Hello, my friends,

Today, I would like us to reflect on one of Jesus's more searing parables to the religious leaders of his day. I think it has significant ramifications for leaders who claim to be Christian today. That is, if we listen to and heed his words as he intended.

RESOURCES TO CONSIDER:

​-A Jewish Paul: The Messiah's Herald to the Gentiles by Matthew Thiessen.

New Testament scholar Matthew Thiessen was kind enough to send me his book. In it, he offers a contextually compelling picture, placing Paul clearly within first-century Judaism, not opposed to it. He argues for a more historically plausible reading of Paul. Paul did not reject Judaism or the Jewish law but believed he was living in the last days, when Israel's Messiah would deliver the nations from sin and death. Paul saw himself as an envoy to the nations, desiring to introduce them to the Messiah and his life-giving, life-transforming Spirit.

​-Pete Hegseth Announces New Office of Religious Affairs. In this article, I describe the history of when political leaders in the past use governmental power to consolidate religious control and why recent events should concern us.

The season of Advent begins November 29th. If you are looking for a daily devotional for that season, I have written one. You can read more about it below.

$20.00 Solace: The Birth of Hope in a Time of Longing This devotional is an ebook, crafted as a daily scripture readings and reflections that begin on the First Sunday of... Read more Get it now!

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Jesus As Prophet.

Matthew 21:33-46

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“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Prophetic Critique

Matthew 21 is a clear prophetic critique by Jesus towards the religious leaders of his day and the lack of fruitfulness of Israel's leadership as a whole.

In verses 18-19, for example, Jesus approaches a fig tree hungry, but finds nothing on the tree but leaves. Then he cursed it saying, "may you never bear fruit again!" It withered immediately. For ancient Israel, the fig tree had both political and spiritual significance. A thriving fig tree was a symbol of God's favor and covenant blessing over the land. While a barren or withered fig tree was often a prophetic metaphor symbolizing sin, rebellion, and impending divine judgment. This prophetic act from Jesus then mirrored his judgment on the spiritual hypocrisy of Jerusalem the temple and the nation's outward religious show without genuine spiritual fruit.

Then, after the chief priests and elders questioned Jesus' authority in the temple (verses 23-27), Jesus tells the parable of the two sons, which is yet another prophetic critique of Israel's leadership. The first son responds with a "yes" to his father's request to work the vineyard, but never does. The second son answers "no" to his father's request then changes his mind and does. The first son represents Israel's leadership, having been the "first" to receive God's call, only for them to pay lip service to God while never really following God's call. The second son represents the tax collectors, prostitutes, and all others Israel's leaders saw as inferior, for they believed the message of John the Baptist and Jesus and will enter the kingdom of heaven ahead of Israel's leaders. "And the last shall be first," as Jesus would say.

We then arrive at the passage we read today, which is the culmination and the most blistering portion of Jesus' prophetic critique of Israel's leaders. Matthew tells us that at the end of this entire critique from Jesus, the scribes and the Pharisees clearly recognize he is talking about them, which makes them want to arrest Jesus. The only thing that stops them from arresting him on the spot was because "the people saw him as a prophet." (V46).

In the parable of the "wicked tenants," Jesus leans on the prophetic oracles described in the books of Isaiah, Micha, and Jeremiah. He describes a loving vineyard keeper (God) who does all he can to protect and preserve the vineyard and the flourishing of the people who depend on it. Yet, the threat doesn't come from the outside, the wall but rather the inside. At harvest time, the vineyard keeper sends servants (prophets) whom they beat, stone, and even kill. Then he sends his son (Jesus), saying "they will respect my son." However, wanting his inheritance for themselves, they cast him outside the vineyard (Jerusalem) and kill him. Jesus ends this parable by saying that God will be giving the kingdom of God to others who will bear the fruit of faithfulness.

The Leaders.

It is important to note that Jesus' critique is not towards the Jewish people or even Jerusalem, but towards those entrusted with its precious fruit of Torah and the message of the prophets. Matthew's readers are likely Jews who see Jesus as the Messiah and who would be very familiar with leaders who used God's word for their own self serving power rather than to produce the fruit of God's love in the world.

The Pharisees were a sect of Judaism that became active around the middle of the second century. There were several other Jewish sects at that time as well, including the Sadducees, the Zealots, and the Essenes. Each sect had their own distinct identity, which were marked by theological, political, and social differences.

The entire Jewish community at that time was dealing with many internal conflicts due to all that was happening within the world around them. Not only were they dealing with the Roman occupation and the increase of Hellenistic influence in both culture and religion, but since their return to the promise land from Babylonian exile in 539 BCE, they were also wrestling with the question of authority and identity. You see, they were only permitted by Babylon to have priests as authorities among them and not a king, thanks to the occupying empire. The high priests were also on the payroll of each subsequent occupying force from Babylon, to Persia, then to Rome. Naturally, this brought about deep divisions among the people and questions within the Jewish community over who was the rightful priestly authority and interpreter of God’s law.

