Since you are here...Matthew 21:28-46...2 of 3 stories from Jesus boldly spoken

 

Which way to go?  This is from a Monday hike without the snowshoes up the East Shore Trail.  I will go to the right and then come back to this point via the left.  I will include a few more pictures from this quick 7.5 mile trek along Shadow Mountain Lake and through Ranger Meadow.

This is about the halfway point and a place to stop for a bite to eat and to drink some water.  You can see the condition we are in at the lower elevations.  This trail is at the same elevation that we live.  We pray for snow everyday.  3.9 miles back to Grand Lake seems like a piece of cake when I have been on trails that indicated 12 miles back.

I noticed this bit of blue where I stopped for lunch.  Out of place colors catch your eye.  It made me think of the summer when the mountains will be filled with all the colors of the rainbow.  Some parts of this trail were exposed and that made me think of some of the hikes I want to take later in the year.

Can you see the Shadow Mountain Fire Tower?  You might need to zoom in to see it on the ridge-line left of the saddle.  It is amazing how far you can see on a clear day in the mountains and be able to pick out what is different from the rest of the landscape.

Enough about my hiking ventures and onto the passage from Sunday.  Jesus doesn't answer the chief priests and scribes' question because they didn't answer His.  Since they are there Jesus launches into 3 parables for them to hear and ponder along with the crowd that is surrounding Him in the temple.  Jesus will boldly expose them publicly and at the same time warn them of their present position.  

In the 1st story they realize that they are not the first son but rather the second son.  The first son says "no" to the father and then repents to turn to do the father's will.  The second son says "yes" to the father but then does not do the father's will.  Jesus tells them that the first son are the tax collectors and harlots who said "no" at first but then responded with repentance (a turning) to do the Father's will.  They perceived they are not tax collectors and harlots so they must be the second son who said "yes" and even used the right titles to call the father, "sir" meaning "Lord" but are not doing the Father's will.  They even see others turning and believing and yet do not do the same.  The first son is the preferred position and they are not in it. 

The 2nd story is about a landowner who creates a vineyard and outfits it with a hedge, a winepress and a tower.  The landowner puts in charge vinedressers to tend this vineyard.  The chief priests and scribes would have recognized the similar language of Isaiah 5:1-7 and would have known the end of the story before Jesus completed it.  They perceived Jesus was talking about them being the vinedressers and how they were going to be replaced with other vinedressers who provided the landowner with the fruit of his vineyard.  These stories are rich with imagery that help us see not only reality but history of what had happened and the prophecy of what was to happen.  The replacement vinedressers is the preferred position and they are not in it.

Those who reject the precious cornerstone placed in Zion by God where to be crushed by it if they did not repent and believe.  Jesus is giving them a very public warning about where they were standing at the moment.  They were the clay pot and He is the stone.  He would give another story that we will cover next Sunday that combines elements of the first two and offers a very open invitation to them and anyone in the crowd to come to the wedding feast provided and arranged by God.  

I ended the message with the challenge and question if you were being smashed by Jesus, stumbling over Jesus or sitting upon Jesus.  Smashed by means that you are contrary to Him and what He says.  You are rejecting, tossing aside Him as the Savior of the world.  Stumbling over means you are indifferent to Jesus.  You are going through the motions of a cultural Christians because it best for you right now.  Sitting upon means you are resting on the fact that Jesus is and all that He has said.  You can firmly stand on this Rock that God has provided and you are committed to His words and His ways.

After the message and standing in the foyer to interact with people before they left, one man told me that he fit in the stumble over Jesus category.  He is a very infrequent visitor on Sunday mornings.  Jesus was recognized but being fully committed to Him was not his position at this time.  He heard the differences and admitted it openly where he was so I pray that the Spirit of God would be working on him all week to stop tripping over Jesus and stop to full his full weight upon the One who provides eternal rest.

Adam