Open with me, if you would, again
to Matthew 21. Matthew 21. We just looked at
one line from this parable for our Bible study. And that line
was, this is the Lord's doing. Whatever it is, this is the Lord's
doing. I would now like for us to look
at the parable, the entire parable. Verse 33, our Lord said, hear
another parable. Our Lord preached in parables. He preached in parables. A parable is an earthly story. With a heavenly meaning, it's
an earthly story illustrating spiritual things. Heavenly things. And that's what our Lord has
done here. He has declared the truth of God's justice and God's
judgment. And he's also declared the truth
of God's gospel, God's mercy. God's grace. In the one and only
place that it can be found, there's only one place that mercy can
be found. We just sang about it. There's
a mercy seat. There's a mercy seat. That mercy
seat on the Ark of the Covenant, inside that Ark was the law,
the two tables of stone. That law that had been broken,
it was kept in there. In there was a pot of manna,
the bread of life. In there was the rod of Aaron.
But on top of that, on that lid, there was a mercy seat and blood
would be sprinkled on that mercy seat. And God said, that's the
place where I will meet with my people. That's where God will
come down and meet with his people, right there on that mercy seat,
that blood bought, blood stained, blood appeased mercy seat. There's one place that mercy
can be found. And our Lord tells us about this
right here in this parable. Let's read these verses. We read
them in the Bible study. Let's read them one more time.
Look at verse 33. Our Lord said, hear another parable. There was a certain householder
which planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and digged
a wine press in it and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen
and went into a far country. And when the time of the fruit
drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandman that they might
receive the fruits of it. And the husbandman took his servants
and beat one and killed another and stoned another. Again, he
sent other servants more than the first, and they did unto
him likewise. But last of all, he sent unto
them his son, saying they will reverence my son. But when the
husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, this is
the heir. Come, let us kill him and let
us seize on his inheritance. And they called him and cast
him out of the vineyard and slew him. When the Lord, therefore,
of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, he will miserably
destroy those wicked men and will let out his vineyard unto
other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their
seasons. Jesus saith unto them, did you
never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders
rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. This
is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore
say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and
given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever
shall fall on this stone shall be broken. But on whomsoever
it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief
priest and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived
that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands
on him, they feared the multitude because they took him for a prophet."
Our Lord was speaking right here to the chief priest and the elders
of false religion. Our Lord was very against false
religion. That's important to know. Our
Lord was not tolerable of false religion. So many people think, well, you
just have your religion, I'll have my religion, we'll all meet
up in the middle and everything will be okay. That was not the
case with our Lord. He was not tolerable of it at
all. There's one true religion, and it's God's Word. Whatever
God has said, that's it. Whatever is written. Our Lord
gave this parable of these wicked husbandmen. Who represent these
high priest and these elders that he was talking to when he
was finished giving the parable, they perceived that he was talking
about them. But I'll tell you that this represents
every man and woman on earth. Every soul on this earth. A husbandman
was a farmer. A tiller of the soil, a vine
dresser. A worker in the field. That's
what God's preachers are supposed to be. And that's what they are
if they have truly been called to that position. But sadly,
many are disguised as laborers of the Lord who are actually
wolves in sheep's clothing. Many. Our Lord said, beware of
false prophets. Beware ravening wolves who devour
for their own gain. That's the great warning that
still needs to go out to this very day. That is the warning
that needs to go out to Kingsport, Tennessee. Do you know that? Beware, beware. Let's listen to our Lord right
here. Verse 33. He said, hear another parable.
There was a certain householder, holder of the house, owner of
the house. All right, this is an earthly
story with a spiritual meaning. Our Lord is speaking of spiritual
things here. This householder represents God
the Father. Our Lord said, in my Father's
house. Verse 33, there was a certain
householder which planted a vineyard and hedged it roundabout. He hedged this vineyard roundabout. He planted this vineyard. He
owned it. He created it. It was his. And that can be said about all
of mankind. All of mankind is his. All of
mankind belongs to him. But that can especially be said
about his elect. His elect people, the ones that
he has chosen to set his affection on, the ones he has chosen to
set his care on, the special fruit of his harvest, the one
he's chosen to preserve and protect and keep, all of them are hedged
about, just like Job. I love how the adversary had
to say, I can't touch him. You've hedged him about, protected
him. Verse 33, there was a certain
householder which planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and
digged a winepress in it. That householder is God the Father.
