Taken and Given
Imagine This
A man builds a small family business from the ground up. He invests everything into it. He sets up the systems, secures the building, and puts everything in place for it to succeed. Then he hires a group of employees to run it and moves away, trusting them to manage what belongs to him.
When the time comes to receive what the business has earned, he sends one of his representatives to collect what is his.
But the employees seize him. They shove him out and send him away empty-handed.
So the owner sends another representative. This time they treat him worse. They threaten him and drive him off.
Then he sends more, one after another, but the employees treat all of them the same way.
Finally, he sends his son.
He says, “They will respect my son.”
But when the employees see him, they say to each other,
“This is the heir. If we get rid of him, the business will be ours.”
So they take him, drag him out, and kill him.
When the owner comes back, what do you think he will do to those employees?
Read Together
Read Matthew 21:33–46 together.
As you read, notice how the story builds and how Jesus describes what will be taken away and given.
Scripture Overview
Jesus tells this parable to summarize the history and purpose of Israel. God entrusted His Kingdom (the vineyard) to Israel. He gave them His law, His promises, and the responsibility to bear fruit. But instead of honoring Him, many of them rejected those He sent. The servants represent the prophets, who were ignored, mistreated, and killed by the religious leaders, who are represented by the farmers in the parable.
Then God sends His Son, and while many in Israel believe in and follow Jesus, many of those who were the religious leaders in Israel saw him as a threat and had him killed.
Jesus summarizes the result of their actions this way:
“The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.”
The kingdom is taken away from those Israelites who relied on their positional authority, Abrahamic heritage, and Mosaic law, yet rejected Jesus.
The Kingdom is instead given to those who receive Jesus and bear fruit, first to the Jew and then to the non-Jew (Romans 1:16).
This is why Jesus says:
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
Jesus, rejected by most of the Jewish elites in his day yet accepted by many faithful Jews, has now become the foundation of a faith that brings both Jews and non-Jews into the same spiritual family.
Talk About It
Why did the employees decide they could take what did not belong to them?
What does it reveal about the human heart that they would rather remove the son than submit to him?
Why is being close to God’s truth not the same as receiving it?
What does it mean that the kingdom is taken from some and given to others?
Practice This Week
This week, consider whether or not you are relying on your own positional authority, heritage and adherance to the law instead of trusting Jesus alone.
Take time to ask honestly: Am I bearing fruit in Jesus’ name? Does my corner of the world look more like heaven because I am actively doing the work and will of God?
Look for areas of your life where the fruits of the Spirit are not evident and submit those areas to God, asking him to help you bear fruit.
Prayer
God, thank You for sending Your Son, even knowing He would be rejected. Forgive us for the ways we still resist Him and his leadership in our lives. Help us not to rely on position, knowledge, or background, but to trust Jesus alone. Help us to build our lives on Him as the cornerstone and bear fruit.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.