This question of authority was paramount. With the Babylonian exile only several generations behind them, the scribes and Pharisees believed one of the major reasons Israel went into exile was because Israel had broken God's law, so they wanted to ensure that they and their future generations wouldn't suffer the same fate. So how they interpreted God's law and carried it out became of utmost concern. This is why we get the sense in the New Testament of a hyper preoccupation with and even fundamentalism towards the letter of God's law among the religious leaders.

This question of authority also manifested itself theologically and scripturally. The Pharisees held the Torah as well as the Psalms, the prophets, and the oral tradition as authoritative in their theology and religious practices. While the Sadducees only saw the Torah as authoritative. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and the Sadducees did not.

The word “Pharisee” is derived from the Greek word Pharisaios (Φαρισαῖος), which means “set apart.” This may have had something to do with their movement being set apart from Gentiles or less religious Jews, or even certain observances of ritual purity rites. It also may have had political connotations, akin to “separatists” to distinguish themselves from the elite Sadducees and others.

The Sadducees were among the wealthy ruling elites of society and were not very popular with the common people. The historian Josephus, who was also a Pharisee himself according to many historians, indicates that the Pharisees received the backing of the common people and were eclectic and more popular than their Sadducee opponents. He also recorded that Pharisees' influence over the common people was so great that anything they said against the king or the high priests was believed.

Given the Pharisees influence and good relationship with the common people, it makes sense as to why they would be the religious sect Jesus had the most conversations and debates with, because among the common people is where Jesus was always found as well. It also illustrates why they were so fearful of the ways the people saw Jesus and held him in such high regard.

After the destruction of the temple at the hands of the Romans in 70 AD, only the Pharisees and the Jesus movement remained as the dominate movements within greater Judaism. This is probably one of the main reasons as to why their presence and the tension between them and the disciples are so prominent within the New Testament. Both movements were wrestling over similar questions of authority and they often wrestled with each other.

Reading Jesus' Words Towards Ourselves.

For us to apply Jesus' words to our time correctly, we must turn Jesus' words towards the leaders in our religious and political community rather than towards others. One of the worst things that has happened in Christian history is reading passages like this with an antisemitic lens, as if Jesus hated Judaism and sought to supplant it with Christianity. This is not only a dangerous reading of the text, but it also shirks our responsibility to do exactly what Jesus was trying to do in his own religious community: bring repentance and reform.

So, if we Christians were to apply this context correctly, we would then use Jesus' parable as a lens through which to view the leadership within Christian and political circles who claim to be doing God's work but are bearing no fruit of God's love and instead bringing carnage, death, and destruction to others and God's creation. Leaders who are so fearful of Christianity losing privilege and power in the generations to come that they will do anything to secure as much power and privilege now.

Tragically, we do not have to look far to see such examples. Even from the highest positions of our government, we are watching those who claim Jesus' name, yet carry out the exact opposite of his teachings, bringing great harm to the poor, the hungry, the sick, the immigrant, the outsider, the marginalized, women, and even our planet.

The hope we have from Jesus' message here though is twofold. First, there is always a space for repentance. The leaders who use God's name to oppress can repent, and seek accountability and healing for the world instead. This is why we must continue calling them to repentance and to bear its fruit in our world. Secondly, the other aspect of hope is the picture Jesus paints of himself as the cornerstone. He is the foundation of God's kingdom, and even though those in power invoke his name to justify cruelty and injustice, he will forever be a stumbling block before them, and will ultimately bring their plans to ruin. For in God's kingdom, love always gets the last word.

May it begin with us.

Prayer

Jesus,

We hear your prophetic critique,

we not only are deeply challenged by your words,

we long for them to pierce the hearts of those in power over us,

that they would see how they are abusing power and wealth to the detriment of us all.

Would your voice grow louder and fill their ears.

Would you cause them to hear your call to repentance as the leaders in your time heard you.

We are witnessing too much destruction and suffering by their hands. When will you intervene?

Until that time comes, would you give us the courage to press on.

Would you protect the vulnerable and help us do the same.

And help us to keep your love and justice as our firm foundation.

Amen.

Now I'd like to hear from you! Did you find this helpful? What thoughts came to your mind as you read? Feel free to respond to this email and share your thoughts with me. I look forward to reading them. A 30 Day Day Devotional: I wrote a daily devotional in hopes to provide a companion for people seeking to follow Jesus through the season of we are currently navigating together. You can find out more below: $20.00 Following Jesus In A World Obsessed With Empires: 30 Days of reclaiming the hope, compassion, and justice of Jesus. Today, our world can often feel overwhelmed by darkness, division, and despair. I created this 30-day devotional to... Read more Get it now! ​ Ways to support: If you'd like to support this project, you can do so through one-time-gift of any amount you feel is right. You can also subscribe through a $5/mo, $15/mo, or $25/mo. Several others have also asked for a recurring gift option that is different from the ones offered here, like this one. If you'd like me to set up a different option for you, please just send me an email with the word "support" in the subject line. As always, I really want to thank all of you for reading and for all the ways you support me and this project every single week. I'm thankful for the ways we are building this together and hope it creates a lasting, positive change in our world along the way! I sincerely appreciate you all, Ben Remember, you can now view this and all previous newsletters as well as invite friends to join through this link: https://benjamin-cremer.ck.page/profile.

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