When the Owner Shows Up
Jamaal Williams
1 One day as he was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came
2 and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”
3 He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me,
4 was the baptism of John from heaven or of human origin?”
5 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’
6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
7 So they answered that they did not know its origin.
8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
9 Now he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time.
10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
11 He sent yet another servant, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.
12 And he sent yet a third, but they wounded this one too and threw him out.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’
14 “But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, so that the inheritance will be ours.’
15 So 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 kill those farmers and give the vineyard to others.” But when they heard this they said, “That must never happen!”
17 But he looked at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of this Scripture:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone?
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”
19 Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on him that very hour, because they knew he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
–Luke 20:1-19
Big Idea: Discipleship is choosing submission over resistance.
1. Introduction
- “The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples—students, apprentices, practitioners—of Jesus Christ...”
2. The Question of Authority (Luke 20:1-8)
- Luke 20:1–2 (CSB) “By what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”
- Luke 20:5–7 (CSB) “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will stone us… So they answered that they did not know its origin.”
- Luke 20:8 (CSB) “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
3. The Rejection of a Son (Luke 20:9–16)
- Luke 20:9 (CSB) “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time.”
- Luke 20:10–12 (CSB) “At harvest time he sent a servant… But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed… He sent yet a third, but they wounded this one too and threw him out.”
- Luke 20:13 (CSB) “I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.”
- Luke 20:14 (CSB) “This is the heir. Let’s kill him, so that the inheritance may become ours.”
- Luke 20:15–16 (CSB) “So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him… He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.”
- Luke 20:16 (CSB) “That must never happen!”
4. God raised the rejected Stone Luke 20:17–19
- Luke 20:17 (CSB) “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
- Luke 20:18 (CSB) “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whoever it falls, it will shatter him.”
- Luke 20:19 (CSB) “They knew he had told this parable against them.”
5. Invitation
- First. Where is Jesus confronting you right now that you are tempted to manage instead of submit?
- Second, If someone watched your ordinary week, where would they see joyful submission to Jesus, and where would they see quiet resistance?