Lent 5 Series C

Isaiah 43:16–21
Philippians 3:(4b–7) 8–14
Luke 20:9–20

Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your People that that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ...

God’s Beloved Son Has Redeemed Us

Our life and works apart from Christ, no matter how they may glitter to the eyes of the world, are ultimately rubbish and have no righteousness. Rather, in the scandalous cross of Jesus we find our righteousness alone “through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:9). By such faith, we “know him and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). For the same God who brought Israel out of Egypt, has done a “new thing” for us in Christ Jesus. He has sent his beloved Son into his vineyard – to be killed by sinful men and to become “the stone the builders rejected.” Yet, the One rejected by men “has become the “cornerstone” of His Church (Luke 20:17). Through the waters of Holy Baptism, he provides us daily refreshment in our earthly pilgrimage, “a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19).

Luke 20:9-20
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Luke 20:9
Ἤρξατο δὲ πρὸς τὸν λαὸν λέγειν τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην• Ἄνθρωπος ἐφύτευσεν ἀμπελῶνα, καὶ ἐξέδετο αὐτὸν γεωργοῖς, καὶ ἀπεδήμησεν χρόνους ἱκανούς.
And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while.

Luke 20:10
καὶ καιρῷ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς τοὺς γεωργοὺς δοῦλον, ἵνα ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος δώσουσιν αὐτῷ• οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ἐξαπέστειλαν αὐτὸν δείραντες κενόν.
 When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

Luke 20:11
καὶ προσέθετο ἕτερον πέμψαι δοῦλον• οἱ δὲ κἀκεῖνον δείραντες καὶ ἀτιμάσαντες ἐξαπέστειλαν κενόν.
And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

Luke 20:12
καὶ προσέθετο τρίτον πέμψαι• οἱ δὲ καὶ τοῦτον τραυματίσαντες ἐξέβαλον.
And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out.

Luke 20:13
εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος• Τί ποιήσω; πέμψω τὸν υἱόν μου τὸν ἀγαπητόν• ἴσως τοῦτον ἐντραπήσονται.
Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’

Luke 20:14
ἰδόντες δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ γεωργοὶ διελογίζοντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες• Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος• ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν, ἵνα ἡμῶν γένηται ἡ κληρονομία•
But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’

Luke 20:15
καὶ ἐκβαλόντες αὐτὸν ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ἀπέκτειναν. τί οὖν ποιήσει αὐτοῖς ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος;
And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

Luke 20:16
ἐλεύσεται καὶ ἀπολέσει τοὺς γεωργοὺς τούτους, καὶ δώσει τὸν ἀμπελῶνα ἄλλοις. ἀκούσαντες δὲ εἶπαν• Μὴ γένοιτο.
He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!”

Luke 20:17
ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς εἶπεν• Τί οὖν ἐστιν τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο• Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας;
 But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone [the head of the corner’]?

Luke 20:18
πᾶς ὁ πεσὼν ἐπ’ ἐκεῖνον τὸν λίθον συνθλασθήσεται• ἐφ’ ὃν δ’ ἂν πέσῃ, λικμήσει αὐτόν.
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

Luke 20:19
καὶ ἐζήτησαν οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς ἐπιβαλεῖν ἐπ’ αὐτὸν τὰς χεῖρας ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ, καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν τὸν λαόν, ἔγνωσαν γὰρ ὅτι πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἶπεν τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην.
The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

Luke 20:20 
Καὶ παρατηρήσαντες ἀπέστειλαν ἐγκαθέτους ὑποκρινομένους ἑαυτοὺς δικαίους εἶναι, ἵνα ἐπιλάβωνται αὐτοῦ λόγου,  ὥστε παραδοῦναι αὐτὸν τῇ ἀρχῇ καὶ τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος.
So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.

-The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software

-ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

-Schnorr Von Carolsfeld woodcuts, ‘The Crucifixion’© WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use

-LCMS Lectionary notes © 2016

-Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing