Weekly Devotion: Sour Grapes
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Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.
-Matthew 21:43
Jesus tells the story of a man who plants a vineyard and then rents it out to tenants. He goes away for a while. After a while, it’s time to collect the rent, so he sends one of his servants. The tenants decide at this point that they don’t want to pay rent and beat him up. The landlord sends another servant and he is beaten up. He sent a third and that one was killed. This goes on for a while- the landlord sends a servant to collect the rent and the tenants either injure the servant or outright kill him.
Finally, the owner decides to send his only son. His son was the sole heir to this land. This point was not lost on the tenants. As they see the son coming from a distance, they see this as a chance to get the land. In those days, if an owner has no heirs, the land can go to the tenants. The tenants had wanted the land all to themselves and this was their chance.
When the landowner’s son arrives, they seize him, kill him, and in a sign of ultimate disrespect, they throw his body outside of the vineyard.
Continue reading this week’s devotion
-Dennis Sanders, pastor