Opening Prayer

Our New Testament reading, we continue in Mark this morning, Mark 11:17. Before we hear from the Word, the sermon text, let’s ask His blessing upon the reading and the reception of that Word. Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, we ask in knowing the privilege of your presence as we worship together now, we thank you, Lord, that you have given us this word. Lord, your word, we ask that you would indeed place it in our hearts that we would love, place it in our minds that we would think more properly. Lord, place it in our wills that we would live our lives according to your will in this land, not our own.

Lord, we pray that you would continue to be with us and strengthen us through this word and challenge us and refresh us. Again, we thank you. And we come to you again and ask, speak, Lord, for your servants who are listening. And all God’s people said together, amen. Amen.

Scripture Reading

Mark 17:27. Please give your full attention. This is the word of God.

And they came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him. And they said to him, By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?

And Jesus said to them, I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.

And they discussed it with one another, saying, well, if we say from heaven, he will say, why then do you not believe him? But shall we say from man, they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, we do not know.

And Jesus said to them, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

And he began to speak to them in parables. A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower, and leased it to tenants who went into another country.

When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him, and they beat him, and they sent him away empty-handed.

Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others, some they beat, some they killed, he had still one another, a beloved son, and finally he sent him to them saying, they will respect my son.

But those tenants said to one another, this is the heir, come let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and they killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read the scripture? The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

And they were seeking to arrest him, but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. The word of the Lord. Amen. May he have his blessing upon us at this time. Please be seated.

Sermon Introduction

Well, our text this morning is for some a very controversial text. It’s not controversial because of the grammar or the structure of the text or the words or anything like that. It’s controversial for some because of what the text implies when we understand it correctly.

And that is because the subject of this text is Israel, kind of like what we’ve been talking about in the last number of that we’ve looked at. The subject is Israel and her place in the future.

You’ll know that for many, Israel as a nation is something that God is looking to reestablish in the future and will alone and only be God’s covenant to people and kingdom. And because of that belief, texts like this one can cause quite a bit of anxiety for those who hold that view.

Those who don’t believe such things are often attacked because they don’t believe those things. This view is held so tightly in our own day that this future prospect for Israel is the most important factors of all of Scripture, as one person said. It’s the most important fact of all of Scripture, and it’s a greater error of doctrine than any other error of doctrine, which, of course, seems kind of hyperbolic. He didn’t mean it to be.

Many people, maybe you, were raised on this very teaching, that ultimately in the future, God would reestablish Israel, rebuild the temple, reinstitute the sacrifice, and that would be the end times lenses that you would see all of future through.

When we hear things contrary to that, it can be difficult to grasp what will be taught this morning, and it won’t be without its stretching or its challenge, but I encourage you to hang in there if that is your background, and maybe we can get reoriented together as to what this word is teaching us about these matters.

And the question really comes, are we waiting for a nation to be reborn? That’s the question, not are we waiting for the Jews to believe in Jesus and go to heaven? We are truly delighted, and praise God when that happens, of course.

But the question of, should we be waiting for a future regathering of a nation and rebuilding of a temple and reestablishment of the sacrifice, that’s a whole other question altogether.

And so with that said, the question isn’t one of ethnicity or a preference of end times views. It really is a question of what does the text say, right? As we exegete the text, what does it say? What does the Bible say about this subject, about how we are to interpret the scriptures?

And so with that in mind, let’s go to our text in Mark this morning, 11, 27 and following. We see that Jesus has been questioned by the leaders there, and he’s answered them in this way. He’s answering them with a question of authority, a parable of judgment, and a clue about the future. So there’s an issue of authority, and then judgment, and then the future that he gives.

The Question of Authority

And so first, let’s look at this question of authority. We realize that this question comes to Christ after he’s taken all of the temple furniture in the Gentile court and thrown it over, right, that just happened. The coins are going everywhere. Animals are going everywhere. People are scattering. Christ has caused quite a scene in the temple.

And so it’s no surprise that soon he’s visited by the leadership, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. And they come to him, and they want to know what’s going on, and they’re more than a little upset about it.

And they have this question for him and they say, by what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you this authority? Who said you could do this? And of course, it’s hard to believe that they’re looking for an honest answer, right? As if Jesus gave them a name, they would say, okay, it’s all right, right? It’s not a genuine question.