That vineyard is His people. The hedge is His sovereignty,
His authority, His right to do what He will with whom He will. That winepress is His judgment. That's his judgment. That is
his holy justice, his strict justice in judgment. God is a
God of judgment. God is a God of holy justice. Verse 33, there was a certain
householder which planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and
digged a wine press in it and built a tower. That tower is
his all seeing eye. Nothing is going to slip past
him. Nothing is going to slip past him. There are no blind
spots. He will not turn a blind eye.
The judge of the earth sees all, and he's going to judge according
to what he sees. His eye is on all of his vineyard. There was a certain householder
which planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and digged
a wine press in it and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen
and went into a far country. And when the time of the fruit
drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that they might
receive the fruits of it. Those servants that he sent represent
God's law, God's word, God's gospel, God's truth that came. Verse 35. And the husbandmen took his servants
and beat one and killed another and stoned another. Oh, the sin
that has been committed against God's law, God's word, God's
gospel, God's truth. Sin, sin, sin. Verse 36, again,
he sent other servants more than the first, and they did unto
them likewise, not only God's law and word and gospel and truth,
but those who declare God's word and law and gospel and truth. Look what they did to John the
Baptist. The rebellion and sin that's
been committed against the true witness of God. Verse 37 says,
But last of all, He sent unto them His Son, saying, They will
reverence My Son. He sent His Son. Hold your place
right here and turn over to Mark's account of this. Mark chapter
12. This is the same account, Mark
chapter 12 verse 1 says, He began to speak unto them by
parables. A certain man planted a vineyard
and set in hedge about it and digged a place for the wine fat
and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went into
a far country. And at the season he sent to
the husbandman a servant that he might receive from the husbandman
the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him and beat
him and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another
servant and at him they cast stones and wounded him in the
head and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another
and him they killed. and many others beating some
and killing some. Now watch verse six. It says,
having yet therefore one son. He had one son. His well beloved. He sent him also last unto them
saying, they will reverence my son. The owner of this house
had only one son. And he said, this is my well
beloved. This is my beloved son in whom
I'm well pleased. For God so loved this world,
he gave his only begotten son. He sent his only begotten son,
Jesus Christ the Lord. Verse 7 right here says, but
those husbandmen said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us
kill him and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took
him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. In the error
of their false religion, they said, we don't need him for his
inheritance. We don't need Him in order to
gain His inheritance. We can get His inheritance without
Him. That's exactly what the lie of
false religion is telling men and women still to this day.
You determine your own inheritance. That's the lie that's being told
today. You determine your own acceptance. You can rely on the
works of your own hand. Crucify Him. Crucify Him. You don't need Him. That's the
lie of this wicked heart right here. To trust in ourselves and
to look to ourselves is to trample on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what it is. To believe in ourselves and to
look to ourselves and to cast our all on ourselves is to trample
on the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to show you something
in Hebrews 10. Turn with me over there. Hebrews 10, verse 28, it says, He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sore punishment,
suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot
the Son of God? and hath counted the blood of
the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and
hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. For we know him that
hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith
the Lord. And again, the Lord shall judge
his people. It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. That's what our Lord is
telling us in his parable. That's what needs to be told.
