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Among the many images and metaphors used throughout the Old
Testament as a preview of the new dispensation, that of the vineyard is
one of the most beautiful and illuminating. Israel was the Lord's
vineyard, planted in a fertile place and established by the Lord. The
picture of the vineyard is used to explain the history of the Chosen
People. Even though they had been given every advantage by God,
blessed with the Law, the Temple, the Priesthood and every sign of God's
favour, they proved to be either unfruitful, or productive of only bad fruit.
The vineyard was the Lord's garden, in which he took delight. His chosen
people, cared for by him, failed to acknowledge his authority and
ownership, and so lost possession of the vineyard. In Psalm 80, the
writer refers to Israel as the Lord's vineyard. But the Lord had rejected
Israel and torn down the vineyard walls. Because of their sin, the vine
that God had brought out of Egypt has been ravaged.
But time was running out for Israel. Again and again, the Lord would
send prophets and teachers to preach repentance and a return to the
ways of the Lord, but in vain. In the use of the vineyard image, the Lord
lays much of the responsibility for this refusal to repent on the leaders of
the people. The elders, teachers of the law and the priests are specifically
blamed for the unfruitful vineyard.
The most heart-rending passage in this connection is to be found in
Isaiah 5, where the Lord cries over the state of his vineyard. It is a very
important passage of Scripture, because it refers directly ahead to Jesus
and, through him, to our own place in the plan of God. It is one of the
great links in the history of God's dealings with his people.
Some questions spring to mind immediately. Who is singing the song?
The loved one is the Lord, as becomes clear in verse 7. Is this the Holy
Spirit singing? The title "My loved one" is too familiar for Isaiah to use, so
it must be that here we have the Trinity expressing itself on the central
concern of God's dealings with man. For the vineyard that was Israel was
at the core of God's plan for his creation. It was the focus of all his love
and, one might say, of all his ambitions for the human race.
God created the world to be a home for mankind. Everything in
creation, therefore, centred on the existence of men and women who were
designed to live in the knowledge of God, in full communion with him
forever. Adam and Eve were given dominion over the planet and walked
with God daily. But that fellowship was broken by sin, by mankind's
refusal to recognize the Lord's authority over them, and God and his
people were separated. In his love and mercy, however, God was not
about to turn his back on his creation. He would redeem his people,
restore what had been lost in the Fall. More than that, he would bring
greater good out of this evil and lift his people to a higher place than
Adam and Eve had ever known. He would adopt them as his sons, men
and women alike, heirs of the Kingdom. What a wonderful plan of
salvation.
As a first step in this new beginning, God called Abraham to be the
father of his people. Out of Israel would come the Messiah, God himself
come in the flesh to bring salvation and all that came with it. Israel,
then, was to be God's vineyard. Placed on a fertile hill, the place of
fruitfulness and life. But Israel lost the vision. Called to be the People of
God, through whom the Messiah might come forth, they turned instead
into a people of pride and legalism. The leaders of Israel saw themselves
as being superior to the nations around them, not because God had
made them his vineyard, but because they themselves were superior
people. They despised the gentiles, and took pride in their position as
children of Abraham, forgetting that "out of these stones God can raise
up children for Abraham" [Matt. 3.9].
The Song of the Vineyard continues:
God had provided Israel with everything it needed to prosper and achieve
that which the Lord intended for it. But it yielded only bad fruit. The
original vines were the choicest, the Lord provided protection to Israel
[the watchtower], and established it in the best location. The winepress
was dug, ready for the crop of grapes to be transformed into good wine.
But no wine would be produced in this vineyard, because the grapes
were all bad. The vines had been infected. The Owner of the vineyard
calls for judgment: what more could have been done for Israel? Israel was
being warned that the coming of the Messiah would bring with it, not
glory, but judgment for Israel.
