Seeing through the Cross

Erik preached on the parable of the wicked tenants, in Luke 20. It’s the final parable in our series, and helps prepare us for Jesus’s passion. Here is part of his conclusion:

Luke tells us that the religious leaders saw that this parable was preached against them—they were the wicked tenants who stifled and stole the fruits of God’s people. But it was really preached for the disciples. Jesus told this parable just a couple days before he would be arrested and crucified. Nothing would test the disciples’ faith like this. God would appear absent: Jesus himself would cry out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God would appear foolish: the idea of the messiah being killed by the oppressive powers God sent him to overthrow seemed so ridiculous that Peter couldn’t believe Jesus’s warnings—“this shall never happen to you!” And God would appear weak: as Jesus hung on the cross, the soldiers taunted him: “if he is God’s messiah, King of the Jews, let him save himself.” But it was right here, on the cross, when God appeared absent, foolish, and weak, that he was doing is greatest work: obliterating sin, defeating death, redeeming the world. “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” The weakest thing would become the salvation of everything.

Jesus gave this parable to his disciples so that were others saw absence, foolishness, and weakness, they would see God’s presence, patience, and power.