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Monday, May 28, 2012, 8:13 a.m. The Lord woke me this morning with the song Broken and Contrite playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 21:33-46 (NIV 1984):
My Understanding: When Jesus spoke these words initially (since he is still speaking), he was making reference to the nation of Israel, Gods vineyard. Now we, who are followers of Christ, are that vineyard. God the Father is the gardener and Jesus Christ is the true vine. And, we are the branches that stem from that vine (see John 15). The vineyard is now the true church, i.e. the body of Christ. And, God takes care of us. He puts a wall of protection around us, which is his Holy Spirit. He keeps watch over us, and he assigns his servants to keep watch over us, and to serve as his shepherds and watchmen (and women) to care for, encourage and lead us, and to warn us of danger the danger of wolves in sheeps clothing, of continuing in sin and/or of coming judgment if we do not repent of sin.
The harvest time will truly come at the end when Jesus Christ returns for his bride. Yet, as it was approaching, God sent out his servants, the prophets, to collect from the tenants (the religious leaders) his fruit. The fruit is the product or consequence of something done (Encarta). To bear fruit is to be successful in the end of your labor. Fruit can also be the reward, product, outcome, result, yield, outgrowth, or byproduct of your labor. The product of a vineyard should be grapes and then wine, perhaps. The fruit of lives committed to God should be repentance, obedience, love, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, service, devotion, a hunger and desire for righteousness, and a commitment to truth and to Gods word, etc.
Fruit Collectors
The prophets went to collect this fruit. To collect means to gather, assemble, or reap. I am not certain exactly how this collection was to have taken place by the prophets, so I will share what I know of what it means to gather and/or what I know of the ministry of the prophets. The prophets were sent by God as his spokesmen to give his messages to the people, sometimes to the people of Israel, and sometimes to other nations. Their primary message was repent of your sins, turn to God (or return) so that God can bring spiritual healing, restoration and salvation to your lives. So, the fruit the prophets would be collecting would be those of repentant hearts and lives, committed to God to love and obey him in all ways. They would be hearts and lives respondent to Gods messengers and his messages, obeying whatever God said to the people through the prophets.
Yet, these prophets of God often met with resistance, even from Gods chosen people and from their spiritual leaders. These prophets of God also were often sent to warn of coming judgment if the people did not repent. So, they were often hated and rejected. These prophets of God were seized by the religious leaders and their followers, were beaten, stoned and killed. Then God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, and the people of God treated him the same way. Jesus came to gather fruit, as well, i.e. he came to speak Gods words (messages) to the people and to receive hearts that would be responsive to him and to his messages. Yet, he was much greater than any prophet, for he is God. And, they killed him by crucifying him on a cross. Yet, it was in Gods will that this should happen, because Jesus became our perfect lamb sacrifice for our sins, once for all.
Todays Messengers
God is still sending out his messengers. All of us who are in Christ Jesus are his witnesses and servants, and we are all commissioned to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey Christ. So, we are fruit gatherers, too. And, we will be hated, as well, and for the same reasons as the prophets, Jesus, the disciples and the apostles were hated, too. It is because we share the truth of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and call for people to come to repentance and to follow Christ Jesus in obedience to his commands.
The Stone
Jesus asked his listeners a question. He asked them what they thought the owner of the vineyard would do to the tenants. They responded by saying that he would bring those wretches to a wretched end, and he would rent the vineyard to other tenants who would produce a crop. Jesus response to them was basically to agree with their assessment but then to let them know, essentially, that he was the Son in the parable who was rejected, and he was the promised Messiah prophesied about in the Psalms (118:22-23) concerning this rejection, and that they were the tenants from whom Gods vineyard would be removed and would be given to a people who would produce its fruit. By this Jesus was referring to the nation of Israel and their rejection of Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Lord. He would now give his gospel of salvation to the Gentiles, and Jews, too, who would receive Jesus as Lord and Messiah, and who would produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Then Jesus said: He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. There are many and varied interpretations of Jesus words here. I found that most commentators I read seemed to say pretty much the same thing. They saw both the falling on the rock and the rock falling on people as the same thing, i.e. that they were both judgments of God. Yet, the Lord has given me a different picture of this, and there are commentators who agree with this interpretation. I believe, in the context here of the dual people types, i.e. those from whom the kingdom of God will be taken away, and those whom the kingdom will be given who will produce its fruit, the but in Jesus statement must be seen as depicting contrasting thoughts, not complimentary thoughts.
In other words, I believe Jesus was saying that to fall upon the stone means to willingly come to Christ in humility and repentance with broken and contrite heart. The brokenness is a result of falling upon the stone, i.e. putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ via repentance (turning from sin) and via choosing to turn to Christ in faithful obedience and surrender of our wills to his will for our lives. This is the kind of fruit God was hoping his vineyard would produce and the kind the prophets were to collect.
