“The Finest Fruit of Faith”
Original sermon given October 8, 2023, written and delivered by Pastor Jeffrey Leininger at First Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church.
Watch the sermon live.
“The Finest Fruit of Faith”
Matthew 21.33-46
Matthew 21.33-46
In the name of the Living God and his risen Christ. Amen.
It’s early morning Monday in holy week. The cries of “hosanna” have barely ceased echoing around the streets and shops of Jerusalem. The palm branch remnants haven’t even been cleared up yet. The morning sun shines through the pillars of the outer temple courts, and a group of Jewish religious leaders gather around Jesus as he teaches. They gather not for healing from the Lord of Life, nor to learn from Truth itself, nor to worship the Son of God but rather to interrogate, intimate, and entrap. The crowd grows as the intensity grows: “By what authority? Who gives you the right? What’s your response to this theological problem? Moses says this, what about you?”
By the end of Monday, the mechanisms for murder will already be engaged, and the only innocent man to ever live will be dead by Friday afternoon.
Amid the Monday morning teachings, Jesus speaks three parables against the Chief Priests and Elders. The first of two sons—one who says “yes” but doesn’t do his father’s business, and another who says “no” but gets on with it in then end. The second parable, which we’ve just heard, features a landowner and a wonderful vineyard, but wicked workers who get it taken away and given to others. Next week: marriage, wedding planning, and an interesting invite list. (You definitely don’t want to miss this one!)
Here’s today’s parable, ESPN Sports Center summary: The vineyard is God’s kingdom, begun, nourished, and flourishing by God’s grace. The renters are the people of Israel, and in particular the religious leaders who were permitted to live in and enjoy the vineyard. The Landowner is God, who only wants what is rightfully his, a portion of the fruits of the vineyard. So far, so good—nothing unusual here. What could possibly go wrong?
Here’s where the parable gets ridiculous: The Landowner sends servants to collect the fruit. These servants are the prophets. The tenants beat one, kill another, and stone a third. Then he sends more, and the same thing happens. The Landowner is astonished! Here he’s built this wonderful vineyard, rents it out to some people who get paid to work it, and now they think they own it. In a final act of grace, he sends his son, his beloved son. But now the tenants even kill him and try and seize the inheritance.
To put this into contemporary context: this would be like building a home, renting it out to some folks who then end up squatting in it. Finally, they kill your kid and try to claim the house as their legal inheritance. Do you get the picture?
Those hearing this story might have laughed out loud—it’s so ridiculous… until they realized Jesus was talking about them. Jesus’ point: the kingdom of God will be taken away from the religious leaders of the day, who have rejected him, and it will be given to others. Who? The blind, the lame, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, and sinners such as you and me—the “nations,” the gentiles who even this morning gather, fulfilling the prophecies from of old even on a busy marathon Sunday. And what fruit are we to bear which the religious leaders of Jesus day did not? It is our belief and confession of who Jesus is: he is the only begotten son of the parable who was sent into the world to give himself for us and for all. He is the stone rejected become the corner stone, onto whom we throw ourselves in repentance and faith, today. He is the One True Living God, through whom and for whom all things were made. He is the savior of all humankind, who now has been enthroned as Lord of the Universe.
I’m going to give you a little phrase to help you remember the point of this parable. “The finest fruit is faith.” (I love a lot of alliteration!) The finest fruit is faith: recognizing the presence of the son, breaking yourself on him in repentance, believing that he’s here for your restoration. There is no greater fruit brought forth from God’s vineyard. Good works are good—but they’ll never save you. Virtue is praiseworthy. Diversity is commendable. Excellence in all our endeavors is of course wonderful to strive for. But the fruit of the vineyard which God seeks above others is faith in the Son of God.
God has made a wonderful new vineyard. Its grapes are full and sweet. Its shade is cool and comforting. Its servants are joyfully at work and at peace while they work. It has begun now and stretches all the way into eternity. And at its center is the greatest servant, the son of God, Jesus himself. He pours himself out in sacrifice and love for all—Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, slave and free. Believe in him. Be drawn to him. Be broken by him. Become alive in him. Flourish in him.
The parable was spoken against the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, but within the walls of this vineyard, there lies a warning for us as well: the vineyard, though given to us, can be taken away as well. Be not deceived. No rich, wonderful heritage keeps us in it. No good works or religious piety earn entrance to it. No theological acumen establishes its walls or produces its fruit—though all this is good and God-pleasing. This and only this is what matters in the end: what you do with the beloved son. Do you reject him or receive him?
Christ is the great healer of body and soul—come to him this morning for restoration and forgiveness. He is Truth—sit at his feet and learn and grow. He is the son of God, killed in the vineyard by those who were to serve him, yet risen again in victory on Easter Sunday. The finest fruit is faith.
Come soon Lord Jesus. Amen.