GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE

 

GODS CHOSEN PEOPLE 

This parable sits between the parable of the cursed fig tree and the parable of the King who brought people in from the highways and byways to his son’s wedding - when the privileged guests rejected his invitation.
Today’s parable tells the clear story of how Israel ceases to be the expression of the Kingdom of God on the earth as a holy nation that was chosen and called to be a light to all the nations of the earth. They were to be the reflection of God’s love and goodness and salvation to the Gentiles. The parable show us how the New Testament Church was to become the holy nation chosen to express the Kingdom of God in the earth and to invite the rest of humanity to enter in. Holy means consecrated to God and set apart to reflect his love and goodness and uprightness in the earth.

Matthew 21”33 “Jesus spoke another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. He then sent another larger  group of servants, and they treated them the same way. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. 
Jesus then asked the chief priests and Pharisees “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
It was God who brought all this about, and it is a wonder in our eyes’
I’m saying to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of the kingdom. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realised that He was speaking about them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

That verse says that the stone that the builders rejected becomes the cornerstone upon which a holy and heavenly life on earth can be built. That is reflected in many places in the Bible, in Psalms, in the Gospels and in Acts, and in Isaiah and in Ezekiel. God’s desire was for people in the earth to bear the fruits of his Kingdom and to partake of his Divine nature and to have Jesus on display in their lives. This was available to happen through Israel and even to Israel, but they rejected Jesus as the cornerstone. 
God first spoke this plan to Abraham when he chose Israel to be a light to the nations, a people set apart to reflect his Divine nature and guide the world toward him. He also confirmed this through Moses, telling them “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession… you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”(Exodus 19). But he made it clear that this calling was never just for Israel’s sake - “It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name… Then the nations will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 36:22-23). Yet Israel made it all about their name and not God’s name, and history shows that Israel struggled to fulfill this mission. Instead of looking outward, they mostly turned inward, focusing on their national identity rather than their divine purpose. They fell into idolatry and disobedience and ended up in exile and suffered under the tyranny of Assyria, and later Babylon, both of whom God used in judgement upon them (2 Kings 17:7-23).
But God was merciful, and he continually reaffirmed this calling through the prophets, because Israel was meant to serve as a spiritual bridge between God and the world as a priestly nation. A priest mediates between God and people, and Israel’s role was to bring His truth and his justice and his presence to all nations. “I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles. to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from prison those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 46). 
So God’s plan to bless the nations through Israel would still come to pass, despite their failure in that mission because God’s eternal master plan was for Jesus as a Jew to be the true light to the world. “The people living in darkness saw a great light.” (Matthew 4). Jesus embodied everything Israel was meant to be as the Light of the world (John 8), revealing God’s kingdom not only to the Jews but to all people, and before he ascended to heaven, he gave this commission to his disciples – not just to speak the Gospel but to Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28).
The Church, made up of all who follow Jesus now carries Israel’s original calling—to bring the awesome light of God’s kingdom to the world. The Church is the new priestly nation as the apostle Peter writes in1Peter 2:9 – They are the new vinedressers in the parable of the vineyard and the mission has passed from Israel to the Church. But although the Church is now the messenger of the Gospel, Israel still remains significant in God’s prophetic plan, which speaks of a time when Israel would once again be at the heart of global events – and the Bible says that that all Israel will finally know their Saviour (Romans11). God’s promise to use Israel as a light to the nations was never abandoned—it was fulfilled in Jesus and expanded through the Church and today both Israel and the global body of believers have a crucial role in preparing the world for what is to come. Israel’s very existence today remains a testimony to God’s faithfulness, and despite intense opposition, they endure as a nation and the world’s attention is fixed on Jerusalem as they continue to fulfill prophecy. Zechariah prophesied concerning Israel that in the last days all the nations of the earth will gather against it (Zecharia 12)– as the Gospel continues to spread across the earth through the Church.
In this time of global upheaval, of wars, moral confusion, and a deepening divide between truth and deception God’s plan is still unfolding, and the Church is called to shine brighter than ever, bringing the message of Jesus to a world in desperate need of hope. As darkness increases, so must the light of God’s people. His kingdom will become more fully established and history will unfold and move toward the return of Christ in God’s good time. Until then, both Israel and the Church are called to be a testimony of God’s faithfulness in a broken world.
There was one thing Jesus said in the parable that held both warning and great promise both to Israel and the Church – ‘It is not for your sakes, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name… Then the nations will know that I am the Lord.’ (Ezekiel 36). Israel made it all about their name and not God’s name, and history shows that Israel always struggled to fulfill their mission. Instead of looking outward, they mostly turned inward, focusing on their national and religious identity and privilege and entitlement, rather than on their divine purpose. The same thing serves as a warning for the Church
The Church has been invited to live in the name of Jesus and that means more than adding his name to the end of our prayers – it means reflecting his life within us. Our name is in his name because our identity is hidden with Christ in God. We don’t do things in the name of our personal spiritual identity, or religious affiliation or reputation, or fame and success or in the name of the Church. We do things in the name of Jesus. God’s name portrays his nature and goodness and power to bless all those we know in our world. If we truly bear his name, we are empowered by his grace to reflect his nature, and when we do, he assures us that we will live the most fulfilled and meaningful life that can be lived – an abundant life. Amen