In your Bibles to the gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 21. when I had asked for topics or suggestions, one person suggested looking at the people of Israel. And I don't know that that question meant to consider the modern political entity of the state of Israel I doubt it was a survey of Zionism, nor necessarily a commentary on what's going on right now in the Middle East. I sort of took it in a theological frame of reference, or a biblical one. I dealt with this material a little bit at the end of Leviticus.

When we're in Leviticus chapter 26, you'll remember the blessings and the curses for the nation of Israel. If they were to go into the land and do what they were supposed to do, they would reap the blessing and the benefit of their God. If they went into the land and did not do what they were supposed to do and followed the Canaanites, then they would receive the curses from God. Well this chapter, specifically chapter 21, all the way to chapter 24, sort of sets the stage for that judgment of God upon the nation of Israel.

So I want to read beginning in chapter 21 at verse 28 to the end of the chapter. But what do you think? A man had two sons and he came to the first and said, son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not.

But afterward, he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir. But he did not go.

Which of the two did the will of his father? They said to him, the first. Jesus said to them, Assuredly, I say to you, that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him.

But tax collectors and harlots believed him. And when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him. Here another parable. There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.

And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.

Then last of all, he sent his son to them, saying, they will respect my son. When the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers? They said to him, he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone? This was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitudes, because they took him for a prophet.

Amen.

Introduction

Well, as I said, chapters 21 to 24 are a unit. Basically, the Lord Jesus enters into the city of Jerusalem at the beginning of Matthew chapter 21, what we call the triumphal entry. and then he engages in dispute and debate with the religious leaders. That leads ultimately to his pronouncements of woes and condemnations upon them in chapter 23. Chapter 23 then ends with his prophetic pronouncement that this house would be desolated.

And then in chapter 24, he's asked a question specifically about the temple, and then he answers that. And prophetically, he speaks concerning the destruction of the temple in AD 70. So as I said, this is more of a survey, not of the modern state of Israel, necessarily, or of Zionism, but specifically, what does the Bible say concerning Old Covenant Israel? What does the Bible say concerning New Covenant Israel?

Well, hopefully we will get that as we come to this particular passage. Our focus will be verses 33 to 46. As I said, in chapter 21, beginning at verse 23, all the way to the end of chapter 22, there are eight confrontations between Jesus and the religious leaders. The confrontation in chapter 21, 23 to 27, followed by three parables and then four questions.

The close connection of the three parables is seen in, notice, chapter 21 at verse 33, here another parable, and then again in chapter 22, verse 1, and Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables. And it ultimately hinges upon the question that was posed to him concerning his authority. Notice in chapter 21, specifically at verse 23. Now, when he came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted him as he was teaching and said, by what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?

So as I said, he then engages in parabolic teaching, and then they exchange questions and answers in chapter 22, beginning at verse 15. So the specific passage in verses 33 to 46 is basically a history of Israel. The first parable in this section, notice in verses 28 to 32, is a commentary on the first century situation. It's pretty easy.

Pretty obvious, obviously the son who said, I will not, but afterward he regretted it and went. But then the second who said, of course I will, but he didn't do it. Jesus draws out the teaching in verse 31. I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.

For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him. But tax collectors and harlots believed him. And when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him." So they were like that son who had said yes, but they didn't do what they were supposed to do. That's old covenant Israel.

They are in that position, covenanted with the God of Israel, where they have sworn an oath that they would carry out all that Yahweh had commanded. But of course, they don't do that. But in that first century setting, when John the Baptist comes, when the Lord Jesus comes, tax collectors and harlots believe him. So they are like that son that said no initially but then regrets it and then comes to himself and then goes.

So that's kind of a commentary by way of parable on their particular situation there in the first century. And then the parable of the wicked vine dressers is essentially the history of Israel. It is the history of Old Covenant Israel leading up to this time when Jesus, the Son, in the parable had come to them, and instead of receiving Him and honoring Him and worshiping Him, they want to seize Him and kill Him.

Sermon Outline Announced

So I want to look first at the giving of the parable in verses 33 to 39. Second, the question concerning the parable in verses 40 and 41. Third, the implications drawn from the parable in verses 42 to 44. And then finally, the response to the parable in verses 45 and 46.

So when we look at this, first of all, in terms of the giving of the parable,

The Giving of the Parable

it doesn't happen in a vacuum. It doesn't just sort of fall into Matthew's gospel without any sort of background or with any sort of context.

Old Testament Background: The Vineyard

In the Old Testament, God refers to Israel as a vine that had been taken out of Egypt. You see that in Psalm 80, for instance. It's also referred that way in Jeremiah the prophet in chapter 2 at verse 21. But there is a direct connection between this parable in verses 33 and following to the prophet Isaiah.

