Welcome to “Red Letter Bible Study”

Each week we provide this on-line Bible Study designed to help us focus on the teachings and words of Jesus and what they mean for our lives. The lesson is the Gospel reading for the coming Sunday.   After completing the study if you have questions feel free to email me at pastorvicki@gloriadei-nky.org.  Be open to the Holy Spirit and enjoy! Join us at 10:00 Sunday morning for discussion of this text and the worship experience of the day.

Many thanks for the insights of the following commentators; Robert Kysar, "John", David L. Tiede, "Luke", Robert H. Smith, "Matthew", Donald H. Juel, "Mark", Clinton Arnold, "Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary", and for the brilliant teaching of Dr. David Allen Powell and Dr. Walter Taylor, professors at Trinity Seminary.  Their thinking helps to shape mine.  I suggest their works for all who would like to dig deeper. 

Pastor Vicki

Study for the week of September 29-October 5, 2008 

Read Matthew 21:33-46

• What strikes you about the reading?  Is there a particular word or phrase that stands out or makes you feel challenged?
• What do you not understand?

Consider the following concepts:

            This important parable is sometimes referred to as the ‘Jesus Parable’.  It is easily understood once you understand the characters.  The landowner is the God figure.  Jesus is the son.  The servants who precede the coming of the son are the prophets.  The tenants are the people of God who should have been doing God’s work but instead rejected God’s leading.  These evil tenants who often covered their rebellious nature with correct words did increasing violence to those sent by God until finally they killed the son of God. 

            The parable makes a couple of interesting twists however.  First, the tenants believe that if they kill the Son they will inherit the vineyard.  In the strangest twist of history they are right about that.  It turns out that indeed the only way to inherit eternal life is through the death of the Son.  But when Jesus asks them what should be the fate of those who kill the Son, they make the harshest of verdicts.  This indicates that they do not understand the forgiving nature of God nor the extent to which God will go to bring them into eternal life. 

            Jesus then rightly tells them that this radically grace filled act of the death of the Son is the stone over which they will stumble.  If they cannot embrace the saving death of the Son, they will throw away the promise.  No wonder they left wanting to have Jesus arrested but too afraid to take action against him.

Re-read the lesson and contemplate the following questions:

• Do you find the concept of grace troubling?
• Do you realize that you too participated in the killing of Jesus?
• What difference does it make?
• Why are the tenants so rebellious?
• Who might be included in eternity (that you hadn’t expected) because of the redeeming death of Jesus?
• Do you ever “stumble” over the grace of Christ by thinking that you can earn your salvation?

Re-read the lesson

• Now what does the passage mean to you?
• What do you think the Lord is telling you to do?
• How will these words about and of Jesus change your life?

[ Home ]

Send the Church Office e-mail at: office@gloriadei-nky.org

Send mail to the WebSteward with questions or comments about this web site.

Subscribe to the Gloria Dei E-mail list

Click Here To Send This Page to a Friend