from the right. If we can do that, then we can call our past “rubbish” as Paul did in the Epistle lesson as we strive toward the messages that Christ gives us.
Now what do you think? Do you want the good news first or the bad? With Christ, it does not matter because we shall no longer fear the bad news… Indeed, the wicked tenants did take the life of the son, and Jesus accurately foretells His own demise at the hands of the chief priests. But for us that is eternally good news… As we approach Passion Week and reflect on the significance of the cross, we will follow Christs steps through scripture to remind us that Christ alone is central the very meaning of the cross. My friends, this is precisely the point. An eternal message for all who believe.
The Good News
That’s why we will do well to pay close attention to the messenger. In the Epistle lesson, Paul conveys an important message urging us to “press on… toward the goal… forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” The goal, of eternal life, is the essence of why our transgressions are placed at the foot of the cross. Christ willingly submitted Himself to die on that cross so that you may have life. The owner of our life… our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, was on that cross to bear all our sins. To forget and forgive our past.
That is the good news central to the Lenten message. For you and for me. As Paul adds in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The only bad news here is reserved for those wicked tenants and the judgement those who do not believe will face on the last day. Jesus’ vineyard will be taken from those who refuse to submit to Him and given to those that will. That is His eternal message of Good News.
Best Day Ever
“Jesus was willing to sacrifice His life for all His Tenants.” This truth is found in His profound message as we approach the Easter celebration. A message to all of God’s tenants that the vineyard will flourish with vibrant fruit with those who submit themselves to Jesus, our cornerstone… Brothers and Sisters in Christ, listen to that messenger. Boy, does He ever have good news for you, for the “Best Day Ever!!”
Amen