“Exclusive Grace”
(Matthew 21:33-22:14)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
July 5, 2020
The Passage
Matthew 21:33-22:14
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.This is what the Lord has done and it is wonderful in our eyes?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.
22:1 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to summon those invited to the banquet, but they didn’t want to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city.
8 “Then he told his servants, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’ 10 So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests. 11 When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Introductory Comments:
We finished last week’s passage with the parable of the two sons. This week we’re going to study two more parables.
We’re going to do things a bit differently this week. I’m going to give you both main sermon points upfront and then we’re going to walk through each of these parables to see how these truths are drawn out in these parables.
Before we do so let’s pray together and ask God to supernaturally speak to us.
(prayer)
Remember, while Jesus is in Jerusalem, He is correcting the religious leaders and demonstrating that He truly is the Messiah and He truly has the authority of God.
Today, He gets a little more direct with His condemnation of the religious elites in Jerusalem.
As we study these two parables, these two truths concerning the kingdom of God will emerge:
I. The kingdom is exclusive. [on screen]
(repeat)
II. The kingdom is open. [on screen]
(repeat)
Now that we have these two truths before us, let’s study the two parables and I believe that you’ll see these truths revealed.
First, let’s look at the parable of the landowner.
Parable #1 – The Parable of the Landowner (Matthew 21:33-46)
Let’s read the passage and walk through it. Look at Matthew 21:33-46:
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.This is what the Lord has done and it is wonderful in our eyes?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.
First, let’s look at the people involved in this parable.
We have Jesus who is speaking. We have the chief priests and the Pharisees, about whom Jesus is speaking.
We have the landowner, who is clearly meant to be God the Father. We have the tenant farmers, who are most likely the religious leaders to whom Jesus was speaking. We have the servants that were sent to the farmers, who are the messengers of God, most likely the prophets of God. Finally, we have the son, who is obviously Jesus.
Additionally, we have the vineyard, which represents the kingdom of God. We have the visits from the servants, which represents the message delivered by God through His servants. Further, we have the death of the son, which represents the upcoming crucifixion of Jesus.
So, putting the pieces together we can see that Jesus tells this parable to communicate that God has graciously and patiently been calling the religious leaders of Israel to accept His way. He’s called them to work according to His plan and will to thrive in the kingdom of God, yet they continue to reject His way.
The religious leaders rejected God’s way delivered through the prophets, they rejected God’s way delivered through John the Baptizer, and they are rejecting God’s way delivered through His Son Jesus, whom they will soon put to death. Just like the tenant farmers in the parable, they are rejecting God’s grace and God’s way.
Also, just like the tenant farmers in the story, it will not end well for the religious leaders of Israel who reject God’s grace and His exclusive path into His kingdom. Jesus asked the question, “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?” His hearers responded correctly by saying, “He will completely destroy those terrible men . . . and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”
Jesus then clearly points out that they are the ones who are rejecting God’s way. He shifts to a construction analogy and speaks about a stone that certain builders rejected that has instead become the cornerstone. The religious leaders are rejecting Jesus, yet the entire kingdom of God is built upon the cornerstone of Jesus.
This is once again a fulfillment of prophecy, and Jesus points to it as such. Psalm 118:22-23 says, “22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This came from the Lord; it is wondrous in our sight.” [on screen]
Obviously, the religious leaders received the message. We see in verses 45 and 46 that they recognized what was going on and they started to look for a way to arrest Him.
So, that’s the first parable. We’ll come back to unfurl some insights from it in just a moment. For now, let’s look at . . .
Parable #2 – The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
Let’s look at Matthew 22:1-14:
1 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to summon those invited to the banquet, but they didn’t want to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city.
8 “Then he told his servants, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’ 10 So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests. 11 When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
So, the characters in this second parable are the king, who represents God; the son, who represents Jesus; the servants of the king, who represent the servants of God; and the invited guests, who represent those to whom God extends the invitation into His kingdom.
We learn that the king is hosting a wedding banquet for his son. This is a prince in the kingdom. This is a very important occasion. The king gets everything ready: great food and a great party await them. Most people would be honored to be invited, yet those who are invited don’t want to come.
Not only do some not respond to the invitation, but they mistreat and killed the king’s servants. As you can imagine, the king wouldn’t stand for that. He carried out his judgment on those who mistreated his servants and refused to come.
Then, because the king still wants to have a great feast in honor of his son, he invites anyone and everyone. He said that the first group of invitees were not worthy, so for his servants to invite anyone that they could find.
Alas, the people show up. However, there’s one problem. One man doesn’t have the correct wedding clothes on. It was customary for fancy parties to be accompanied with specific attire that the host would provide. When this guest didn’t have the correct attire on, the king threw him out. Of course, we see that he is sent out where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, which is an obvious reference to hell. We know that this is more than just a story about a king. It’s a picture of an invitation to God’s kingdom.
Just as the invited wedding guests rejected the invitation to the feast for the son, so also the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day were rejecting their Messiah. Therefore, God is inviting others to share in the celebration of the Son, Jesus Christ.
How does it all fit together?