But Christ does give them an answer that we realize, as Mark describes it to us, at least at the very minimum is a trap. At least that’s how they perceive it. But I think a lot of times we leave the question there as well. And it’s not all that’s going on. It’s not just a trap.

His question is no doubt a trap of sorts, but it is much more than that. It really is the heart of the issue. And his response is, what about John’s baptism? What kind of authority did it have? Was it from heaven, with God’s authority, or is it just something that man is doing in his own self, doing his own thing?

And they realize that no matter how they answer this question, it’s not going to go well. If we say it’s from heaven, he’s going to come turn around and say, well, then why didn’t you believe John? If we say it’s from man, we’re afraid of the people because they really like John, and we don’t want to lose our crowd and push people towards this man that we’re already trying to be rid of.

And so they realize it’s a trap, but notice the whole lot more than that. In asking the question about John’s baptism, the authority of that baptism, Mark puts us right back to the first chapter of his gospel.

And in that first chapter, one of the very first things we see in Mark’s gospel is John the Baptist is out in the wilderness baptizing. Remember way back in the beginning, it was clear that John’s ministry was the ministry of a forerunner. He was the one that was sent before the great and awesome day of the Lord.

He was the one that was sent to prepare the people for God’s salvation and deliverance. There were many Old Testament texts were referenced there in Mark in that first chapter, where God is promising that he will send a messenger before he delivers Israel from her time in exile, that God would send a messenger before his face, before he shows up in the temple.

So John the Baptist is that one who comes beforehand. And therefore, if he really does have authority, if John is the real deal, then whatever John announced is what they should have been believing all along as they hear it.

John clearly announced that this Jesus was the coming one. He was the one they were all waiting for. Because John made this announcement, right? Remember, I’m the forerunner and the one coming after me is the one that leads Israel’s people to salvation and safety.

Because they clearly don’t believe in Jesus, it’s clear that they never believed John. They never thought his ministry was of any value. His whole ministry was merely to pave the way for this one man.

And remember how this road was to be paved in order to make this straight road in the wilderness. And how they are to build this road so that God could come and save them. How was that done? He says, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, prepare yourselves, become holy. Repent of your sins, Israel, that God might come and find a people prepared and ready for the day of salvation.

In that these people have not repented. They have not prepared, at least this group standing before Christ. He finds there a leadership that is still wondering, do you have any authority at all? I mean, after all of his teaching, after all of his miracles, after all of his very bold faced rebukes to the Pharisees, they’re still asking the most basic questions that was answered from the first chapter of the gospel in the very first days of Jesus’ ministry.

This is the one with the very authority of God that John the Baptist prepared the way for. They’ve already had an answer. They just don’t like the answer, and so they refuse to hear it.

And notice the answer to their question, the irony there, right? How do they answer Jesus ultimately after they contemplate and go through the options? We don’t know. We don’t know.

And remember what Jesus said he would do to those ones who rejected him early on? He said, I’m gonna start speaking to you in a certain way so that seeing you may not see, hearing you may not hear, and that you may not perceive what is going on, you won’t understand, he says.

And here they are standing before Christ. He says, so what about John’s baptism? And they answer him, we don’t understand it. We’re blind to this message. We don’t get it.

And surely they don’t get it because they’re questioning the authority of not only the Messiah to come, but God himself who’s here to prepare the way for Israel. Not to know John’s role is to admit that you have not prepared yourself like John told you to do.

If you don’t know what John was there for, then surely you didn’t repent and you didn’t believe the gospel of the kingdom. Surely you didn’t prepare yourself for the coming, the great day of the Lord.

Surely these in Israel have not said, they’ve not said in response, Israel’s a mess. We need to fix the problems through our own repentance. So they’ve already shown that they’re not ready for Christ and will not believe in him, even as he stands before them in their midst.

So the question of authority already shows us the problem with the ones who are asking Christ this question. They have never at all prepared for the coming of the Messiah in the way that they were told to do. So it shouldn’t shock us when they miss it altogether, right? Altogether, we don’t know.

The Parable of Judgment

And so from this question of authority, we move to, secondly, this parable of judgment, right? Christ gives this parable of judgment. And the parable, in one sense, is quite simple. It’s a pretty simple story.