This passage in the prophesy shows us the sovereignty of God in
action. Nothing would prevent the Lord from fulfilling his promises to
Abraham and David regarding the Messiah that would be brought forth
from their people. God is sovereign, and nothing will interfere with his
plans. But the result will not be what the people of Israel expected.
Knowing the end from the beginning, even the Fall itself was catered for
before the creation of the world, when the Lamb of God was chosen to
redeem the lost children of Adam. Now, even as he is warning Israel of
the coming judgment on the vineyard, the Lord is looking ahead to what
he is going to do to bring good out of evil:
This is God's heart: even as he grieves over the unfruitful vineyard of
Israel, he is rejoicing over what he has planned. For the loss that will be
suffered by the people of Israel will result in blessing flowing out from
Calvary and filling "all the world with fruit". For there is to be a future for
God's vineyard: a future that the elders and priests of Israel could never
have imagined.
Now the Lord laid much of the blame for Israel's plight on the heads
of the leaders: the elders and priests who had missed the heart of God,
who had turned his Law into a millstone, and his mercy into strict
legalism. So it is no surprise that, when the Messiah arrived and Jesus
began to preach and heal and break the chains of his people, it was from
these same leaders that opposition to him came.
"By what authority are you doing these
things?", they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?" Jesus
replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by
what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism - was it from
heaven, or from men? Tell me." They discussed it among themselves
and said, "If we say, 'From heaven', he will ask, 'Then why didn't you
believe him?'. But if we say, 'From men...' (They feared the people, for
everyone held that John really was a prophet.) So they answered Jesus,
"We don't know". Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I
do these things". [Mk. 11.27-33]
Here is the beginning of the fulfilment of Isaiah 5. The Messiah has
come to his vineyard looking for good grapes, and what does he
find? The elders, teachers of the law and the priests are the very
ones who should be most ready to receive him. They have spent
their lives studying the Scriptures and teaching God's ways to the
people, just to be ready for this very moment. But not only do they
not recognize him, they question his right even to preach. Although
they see the healings and hear his teachings, it does not touch
them; they want to know from where he gets his authority. There is
no openness in them, no willingness to see what is before them.
This closed mind is the bad fruit of Isaiah 5. They have become so
convinced of their own righteousness, their own place in the
vineyard, that they cannot imagine the Lord moving in any other
way than the one they have expected. More than this, anyone
outside their own ranks preaching the Kingdom arouses only deep
suspicion and opposition in their hearts.
The difference between good and bad fruit can be seen in the
opposing ways in which the disciples and the spiritual leaders react to
the ministry of Jesus. Neither were expecting Messiah to come as Jesus
did. But the disciples were ready to listen and hear what God might tell
them through this man Jesus. The leaders were neither willing, nor able,
to do so. It should be remembered that what these men were protecting
was something good and holy. The Law, the Temple and the sacrifices
were all given to Israel by the Lord himself. Indeed, God went into great
detail regarding these things, so as to ensure that Israel would follow his
plans strictly. As Isaiah said, the Lord planted the vineyard, chose the
land, built the watchtower and the winepress, and surrounded it with a
wall. So, what the elders and teachers of the Law were so jealously
guarding was something the Lord had given to them.
What then was the problem? Isaiah says that the Lord found fruit all
right, but it was bad fruit. What was so bad about it? The problem with
Israel was that they had taken the Law and the Temple and made them
ends in themselves. These things had become the centre of their
attention, and they had lost all understanding of what lay at the heart of
things. The Temple and the sacrifices were the means by which God
could show mercy to his sinful people. It was in giving this forum for
reconciliation that the Lord showed his mercy. But the priests and elders
had made an entire system out of the Temple: the focus was on the
sacrifices made by the priests, and not on the mercy of God. The elders
and the priests were meant to mediate the mercy and teachings of God to
his people, and represent them before the Throne of Mercy. Instead, they
had become rulers over the people: demanding strict conformity with
their views and leadership. They had added hundreds of regulations to
the Law of Moses, piling on impossible burdens on the backs of the
people, making them more and more dependent on the priests and elders
and teachers of the Law. As time passed, these men had taken to
themselves the authority to interpret God and his ways, holding over the
people the power of spiritual life and death.