In contrast to that, those who choose to not fall upon the stone, i.e. who refuse Christ either by refusing to believe in him or by refusing, by our lifestyles, to walk with him, obey him, and honor him as holy, will be crushed (will face the judgment of God). First of all I see here that there are those who have fully rejected Christ and they will face the final judgment of eternity in hell. Yet, the Lord says that he disciplines, rebukes, chastises and punishes those he loves in order to make us holy, so sometimes we can be crushed in spirit because of sin in our lives that the Lord wants to purify out of our lives. And, his discipline in our lives is his way of humbling us so that we do fall upon the stone in humility and repentance.
Yet, I saw one other aspect of this crushing that is unrelated to either rejection of Christ or to specific sin in our own hearts and lives. The Bible says that Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and he was crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, so that by his stripes we may be healed (see Isaiah 53). It was the hand of God that brought this upon Christ as well as it was at the hand of the people of God that Jesus Christ was crucified on that cross for our sins. He was crushed because he took our penalty for our sin so that we can go free. And, although we will never take upon us the sins of the world, we may face the punishment of others sins and feel crushed in our spirits due to unjust suffering at the hands of evil (sinful) human beings who hate us for many of the same reasons they hated Jesus, the disciples, the apostles and the prophets.
Be Humble or Be Humbled
So, we humble ourselves by falling upon the rock, i.e. by coming to Christ willingly in brokenness of spirit and with contrite heart, in repentance (turning from sin) and in surrendering our wills to the will of God over our lives, truly making him our Lord and master. Or, we refuse Christ and/or we refuse his requirements for salvation (the appropriate wedding attire see Matt. 22), and we do not humble ourselves or become obedient to the cross of Christ in dying to our old lives of sin so that Jesus Christ and his righteousness can live in and out through us, bearing much fruit in keeping with repentance. The choice is ours. Humble ourselves, fall upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, and experience the brokenness of a heart given over to Christ Jesus. Refuse the Rock, and the Rock will fall on you, i.e. God will judge your heart for your refusal of his Son. Which will you choose?
Broken and Contrite / An Original Work / May 13, 2012
I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You are the King of my heart.
Lord, purify my heart within me;
Sanctify me, whole within.
I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words Youve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Father God, my hearts desire,
Wont You set my heart on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My walk with You, now I pray.
Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words Youve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Fill me with Your love today.
Lord, mold and make me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through me, I pray.
Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Broken and Contrite - YouTube
My Understanding: When Jesus spoke these words initially (since he is still speaking), he was making reference to the nation of Israel, Gods vineyard. Now we, who are followers of Christ, are that vineyard. God the Father is the gardener and Jesus Christ is the true vine. And, we are the branches that stem from that vine (see John 15). The vineyard is now the true church, i.e. the body of Christ. And, God takes care of us. He puts a wall of protection around us, which is his Holy Spirit. He keeps watch over us, and he assigns his servants to keep watch over us, and to serve as his shepherds and watchmen (and women) to care for, encourage and lead us, and to warn us of danger the danger of wolves in sheeps clothing, of continuing in sin and/or of coming judgment if we do not repent of sin.
The harvest time will truly come at the end when Jesus Christ returns for his bride. Yet, as it was approaching, God sent out his servants, the prophets, to collect from the tenants (the religious leaders) his fruit. The fruit is the product or consequence of something done (Encarta). To bear fruit is to be successful in the end of your labor. Fruit can also be the reward, product, outcome, result, yield, outgrowth, or byproduct of your labor. The product of a vineyard should be grapes and then wine, perhaps. The fruit of lives committed to God should be repentance, obedience, love, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, service, devotion, a hunger and desire for righteousness, and a commitment to truth and to Gods word, etc.
Fruit Collectors
The prophets went to collect this fruit. To collect means to gather, assemble, or reap. I am not certain exactly how this collection was to have taken place by the prophets, so I will share what I know of what it means to gather and/or what I know of the ministry of the prophets. The prophets were sent by God as his spokesmen to give his messages to the people, sometimes to the people of Israel, and sometimes to other nations. Their primary message was repent of your sins, turn to God (or return) so that God can bring spiritual healing, restoration and salvation to your lives. So, the fruit the prophets would be collecting would be those of repentant hearts and lives, committed to God to love and obey him in all ways. They would be hearts and lives respondent to Gods messengers and his messages, obeying whatever God said to the people through the prophets.
Yet, these prophets of God often met with resistance, even from Gods chosen people and from their spiritual leaders. These prophets of God also were often sent to warn of coming judgment if the people did not repent. So, they were often hated and rejected. These prophets of God were seized by the religious leaders and their followers, were beaten, stoned and killed. Then God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, and the people of God treated him the same way. Jesus came to gather fruit, as well, i.e. he came to speak Gods words (messages) to the people and to receive hearts that would be responsive to him and to his messages. Yet, he was much greater than any prophet, for he is God. And, they killed him by crucifying him on a cross. Yet, it was in Gods will that this should happen, because Jesus became our perfect lamb sacrifice for our sins, once for all.
