"But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet."
Jesus presented the two quoted parables to show the high priests how, because of their disobedience, the "kingdom" would be taken away from the Jewish nation and given to the Gentiles. The parables also explained how God had sent many prophets, including John the Baptist, trying to get the Jewish hierarchy to repent their disobedience and to turn back to God. The Jews, however,continually rejected their pleas and even had John and the other prophets abused, imprisoned, and killed.
Jesus knew that the Jews would also eventually kill Him.
A few days ago, we touched on the importance of the coming of Jesus Christ as it related to the "God's chosen" status of the Jewish people. Seeing that there are literally millions of "Christian" people who today believe the scripturally misguided contention that the Jewish bloodline is what determines "God's chosen" status, we should do all we can to educate them that ONLY we, the redeemed, those of us whom have been saved by the grace of God through faith in the soul saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, are now the "chosen people" of God. That "chosen" status, of course, also applies to any Jews whom have placed the faith in Jesus.
Verse 44 of today's quote makes it as plain as it can be spoken, "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."
As these lessons progress, we will determine more evidence that the Jewish nation holds no particular scriptural significance to modern Christians who are not themselves Jews.~
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