Kill the Son
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Matthew 21:33-41 says, “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. [34] When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. [35] And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. [36] Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. [37] Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ [38] But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ [39] And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. [40] When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” [41] They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
God had chosen the nation of Israel to be His people. They were to keep His laws and follow His commands. They were to teach their children and keep God first in their lives. Israel failed to follow God, so God sent prophets to tell them they were wrong and bring them back to following God. Israel took the prophets, beat them, mistreated them, and killed many of them. Israel didn’t want to hear what the prophets had to say. So God sent more prophets and Israel treated them the same. They rejected God and His prophets time after time. So God sent His son Jesus to teach them and bring them back to God. Surely they would listen to God’s son. However they took Jesus and hung Him on the cross because they hated the truth that He spoke.
Killing the prophets and Jesus didn’t free Israel from God’s authority and power. It just made them subject to God’s anger and justice. If we ignore the prophets, spit in the face of Jesus, and trample on God’s commands it does not mean that we have won. It just means that we will be subject to His justice and wrath.
When we as a nation drive God out, call good evil and evil good, and embrace evil we have not “beat God”. We Just have subjected ourselves to His wrath and justice!