There’s a man who plants a vineyard, and he takes very good care of it, and then he leases it out to tenants, the men who are supposed to come back and to work the vineyard for him. And ultimately, he will share in the profits of their labor.

And so harvest time comes, and he says, all right, it’s time for me to get my crops so that I might have my earnings from the lease I gave you. And so he sends someone on his behalf to go and get it.

And all of a sudden, he begins to send one person after another, and one is beaten, one is chased away, one is killed. And it says time and again, this is the routine, that everyone he sends to collect either comes out maimed or beaten or is murdered.

And so he says, all right, there’s one other, one more plan. I have a beloved son and I’ll send him. I mean, they wouldn’t be so bold as to do anything to my son.

And it says that the ones who have leased the vineyard, they see the son coming and they say, well, this is the heir. This is the one who will get the field when the owner dies. If we kill him and the owner dies, it’ll be ours in the taking. We’ll have the field. We’ll get all the fruits thereof.

And so they killed the son, and the question comes at the end of the parable, what do you think the landowner will do? And it’s answered, interestingly enough, in Matthew’s gospel, the crowd answers.

Mark doesn’t give us who’s answering the question, either Christ himself or the crowd in response, but the answer nevertheless is very clear. The landowner’s going to be angry and is going to undo these people. He’s going to kill them, and then he’s going to lease out the property. Someone else will take care of it and give him the proceeds, the fruit that he’s looking for.

Now, again, on the surface of this, it seems like a very simple story. But the question is, what does it mean? Even by the end of the parable, they say, well, we think he’s talking about us. We’re not quite sure. But what does it all mean?

It’s not as if every part of this parable is spelled out and explained to us here in the Gospel of Mark. But it’s interesting, there’s already a place in the Bible that does explain this text.

Jesus doesn’t, as we’ve seen his custom, pick topics randomly out of nowhere. And he doesn’t pick this vineyard story out of nowhere. He didn’t just tell a story that was brand new.

No, he’s drawing back on an old story that is known in the minds of everyone who’s come to question him. The chief, the priests, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, they would know the story that he’s talking about.

He’s going straight back to Isaiah 5 and begins to tell a story of the vineyard, a story that God’s already told and one that is known well in the national memory, the people of Israel, especially their leaders.

And what does that say there in Isaiah chapter 5? Isaiah chapter 5 says, Isaiah 5, verses 1 to 7, Listen to the story that is told in the description. Let me sing for my beloved, my love song concerning his vineyard.

My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and he cleared it of its stones and planted it with choice vines. He built a watchtower in the midst of it. He hewed out a wine vat in it.

He took for it and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.

What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its edge, and it shall be devoured. I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.

I will make it a waste, it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briars and thorns shall grow up. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting. And he looked for justice and behold bloodshed for righteousness, but behold an outcry.

So you see here what Isaiah is doing in this chapter. He’s singing the song, and he says, oh, there’s this man who loves his vineyard. And he speaks it like this, it’s well beloved, and he takes great care for this vineyard.

And he builds a tower and a wine press, and he comes looking for the fruit, and instead of fruit he was looking for, he sees wild grapes. And he goes, notice how the story’s arranged.

God is now asking Judah and Jerusalem, what shall I do to my vineyard? I took such good care of it and I did everything that was appropriate that it should bring forth fruit that I had planted and instead it brought forth something else that I can’t even use.

And these are the sorts of stories that are told where an answer is automatically inferred or automatically supposed to come forth from the audience. And the answer is destroy the vineyard.

It’s kind of like that incidence with the prophet Nathan with David, you remember. He talks about that rich man who had all kinds of animals and there was another man who only had one little lamb that he loved, his beloved lamb.

He thought of like a member of his family and the rich man went and he took the poor man’s lamb and he ate it for dinner. And the question comes, what should they do to the guy that stole that lamb?

And David says, well, I’d kill the guy. And what does Nathan say? He says, yeah, that’s you. That’s you, David. Well, God’s doing the same thing here to the people.

He says, hey, Jerusalem and Judah, what should I do to these people who have messed up my vineyard? And he goes on to tell them, don’t you get it? You’re the vineyard. You should have brought forth good fruit, but instead, every time I come, there are wild grapes.