By the time Messiah came, Israel had placed the Law and the Temple
above everything else. When God wanted to give them something greater,
something to which the Law and the Prophets had pointed, they refused
to let go of the old in order to receive the new. Look at their response to
Jesus. Initially, they recognised that his teaching and ministry had
authority behind them, but it did not seem to occur to them to wonder if
that authority might come from God. After all, they saw themselves as
the only properly authorised agents of God, and Jesus certainly did not
seek any recognition from them. Neither Jesus nor his followers could
possibly be considered as proper mouthpieces for God. Jesus could have
refused to enter into any discussion with these men who were so
unwilling to see God move in any way other than ones of which they
approved. But they, too, needed a doctor, though they were blind to their
sickness, and the Messiah was prepared to minister to them.
Jesus agreed to answer their question if they would answer his about
John's baptism. This is more than just a debating ploy. He was giving
these men the opportunity to enter into an honest study of what God has
been doing in Israel; a chance to think and discuss the possible source of
John's ministry. It seems a fair bargain, but it was one they could not
enter into. Their moral authority and their spiritual vision had been so
eroded by strict legalism and traditions that they could not even consider
the question openly in their own minds. Rather than seek the truth
about John, they weighed up the pros and cons of the possible answers
they could give. They were not seeking truth, they were weighing political
considerations. It is these political factors that governed their stand on
an issue, not the word of God, not the truth. They had become so
divorced from God's heart, that they had no other moral compass.
Then, unable to find an acceptable political answer to his question,
they lied to Jesus: "We don't know". The fact is, they had not even tried
to find an answer to the question, they lied to cover up their uncertainty.
In total contrast, Jesus refused to play games with the truth. Instead of
replying to their words, he replied to their thoughts. "Neither will I tell
you". He was saying to them directly that he saw behind their facade,
and recognised the reasons behind their refusal to answer.
When these leaders faced Jesus that day, all Israel was in the
balance. It was a meeting of two authorities. The leaders and priests had
a very real authority, given to them by God himself. They were the
spiritual guides of Israel, the men responsible for revealing the ways of
God to the people, and reconciling the people to their God. But they had
become so jealous of this authority, that they had failed in this
fundamental role. They had become so convinced that their's was the
highest authority in Israel, that they had forgotten that a higher
authority even existed: that of God himself. And when God chose to move
in a new way, they resisted him. They questioned Jesus' authority
because they couldn't imagine that God would work outside their secure
and familiar system.
This confrontation between the Messiah and the leaders of Israel
resulted in a wonderful declaration of God's plan. Having shown them to
be in truth the bad grapes of Isaiah, Jesus openly applied that prophesy
to them:
Immediately we recognize the vineyard of Isaiah's prophesy. But there
have been developments since Isaiah saw it.
This view of the vineyard is different. The owner has rented it out to some
farmers. These people have taken the vineyard, prepared and equipped
by the owner, and treated it as though it were their own. When the
servant is sent to receive the owner's rightful share of the crop, the
tenants refuse to grant it. At first, they simply mistreat the servant of the
owner and send him away empty-handed. But as the servants continue
to arrive demanding that the owner's rights be recognised, the tenants
become increasingly abusive, and finally kill some of the servants. There
is a process at work here among the tenants that is fascinating. They act
as if the vineyard is their's, and reject the rights of the proper owner.
Then, as their claim to the vineyard is questioned further, they become
more assertive of that claim. If may well be that they had actually come
to believe that the vineyard really was their's.
In the same way the Lord had sent Prophets to Israel over the
centuries, warning them of the fruits of their backsliding, their falling
away from the ways of their God. And even so had the leaders of the
people abused these messengers, beating some and killing others. As the
Scriptures say, the hearts of the people became hard and they would not
listen to the words of the prophets. Why? Because they did not like
hearing what God had to say to them. They did not want to hear that
their rules and regulations were not in keeping with the heart of God.
