YES, HE is Talking to YOU! (continued)
Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
The parables of Jesus are of no use to us if they cannot be understood in today’s terms. That is, if they are frozen in the time in which He spoke them they can then, for us, only point to an idea or an ideal that He was trying to teach those particular people; this is true whether we look at the inner meaning or the outer meaning. Our next parable is the Parable of the Wicked Husbandman:
“Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the buildersr ejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it ismarvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fallon this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder” (Matthew 21:33-44).
This parable appears in the three synoptic gospels with the same general story line but with a slightly different ending as regards the part of the stone which the builders rejected which in some ways should be considered as a separate thought. However, in the Gospel of Matthew the two thoughts, the parable itself and the part of the stone, are intertwined in the final verses. Since we have chosen this version from Matthew for our essay we will discuss both. The outer idea is easy and the Pharisees and priests listening did get the general point which, according to the gospels, further enraged them. The householder is God and the vineyard is the Nation of Israel and the husbandmen are the rulers of the nation. The Lord left them in charge of the welfare of the nation and the people and expected the good fruits of their endeavors insofar as leading the people in the paths of God while building and maintaining the nation under God. Over the history of the Old Testament the various kings and religious rulers strayed from the ways of the Lord and the Lord sent His prophets to correct them but the rulers did not listen and they abused and killed some of the prophets. Finally the Lord sends His Son in Jesus and the Master here predicts His own death though it is unclear that those listening to Him understood this part as it was intended. We have the luxury of history to discern the meaning of the Son; they did not but, at the least, they understood that the Master was telling the story of the Nation of Israel and of their own behaviors. The addition of the stone is another idea that we understand from a historical perspective but what the rulers got from it us also unclear except that they recognize the words are from the Psalms.
Now here we have a simple story that was readily discerned by the rulers to be about them and their doings over the course of time from Moses to Jesus. Is this the extent of it? or is there a yet deeper meaning that we can discern to help us to understand the thoughts of God and the Master on the conduct of our lives. Another Psalm tells us that “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1) and this is repeated by the Apostle Paul though in a different context. In this we can see that it all belongs to God; the Earth, the things of the Earth and we that dwell therin. All belonging to our One God who gave us commandment from early on regarding how to treat each other. The Ten Commandments are a code of moral conduct and His subsidiary laws are for the interrelationships of His people. The Lord, in the Old Testament, goes to great lengths to be sure that His people provide for the stranger in their midst saying things such as: “And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger” (Leviticus 19:10) and “Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 24:22). The Lord’s word on the stranger continues with “One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD” (Numbers 15:15) and “When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled” (Deuteronomy (26:12). These things the Lord says regarding provision for the stranger and the effect of law insofar as the stranger is to be treated as if he were one of them.
The Lord discusses the stranger still more in regard to Love as we see here: “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:34). Here the idea of stranger is treated the same as the idea of neighbour in a previous verse saying “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD” (Levitcus 19:18). This should be all very clear from the Old Testament; that they make provision for the stranger and treat him as one of them and Love him as he Loves his neighbour and as he loves himself. Now it is from this last entry that the second part of the Great Commandment comes. This commandment, although not one of the Ten Commandments, is spoken of by the Master as though it is. He includes it in telling the rich young ruler what he must do to have eternal life as though it were one of the Ten and the importance of it is understood by this young man and others including the lawyer from yesterday’s essay. Note here that this idea of “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” has been elevated beyond the other commandments of God in the Old Testament to a position, in Jesus’ time, of much greater importance and so it was understood to be by more than just the Master Himself. Note also that this is another instance where this Great Commandment is related to eternal life. In yesterday’s essay this commandment is part of Jesus answer to the question by the lawyer regarding “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25-27) and today we see it in the same relation, to eternal life, as part of His answer to the question from the rich young ruler who asks “what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? …… And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 19:16-19). There is true importance to this saying on Love; as regards eternal life, as being a part of the Great Commandment and as an ideal upon which the Master tells us “…. hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). Yet we downplay it in our everyday lives. We downplay it also in the teachings of a good part of the Christian church and in some ways even teach ideas that are opposed to it.
Why is this all important in relation to the parable at hand? Is there, in this ideal on Love, a present day message from the Parable of the Wicked Husbandman? The Earth is the Lord’s as we see above and all that is in it and we the people as well. This being true, it is the Lord who allows His people free reign and free will over it. This free reign does not change however the fact that it is all His. We are here as husbandman, especially those who have taken up the mantel and we are stewards of His possessions, each and every one of us. So we are here as nations of men who in their cumulative selfishness create vast empires, stern defenses, and subjugate their people, and possess for themselves the Earth’s resources which, of course, belong to the Lord along with the subjugated peoples. In further selfishness and arrogance we take up arms against any perceived threat, not only to our well being but also to the fear that another has the resources we need while considering only our need to be able to obtain them. Wars great and small have been fought for no other reason but this national selfishness, arrogance and pride. We have come through times where we, as ‘civilized’ nations did these things and more, we bought and sold His people and took advantage of other nations for to possess their wealth. Through all of this and even to today, as much of this still happens, we have not and do not heed the warnings of those who, in communication with their own Inner Man and God, tell us as modern day prophets that we are doing wrong. The condemnation need not come from people in the church which, in many cases, is explicitly involved in what is wrong but it can come from any man or woman of GoodWill, of vision and who treasures the Love that the Lord intended us to have toward others.
In times past we did beat and kill those opposed to our tyranny while today we tend to ostracize them and perhaps put them in jail. The same effect is found in our current attempts to stifle the outcry of the offended and their rescuers. The Lord wants the fruits of His investment in this Earth. And what are those fruits? Look at the passages from the Old Testament above; they and the entirety of the law tell us the moral code of living. They tell us how to treat the stranger and the neighbour and yet we fail to do so. The Son came and was crucified and left us with the same message and here, 2000 years later, we still do not understand or do. The Son is here with us as He said He would be and He is present in the hearts and minds of all men and women of GoodWill from around the world. We know that the Earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof but we desecrate it daily through war and conflict and pollution and waste. Our brothers and sisters languish in many places under the burdens of oppression and of poverty and illness and famine and we do little to help and so many of us just don’t even care. This is a parable about us, today. The Lord is calling for us to care for all the people with His provisions and instead we minimize the efforts of those who try to tell us the better way. In our selfishness we kill their spirit and do little to correct the acute imbalance between those that have and those that do not. The Lord wants HIS FRUIT.
There is a song I heard a while ago that put the idea of seeing the world in perspective for me and perhaps it will help you as well. It is by Brandon Heath and I hope that he will not object to my posting a bit of it from the chorus here. It is called Give Me Your Eyes.
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so i can see
Everything that i keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me your heart for the one’s forgotten
Give me your eyes so i can see
This seems to say it all for all. We will address the part of the stone that the builders rejected in the next post.
Again, our definition of Love: In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. Plus the ever important High Ideal as taught by the Christ: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
Leaving yesterday’s Quote of the Day again for another day. We need to see that Love, Love for All, is the commandment and the intent of the teaching of the Master.
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. (1 John 4:20-21)
In the context of the definition of Love that we have above, it is our duty and our responsibility to Love All. There is no question as to the words of the Master and the Apostles so why do we change them in the churches. Why do we deny that this is what He meant and replace His words and His Doctrines with the commandments and the interpretations of men.
