”One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?” “Let me ask you a question first,” he replied. “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?” They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.” So they finally replied that they didn’t know. And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.” Now Jesus turned to the people again and told them this story: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years. At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. So the owner sent another servant, but they also insulted him, beat him up, and sent him away empty-handed. A third man was sent, and they wounded him and chased him away. “‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.’ “But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him. “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.” “How terrible that such a thing should ever happen,” his listeners protested. Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what does this Scripture mean? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ Everyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.” The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the people’s reaction.“
Luke 20:1-19 NLT
Authority is a major human question: who has ultimate authority in your life? The religious leaders wanted to know the authority of Christ, but they refused to answer His simple question because they lived in fear of people. They had powerful positions but lacked integrity. People today refuse to acknowledge the authority of Christ for many reasons: fear, pleasure, arrogance, defiance, and more. Rejecting Christ’s rightful authority only hurts us.
The Parable of the Tenants is one of Jesus’ most important parables; it shows how He understood Himself and His mission, and why the leaders of Israel rejected Him. The religious and political leaders claimed to be representing God, but they really had selfish ambitions of power. Jesus represents the true King of Israel, the God of the universe. But the religious leaders didn’t want to give up their power and follow God’s way. Like the wicked tenants, they believed that if they killed the Son, they could rule the vineyard. Instead, they would be punished and lose their positions of power. This is exactly what happened: the religious rulers (even after hearing this parable) killed Christ, supported revolutionaries, and were destroyed by the Romans.
The religious rulers could not believe that Christ—a poor preacher from Galilee—could have the authority of the Son of God. They would not acknowledge His authority because He didn’t fit their image of power, and they refused to use their power under His authority. People today make the same mistakes. We don’t want to acknowledge that our lives, gifts, positions, and power all come from the Lord who gives and has the right to take away. Living under His authority is the true way to wield power; this removes the fear of losing power, and we use power for the causes of the King.
Why do people today reject the rightful authority of Christ? How do your actions show that Christ is your highest authority?