And so he says, I will tear down its hedge. I will destroy its towers. I’m going to ultimately send all of you into exile. And I’m going to judge the nation because for years I have maintained you and cared for you and watched over you, but you never bring forth the fruits of righteousness that I’m looking for.

And therefore I’m done. And God does indeed send them into exile from that text on. But notice the connection here, then, between the story in Isaiah and the one that Jesus is telling here in Mark. There’s a lot of overlap.

Notice there’s a vineyard that’s very well cared for and loved by their owner, this vineyard. Notice we have a tower and a wine press, the same two architectural fixtures that you find in this vineyard in Isaiah.

And you have the expectation of fruit from the landowner of some kind. What is clear in the text is that there’s this faithfulness on the part of the landowner and this gross, inexcusable failure either on the part of the vineyard or those who are tending the vineyard.

And then there’s the verdict in both texts, the verdict of judgment. Something or someone is going to be destroyed because of the lack of proper fruit given forth.

Notice it’s clear in Isaiah, it’s very clear. Who’s getting judged? It’s Judah and Jerusalem, the whole house of Israel. It’s very clear that the vineyard in Isaiah 5 is the nation.

So the question is, what does Jesus mean in this particular parable in Mark, and why does he use it here right after the chief priests and the elders come and the scribes come to him and ask, by what authority do you do these things?

Notice the point of Jesus’ parable is very much the same as Isaiah, and that is while fruit was the main concern, notice the focus is on the tenants that they get. The main emphasis in this particular parable is the tenants are the farmers.

The one who is being, to be tending is the one who’s doing evil. And every time the landowner comes, they keep killing and maiming and murdering these people. Those who come to receive the fruit for the king or the landowner.

And notice when he sends his son, they treat him ruthlessly and the result will be judgment.

The Future of Israel

And so what’s going on in all of this? Clearly in the Old Testament, the vineyard is the nation. And Mark has just given us plenty of clues here to say that he’s speaking the exact same thing in Mark 11 through 12. Right, how do we know?

We know, remember what comes right before this incidence. The cursing of the fig tree, where Mark again gives clear reference to the nation of Israel from the Old Testament.

And what does Jesus do to that fig tree? You remember, he goes, he inspects it for fruit. It doesn’t have any. And he says, cursed are you, you will never bear fruit again. Very similar to what we read in Isaiah five about the vineyard, right?

And then the next thing Christ does, he goes to the temple and he looks around and he sees the Gentiles are being pushed out. God is not being glorified. So he overturns the temple as a dramatic action to say, this temple is going to be judged.

A curse is coming upon this temple, just like the curse coming upon that fig tree. The fig tree is a sign and symbol of Israel. The temple is the very heart of Israel’s religion, the very presence of God in their midst.

And so the stories that are leading up are Israel’s going to be cursed, the temple is going to be destroyed. And then Jesus says, let me tell you a story.

As the whole leadership of the capital city of Israel come to question Jesus about his authority and about his ministry, he says, I’m gonna tell you a story about a vineyard, one that you already know.

It begins to emphasize the tenants and the leadership of the nation. You guys who are standing here right before me, every single time God tries to talk to you, you destroy the servants that come.

What is he speaking about there? What is this a reference to? Again, Mark doesn’t give us details or reference or interpretation, but it’s clear from the New Testament what this is in reference to, because we see several times in Luke, he tells us, for instance, in chapter 11, woe to you, for you build tombs to the prophets, but your fathers killed them.

In fact, you bear witness that you approve their deeds, for they indeed killed the prophets and built their tombs. And therefore God said, I will send them prophets and apostles, some they will persecute and others they will kill.

Or in the book of Acts chapter seven, it says, which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? Again, they killed those who foretold of the coming one.

So you look back at Israel’s history, every time they’re denounced by Luke’s writings, and Mark is saying what? What is he saying here? He keeps sending servants, and every time a servant comes, he’ll either persecute, harm, or kill them.

And how does Christ end this parable? He sends his beloved son, and what will they do when the son comes? And notice in this, there’s a foreshadowing ahead of time.

Christ has prophesied to them, you’re going to kill me. He already knows that that day is coming, that that end is coming for him. They will already be finding ways to be rid of him and have him arrested.

