The Rejected Rock - Luke 20:9-19

INTRODUCTION:
Rejection is never pleasant. Share a time, serious or humorous, in which you were rejected.
What are some examples of things that men never want to hear?
What are some examples of things that women never want to hear?
CONTEXT:
Todays passage is from Lukes account of the passion week of Jesus. The passion week is the seven
days leading up to Jesus crucifixion. The text contains a parable about the wicked tenants. The
preaching text actually comes on the heels of a parable about the wicked tenants. The main idea is
that Israels history was one of rejecting Gods prophets. The rejection of those who are sent by God
climaxes in Israels rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. As a result of that rejection, God was going to
bring punishment. This parable is a word against the religious leaders of Israel but is applicable to us
even today.
TEXT:
Luke 20:919 (ESV) 9 And 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. 10 When 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. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat and
treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also
they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my
beloved son; perhaps they will respect him. 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to
themselves, This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours. 15 And they threw
him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will
come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. When they heard this, they said,
Surely not! 17 But he looked directly at them and said, What then is this that is written: The stone
that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be
broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. 19 The 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.
TEACHING:
In this story youve got tenants who are responsible for a vineyard. Every messenger that the owner
sends to the tenants is rejected. This culminates with the murder of the last messenger. A theme in
this text is the human tendency to want to reject the truth when it is presented to them. The religious
leaders rejected Jesus authority. (cf 20:1-2) Jesus was making waves with his teachings and had
gained a following. However, eventually even the large crowds following Jesus would abandon him.
The religious leaders, the common people, even one of his closest followers would betray him before
his death on the cross. They would all deny the truth, even though the truth was right in front of them.
They would reject the messenger, even though he was from God and was himself divine.
God sends us messengers still today. God the Father sent God the Son to reveal himself and his love
to the world. Now, God the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin and convinces them of the truthfulness of
Christianity through the human proclamation of his Word: living and written. However, just like the
religious leaders, we tend to reject Gods messengers and reject Gods message. This is evident on a
cultural level (postmodernism, moral relativism) and at an individual level (sinful rebellion). From our
passage we see that God is patient with us, seeking our repentance. We see God loving reveals
himself supremely through Jesus Christ. Lastly, we see the two responses we can make.

We can accept the Son or reject the Son. Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected. However,
that rejected stone has become the cornerstone. Jesus will one day come back in judgment,
executing justice and punishing sins. If we are in Christ Jesus has paid our punishment for us via his
death on the cross. If we reject Christ, then we will receive the due penalty for our sins when Jesus
comes again. The Christian life means knowing that you naturally want to reject God because of your
sinful condition but that while you were still in sin Christ died for you. In other words, you are far more
wicked than you could ever imagine but far more loved than you ever dared hope.
QUESTIONS:
1. Jesus is exposing a certain kind of evil in the hearts of man in this passage. How would you
describe that evil? How is this manifested in our culture today? In church today? What about on
the level of our individual lives?
2. Who were some messengers of Gods truth in your own life? What was your initial response to
them? What similarities or differences was there with the messengers in this text?
3. What does this passage teach us about truth? How is that relevant to your life right now?
4. Jesus didnt just warn the religious leaders of their rejection of the truth, but also the common
people. What truth would these common folks eventually reject?
5. What does it mean to politely reject Gods truth?
6. What are some truths that we reject when it comes to Gods design for marriage?
7. What does this passage tell us about God?
8. Notice Gods patience in the text. How should Gods patience with us inform our relationships with
others? How should Gods patience toward us improve marriage?
9. Share a time in which Gods patience toward you accomplished something great in your life.
10. What does this text teach us about ourselves?
11. What has God blessed you with? What vineyard has he given you to tend? (marriage, children,
money, job, position, influence)
12. How are you doing with that responsibility?
13. In what ways are we irresponsible with the vineyard?
14. Which of the characters do you most readily identify with: the religious leaders or the crowds?
15. What does this text teach us about sin?
16. Sin is stoopid. Why? Why is it helpful to think of sin not just as something wrong but also as an
action which deprives us of joy and happiness?
17. Share a time in which you were engaged in a sin that was incredibly foolish but sin had blinded
you to the foolishness of your actions.
18. What does this text teach us about Jesus?
19. Jesus is the rejected rock who became the cornerstone. How do these two things shape our view
of Jesus?
20. Jesus is the cornerstone. What is the role of a cornerstone? What impact does this have on the
way we view relationships? Money? Sex? Power? Ambition?