When God’s People Rebel

ALL – Psalm 26:1-12
ALL – Proverbs 6:16-19
OT – Exodus 13:17-15:18
NT – Matthew 21:23-46

The good news is wonderful! When we first learn that Jesus, the King and Creator of the world, would rather forgive and restore us than kill us for our sins, we’re ecstatic! We can’t praise and obey Him enough! But then as time goes on, the wonderful grace of Jesus becomes the familiar grace of Jesus. We enjoy so much of God’s grace over time that we sometimes forget how gracious it is. And as we grow familiar with Jesus’ grace, we begin to feel comfortable. And then we begin to desire comfort and to seek it out, because it’s so enjoyable. We begin to set aside the work God’s given us to do, which is not always comfortable. We become lazy in His service. And sometimes, we even get to the point where we rebel against any suggestions Jesus sends us via His Word and via His messengers that we ought to be working. We cling to our comfort and safety, forgetting that the safety and comfort we’ve been given is designed to give us the freedom to serve our King. We replace service with laziness and self-enjoyment, and we use Jesus’ grace as our excuse, attacking anyone who asks us to serve God wholeheartedly.

Jesus told a parable about when God’s people try to keep all of God’s blessings for themselves, rather than giving God the return He wants. In the parable, some farmers (God’s people) rent land, from which they are able to grow enough crops for themselves and for their landlord (God). But when the landlord sends servants (prophets, priests, pastors, apostles) to collect the landlord’s share of the crops, the farmers rebel. They abuse the servants, even killing some of them. The landlord tries again, with the same results. Finally, the landlord sends his own son (Jesus), hoping that the farmers will at least respect his son. But the farmers kill the landlord’s son, thinking that they will now be able to keep the land and all its blessings for themselves. In other words, God’s people rebel, seeking to use God’s grace (the land) only for their self-enjoyment and not for God. They try to take the kingdom away from the King.

The Jews listening to this story were horrified. When Jesus asked them what the landlord would do, they were quick to say:

He will put the wicked men to a horrible death, and lease the vineyard to others who will pay him promptly. – Matthew 21:41, The Living Bible

Jesus confirmed what they said. At that point, of course, He was talking about them. The Jews were not serving God. Instead, their leaders were trying to take control of the whole Jewish religion for their own benefit. And Jesus was warning them that God would punish their wickedness and give God’s kingdom to people who would “pay him promptly.”

But now we are the people of God—not only Jews, but also Gentiles, all who believe in Jesus Christ. We are the ones who are expected to “pay him promptly.” We should not become self-contented and self-satisfied, assuming that because we have received God’s grace we are spend His blessings only on ourselves. We are still called to serve Jesus with all our hearts, souls, minds, strength—to give God His portion of the crops. We would do well to err on the side of being over-generous toward God, rather than toward ourselves.

Why are we holding back? Why are we risking our destruction?

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