Confrontation With The Authorities
11:27-33
This begins a series of seven conflict stories involving Jesus and the religious leaders.
Jesus was confronted by the religious authorities, including the chief priests, scribes, and elders. These three groups comprised the Sanhedrin, the ruling body for the Jewish religion.
So, these men are a delegation from the Sanhedrin sent to deal with Jesus. They demanded to know what authority he had to disrupt the temple. This was a trap, seeking grounds to arrest him. If he claimed to have authority from God, or as God, they would arrest him for blasphemy. If he said he did it on his own, they would arrest him for disturbing the temple without authority from the chief priests.
Jesus again avoided the trap by asking them if the baptism of John the Baptist was from heaven or from man. Jesus avoided the trap by setting a trap.
These men did not want to vouch for John’s authority as a prophet from God, because the they believed only they had religious authority. But they knew the people did believe in John as a prophet and did not want to look bad to them.
Further, if John was a prophet sent by God and acting in God’s authority, it would prove that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah), because John vouched for Jesus. He called him the one “who is mightier than I” and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He heard God say “this is my beloved Son”.
If John had authority from God, Jesus had authority from God. If Jesus had authority from God, he was is over the Sanhedrin, not subject to it.
The authorities refused to answer Jesus, so he refused to answer them and fall into the trap.
We know, however, that Jesus as God’s Son, had the authority in himself to take charge of God’s house.
A Parable of Judgment
12:1-12
In this parable, Jesus confronted the Jewish leaders with Israel’s whole history of resisting God and the fact that it leads to judgment.
The parable employs a scenario common at the time. There were many absentee land owners who financed the building of vineyards and fields. They sent agents periodically to examine the vineyards and collect rent either in cash or in kind.
Jesus’ choice of the vineyard for this parable struck home for the Jews, since it reflects the same metaphor used by God in chapter 5 of Isaiah. There he plainly says Israel is the vineyard and that he would destroy the vineyard because it did not produce fruit.
Here again, the owner did everything necessary to establish the vineyard. Then he leased it to tenants. The owner is God the Father. The vineyard is Israel. The tenants are the religious leaders.
The owner was entitled to take the lease payment “in kind”, meaning he would get a share of the harvest of grapes. However, when he sent servants to the vineyard, the tenants beat them and treated them shamefully. (3-5)
The servants represent the Old Testament prophets. The prophets were treated badly during their life times. Elijah, for example, was considered an enemy by the king and queen. Jeremiah was beaten and imprisoned.
Jeremiah 7:25-26 echoed the warning in Isaiah and contains the same message as Jesus’ parable:
“From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck.”
As a last chance, the owner sent his son. The son represents Jesus, the Son of God. But the tenants killed him so they could take over the vineyard. Jesus said the owner’s response would be to destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. (9) This is a prophecy of judgment. God would take away the Jewish leadership of God’s people and give it to others.
That happened. God’s people became those who believed in and followed the Son. (John 1:12)
Jesus here identifies himself as the beloved Son of God the Father, just as the Father said at Jesus’ baptism.
Jesus then switched from the metaphor of the vineyard to a metaphor of building by quoting Psalm 118:22:
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.”
The builders are the Jewish leaders. The cornerstone, the stone that anchors the building, is Jesus. And the building is the people of God. Peter called it a spiritual house with believers as living stones that are used to build it with Jesus as the cornerstone. (1 Peter 2:7)
Paul called it the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, with the whole structure growing into a holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:21)
The Jewish leaders understood that the parable was directed at them and condemned them. (12) They wanted to arrest him, but were afraid of the people, so they just left in frustration.
Takeaways
These leaders did not want to know Jesus or believe in him because they did not want to relinquish their power and submit to him.
Many today do not want to submit to Jesus because they do not want to give up the things they do and want.
But we must do this to follow Jesus. As he said, if you want to follow him, you must deny yourself and take up his cross. (Luke 9:23)
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