They did not want to hear that their pride in status and authority over
the people was abhorrent to their God. It seems almost unbelievable that
these people believed that by stopping their ears to the words of the
prophets, or even by killing the messengers, they could somehow cancel
out God's righteous demands. Although God had told them the truth,
they believed that by killing the messenger, the message would no longer
be true.
The final result of this wilful blindness and deafness was facing Jesus
that day in Jerusalem: a priesthood that could no longer see or hear,
even what was staring them right in the face.
Then comes the most moving part of the parable, as Jesus brings the
prophesy up to date:
But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill
him, and the inheritance will be ours''. So they took him and killed him,
and threw him out of the vineyard. [Mk. 12.6-8]
One can only imagine with awe the scene as Jesus, the Messiah, the Son
whom the Owner loved, told the elders and priests what they were about
to do to him. He was pointing out to them, in advance, the end result of
their refusal to acknowledge the rightful owner of the vineyard. The
tenants had become so blind to reality, that they believed the killing of
the son would somehow result in them inheriting the vineyard. Their
grasp on the real nature of their relationship with the vineyard and its
owner was so weak, that they could not see the inevitable end:
How blind can people be? The Word says that these men knew that
Jesus was talking about them. There is little doubt that they recognised
the allusions to Isaiah also. What a sad picture these leaders make!
Faced with this revelation of the ways of God, they prefer to hold on to
their position and traditions, rather than acknowledge the truth. They
cannot even work up the moral courage to arrest a man who is
condemning everything they stand for, because of their fear. It would
take a traitor, an arrest in the dead of night, and lies told to a despised
foreign magistrate before they could wreak their vengeance. These
builders rejected the cornerstone of everything they claimed to uphold.
Jesus was the fulfilment of everything that had come before, but they
held on so tightly to what they thought God had already given them, that
they could no longer accept what he brought to them as the Messiah.
They could not see beyond their own selfish vision. The vineyard was
their's, they believed, and not even the rightful owner was to be allowed
to question their authority over it.
But, in reality, these leaders would find that killing the Son would
only result in the utter destruction of their plans and schemes. The wall
of the vineyard would be removed, and briers would grow instead of
grapes, as Isaiah predicted. Within a generation of the day Jesus spoke
this parable to the elders and priests, the Temple, the priesthood, the
sacrifices, all the paraphernalia of the system they prized so highly,
would be gone, never to be restored, destroyed by the Romans. In seeking
to hold on to a tradition they believed God prized as much as they, they
lost the opportunity of entering into the greater plan God had in store for
them. They believed that, because God had given them the Temple and
the Priesthood, it was always going to be there. They did not realize that
the Lord might have something else in store for them. "To everything
there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven".
The people of Israel would be driven from their homeland, not to
return for two thousand years. No wonder Jesus wept over Jerusalem:
On the face of it, this is a sad ending to God's plan for a fruitful
vineyard. In fact, in the ways of God, it is simply the beginning of a
grander and more wonderful destiny for the children of Abraham. The
second prophesy of Isaiah regarding the fruitful vineyard was about to
come to pass.
In the parable of the vineyard told by Jesus, there is one major
addition to the prophesy of Isaiah. Jesus says that, after the tenants are
dealt with, the vineyard would be given to others. We are the inheritors of
that promise, and we who are part of the kingdom of God can rejoice that
we are planted in a fruitful vineyard. The gospel, spread throughout the
world by the power of the Holy Spirit, brought to pass the second vision
of Isaiah regarding the Lord's vineyard:
The Lord himself watches over it, no need now for tenants. He waters it
continually: the Holy Spirit is constantly present in the church, watering
and tending the vineyard. No-one may harm it, for the gates of Hell shall
not prevail. Furthermore:
There is peace between God and man in Christ Jesus. The price has been
paid, fellowship has been restored. Instead of the full might of the Law
that would condemn sinners and backsliders, there is grace and mercy
by the blood of Jesus. Not only so, but the narrow superiority which
tempted the Israelite leaders in the past has given way to an open and
free access for all men and women. The children of Abraham are not
confined to one ethnic group, but are found wherever the Spirit has given
new birth:
But the changes that have been brought about in the vineyard go
deeper than this. Not only is the vineyard ruled by the Owner, not only is
it open to all who would enter into the Lord's fruitful life, but the status
of the workers has changed radically.
