Orthodox Sermons & Articles

I just want to remind you that Jesus told this parable to the Jewish people whom God chose because of their righteous ancestor patriarch Abraham. But besides this, the parable also was about the Jewish people who by the time of Jesus’ birth rejected God’s guidance and followed their own interpretations of the Law.

 

The meaning of this parable was so clear that it was impossible to persist in the refusal to understand it. God Himself planted His vineyard, calling forth Abraham, the forefather of the Jews, and multiplied his tribe, which became a numerous people. He erected a fence around His chosen people: He separated them from gentiles by commandments and His Law forbidding intermarriage with alien tribes.

 

In this vineyard God dug a winepress and set an altar on which was shed the prototypical blood of sacrificial animals. He built a tower, that is, the Temple. And then He gave it all to vinedressers—the teachers and rulers of Israel. To teach and to instruct His chosen people, God frequently sent His servants, the Prophets. As we heard from today’s Gospel reading, "…the vinedressers took His servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another" (Matt. 21,35). Jesus knew what He was talking about. As the Son of God, He knew that in the Old Testament’s time the Prophet Micaiah was smitten by the false prophet Zedekiah; prophets Hosea and Isaiah were stoned in the head. And the Lord knew what was about to happen to Him. He foretold His death in this parable. The parable says that when the Son will come to His people, those vinedressers who were supposed to honor Him will kill him. What a strait talk! And many of those "vinedressers" were standing by Him when Jesus was telling the parable! Besides this, they gave their own judgment to their own deeds! On the Lord’s question what will the Master do to those vinedressers who killed His Son they answered: "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease His vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to Him the fruits in their seasons" (Matt.21,41). And they had said the truth.

 

The New Testament teachers—bishops and priests— replaced those vinedressers—teachers of Israel—who did not recognize their Master’s Son. Now we Christians are called New Israel, which means that we have to bear the fruits of God’s Kingdom. We have to respect our Master and honor His Only-Begotten Son Jesus Christ Whom He sent to teach us how to bear the fruit and be saved. Jesus Christ is a divider between the Old Testament vinedressers and the New Testament bishops and Priests: Whom they rejected we honor; Whom they killed we proclaim the Source of Life. Although there is a big difference between these two separate vineyards of God—previous (Old Testament Israelites) and current (New Testament Christians)—Jesus Christ warns us that the end might be the same if we fail to give the fruit, which is faith, hope and love. Our Christian membership will not help us if we do not exercise these three virtues. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let’s do what we are supposed to do; let’s believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; let’s have a firm hope in Him Who came into this world because of us, and let’s love Him and each other with true love. Our Lord requests these three virtues from us and they are the fruits of our life. We have to work hard so that our spiritual food would feed us continuously all the way through our earthly life. And this is possible only in Christ vineyard, which is His Church. Let’s come to the Church more often and drink and eat of spiritual food in order to bear nice fruit for our Master. Amen.