It's a fearful thing. Be careful. Be warned. We have sinned against God. We're
going to fall into the hands of the living God and it's a
fearful thing. It's a fearful thing. Go with
me back to Matthew 21. Verse 37 says, But last of all, he sent unto
them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the
husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is
the heir. Come, let us kill him and let
us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him and cast
him out of the vineyard and slew him. When the Lord therefore
of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? Our Lord is asking the Pharisees
this question, stating this. He said, what do you think he's
going to do to those who treated his property and treated his
servants, but most importantly treated his son? The way he was treated. What
will he do to sinners against him? That's what the Lord is
asking. What will he do to sinners against him? Let's ask that question
this morning. I'm a sinner. And you're a sinner. And what did God say he would
do to sinners against him? Verse 41, they say unto him,
he will miserably destroy those wicked men. And they answered
correctly. Second Thessalonians 1 says,
he's coming back in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord. God be merciful to us. God be merciful to us. Verse 41, they say unto him,
he will miserably destroy those wicked men and will let out his
vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits
in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, did you
never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders
rejected? That stone is Jesus Christ. That rock is Jesus Christ. He
said, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become
the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and
it's marvelous in our eyes. He said, the one that you rejected,
the one that the flesh of man has rejected, the truth that
you have rejected, the salvation that you've rejected, the substitute
that you have rejected, By nature, He has become the standard by
which you're going to be judged. God the Father has purpose to
build all things on Him. On Christ, the solid rock a man
or a woman will stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground. Verse 43, Therefore
say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and
given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whomsoever
shall fall on this stone shall be broken. But on whomsoever
it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Now, in what
our Lord said, He declared the judgment of God on sin in man. The judgment of God on the sin
that is in man. And in what our Lord said, He
declared the mercy of God on sin in Christ. Mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And verse 45 says, When the chief priests and Pharisees had heard
His parables, they perceived that He spake of them. And I'm going to tell all of
us this. Every time a sinner truly hears God's word, speaking
of sin against his law, sin against God's word, sin against God's
son, every soul who truly hears will perceive he's talking about
me. Let me just make this clear.
I'm talking about us. They perceived he's talking about
us. What I'm saying is I'm talking
about us. I'm talking about me. Every soul who truly hears. You've broken God's law. You've
sinned against God. Every soul who truly hears will
say he's talking about me. And either a sinner will be hardened
against that and will reject it, or a sinner will receive
faith to believe it and will say, I'm the man. I'm the man. I'm the woman. I'm
the one who sinned against God. I ask our brother to read Psalm
51 to us. Don't you love Psalm 51? David speaks on behalf of all
of God's people when from the depths of his soul he's crying,
God, be merciful to me. Be merciful to me. We just looked
in the Bible study at this was the Lord's doing. This is the
Lord's doing. The fact that he sent his only
well-beloved son, that was the Lord's doing. To sinners like
you and me. Why did He send His only well-beloved
Son? So that sinners against Him would
take Him and crucify Him and kill Him. What did that accomplish? A mercy seat. Blood poured on
a mercy seat before God. An appeasement for all of the
sin of His people against Him. Oh, when God sends faith to a
child of his to cause them to see, I'm the man, I'm the one
who has sinned against thee and thee only have I sinned and done
this evil in thy sight. I think about this all the time,
but I don't have the ability. I don't have the power to save
anybody. I don't have the ability or the
power to convict anybody. It takes the Spirit of God. It
takes the Word of God and the power of God. For this Word to
go out and the Spirit to pierce a heart and say, wait a minute,
that's me. That's me. Vengeance is owed
to me. I wish we could all understand
that this morning. Vengeance is owed to me. Wait a minute. What do you mean
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them? That's me. What do you mean this this stone,
this great stone is going to grind somebody to powder? That's me. That's what I deserve. Also, souls ought to be saying
that because all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. By nature, by right, every soul here, because of our sin
against God, is destined for the chief cornerstone to fall