In the old vineyard, the land was worked by tenant farmers who
sought to gain the inheritance by killing the son of the owner. Today, the
vineyard is worked by the sons of the Owner; those who, through the
death of the Son, have come into this inheritance by grace. There is no
need now for grasping ambition: no need to appeal to the traditions of
men when we have the constant presence of the Spirit of God to lead and
guide. The vineyard is now run directly by the Father, watered and
cultivated by the Holy Spirit, and worked in by the sons through the
grace and mercy of the Son.
What an inheritance is our's!
At first sight, then, everything in the garden is rosy. But, as we are
only too well aware, such is not the case. There is strife in the vineyard,
ambition and self-seeking. Many are far more concerned with growing
what they want, rather than what the Lord has planned. Many elders
and teachers rely on their own ideas, depending on their own energy and
initiative, rather than following the leading of the Spirit. The Scriptures
speak a great deal about the Lord's vineyard in these days, and it would
be profitable to look at the Word of God to see what we have missed
along the way.
In the Old Testament, the vineyard was Israel, the people of God. The
vineyard today is the church of Jesus Christ, the new Israel, both
globally and locally. This is more clearly explained in the image of the
Body of Christ. We are all part of the Body, each with our own part to
play. Without the contribution of each part, the entire Body is lacking.
Unlike the Old Testament, where there were priests and people, in the
New Testament the people are the priests, each with a ministry to the
Body.
We are the Body of Christ, the Lord's vineyard. He is the Lord of the
vineyard, and the owner of everything in it. Christians may have a
ministry of leadership in the Body, but it is not their Body, it is his.
When Jesus redeemed us, he established a new way of running the
vineyard. The tenants are gone, the owner is on hand to run the business
in person. Many of the problems in the church today stem from the fact
that many Christians are still living under the old management. They
believe that they are in the vineyard as managers. We must not make the
same mistakes as the leaders of Israel. It is not our vineyard, we are not
in charge of it. The Holy Spirit has been given to us so that we can be
guided by him, as he wills, in everything that concerns the church. The
local fellowship has to be sensitive to the Spirit, ready to go where he
leads.
Jesus was very definite about this. Using, once again, the image of
the vine, he described in detail what the new arrangement in the
vineyard means for us:
I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me
and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that
is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain
in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. This is
to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves
to be my disciples.
....You did not choose me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit - fruit that
will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
[Jn. 15.1-8,16]
A careful reading of these words should leave one breathless. We have
been grafted into the True Vine, made part of the very life of our God.
Adopted as sons, we are to draw our life from him. It is his will that we
be fruitful, abounding in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.[Gal. 5.22-23] Note that "apart
from me you can do nothing". Surely that is as clear as it can be?
Nothing, nothing at all, is possible apart from him. There can be no
growth, no fellowship, no life apart from him. If we are not to be left
behind by the wind of the Spirit, we must be continually abiding in
Jesus.
It seems that we can be very like the leaders of Israel. God moved in
power at one point in time, and fellowships are established. But then the
rot sets in. Like Israel, we try to hold on so tightly to what God gave then,
that we refuse to accept what he might want to give now. Habits and
behaviour that were once new and fresh become entrenched and
inflexible, leaving us unable to see them for what they are. Traditions of
men gain the authority of scriptural principles, just as the hundreds of
rules and regulations of the elders and teachers of the Law attained the
authority of the Law of Moses in Israel. Rather than rely on the Holy
Spirit to carry on the work which he began, we try to keep things going in
our own strength and wisdom. We seem to think that, if we work hard,
come up with the right words or the right program, that we can
accomplish great things for the kingdom. Jesus says that this is untrue.
