Creator, Father, King #350

They grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

IN Matthew 21, JESUS told an interesting parable at the Temple in Jerusalem. Here’s what he said:

A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same. Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, “Surely they will respect my son.” But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, “Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!” So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

What does this have to do with Christmas? Glad you asked! In its immediate context, Jesus spoke this parable against the hard-hearted religious leaders of first-century Palestine. But the Savior’s words can help us appreciate the wonderful Christmas message even more.

What’s It Mean?

The triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit—graciously determined a perfect plan for sinful humanity in eternity past. Then, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son . . . to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5, ESV).

While Jesus’ incarnation and earthly life unfolded in wondrous, mysterious real time for everyone else, nothing that happened shocked the Father or Son. When the Father (the landowner in Jesus’ parable) sent his Son into the world, they knew how the story would unfold. They had written the script! (Notice also how Jesus used this parable to predict his death.)

That’s what makes Jesus’ incarnation so amazing. The Father willingly sent his Son to earth knowing what would happen because he had designed the plan. The Son willingly obeyed the Father knowing that the plan called for him to endure indignity, suffering, and death at the hands of wicked men.

Want to know the best part? Everything about this glorious, eternal plan was for your benefit.

Now What?

When you make plans this holiday season, remember your plans can change—unlike God’s glorious, eternal plan of salvation in Christ.

Did You Know?

Jesus told this parable two days before his arrest.