Todays Messengers
God is still sending out his messengers. All of us who are in Christ Jesus are his witnesses and servants, and we are all commissioned to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey Christ. So, we are fruit gatherers, too. And, we will be hated, as well, and for the same reasons as the prophets, Jesus, the disciples and the apostles were hated, too. It is because we share the truth of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and call for people to come to repentance and to follow Christ Jesus in obedience to his commands.
The Stone
Jesus asked his listeners a question. He asked them what they thought the owner of the vineyard would do to the tenants. They responded by saying that he would bring those wretches to a wretched end, and he would rent the vineyard to other tenants who would produce a crop. Jesus response to them was basically to agree with their assessment but then to let them know, essentially, that he was the Son in the parable who was rejected, and he was the promised Messiah prophesied about in the Psalms (118:22-23) concerning this rejection, and that they were the tenants from whom Gods vineyard would be removed and would be given to a people who would produce its fruit. By this Jesus was referring to the nation of Israel and their rejection of Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Lord. He would now give his gospel of salvation to the Gentiles, and Jews, too, who would receive Jesus as Lord and Messiah, and who would produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Then Jesus said: He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. There are many and varied interpretations of Jesus words here. I found that most commentators I read seemed to say pretty much the same thing. They saw both the falling on the rock and the rock falling on people as the same thing, i.e. that they were both judgments of God. Yet, the Lord has given me a different picture of this, and there are commentators who agree with this interpretation. I believe, in the context here of the dual people types, i.e. those from whom the kingdom of God will be taken away, and those whom the kingdom will be given who will produce its fruit, the but in Jesus statement must be seen as depicting contrasting thoughts, not complimentary thoughts.
In other words, I believe Jesus was saying that to fall upon the stone means to willingly come to Christ in humility and repentance with broken and contrite heart. The brokenness is a result of falling upon the stone, i.e. putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ via repentance (turning from sin) and via choosing to turn to Christ in faithful obedience and surrender of our wills to his will for our lives. This is the kind of fruit God was hoping his vineyard would produce and the kind the prophets were to collect.
In contrast to that, those who choose to not fall upon the stone, i.e. who refuse Christ either by refusing to believe in him or by refusing, by our lifestyles, to walk with him, obey him, and honor him as holy, will be crushed (will face the judgment of God). First of all I see here that there are those who have fully rejected Christ and they will face the final judgment of eternity in hell. Yet, the Lord says that he disciplines, rebukes, chastises and punishes those he loves in order to make us holy, so sometimes we can be crushed in spirit because of sin in our lives that the Lord wants to purify out of our lives. And, his discipline in our lives is his way of humbling us so that we do fall upon the stone in humility and repentance.
Yet, I saw one other aspect of this crushing that is unrelated to either rejection of Christ or to specific sin in our own hearts and lives. The Bible says that Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and he was crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, so that by his stripes we may be healed (see Isaiah 53). It was the hand of God that brought this upon Christ as well as it was at the hand of the people of God that Jesus Christ was crucified on that cross for our sins. He was crushed because he took our penalty for our sin so that we can go free. And, although we will never take upon us the sins of the world, we may face the punishment of others sins and feel crushed in our spirits due to unjust suffering at the hands of evil (sinful) human beings who hate us for many of the same reasons they hated Jesus, the disciples, the apostles and the prophets.
Be Humble or Be Humbled
So, we humble ourselves by falling upon the rock, i.e. by coming to Christ willingly in brokenness of spirit and with contrite heart, in repentance (turning from sin) and in surrendering our wills to the will of God over our lives, truly making him our Lord and master. Or, we refuse Christ and/or we refuse his requirements for salvation (the appropriate wedding attire see Matt. 22), and we do not humble ourselves or become obedient to the cross of Christ in dying to our old lives of sin so that Jesus Christ and his righteousness can live in and out through us, bearing much fruit in keeping with repentance. The choice is ours. Humble ourselves, fall upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, and experience the brokenness of a heart given over to Christ Jesus. Refuse the Rock, and the Rock will fall on you, i.e. God will judge your heart for your refusal of his Son. Which will you choose?
Broken and Contrite / An Original Work / May 13, 2012
I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You are the King of my heart.
Lord, purify my heart within me;
Sanctify me, whole within.
I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words Youve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Father God, my hearts desire,
Wont You set my heart on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My walk with You, now I pray.
Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words Youve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Fill me with Your love today.
Lord, mold and make me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through me, I pray.
Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Broken and Contrite - YouTube