And you can turn there, Isaiah chapter 5. A parable very similar in nature and as well very similar in terms of its commentary on the situation going on in Israel at the time. So notice in the prophet Isaiah chapter 5 verse 1. Now let me sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard.

My well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst and also made a winepress in it. So he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And now, please, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard.

I will shake its edge, and it shall be burned, and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste, it shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant.

He looked for justice, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help." It's the exact situation that is facing Jesus in this first century situation.

Isaiah 5 and Matthew 23 Compared

In fact, turn over to chapter 23 in Matthew's Gospel to see something similar in terms of that indictment in Isaiah 5-7. Notice in the woe pronounced in verse 23. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you paid tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith.

These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. So the same sort of situation that faced the prophet Isaiah, the days where men called good evil and evil good, It's the same sort of thing that obtained in the first century when our Lord Jesus Christ comes to His own and His own receive Him not. So the Old Testament has this sort of thing. And so when Jesus speaks this particular parable, they obviously understood that He was talking about them.

They make that observation very specifically in verse 45. Now, when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking of them. So they understood that. They knew that he was condemning them.

And again, that then launches that series of questions where they challenge him in chapter 22, and then he denounces them very specifically in chapter 23. So

Characters in the Parable Identified

in terms of the parable as we have it, the landowner is God the Father. The vineyard is Israel, Old Covenant Israel, here called the Kingdom of God, or referred to as the Kingdom of God. The vinedressers are Israel, specifically the religious leadership at the time. The servants in the parable are the prophets.

Again, this is a historic survey of Old Covenant Israel in terms of a parable. And then the son of the landowner, obviously, is the Lord Jesus Christ. And so essentially what you have is the landowner plants a vineyard. There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, just like we see there in Isaiah 5.

The landowner protected the vineyard. The landowner then leased it to vine dressers, tenant farmers that were responsible from the produce of the land to give a portion to the vineyard owner so that he would make his money on that particular transaction. He wasn't in it simply because of love and fresh air. He was in it because it was a good investment.

And then, as well, the landowner goes into a far country. And again, I think this is just a parabolic way to say that in his absence they engaged in lawlessness and rebellion and wickedness. Well, in verses 34 to 39, we see that the landowner sends his servants to collect his share. So verse 34, now when vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers that they might receive its fruit.

And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again, that's Old Covenant Israel. That is specifically what happens. Similarity with Isaiah 5.

So he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? He looked for justice, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help." So when Jesus comes to this first century setting, He expects fruit. He expects the children of Israel to be godly and faithful and upright.

He expects them to yield those things which are pleasing in His sight. Now when that does not happen,

The Fig Tree and Israel's Obsolescence

notice back in chapter 21 at verses 18 and 19. Now in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, let no fruit grow on you ever again. Immediately the fig tree withered away.

We need to understand, with reference to Old Covenant Israel, it's done. It's no longer an Old Covenant ethnic people of God that are His special privilege. As I'll argue later on, the reference in verse 43, when that kingdom is taken from them and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it, that's the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to in Galatians 6.16 as the Israel of God.

Romans chapter 2, they're the ones that are truly circumcised, not externally or outwardly, but in the heart by faith. Philippians 3, verse 3, we are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit and rejoice in those things. So we don't have this situation where there's some future sort of resurrection of Old Covenant Israel. Now Romans 11 indicates a gathering in of ethnic Jews.

That's the reading that is popularized in the Puritan movement. There will be lots of ethnic Jews converted, but not because they're Jews, but because they come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. An alternate reading of that is by O. Palmer Robertson, who I think makes a compelling case for a different sort of way to approach that.

But just look specifically again at 2119. Seeing a fig tree by the road, and this is symbolic of Israel, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, let no fruit grow on you ever again. Immediately the fig tree withered away. What's he saying?

There is this dissolution, this suspension or obsolescence built into the Old Covenant. Once it is done away with in our Lord Jesus Christ, it's not going to be resurrected. There's not a future political place for Israel. There's not a rebuilt temple.

There's not a millennial kingdom where there's sacrifices of atonement. That's simply to go backward in redemptive history. That's what we see in this particular passage.

Servants Sent and Slain: The Prophets

So the landowner sends his servants to collect the fruit. The vinedressers beat, kill, and stone the servants. All you got to do is survey the Old Testament. The beating of Micaiah, 1 Kings, chapter 22, verse 24.

Jeremiah, the prophet, was beat. Jeremiah 20, verses 1 and 2. The killing of prophets by Ahab's wife, Jezebel. You see that in 1 Kings 18.4 and 1 Kings 18.3, 13, rather.

