The Tuesday after the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 15, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 21:28-44 (NKJV)
21:28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
Devotion
These two parables come immediately before the parable of the wedding feast in St. Matthew’s Gospel; and they teach many of the same truths. The parable of the two sons shows that only those who actually do the will of God the Father enter into the kingdom of heaven. Those who pretend to be good Christians but then despise the preaching of the Word and administration of the Sacraments are like the second son, like the ones initially invited to the wedding feast, or like the one who rejected the wedding garment. Those who have formerly disobeyed God but then repent and believe are like the first son, and like those who were brought into the wedding feast from the highways. The Gospel is preached to all, but only those who have faith are the chosen who enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The parable of the wicked vinedressers shows the disastrous consequences that will come upon those who despise the preaching of the Word. Like those who were invited to the wedding feast, the wicked vinedressers mistreat and kill the servants who are sent to them. But the vinedressers even kill the son of the landowner when he is sent to them. Those who reject their faithful pastor also reject Christ Himself, the Son of God. As Jesus said, “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Luke 10:16).
Collect: Grant, we beseech Thee, Merciful Lord, to Thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve Thee with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