Now it is often said by organisers of God's people, that God will bless
whatever we do for him, and will bring blessing from it. They also say
that, because we are his people, he will use us in whatever we do. There
is nothing in this passage from John that would support such ideas.
God's will is that we bear fruit, not work hard to produce it. It is
the fruit of the Spirit, not of our efforts. The fruit of the Spirit comes
naturally in the life of the believer who abides in the Vine. If we do not
abide in the vine, we will not produce that fruit. We may produce other
things: we may fill up the pews, preach all day every day, and fill our
lives with works for God, but in God's eyes we are unfruitful. Israel
produced fruit, but it was bad.
What a statement this is. Whatever does not come from abiding in the
vine, is evil. Jesus said that everything he spoke in teaching and parable
was what he had learned in union with his Father. That is to be our
standard also. We speak and do what we have learned in union with the
Lord. Anything else is a waste of breath, no matter how eloquent. Look
again at the passage from John:
What does this mean? Is this a reference to unbelievers being lost for
eternity? If so, then why are they called "every branch in me", ie., in
Jesus? These branches are Christians who do not abide. I believe the
Scriptures teach that the "gift and the call of God is irrevocable", that
believers cannot lose their salvation. So what, then, is happening to
these branches that are cut off and burned?
The only reason we do not bear fruit is because we do not continue to
remain in Jesus. Remaining in Jesus means allowing him to have his
way with us, not standing in that way through disobedience. The Letter
to the Hebrews says that there is a Rest for God's people, where they rest
from their own works. The writer strongly urges Christians not to fail to
enter into that rest through disobedience, or lack of faith. Instead of
trusting the Holy Spirit to know what is best for us individually and
collectively in the church, we believe we have to impose some kind of
structure that is constant and inflexible. The Lord might want to speak,
but we won't listen unless it is at the right point of the meeting, or the
right day of the week. We set the rules for running the vineyard, and
ignore the authority of the Owner. By not remaining, we are cut off and
we wither, spiritually, because we are cut off from the life we need.
Remember how the leaders of Israel gradually became hardened due to
their refusal to recognize the rights of the owner, so that eventually they
could no longer see or hear God's word? That is spiritual withering at
work, and that is what happens to us when we, too, refuse to recognize
the Lord's claims on our life. Should that refusal continue, we can wither
and become useless. Then, as Paul says, we are those who build the
house of their lives with wood, hay and stubble.
We may be building on the proper foundation; that is, we are truly
saved by the grace of God, but what we then proceed to build of our lives
is just so much garbage. On the Day of the Lord, we will pass on to our
eternal home with him, but nothing we have done in this life will have
counted in the Kingdom. What a tragic waste. We appear to have a
choice, therefore, as to what we do with our lives. Do we remain in him,
building with gold, silver and costly stones, which are the "good works
which God prepared in advance for us to do"? [Eph. 2.10] This way, we
will bear fruit, fruit that lasts, which is the Father's will for us. Or do we
decide for ourselves what needs to be done, keeping to our traditions and
"the way we do things here"?
This passage proves that we can resist the will of God in our lives,
forcing him, as it were, to pass us by and seek others who will do his
will. God deals with his people in love, allowing them freedom to choose
to obey or go their own way. But there is a price to be paid, either way.
To obey God, to remain in Jesus, to build with gold, silver and costly
stones, means acknowledging that he is Lord of the Vineyard. As Paul
put it so directly: "You are not your own, you have been bought at a
price". [1 Cor. 6.19-20] We must recognize that we no longer have any
rights, if we claim to be in Christ Jesus. He is Lord, he demands that we
die to ourselves and learn to lay down our lives for the brethren. This
means doing things his way, and not our's. It means being prepared and
willing to follow the Spirit, who blows wherever he wills. We have to be
willing to not know where he is coming from, or where he is blowing us
to.