What will the consequences therefore be for these actions? Notice the landowner will destroy them. And he’s gonna give the vineyard away to others.

This is the consequence. He’s gonna destroy them and give the vineyard away to others. And what is the vineyard? Well, it’s nothing less than the very kingdom of Israel itself.

It’s nothing less than Israel as the covenant and special people of God. These are the people over and over, but where he has placed his kingdom in, he’s given his promises to, he sent his prophets to.

They’re the one nation on earth that has been devoted. He’s devoted his time and attention to giving himself to, in covenant bond, the only nation in all the world that exists that has a special status at this point in the Bible.

And yet every time he seeks to deal with them, he’s saying, the fruit that I come seeking is not there. And therefore, he’s saying that that status, that status as my kingdom, as my covenanted people, as my special nation, with temple and priesthood and prophet, that status is going to be removed.

And I’m gonna give that status of the kingdom and covenant and so forth to someone else. And it shouldn’t really be shocking to us at this point because Mark has already been telling us, he’s already told us of the fig tree and the temple upheaval.

And the text ends very interestingly, does it not? It ends with them conspiring against Jesus. And notice what it says, for they perceived that he was speaking about them.

Again, there’s some rich irony there, right? Up till now, Jesus said, I’m gonna tell you parables that you will not perceive. Then he tells them a parable. It’s the first one that they kind of get, right?

What did they perceive? They perceived that he was talking about them and that their destruction was coming.

A Clue About the Future

So if God is saying this, is saying to the leaders of Israel, Because of these actions, the kingdom and status of my people is gonna be taken away from you and given to someone else. Who is it given to? How does this happen?

This is what I wanna see as we close, is this clue about the future. Jesus had answered them with an answer of authority and then a parable about a judgment, and now he gives a clue to the future.

In verse 10, he interprets all of this, and he says, have you not read the scriptures? He quotes, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our sight.

God has sent his son into the vineyard, which is his people, and no fruit was found. The fruit that was being sought, Mark already told us, is to bear the fruit in keeping with repentance, prepare the way of the Lord.

And instead of preparing the way for the Lord, they’re saying, we don’t know who you are. By what authority are you doing these things? Clearly, there is no fruit there.

And this last great prophet has come, and even his own son is being rejected by the people. But as they reject him, notice the victory that takes place in that rejection.

The stone that the builders reject is going to become the victorious cornerstone, the chief cornerstone. This one that they want nothing to do with. It’s going to be vindicated and set up as a preeminent for all that God is doing.

So while they may be rejecting him, their rejection is not going to undo God’s plan. Instead, he’s going to unfold his plan by establishing and vindicating and glorifying this one stone that’s rejected.

It’s very clear that the stone that is rejected is Christ himself, this one, the Son who comes. It’s very hard not to see in the story what happens in the future, right?

And a few weeks ago, we talked about 40 years after Jesus gives this parable, the devastation of the temple. The temple will not be standing anymore. The nation will be overthrown.

And Rome will have unleashed some of the greatest devastation ever known to them. These aren’t just poetic filler words that Jesus speaks. He means something here.

After his resurrection and ascension, after that stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, God sends forth his judgment on those who rejected him.

And it’s his way of establishing firmly that this transition has taken place. I’m taking the vineyard from you. Better said, you’ve abandoned the vineyard. And I’m gonna give it to others who will bear the fruit thereof.

We look at the imagery, what does it mean? The stone that the builders rejected becomes the chief cornerstone. In simple terms, it’s an architectural metaphor, that the stone is the foundation of the building that’s being built.

It’s not hard to see when we look at the New Testament, as we will in a moment, that that building that’s being built is nothing less than the very temple of God.

And it shouldn’t surprise us that all of a sudden he’s talking about a vineyard, and he’s talking about a stone that’s being laid. But again, remember the flow of it.

The fig tree, the nation of Israel, the temple overturned, you’re going to be destroyed. And then he wants to talk about the nation again. It’s because the temple and the nation are coterminous.

God dwells in the temple, and that’s where the whole nation comes to meet with God. God is saying, the stone that you’ve rejected, the son that you crucify, this one that you kill, I will raise up as the foundation stone, the very base of a whole new house that I’m building now.

