Luke 20:9–20

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

⁹And he began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. ¹⁰When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ¹²And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. ¹³Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' ¹⁴But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.' ¹⁵And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "Surely not!" ¹⁷But he looked directly at them and said, "What then is this that is written: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'? ¹⁸Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." ¹⁹The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. ²⁰So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.

Young children can have big dreams. "I wanna play in the Final Four!" "I'm gonna swim in the Olympics!" "I'm going to be a fireman when I grow up." "I'm going to be the first woman president!"

Okay, so these dreams often don't materialize. Life goes differently than we'd planned. Gifts and abilities don't match up with desires. At some point, the dreams kids have get shattered. We know about that at any age!

The parable of the vineyard reminds us that the dream envisioned is not always the dream fulfilled. Fortunately,

God Shatters Our Dreams and Rebuilds Them

into Something Worth Dreaming.

Like the tenants in the parable, we may have our own dream (vv 9–12). Oh, yes, we have plans for our life. There's those things we want to have. There's places we want to go. Things we want to accomplish. And there's the bucket list if things I want to do before I kick the bucket. God, too, has a plan for your life. It is a wonderful plan. But His plan is not always the same as your plan. That's where the problems begin.

The tenants in our parable had plans for their lives. They wanted to get rich. They came up with a get rich quick scheme. They wanted the vineyard for themselves. The tenants did not want to give the fruit to the owner. Now they had a comfortable arrangement: solid employment and a secure future provided to them by an owner who set everything up. But they got greedy. They wanted more. Instead of receiving only their fair share of the produce of the vineyard, they wanted it all.

Of course, the owner had a right to his share. He sent his servant to collect his share of the fruit at the time of harvest. But they did not want to give it to him. They tried to keep it for themselves, so they beat the servant and sent him away. Then the owner sent another servant and they did the same thing and sent him away empty-handed. Then a third servant and the same thing.

Finally, the owner became desperate so he sent his son (v 13). Surely they will respect the authority and power of the son. But the tenants respond with disdain (v 14). Now they got even bigger plans. If we kill the son, we can take over the vineyard and get the inheritance for ourselves. The tenants were dreaming their big dreams; they had a wonderful plan for themselves, they wanted the inheritance. They were even foolish enough to think that killing the son would get it for them. And that's just what they did. They kill him (v 15a)! Will that make their dream come true (v 15b)?

We may not hold a position or privilege we seek to sustain, but we still have dreams. We have a plan for our life. There are things we want. It may be the dream of returning to live in your own home from the nursing home. It may be the dream of an early retirement and having enough money to travel all over the world. Or, it may be a negative dream of getting even with someone who has harmed you, getting revenge, or putting someone in his or her place.

Adam and Eve had big plans too. They had a dream to be free from authority and able to do what they wanted without being responsible to a higher authority. They dreamed of freedom to make their own decisions. They, like many today, dreamed of having the choice to do as they pleased without regard to God's law or right or wrong. They dreamed of independence from God. They dreamed of being their own self-made man, able to make it on their own without needing the help of anyone else. They wanted to be free from God's authority.

But their dream wasn't the plan God had for their lives. God cast them out of Eden and cursed them with death because of their sin. Their dreams were shattered. The wonderful plan they had for their lives was not the same as God's plan. They didn't want God's plan, they wanted to make their own plan. And for their rebellion they earned God's wrath against their sin. God pronounced the death sentence. "For thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return." For the wages of sin is death." God shattered their dreams just as this text shatters the tenants' dream and maybe ours.

The master comes to destroy those servants in the vineyard (vv 15b—18). He shattered their dreams! He put them to death! Surely not? May it never be? What else could they possibly expect?! The stone shatters those who fall upon it and crushes those upon whom it falls. The tenants cannot have it their way! No inheritance, no vineyard, no future! Only the wrath and punishment of God.

Jesus is declaring how God will shatter the evil dreams of the real tenants, the Jewish leaders. Their system—and it had become their system rather than God's—is going to be destroyed. The temple will be destroyed. Jerusalem, the headquarters of the establishment, will fall as well (Lk 19:41–44; 21:6). The way the leaders liked it and envisioned it to be—a comfortable arrangement with them in charge, with them enjoying the adoration of the people—will be no more.

Repent? Turn away from the evil dream against which Jesus was warning them? No, that wasn't in their plans (vv 19–20). They would cling to their dream and still try to seize the inheritance—they will kill the Son, but he will be raised after three days. The temple will be restored, but it won't be like before (Eph 2:19–22). A new King is crowned, but he bleeds and suffers for the people (Lk 23:38).

All this may shatter our dreams as well. As we draw near to the cross, we realize our dreams get shattered as well. The cross does not allow for things to be "my" way; it does not allow dreams to be self-centered. The cross changes the picture and forces the end of "my" way, the end of self-centered dreams.

Yes, this text shatters dreams—maybe ours. God's plan for your life may be entirely different from the plans you make. But, God's plans are better. Rather than being swept away, these shattered dreams are transformed and fulfilled. God sent Adam and Eve away and put them and us to death. But by the death of Jesus God puts away his anger and allows us back. By the death of Jesus Christ he accepts us back. By the death of Jesus the wrath of God is laid aside. His death shows us God's anger and punishment. It is bloody, cruel, harsh because sin is bloody, cruel, harsh and deserves bloodshed and death. God's plan is not our plan; God's is better, more splendid, glorious. God's plan was to go to the cross in our place and there receive our punishment. The wages of sin is death, and the Son of God died that death. He paid those wages on our behalf. God loves us in Christ, that is through the cross. Look at the cross to see God's love for you. For the cross of Jesus is his love in action. It is his atonement for your sins. He is redeeming you from God's wrath and anger. He is redeeming you from sin and death. The suffering and death of Jesus is his plan for you. His plan to give you resurrection and eternal life. His plan is your salvation.

In death there is life. The cross was God's plan from all eternity, and it must shatter us (Lk 9:23–24; Gal 2:20). His death on the cross gives us life, true life.

Christ has become our cornerstone. From that stone, he builds us up to be his Church. We are a new creation. We are being transformed into what God dreamed us to be—now and forever in heaven. Life is much better than the death we lived. We get to experience and live the care for others God intended from the creation of the world. We get to see God's mission and be about his work with others in mind and not ourselves, our institutions, or our pride. We get to bear the fruit God had sought from Israel, the fruit that is in keeping with the righteousness Christ has given.

God has shattered our dreams, and it is good! He transforms them into life, eternal life. Something worth dreaming! Amen.