In each of these parables, we see both the exclusivity and openness of the kingdom of God. Two realities that may seem opposed to one another, yet they are beautifully complementary.
First, let us examine the exclusivity of the kingdom of God.
Think about the first parable.
What did the landowner do when the farmers didn’t accept his servants and his son? Well, we see the answer in verse 41. It says, “He will completely destroy those terrible men.”
Also, we see in verse 43, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.”
Jesus makes it clear that the religious leaders of His day could not enter the kingdom of heaven by their own method. It was only by God’s prescribed method. If they rejected God’s way, God would reject them. Entrance into the kingdom in exclusive.
We see this truth in the second parable as well.
The king is throwing a wedding feast for his son and the people are rejecting it. Again, we see the king ending up rejecting the people. We see this indicated in verse 7 of chapter 22. It says, “The king was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city.”
Also, when the original guests don’t show up we see that the invitation is extended to others. Yet, we have this one guest who shows up without the correct wedding clothes. Look at verses 11-14:
“11 When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.13 Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Now, it’s important that we understand that typically in this situation the king would provide the wedding clothes for the guests. All they had to do was put it on and wear it to the wedding feast. At the same time, it was an important part of the wedding celebration. There was an exclusive dress code.
So also, God has freely offered for us that which we need to wear to enter His kingdom: we must be dressed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We cannot purchase the righteousness of Christ, it is provided freely for us, yet it is the exclusive way into the kingdom of God.
There is an exclusive way to enter the kingdom and we thank God for the exclusive offer of the Gospel to sinners by the righteous sacrifice of Jesus.
Next, let’s see the reality of the openness of the kingdom of God.
Even though the kingdom of God is exclusive in terms of how you get in, it is not exclusive in terms of what type of people can come in. We see this truth played out in these parables also.
We see in the first parable that the vineyard was open to new farmers.
Again, verse 41 says, “He will completely destroy those terrible men . . . and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.” Also, verse 43, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.”
Listen, church: God does not owe us anything. He could have done away with the religious pretenders of Jesus’ day and determined that He’s through with trying to redeem people. However, God is full of grace and mercy. He not only didn’t stop redeeming people, but He widened the net to include people from every tribe, nation, and people. He started reaching both Jewish people and non-Jewish people who would come to Him through Jesus. He established the church, which would produce the fruit of faithfulness of the kingdom of God.
The kingdom is open!
In the second parable, we see the king’s grace and openness displayed by the act of inviting more and more guests to the wedding feast.
Let’s look at verses 9 and 10 again, “9 Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’ 10 So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests.”
The king sent out more servants to continue to invite people and then he expanded his guest list so that all were invited.
The kingdom of God is open to all who will come. God in His grace is inviting people to come into His kingdom. No matter their age, no matter their gender, no matter their economic situation, no matter their political party, no matter their nationality, no matter their ethnicity, no matter if they think that COVID-19 will kill us all or if they think COVID-19 is make-believe, no matter their sins, no matter their past, no matter their present, their future can be changed once they put on the wedding clothes of the righteousness of Jesus! The kingdom is open, and it is open exclusively through Jesus Christ.
Concluding Thoughts:
So, we can boil these truths down to this bottom line:
Bottom Line: God’s kingdom is exclusive and open. [on screen]
(repeat)
All are invited into God’s kingdom, all are invited to the wedding feast. However, the exclusive entrance is only through Jesus! Don’t be like the unfaithful farmers in the parable of the vineyard. Don’t be like the guests who don’t show up to the feast. Come! Come through Jesus!
Challenge yourself this week to live out this passage in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Thank God for His grace. [on screen]
As I mentioned earlier, God doesn’t owe us anything. He could have kept trying to reach the people of Israel only. He could have given up on humanity altogether, but He didn’t. The kingdom is open because of God’s grace.
Spend some time this week thanking God for His grace shown to you through the work of Jesus Christ.
2. Put on your wedding clothes. [on screen]
Remember, the one wedding guest was thrown out because he was dressed in the wrong wedding clothes. We see in verse 13 that he was thrown out to, “. . . the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” That is clearly an analogy for hell.
Listen, church: if we come to God dressed in anything other than the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we will be cast away from His presence. There is nothing good in us apart from Jesus.
So, this week make an intentional decision to be sure that you are dressed in the holiness of Jesus. Make sure you’re not trying to gain entrance into the kingdom of God by your own effort, your good works, your family heritage, the fact that your name is on a church roll, or anything else.
Trust in Jesus! He is the Cornerstone of our faith!
Put on your wedding clothes.
3. Extend the invitation to the kingdom. [on screen]
As the king told his servants to invite others to his son’s wedding feast. So, God (the King of the Universe) is calling us (His servants) to invite all to the feast of the wedding supper of the Lamb. He is calling us to invite others to Jesus so that their lives might be changed and they may one day feast with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and all those servants of God who faithfully follow Him in heaven.
Will you extend the invitation to the kingdom? Will you be a faithful servant?
Closing:
These parables show us that the kingdom is exclusive and that the kingdom is open. There’s only one way to get into the kingdom of God, and that one way is open to any who will come.
Have you come into the kingdom? If not, will you come today?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
(Sing Doxology)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