The killing of Uriah. in Jeremiah 26, 20-23. So everything that Jesus is saying here is stuff that had happened in the Old Covenant. You read through the Old Testament, you'll see the way they treated the prophets, you'll see the way they had disdain and rejection of God, and that is the reason why they reaped the curses associated with the Covenant. And then the stoning of a prophet, that would have been Zechariah the prophet, 2 Chronicles 24, verses 20-22.

So then notice in verse 36, the landowner sent more servants to collect the fruit, and the bind dressers did likewise. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to that. You've read through the Old Testament. You'll know that this is not made up.

You'll know that this is precisely what happens. Old Testament references to Israel's rejection of the prophets. You have it in 2 Chronicles 36, 15 and 16. Nehemiah 9, 26.

Jeremiah's first temple sermon 7, 25 to 27. These men rehearsed the fact that God sent prophets to the nation and the nation killed the prophets sent by God. And that's what Jesus is doing here. He's rehearsing this in the presence of these religious leaders who are questioning him about his authority, and then are going to debate with him in chapter 22 concerning particular issues or questions, and it will culminate in his denunciation of them in those woes in chapter 23, and in the prophecy concerning the destruction of their temple in chapter 24.

But as well, the New Testament emphasis on Israel's rejection of the prophets. Turn to the prophet, rather, evangelist Luke. Sorry. Prophet, apostle, evangelist.

He's not prophet, he's not apostle, he's evangelist. Luke chapter 13, notice specifically at verse 33. Well, verse 32, and he said to them in the context of Herod, go tell that fox, behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless, I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

Again, what was supposed to be the holy city of Jerusalem was a den of iniquity. It was a house of thieves. Notice in the book of Acts, in chapter 7, Stephen, at the end of his sermon before the Sanhedrin, makes the same point. Acts chapter 7, specifically at verse 52.

Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute, and they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers? As well, go back for just a moment to see why Stephen was on trial. Look at chapter 6, specifically at verses 13 and 14. This is the same reason that Jeremiah was called to task, and one of the same reasons why Jesus was looked at unfavorably. 613, they also set up false witnesses who said, this man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.

For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us. Jeremiah was called to task for the very same thing because he prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple under Nebuchadnezzar in the 6th century BC. Well, Stephen is called to task for the exact same thing, and interestingly, so is our Lord Jesus Christ. So when it comes to this particular parable, it ought not to be difficult to convince you that this is, in fact, the history of Israel.

And then in the immediate context, if you look at chapter 23, specifically at verse 31. Look how he ends this chapter Having denounced the scribes and the Pharisees, the religious leadership of Israel at that time, with several woes, calling them hypocrites, he says in verse 31, Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes.

Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. That's the Book of Acts, brethren. The first main enemy against the Christian Church was unbelieving Israel. The Roman Empire, later on, would turn their attention against the Church.

But initially, the Church, by the Roman Empire, was looked at as a subset of Judaism, and for the most part, they left them alone. When Paul is brought before those civil magistrates in the Book of Acts, they really don't want to have anything to do with him. He was not perceived to be a threat by them. Now again, later on, specifically with Nero, things got a lot worse for the Christians.

But it was unbelieving Israel, Old Covenant Israel, Covenant-breaking Israel, that rejected and resisted the Messiah. And then notice what he says in verse 35, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Now that's A to Z in the English Bible. It's not A to Z in the Hebrew Bible.

But in the Hebrew canon, that's specifically correct. The book of Genesis is first, Abel, and the book of 2 Chronicles is last, so Zechariah. So the A to Z, in terms of their murderous rage against the prophets of God, he says that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth. And then notice in verse 36, in case we're wondering when this might actually take place, assuredly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Now there's been a lot of attempts to try to evade what this generation means. This generation in Matthew's Gospel always means the generation to whom Jesus speaks. Generation is His contemporaries. Now that leads Jesus, according to His humanity, to lament over Jerusalem.

Notice in verse 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. See, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall see me no more till you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Your house is laid to you desolate, just like this pronouncement on the fig tree. So going back to our parable, notice in verse 37, then last of all, he sent his son to them saying, they will respect my son. Again, if the landowner is God the Father, the son of the landowner is God the Son. It's the Messiah sent by Yahweh to this vineyard.

So notice in verse 38, But when the vinedressers saw the Son, they said among themselves, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. Again, this is not surprising. This is happening in the very context that Jesus is speaking this.

This happens all throughout our studies in the Gospel according to John. It shouldn't take much to get anybody to see that in that first century setting, Jesus was opposed by unbelieving Israel. And that's what he's speaking to specifically here.

The Question Concerning the Parable

That brings us to the question concerning the parable in verses 40 and 41. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" It's a good question. They have treated him with disrespect and disobedience. They have treated his prophets with disrespect and disobedience, even to the point of murder and stoning and all sorts of viciousness.