And remember what the people are waiting for. They’re waiting for the Jews to be regathered and the temple to be rebuilt. Mark is already telling us 2,000 years ago, that first stone will be laid, once rejected and then resurrected, that one becomes the chief foundational cornerstone.

And upon him, a whole dwelling place for God will be built. And that house will be a house of prayer for all the nations, as he referred to in the previous story.

Notice it’s given over to others who are worthy to bear the fruit thereof. And what will the owner of that vineyard do? It says in Mark, he will come, destroy the vineyard, and give it to other tenants.

The one group, notice, is rejected because they rejected the authority of Jesus. The other, they are rejected because they do not bear the fruits in keeping with repentance. They are rejected because they reject the stone.

And the question is, who are these others? Who are these others that he will give the vineyard to? Well, there are those who do not reject the stone, those who do bear fruit in keeping with repentance, those who do see Jesus, that he really does have authority that John’s baptism said he would have.

This one, who’s John’s baptism called the beloved son, right? As he’s baptized, that’s the word that comes from glory. And all those who follow him, you’ll see, are going to be possessors of this vineyard, of the kingdom, of the covenant, of the temple.

And it’s clear just who this is in scripture. It’s those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile. Notice what Paul says of all of this.

Paul says of this quote, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Listen to what Paul says of this verse in Ephesians 2, starting in verse 17.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints of God, members of the household of God, built on, what is it built on? the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone,

listen, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

So you see what Paul is doing here. He says, Jew and Gentile are now both being brought together. They’re both fellow citizens of the same nation.

Gentiles aren’t becoming Jews, Jews aren’t becoming Gentiles. They’re being one new man, one new people before God. They’re both being built into the same house.

And he says, I knew that this cornerstone was Jesus. And on top of that cornerstone was another layer of foundation, right? The apostles and the prophets speaking in the New Testament that we read of in the book of Acts.

And he says, on top of that, Jew and Gentile started coming into the kingdom as the gospel is preached. And this whole household is being built up just like the Bible prophesied.

The whole structure is being joined together and it grows into, what did he say, a temple. It grows into a holy temple. Paul’s talking about the rebuilding of the temple right there in the first century when Gentiles are believing the gospel.

He’s saying, don’t you see, you’re being built into God’s house right now. This temple is growing even as we speak, as you Gentiles come believing the good news that Jesus Christ indeed is Lord, and as you bear the fruits in keeping with repentance,

bowing the knee and saying, I am wrong, and this one is the Savior that I need. God’s saying, you’re the ones, you’re becoming stones in this house that he’s building, a house for his own name.

And the boundary lines of Israel have been completely redrawn in the New Testament. And anyone who repents and believes is included in this nation.

It’s no longer a matter of ethnicity or geography. It’s a matter of faith and faith alone. So do you wanna know who God’s people are? Wanna know who his nation is?

Do you wanna know where he dwells and where he’s building his temple? He’s doing so in anyone who believes the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile.

Notice what he says, therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of, sons of God. And what he says, he says, those who are of faith are, those of faith ones,

Paul says, to a completely Gentile congregation, these ones are the sons of Abraham. Right, interesting. And you go back and you read in the Old Testament, what is the claim of the Israelite?

All of their honor as a nation is built on father Abraham, because God chose one man and from that one man would come a nation. And from that nation, all the nations of the world would be blessed.

And Paul says in Galatians at this moment in time, anyone who has faith is a son of Abraham, is a true Jew. Indeed, all those who believe are members of the nation.

And then finally, listen to this text. As the lines are redrawn for Israel, it becomes very clear that this redistricting, if you will, of Israel is based solely on what one believes about Jesus.

If you reject that stone, you are rejected as part of his nation, no matter what ethnicity you are. Not because God despises the Old Testament Jews and loves Gentiles, but rather those who believe in the Son, whether Jew or Gentile, are the ones that he loves.

They will be his people, and all others are no longer the people of God. Notice what Peter says. Listen to the connections that I don’t have time to pull out here, but you’ll notice them.

1 Peter 2, starting verse 4. It says, As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God, chosen and precious.

You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For it stands in scripture, and what do you think Peter quotes next? It says, behold, I’m laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

Therefore, to you who have believed, he is precious. He is precious, but to those who are disobedient, he becomes the stone that the builders rejected.

