Luke 20:9-19 – Christ’s Authority

It seems quite obvious that the chief priests, Pharisees and the elders – the Sanhedrin - knew where Jesus' authority came from, but refused to acknowledge it. So adapting from a parable told in Isaiah 5:1-2, Christ then told them the parable of the tenant in Luke 20:9-16

The vineyard represents Israel. The landowner represents God. And the vine growers or the tenants were the people of Israel. The slaves were the prophets that God sent to them. Obviously Jesus was saying that God had established Israel and given her to the care of her spiritual leaders, the vine growers. He did not show His presence for a long time. The longer He was absent the less power He seemed to have.

Hence in the interim, God sent prophets time and again to retrieve the fruit grown in the vineyard. They were expected to bear fruit, since the slaves were sent during harvest times. But the tenants ill-treated all of the prophets, treated them shamefully and even wounded some of them and cast them out. All of the prophets were sent away empty-handed. Finally God sent His beloved Son. He reckoned that they would respect the Son since He was the heir. On the contrary, they did not. Heir or not, they cruelly treated Him and would deliberately kill Him in order to take control.

Two things were indicated here:

(1) Jesus' opponents recognized His authority;

(2) Jesus was hinting about His impending death which took place outside Jerusalem.

Although the chief priests and Pharisees and the elders knew Christ's authority, tragically they neither heed His warning nor repent. They recognized that it was God who had given Him but refused to acknowledge it. Thus their sin was all the more grievous. They were now about to kill the Son. Their consequence would be severe. God was about to give the care of His land to others.

The opponents of Jesus retorted with, "May it never be!' Since they refused to accept what Jesus had just told them, He directed them to Psalm 118:22 to support what He said. ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone’. Christ virtually became the chief cornerstone of the Church. Paul applied this to his teaching in Ephesian 2:20. The foundation of the church, Paul said, is built on the teachings of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Himself the chief cornerstone.

Verse 18 is an adaption from Isaiah 4:14-15.  He said, "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” Everyone who rejects Christ would be dealt with. When the judgement fall they would be crushed. Those who wilfully oppose Him would be dealt with even more severely.

More than anything else, this parable underscores for us the authority of Jesus. He told us that "All authority in heaven and on earth" is His. Let us consider an intensely personal question: Is He a stumbling block to the things we want to do or the Master, Whom we delight to obey and serve? Each of us need to answer this question individually. And our answer to this question will reveal whether Christ is the authority in our life or not.