And they have treated the son with that kind of disrespect and disobedience. So the question comes, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers? Now they might not have been the brightest bulbs in the chandelier, but they were certainly able to follow this. They said to him, he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.

The religious leaders understand the seriousness of the situation. They don't miss that. The religious leaders acknowledge the righteousness of God's judgment. They get that.

The religious leaders unwittingly prophesy alongside of Jesus their own destruction relative to their conduct in terms of disobedience to the covenant that they swore fidelity to in the book of Exodus at chapter 24.

Implications Drawn from the Parable

And then that brings us thirdly to the implications drawn from the parable. Notice Jesus says to them, according to verse 42, What is Jesus doing? Jesus is saying that this isn't taking the landowner by surprise. This isn't caught the son of the landowner unaware.

This is not something that they didn't have in their plan and purpose. He says that the Old Testament scriptures prophesied concerning this. But I love the way that it says this. Jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures?

Of course they had read that. Of course, they were familiar with it. It's Psalm 118, verses 22 and 23. There's a quote from Psalm 118 prior in the text in verse 9.

Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Of course, they had read it, but they never thought to make the interpretation about themselves.

They never thought for a moment that the stone which the builders rejected would be the Lord Jesus Christ, that chief cornerstone, the one that was marvelous in the sight of his father, the landowner. And so Jesus cites that in order to connect it to Old Testament prophecy concerning ultimately their downfall as a result of having broken covenant with God Most High.

The Israel-Jesus Identification

Now, in terms of the significance of the quotation here, it demonstrates the Israel-Jesus identification. Now, when I talk about that, I want to try and emphasize that there is a new covenant Israel. We call it the Church, Galatians 6.16, as I've already mentioned, Romans 2, and Philippians 3. But that's predicated on the true Israel of God, which is Jesus.

Jesus is that Prince of God. Jesus is the one in whom all the promises of God are yea and amen. That's something that Matthew takes pains to demonstrate in his gospel account. Now, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all wrote similar gospels.

I mean, John's the most different of what we call the three synoptics, but it's all the same material concerning Jesus. But they all have a different audience. Most people, commentators, biblical scholars, say that Luke is writing to a Gentile audience. Paul was his sort of helper alongside of him in terms of making sure what he wrote was accurate and all that sort of thing.

Mark was the man that wrote primarily to a Roman audience. John wrote to the church and to unbelievers to call them to believe and repent. Matthew wrote to Jews, and one of the things that Matthew does in his gospel is that he links Israel, Old Covenant Israel, with Jesus, the New Covenant Israel. So in Matthew chapter 2, in fact you can turn there, there's an Old Testament prophecy concerning Israel coming out of Egypt, and it's applied to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice in Matthew chapter 2, very specifically at verse I'm sorry, verse, I think it's verse 11. No, I've got it. Let's see verse 13. Now, when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, arise, take the young child and his mother, flee to Egypt and stay there until I bring you word.

For Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When He arose, He took the young child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt I called my son." God calls Old Covenant Israel out of Egypt as his firstborn son. Once they leave Egypt, what happens? They pass through water and they end up in the wilderness.

Well, Jesus, the Israel of God, passes through water according to Matthew 3 at verses 13 to 17. He is baptized. After his baptism, he is then led out into the wilderness by the Spirit. Remember that Old Covenant Israel went out into the wilderness, and there they experienced a time of testing and trial for 40 years, and they succumbed.

They fell. They did not obey. They did what God had not commanded them. They disobeyed.

Jesus, however, in the wilderness, fulfills all that is written. In fact, we see that emphasis that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That's from Deuteronomy. Again, not accidental.

Matthew is linking Jesus and Israel. I think Luke links Adam and Jesus, not that either are incorrect, it's giving us different facets in terms of the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. So there is this Israel-Jesus identification. As well, it demonstrates that the rejection of Christ was prophesied.

This was not haphazard. This wasn't a, you know, again, God didn't, you know, hit his forehead and say, I can't believe these people. No, it was all prophesied. It pleased Yahweh to bruise him, putting him to grief.

It demonstrates the vindication of Christ follows His rejection, and it demonstrates that the ministry of Christ and His rejection by the leaders was according to God's decree. Again, this is not haphazard. We're leading the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was preparatory, it was in anticipation, and it was the New Covenant that fulfills and realizes that.

And then it demonstrates, this Old Covenant citation demonstrates that the ministry of Christ is marvelous in the eyes of believers. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

The Kingdom Transferred to the Church

Now notice the status of the kingdom specifically. The status of the kingdom in verse 43. So he's given this history of Old Covenant Israel. They have properly understood that this is the enticement to the judgment of God Most High.