on us and grind us to powder. According to His justice, according
to His judgment, according to His holiness, according to what's
right, that's what we deserve. According to his mercy. Thank
God for mercy. We. Saying there is a fount. That's not what we saying. We
saying come thou fount. Of every blessing to my heart
to sing thy grace, streams of mercy. That's what we need. Streams
of mercy. Streams of mercy from every stormy
wind that blows. From every swelling tide of woes,
there's a calm, a surey treat. It's found right there beneath
the mercy seat. Search me, oh God, know my heart. Try me. See if there be any wicked
way in me. I know there is. And remove it. Wash it away in
your blood. According to his mercy, this
is what he said, according to his judgment, whoever this stone
falls on is going to grind that soul to powder. But whoever falls
on this stone for mercy, and that's what I want to tell every
soul here, fall on this stone for mercy in the hardness of
the Pharisees hearts. Verse 46 says they just wanted
to lay hands on him. They just hated hearing the truth
of what he had to say. But in fear and in trembling
and in guilt and in shame, if hearing what we've done before
God breaks our heart, if you are heartbroken, heart troubled
over your sin against Him, and if that causes us to fall
on Christ for mercy, Mercy will be given. If we fall, it's because
He revealed our sin to us in the first place. He sent His
Spirit, and His Spirit showed us what we were. If we fall, it's because God
caused us to fall. It's because God in mercy caused
us to fall. But if we have a heart to fall,
fall on Him for mercy. Fall on Him for mercy. Any soul
who cries with David, have mercy upon me, O God, according to
thy loving kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender
mercies, blot out my transgression in the blood that we, by wicked
hands, crucified and slayed you in, in the mercy of the fact
that you would send your Son in the first place. Lord, in
that very blood, wash me throughly from my inequities. In that very
death that you suffered as a result of our sin, cleanse me, redeem
me, forgive me. Father, forgive me for the death
of your son. Forgive me in the death of your
son. I'm a sinner before you. I need
mercy. I need mercy. You need mercy. Our Lord said every soul that
falls on this stone, this very stone that ought to ground all
of us to powder, He said every soul that falls on this stone
broken, needing mercy, will receive it. Look with me at Psalm 130, along with Psalm 51. This is brokenness. This is falling
on Christ for mercy. Psalm 130, verse 8, it says, Out of the depths have I cried
unto thee, O Lord. I pray that the Lord would let
us see the depths that we might cry unto Him. Every now and then
we're in a place where we are in the depths. Out of the depths
have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine
ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou,
Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? What
he's saying is, I'm the sinner. If you mark my sins, I'll never
stand. Verse four says, but there is
forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. I wait for
the Lord. My soul doth wait for the Lord. In his word do I hope. This is what it is to fall on
the Lord for mercy. Lord, I acknowledge my sin. Out
of the depths I'm crying unto you. There is forgiveness in
the very one that we sinned against, forgiveness in the blood. I'm
waiting for you. I'm hoping in your word. This
is what it is to fall on the Lord for mercy. Verse six says,
my soul waited for the Lord more than they that watch for the
morning. I say more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption,
and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." Who will
he redeem? Who will he redeem? The very
ones who sinned against him. The very ones. In our parable,
the Lord said, this is who God is, this is who man is. This is what man deserves for
what he's done. But this is how merciful God
is in the very person of His Son. The very person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Fall on Him for mercy. Fall on
Him for mercy. There is mercy to be had with
God, but it's only in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. fall
on Him, cast your all on Him, plead mercy in the blood that
was shed for sin, and you'll have it. It's a promise, it's
a covenant from God, and you'll have it. Let me leave you with
this article that was written many years ago. It says, You say you are unworthy
of the least of God's mercies. A soul who gets a hold of his
sin will say, I'm not worthy of mercy. I don't deserve mercy. That's who mercy is for. You say you are unworthy of the
least of God's mercies. Aren't you glad Christ is worthy?
and that the redemption he accomplished was for the unworthy? You say
you have no goodness or merits to claim. Aren't you thankful
God accepts sinners based upon the goodness and merits of His
Son? You say the law affords you no hope. Right you are. but
the gospel declares that the mercy and grace of God is freely
given to sinners because of the doing and the dying of his dear
son. This is the only salvation worth
having and the only one worthy to be proclaimed. Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. Fall on him for mercy. Fall on
him for mercy and you'll have it. All right. Let's all stand