Jesus told yet another parable concerning the vineyard:
Here is a healthy reminder of reality. We have been raised to a place
higher than we could ever deserve. We are sons of God, and co-heirs with
Christ. We are called to work in his vineyard. But, and it is a vitally
important fact, we are not the owners of the vineyard. We are still sons,
we are not the Father.
The parable goes on to tell how the owner of the vineyard went out at
various times during that day and hired extra workers. The last
labourers were hired just an hour before quitting time. When it came
time to pay the workers, those hired last and who had only worked an
hour, were paid a denarius. Now those who had worked all day fully
expected to receive more than what had been promised them. After all, if
men working only an hour were paid a denarius, what might those who
worked all day receive? But, to their indignation, they, too, received a
denarius. They complained bitterly to the owner about this apparent
injustice. His answer is illuminating:
This is a strong statement: he is the Lord of the Vineyard. It is for him to
set the terms and conditions. Furthermore, there is only one wage rate in
his employment: salvation. Everyone receives the same wage, regardless
of when they enter the workforce. Too often, Christians believe that
because they have been saved many years, they are somehow in
authority over younger believers. Or they think themselves at a higher
management level.
There is a simple fact in this parable: we are never anything more
than sinners saved by grace. We are never at any time in our walk with
God at a higher level than any other believer. Of course, we may have a
deeper knowledge of God's ways, a greater experience of his grace. But
there is a glorious truth in this: the farther on we go with him, the deeper
we see into his ways, the more intimately we come to know our God, the
more we realize that we know nothing, deserve nothing, have seen
nothing, compared to the glory that remains to be revealed to us. A
growing knowledge of the Lord leads only to a growing awareness of our
complete dependence on him in everything. We are equal before God,
men and women, old and young, famous preachers and anonymous
convert. "I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave
you". What a wonderful Saviour he is!
It is not for us to tell him what to do, how to do it, or when it should
be done. It is for us to wait humbly on the Lord, sensitive to his Spirit
and ready to do as we are told. Our reward is the same as that of every
Christian: we have been saved by grace. We did not deserve it, and we
certainly have no other claim against God. How the Lord of the Vineyard
chooses to deal with our fellow workers is none of our concern. We know
that everything he does, is done in love and for our best. That is all we
need to know. What he chooses to do through a brother or sister is none
of our concern. We must learn to trust his judgment and his wisdom,
although it is a sign of how sinful we really are that we need to be
reminded to trust the Lord who died to save us, who has given us such a
great salvation through grace alone.
It also serves as a useful reminder to us to read passages like this
one:
'Sir', the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig
around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it
down'. [Lk. 13.6-9]
The Lord will carry out his purposes, for he is the Sovereign Lord. But he
is in no way obliged to use us in any way. In his grace, he allows us to
play a part in establishing his kingdom. We are allowed to labour in his
vineyard, but he is not obliged to use us. Should we persist in usurping
his role, he will simply bypass us and carry on with other labourers.
Of course, we will still go to heaven, we will not lose our salvation,
but what of our reward? Is our response to his saving love to merely
survive the fires that burn off the wood, hay and straw with which we
have been satisfied in our lives? The claims of the Lord on our lives are
absolute. There is nothing in us that is worthy, we have nothing that we
have not received. In his own life, Jesus emptied himself of all rights and
made himself completely available to the Father. There was nothing he
said or did in his ministry that was not received "in union with the
Father". As he was sent, so we are sent, and we have to remain in him if
we are to be used in his vineyard.
Note that it was not the season for figs, and yet Jesus expected to find
fruit. We are always to be in season. If the fruit depended on our efforts,
then we might expect to have a say in how and when it should be
produced. But our job is to bear fruit, fruit of the Spirit. If we remain in
Jesus, we will always be in season.