He grounds it in this Old Testament setting in Psalm 118. And then he makes this implication. Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. Again, brethren, there is no sort of open door for a future geopolitical Israel with a rebuilt temple and animal sacrifices for atonement.

He's cursed the fig tree never to grow again, and here he has taken the kingdom from them, and he is giving it to a nation bearing the fruits of it. Now, the nation of Israel was not the totality of God's kingdom. God's kingdom includes all things. But it was the kingdom of God on earth.

In fact, it's intriguing, when Solomon sits on the throne, according to 1 Chronicles 29-23, it says, "...then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king, instead of David his father and prospered." He sat on the throne of Yahweh. when he sat on that throne. So the kingdom of God was realized in the Old Covenant in the nation of Israel. They had a priesthood, they had kings, a monarchy, they had a temple, they had everything there. It was the visible expression of the kingdom of God.

The nation of Israel had had a privileged status, but it was unfruitful, rejected the prophets and the Messiah, and as a result would be stripped of all of its privileges, and that's the point in verse 43. Therefore, I say to you, based on this old covenant history, based on this constant rejection and rebellion against God, based on your treatment of the prophets, based on your treatment of the Messiah, and based ultimately upon the written word of God, Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

The Nation Bearing Fruit: 1 Peter 2

Now, when we ask the specific question, what nation is this, turn to the book of Peter, 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. Intriguingly, it's an Old Testament quotation applied to Israel in the Old Testament, but here in the New Testament, applied to the spiritual Israel, or the true Israel, or rather, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in 1 Peter chapter 2, specifically, At verse 4, coming to him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men but chosen by God and precious you also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame.

Therefore, to you who believe, he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble being disobedient to the word, notice this, to which they also were appointed. Again, Peter knows that. It wasn't haphazard.

It wasn't random. It wasn't just something that happened to occur in the history of God's purpose and plan, so he enacted a plan B. The plan was always new covenant reality. The Old Covenant was shadowy, it was typological, it pointed forward or prefigured the coming of the Lamb of God who would save His people from their sins.

It all accomplished the purpose for which the Lord intended. And then notice specifically in verse 9, Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." And again, Old Covenant prophets prophesied concerning Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God. So we've got this nation of God language, this language that is Old Covenant, but now it's applied in the New Covenant to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So in verse 43 of Matthew's Gospel, it tells us that the Old Covenant people are no more.

Now again, that's not to say that somebody living in the modern state of Israel can't believe the gospel and be saved. That's not what it's saying. But what it is saying is that Old Covenant Israel is not going to be reconvened in this New Covenant era to do the things that I mentioned previously. Rebuilt temple, reintroduction of animal sacrifices.

That is to go backward in redemptive history. So the Lord Jesus speaks concerning this transfer of the kingdom.

Historical Fulfillment: AD 70

Now in terms of the historical fulfillment of this, I've already tipped my hand, Matthew 24 deals with the Olivet Discourse. And in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus is talking about the temple that was standing then. Notice at verse 3, Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Go back for just a moment to verse 36 in chapter 23.

Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. He then gives the Olivet Discourse and he punctuates it at the end, at least of this section, in verse 34 of Matthew 24. Notice he says, Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. So I would argue, and I have argued, in some detail that all that comes between those pronouncements of this generation did take place in the first century.

The Lord is prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This was a historical event. It was a historic reality. It's not only testified here in the gospel narratives, but by Josephus, the Jewish historian.

In fact, you compare Josephus' writings with Jesus at times, it's pretty uncanny in terms of the description of the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. So this is what he's referring to specifically in terms of the public demonstration. Now, this actually comes to pass at his death and resurrection. So at the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, that's when the Old Covenant is no more.

The Old Covenant served, it functioned, it did what it was supposed to do. When Jesus comes, he lives, he dies, he's raised again. So the Old Covenant is no longer binding. In fact, at the Last Supper, what does Jesus institute, or what does Jesus inaugurate?

The new covenant in his blood. So the death and resurrection of Jesus is the official end of the Old Covenant and the official beginning of the New Covenant. But in terms of its outward display, it would take A.D. 70 to demonstrate that. You can turn to the book of Hebrews, where I think the Apostle indicates that very thing.

Hebrews chapter 8. in a context where he's describing the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant. But again, the Old Covenant wasn't bad. The Old Covenant did what God intended for the Old Covenant to do. It wasn't that the fault was with the Old Covenant, the fault was with the people in the Old Covenant.

So in chapters 7 and 8, he highlights the superiority of that new covenant. He says that Christ is the surety of a better covenant. This covenant is founded on better promises and it affords a better hope. And then in chapter 8, beginning in verse 7, he indicates that this was the fulfillment of what God had prophesied in the old covenant through Jeremiah.