He has become the chief cornerstone. He has become the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense. And they stumble because they’re disobedient and the words to which they were also appointed.

But you’ll notice what he says now. Who are you? Who are you? Anyone who says to this stone, this Jesus, this one is the Messiah.

He says to you, you’re a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a special people unto God. What does that sound like? Is that a new language in scripture?

When you hear those, what is he referring to? This is the exact language that God used to address his people in Exodus 19. He says, if you do these things, I will make you my nation. The holy people elect precious to me.

And so Peter is drawing on that and he’s applying that to those who believe in Christ. They are God’s people. He’s that exact same language back then of the nation Israel.

And Peter says, if you receive this one, this stone that was rejected, whether Jew or Gentile, you become part of the priesthood. You become part of the chosen nation.

You become one of his sons and a genuine Israelite. Indeed, it is beyond scriptural doubt that God does have a nation today, but that nation does not reside in one geographic location.

That nation is not waiting to be regathered at some future time in history. The nation is assembled around her true king, Jesus Christ, the righteous one who reigns from heaven.

And the nation is made up of every tribe and tongue and kindred all across the globe, Gentile and Jew, of rich and poor, of Pharisee and tax collectors and sinners. These are God’s people.

And this is his true nation. This is his priesthood. All those who trust in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is indeed a savior to all who believe.

Christ has come to grant life from the dead, grace to the sinner, and help to the needy. The fruit that he is seeking is repentance and faith.

Repentance and faith, which will manifest itself ultimately in obedience to the Father, not because you’re perfect. You will never be perfect in this life.

Because you believe and you entrust yourselves upon him, you partake of the means of grace, and the Spirit works through you and grows you throughout your life.

And your pedigree and your background, your lineage, your degree, your office, your station in life are no substitute at all for the one thing that God requires, and that is faith in his Son.

Application

And this text tells us two things very clearly. If God is willing to judge his own people this way for rejecting his son, what do you think he’ll do at the end of time to those who have scorned him ever since?

His judgment on Israel is guaranteed that he will judge all men on that last day. If he did not spare his beloved nation, he will not spare those who have spurned his son since then.

But it also tells us another thing, and this is the good news, that no matter who you are, or no matter what station you come from, you are not kept out of the kingdom based on where you were born, or your ethnicity, or your level of poverty, or wealth, or anything.

But rather, if you will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved, and you will be placed into the very family of God as a member of his household forever.

And so may we do this this day, looking to Christ alone to save us. And as we go back from the mountain of worship into our lives, may we take this joy and this glory and this love and this message with us and tell others of the way of life and peace and joy. Amen, let’s pray.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your mercy and your kindness towards us in Christ. We thank you that you bear with us and all of our infirmities, physical and spiritual.

Lord, we ask that you would give us faith, increase our faith, help us to love and trust you, feed us through your means, nourish our souls.

We ask you, Lord, as we praise you for not leaving us with that direction. Lord, we thank you that you have given us your word, that you have been kind to us, that you have sought us, that you have called us to yourself, that you have cleansed us in Christ,

and we thank you that you have established for our weak and feeble souls those means, means of grace to remind us, to seal us, to communicate to us again the benefits of our salvation in Christ.

We pray, Lord, continue to tune our hearts for glory in this life, Lord. Prepare us for the next. We pray for the households represented here and those who can’t be here.

Lord, bless us, strengthen us. Grant to us your spirit to faithfully serve you and to live for you in the roles that you’ve placed us. Lord, we pray for our children. Bless them.

We ask, guide us to model for them and to teach them the most valuable thing that we have, that is the truth of the gospel and life in Christ.

Lord, we pray that you would help us to be tender and true, Lord, that we would stand for the truth and that we would walk in love.

Pray for your people, all of us here, Lord, wherever we might endure in this life, that we would see you, our God and our King, are faithful and gracious to us, and that you are a sure refuge amidst all the things of this life, even unto glory.

Work through us, we pray, Lord, to be the light of Christ in this world. Provide for our needs. Lord, as you continue to work in us and to grow us, help us to better reach this city, Lord, with the purity of the gospel.

Direct our ways, we pray. Be merciful unto us. Strengthen us spiritually. Conform us evermore into the image of our beloved King, your Son. For it is in his name that we pray all these things. Amen.