What, in the end, does all this mean? Israel was called to be the
vineyard of the Lord. Instead of being fruitful, Israel was sidetracked into
legalism and tradition. They were more concerned with the purity of their
own ways and the authority which they exercised, than with remaining
available to whatever the Lord asked of them. The vineyard became more
important to them than the Owner, and protecting their investment in
the vineyard meant that they lost touch with the reality of their situation.
They were prepared to resist God rather than have their traditions and
beliefs changed.
The church today faces the same temptations. Throughout history,
Christians have wanted to establish new traditions for their meetings, for
their social behaviour and for their relations with non-Christians. When
they have erected high walls of tradition to protect their interpretation of
the gospel, they have prevented the wind of the Spirit from blowing freely
through their halls. But God has not been thwarted, and time after time
revival has broken out, blowing down the walls of tradition and habit,
and allowing the Spirit to move as he wills. But time passes, and the
entire process is repeated, as the revived establish their own traditions in
turn. It should be a cause for solemn reflection that none of the churches
spoken to in the Book of Revelation exists today. The world is covered
with the decaying remains of church buildings that were once full of life
and worship. God moves on, and if his people are not willing to move
with him, they are left behind to guard the halls and temples where the
Spirit used to move. As in Revelations, the Lampstand is taken away,
and the Light goes out, although the place where it once shone is still full
of people working hard and doing all they feel they should for the Lord. It
just isn't what he wants them to do.
Revival happens when at least one individual remembers that they
are not their own, but have been bought at a price. When we remember
that it is not our church, our fellowship, our gospel,
but his, then we do not need to defend it against all comers. For sooner
or later, unless we learn this truth, we end up defending it against the
Lord as well. Jesus is Lord. That means that we must be willing to do his
will and only his will. We cannot seek his blessing on our efforts, even
efforts on his behalf, for:
If I want to bear fruit, if I want to make my life mean something in the
kingdom of God, if I want to build with gold, silver and costly stones,
then I must rethink my life.
The leaders of Israel met the authority of Jesus with resistance,
seeing him clearly as a challenge to their position and traditions. But
when the Pharisee named Saul, the great persecutor of the church, was
faced with the authority of Jesus, he fell on his face and asked: "Lord,
what do you want me to do?" From that day on, all his traditions and
righteousness, all his training and human authority was just so much
garbage compared with the knowledge of God. When the Lord rattles our
habits and comfortable way of thinking, how do we react, like the priests
or like Saul? You cannot put new wine in old wineskins: how old are your
wineskins? God's blessings are new every morning: how old are your
blessings?
Be very careful that you do not put God's blessings of the past in the
way of his blessing today. Because he worked a certain way before, does
not mean he is confined to working that way always. Remember, he
spoke one way to John Wesley, and another way to Martin Luther, and
still another way to John Calvin, John Hus, the Lollards and the
Brethren of the Common Life. How does he want to speak to you and
your brothers and sisters today? Are you even listening, or are you tuned
only to the one wavelength? Israel grew deaf to all but one way of
speaking, and so missed the Messiah when he came speaking in a new
voice. He came, and he passed them by, leaving them to wait in vain for
that familiar voice that would not come again. How many Christians are
in the same plight today?
How do we know what to listen for? How can we be sure we will not miss
the voice when it speaks to us in a new way? Remain in the Vine, and
you will bear much fruit, fruit that will last. We are his, he is the one who
has promised not to leave or forsake us if we will only let him be Lord of
all. The Holy Spirit is given to us to guide and counsel and lead us into
all truth. Trust him and do not limit him. Put no preconceived ideas in
front of him as barriers, saying: "Only thus and thus can you work here,
we do not acknowledge any other way". Everything we have is his. I
cannot afford to believe that I can give part of my day, part of my money,
part of me to the Lord. It is his church to run his way. He owns it all. He
is the Lord of the Vineyard. |