Notice in verse 7, for if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with, notice, them, not the covenant. It wasn't the covenant, it was them. They didn't obey the covenant, they didn't do what they were supposed to do.

And then more sort of affirmation that the church is the true Israel of God. Notice in verse 8, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Well, that he's applying these realities to the Church of the Lord Jesus in the very context that he's writing, we surmise that that is Old Covenant language prefiguring, typifying, foreshadowing the Church of the Lord Jesus. He then cites from the prophet Jeremiah to say that this was always God's intention, this was always God's plan.

He would bring this New Covenant with a better surety to affect the better hope with the better promises. But then specifically look at verse 13. In that he says a new covenant he has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

So I think what he means here in that he says a new covenant he has made the first obsolete at the blood or at the cross through the blood of Jesus Christ. He made it obsolete. Now, what is becoming obsolete and growing old? Why does he say that?

Because the temple was still standing. Persons were still going to sacrifice. It looked as if everything was still in order in terms of Old Covenant Israel. In fact, I think that's the impetus for the book of Hebrews. apostasy passages in chapters 6 and 10.

Yeah, we can apply them to certain sins that we may commit, but the particular application in chapters 6 and 8 is somebody who has, or 6 and 10 rather, who has confessed or professed faith in Jesus and then succumbed to pressure from friends and family to go back to Moses. And again, Moses isn't bad. But once Jesus has come, we don't look at the shadows anymore. We look at the substance, which is our Lord Jesus.

So the temple is still there. The priesthood is still there. The sacrificial system is still there. And these Hebrew Christians are getting pressured to go back to it.

So I think Paul's impetus in the book of Hebrews is don't go back to it. Christ is superior. He's over the angels. He's over the prophets.

He's over Joshua. He's over Moses. He's over all things. His covenant is the better covenant.

So, in that he says a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. Now, what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Well, when would it vanish away? When the Roman army surrounded Jerusalem and sacked the city and the temple.

Again, that was a historical reality. When you compare the Olivet Discourse in Luke's narrative, specifically at chapter 21, he even says, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is near. Luke 21-20, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

He's not talking about the second physical coming. There's no fleeing to the mountains when Jesus comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead. There's no fleeing to, you know, I am and I've got a little place up and, you know, wherever I'm going to go hide there and just let this whole sort of ordeal pass. No, it's a localized judgment in Judea upon the city of Jerusalem with a specific target of its temple.

So this language would be absolutely ridiculous if it's talking about the second physical coming of the Lord. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. What does that mean?

It means Leviticus 26. It means Deuteronomy 28. It means that the curses associated with the covenant have come upon these people that crucified the Lord of Glory. He came to His own.

His own did not receive Him. He curses their fig tree. He threatens to take away their kingdom and give it to a nation bearing the fruits consistent with it. And so the temporal judgment of God falls upon them.

And again, look at the direction in verse 23. He's talking about a localized judgment. He's talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and that is precisely what he's doing there in Matthew 24. Again, look at verse 15 in Matthew 24.

Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, whoever reads, let him understand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days. Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. Again, brethren, this is language that would be nonsensical in terms of the second physical coming and the consummation of all things. There's no hiding.

There's no fling. It doesn't matter if it's the Sabbath. It doesn't matter if you're a pregnant woman, if you're nursing a baby. And then in verse 21, for then, this gives interpreters problems, for then there will be great tribulation such as has not been since in the beginning of the world until this time, nor, no, nor ever shall be.

The significance isn't the body count, it's the covenantal transformation. It's not body count that makes it the Great Tribulation. It's the fact that the Old Covenant people, they had sinned against God, and in 722 BC, the Assyrians came in and shut them down. In 586, the Babylonians came in and shut them down.

The Lord of Glory comes to them and they do not own him as Lord. They crucify him. That's it. The covenant curses have come.

He inaugurates the new covenant. The city, the temple is shut down, never to be reconvened again. So when we look for historical fulfillment of verse 43 in chapter 21, it is at the death and resurrection of our Lord. He inaugurated the new covenant in his blood.

Now in terms of the public demonstration of that, A.D. 70. But it's the church of the Lord Jesus Christ that is that kingdom, or that nation rather, that bears the fruits of it.

Condemnation of the Covenant-Breakers

And then he pronounces this condemnation upon them in verse 44. Whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls it will grind him to powder. In other words, there is great judgment for the covenantally unfaithful and rebellious Israelites who had rejected the Lord of glory.

The Response to the Parable

And then notice, finally, the response to the parable. Again, we've got to give a little credit to the chief priests and Pharisees because they understood it. They didn't say, well, this must mean 2,000 years from now, there's going to be a revived Roman Empire, there's going to be a rebuilt temple, they're going to reintroduce, no, no, no, they understood all too well that he was talking about them. Now, when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking of them.

