Garbage and treasure
Are you familiar with the saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure"? As a coin collector, I was lucky enough to discover some coins that someone had thrown away because they didn't know their value. There are numerous accounts of people who bought something at a flea market that later turned out to be surprisingly valuable. Jesus tells a group of high priests and Jewish elders the parable of a landowner who leased out his vineyard and went away. At harvest time, the owner sent his messengers to collect the yield. But the tenants mistreated and killed them. Even when he sent more messengers, they treated them the same way. Finally, he sent his son. They wouldn't acknowledge him either. They killed him to keep the vineyard for themselves. Jesus asked these religious leaders, "When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to these tenants?" They said to him, “He will bring about a bad end for the wicked and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruit at the right time.” (Mt 21,40-41).
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and he is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” (Mt 21,42-43).
With Abraham, God began to give some people the opportunity to reveal his true nature as a loving Father to others. Later, God chose the nation of Israel and declared them to be set apart as a priesthood and a holy nation. We know the course of history. Their rebellion and resistance against God ultimately culminated in the rejection and crucifixion of God's Son.
With this parable, Jesus illustrates God's history with Israel and Judah. God repeatedly sent prophets to call his people to repentance, and many of them were mistreated and killed. The religious leaders were well aware of this past. At the same time, Jesus made it clear that he too would be rejected and killed, even though God had sent him to save his people. This is exactly what happened shortly afterward.
What some carelessly discard turns out to be a precious treasure. This is precisely what Jesus illustrates in this parable. The religious leaders threw away the Son of God as if he were worthless. Jesus is the cornerstone that God has made the foundation of his kingdom. Therefore, the crucial question arises: Do we recognize the true value of Jesus, or do we overlook him like a discarded coin? Whoever accepts him not only receives God's grace but also becomes part of his work and bears lasting fruit.
from Greg Williams
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