Broken or Crushed?

 Hey everybody,

As we have been looking at Luke 20, Jesus is in temple some time after driving out the moneychangers, and the leadership has just asked Jesus about where he draws the authority by which to do such things.  Jesus has not answered them.  In the verses that follow (9-19) Jesus tells a parable that clearly takes aim at this same group of leaders.  Here is my translation of verses 9-19:

9 Then Jesus began telling the people this parable. “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to tenant farmers, then went away for a long time. 10 In time, the man sent a servant to the tenant farmers so that they would give him his portion of the harvest, but after beating the servant they sent him away empty-handed.  11 The man proceeded to send another servant. The tenant farmers also beat this one, treated him shamefully and sent him away with nothing. 12 So the man sent a third servant, but in the same way, they injured him and threw him out. 
13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What do I do? I will send my son, whom I love.  Maybe, they will show him some respect.”
14 Seeing the son, the tenant farmers discussed among themselves, saying, “This is the heir.  Let’s kill him so that the inheritance will come to us.” 
15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What do you think the vineyard’s owner will do?  
16 He will come and destroy those men and give the vineyard to someone else.”
Those hearing this said, “May that never happen!”
17 Jesus looked right at them and said, “Why then is it written,
     ‘The stone the builders rejected,
          This has become the chief cornerstone.’
18 All of those who fall upon this stone will be broken, but those upon whom it falls will be crushed.” 
19 At that moment, the chief priests and the scribes were wanting to seize him, because they were aware that this parable was spoken against them, but they were afraid of the people.

In this parable, a man has grown a vineyard and rented it out to tenant farmers before going away for a while. From this distant place, the man sent a series of servants to receive payment from the renters, but the men would routinely beat these servants and not make any payment.  Eventually, the man sends his son in hopes that they would treat him with respect.  Instead the men foolishly kill the son, reasoning that they would then receive the son’s inheritance.  Jesus finishes the parable by stating that the owner of the vineyard would come and destroy the tenant farmers and give the vineyard to someone else. 

The parable has some clear parallels that many in the audience seemed to get right away.  The owner is God and the tenants are Israel, and the vineyard is the promise of God’s favor. The idea that the man is gone for a long time would indicate that this covers Israel’s long history, showing Israel’s pattern of killing the prophets that God sends to it. 

The fact the servants are each in turn sent back to the owner empty handed shows that God was expecting fruit from Israel, but the type of fruit that He was expecting was sorely lacking in Israel’s history. In the parable, after the servants are beaten and returned without any payment, the man sends his son.  He has no better representative than his son.  Obviously, the son represents Jesus.  God has sent Jesus into this fruitless vineyard to call his people back to Him, but they refuse and kill the son. 

The thinking of the tenants is nonsensical.  Why would someone think that they would be rewarded by killing a man’s son.  The parable is a clear warning to the nation, and specifically to its leadership. 

The parable drew a strong reaction from the crowd, exclaiming, “May this never happen.”  It appears that they understood what Jesus was implying with this parable.  Certainly the chief priests and the scribes recognized that the parable was pointed directly at them. 

After the reaction of the crowd, Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22, asking why it was written that the builders would reject a stone that would become the chief cornerstone. 

Jesus is the beloved son that has been rejected by the nation.  He is the chief cornerstone. Those that fall on him will be broken, but those he falls on will be crushed. What does Jesus mean by this?  To me, it seems that we have a choice.  We can choose between being broken, or being crushed.  Of the two, broken seems better, as the healing process is much easier.  So, then, as we "fall on" Jesus, or perhaps, fall before Jesus, we do get broken. That much is true.  But, it is clear that brokenness toward Jesus is the better option. 

Israel's leadership had chosen to reject Jesus.  They would not be broken, but the time would come when they would be crushed, instead.