It was not lost on them. They understood it. Now, that doesn't mean they bowed to him and confessed him as Lord and Savior and said, oh, we better get our act together. We'll come to you.

No, no, no. That's not it. They understood that the judgment he pronounced was coming upon them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, in fulfillment of the parable he just told, Here's the son who's come from the landowner of the vineyard, and instead of receiving him and honoring him, they seize him, they deliver him up to Pontius Pilate to be crucified.

So they're carrying out the very thing he just said in parable. So they sought to lay hands on him. They feared the multitudes because they took him for a prophet. They feared man and they did not want to be subject to those who might otherwise think that they were wrong.

Same sort of thing happened in the very initial sort of dispute in terms of authority. Look at chapter 21, verse 23. Well, we read verse 23. So they asked him, by what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?

Jesus answered and said to them, I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, where was it from, from heaven or from men? And they reasoned among themselves, saying, if we say from heaven, he will say to us, why then did you not believe him? But if we say from men, we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.

So they answered Jesus and said, we do not know. And he said to them, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. These men were driven by fear of man. You see that when it comes time to seize him and it's near the Passover, they go by night because they don't want to cause a ruckus in the town.

And so these were gutless, cowardless, covenant breakers that heard the parable, understood that he was speaking about them, wanted to lay hands on him, but they fear the multitudes because they took him for a prophet.

Conclusion: Lessons from Israel's History

Well, in conclusion, the history of Israel, as I said, it was the visible expression of God's kingdom on earth in the Old Covenant. It was the visible expression of God's kingdom on earth. Israel was the recipient of the goodness of God. You see that in the prophet Isaiah specifically. in terms of the parable of the vineyard there.

God blesses, God provides, God gives them bounty. He promises all that in the Pentateuch. He affirms all that in the section concerning the covenant blessings. And then he says he'll deprive them of those things in terms of the covenant curses.

As well, Israel was the subject of the long-suffering of God. This is a brief parable, but it covers a long time. And if you read the Old Testament, you have to be struck with the reality of the long suffering of God. He doesn't immediately, every time they sin, go out and smash them on the head.

There's times where you kind of wonder, wow, I can't believe this. I mean, the persons that would say, oh, the Old Covenant God is... Oh, wrath and judgment and curse. Yeah, there's wrath and judgment and curse, but there's a lot of patience and a lot of mercy and a lot of kindness.

Remember, each time that he sends a prophet, he sends the prophet to call them to repent, to renew faith, to come to him. As well, Israel did not produce fruit consistent with their privilege as the people of God. That's what the parable here teaches, this is what Isaiah 5 teaches. And as a result, break the covenant, you reap the curses associated with the covenant.

Israel rejected the prophets, including John the Baptist. We see that in verse 32, for John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But tax collectors and harlots believed him, and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him. They thought he was, you know, Not basically they thought he was just some you know weirdo off the reservation on the other side of the on the other side of the river Jordan and they and then Israel ultimately rejected the Messiah and their broke covenant with God and and they then reap the covenant curses.

As I mentioned, the fulfillment of verse 43, therefore I say to you the kingdom of God is predicated on verse 41. They said to him, he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. the religious leaders recognized their own destruction, and rightly so. They at least had enough wherewithal to get what he was saying. This text baffles, and so does chapter 24.

Many a Bible commentator, well, it can't mean AD 70. Why can't it mean that? Especially when Jesus says, this generation. That's precisely what it means.

And then you have God-inspired commentary in Hebrews 8.13. and other places in the New Testament that indicates that it was unbelieving Israel that was the first enemy of the church. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. You know the book of Acts. You see that they were antagonistic against the church.

But here in 1 Thessalonians 2, which was an early epistle of the apostle, notice in 1 Thessalonians 2.14, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us. And they do not please God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they may be saved. So as always, and he uses the same language that Jesus uses in that precursor to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 23. So as always, to fill up the measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

There is a New Testament apostle acknowledging unbelieving Israel as having killed the Lord Jesus, as having killed the apostles, as having killed the prophets in the Old Testament. They are filling up the measure of their sins and wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. Again, this idea that this has to be in our future is simply read into the text and not taken out of the text. We have Jesus parabolically give us the history of Israel, speak concerning the transfer of the kingdom from old covenant Israel to new covenant Israel, which is the church, in verse 43, and then he continues in debate or confrontation in chapter 22, condemnation in chapter 23, and then prophetic announcement in chapter 24 to come out of that and say, well, he must be speaking about our future. is to miss the point of the passage.

As well, it is to provide some sort of an odd justification for some geopolitical future for Israel. Again, they may have that, but it's not by God's prophetic statement. It may be in God's providence, but it's not based on biblical prophecy. Israel, Old Covenant Israel, at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, entered into the rank and file of every other nation. so that now they ought to hear the gospel.

We ought to preach to them, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and repent from your sins. They don't have special status because they are ethnic Jews. The religious leaders, along with their followers, would reap the wrath of the Lamb in AD 70. Again, I'm not making this up.

Ryle says, a time came when the long suffering of God towards the Jews had an end. 40 years after our Lord's death, which is this generation, the cup of their iniquity was at length full, and they received a heavy chastisement for their many sins. Their holy city, Jerusalem, was destroyed. Their temple was burned. They themselves were scattered over the face of the earth.

The kingdom of God was taken from them and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. Spurgeon says the same thing. As a class, the religious leaders of the Jews were guilty of the blood of a long line of prophets, and they were about to crown their long career of crime by the murder of the Son of God Himself. In the destruction of Jerusalem, the God of heaven visited them and dealt out just punishment to them.

The siege of the city and the massacre of the inhabitants was a terrible avenging of the innocent blood which the people and their rulers had shed. As I said, the status of ethnic Israel today, they need the gospel. They need to believe the gospel. They need to repent from their sin.

If it's not the case, you know, you hear that sometimes, well, you know, Muslims and Jews and Christians all have the same God. No, they don't. Our God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To reject the Son is to reject the Father.

Why do you think Jesus keeps banging that nail as we work our way through John's gospel? Why do you think he keeps emphasizing that if you've seen me, you've seen the Father? What's the implication? If you don't see me, you don't believe me, you don't know me, you don't have the Father either.

Such that in 1 John 2, John, the theologian, makes this pronouncement that ought to constantly ring in our ears. 1 John 2, verse 22, who is a liar, but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. That would be unbelieving Jews, brethren. We're looking for this future Antichrist. The Antichrist was a Christological heresy in the first century that was rampant among the churches.

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either. He who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

And then one final text before we close, Genesis chapter 12. I don't want to get all modern day political Israel stuff, but there is one text that I think we ought to consider. Genesis chapter 12. We hear this applied presently to the modern state of Israel, which is usually done with a dispensational sort of a hermeneutic or a motive, or if not, It's because people have listened to pastors or preachers who have a dispensational hermeneutic.

So Genesis 12, 3, I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. We just take that right out of its context, right out of its prophetic sort of surrounding, right out of the fulfillment of it being Jesus, and apply it to the modern state of Israel? Brethren, this is fulfilled in Jesus. I will bless those who bless you.

I will curse him who curses you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. It's not Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It's the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

So it's ultimately, what think ye of Christ? If you reject the Lord of glory, you reject and despise Jesus Christ, you're no friend of God most high. And therefore, you don't get to be blessed. You ought to repent, believe the gospel, because there's great blessings there, but it's not by virtue of the blood that runs in your veins.

It is by virtue of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It's not certain blood type, but rather it is to be born again by the Spirit of the living God. Well, I will close in prayer and we'll leave because there's no questions on any of this, I'm sure. Let's pray.

Closing Prayer

Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this brief parable and what it compacts into such a short space concerning Old Covenant history. We thank you for our Lord Jesus. We thank you for his teaching.

We thank you for his death, his resurrection, his life. and all the benefits that flow from that. And God, as the nation here, as the church of the Lord Jesus, help us to be faithful in bearing fruits. If we learn a practical lesson from this, may we not make the same mistake, may we not sin the same sin that Old Covenant and apostate Israel did. Help us to be faithful, help us to be in earnest, help us to do so, not so that we may be saved, but because we have been saved by your grace.

May this be an expression of our gratitude of our love and of our delight to do the will of the God of heaven and earth.

Scripture References

• Genesis 12:3
• Leviticus 26
• Deuteronomy 28
• 1 Kings 18:4; 18:13; 22:24
• 1 Chronicles 29:23
• 2 Chronicles 24:20-22; 36:15-16
• Nehemiah 9:26
• Psalm 80; 118:22-23
• Isaiah 5:1-7
• Jeremiah 2:21; 7:25-27; 20:1-2; 26:20-23
• Matthew 2:13; 3:13-17; 21:9; 21:18-19; 21:23; 21:31-46; 22; 23:23; 23:31; 23:35-37; 24:3; 24:15; 24:21; 24:23; 24:34
• Luke 13:32-33; 21:20
• Acts 6:13-14; 7:52
• Romans 2; 11
• Galatians 6:16
• Philippians 3:3
• 1 Thessalonians 2:14
• Hebrews 6; 8:7-8; 8:13; 10
• 1 Peter 2:4; 2:9
• 1 John 2:22