凶惡園戶的比喻
（太21‧33－46；路20‧9－19）
1耶穌就用比喻對他們說：「有人栽了一個葡萄園，周圍圈上籬笆，挖了一個壓酒池，蓋了一座樓，租給園戶，就往外國去了。 2到了時候，打發一個僕人到園戶那裏，要從園戶收葡萄園的果子。 3園戶拿住他，打了他，叫他空手回去。 4再打發一個僕人到他們那裏。他們打傷他的頭，並且凌辱他。 5又打發一個僕人去，他們就殺了他。後又打發好些僕人去，有被他們打的，有被他們殺的。 6園主還有一位是他的愛子，末後又打發他去，意思說：『他們必尊敬我的兒子。』 7不料，那些園戶彼此說：『這是承受產業的。來吧，我們殺他，產業就歸我們了！』 8於是拿住他，殺了他，把他丟在園外。 9這樣，葡萄園的主人要怎麼辦呢？他要來除滅那些園戶，將葡萄園轉給別人。 10經上寫着說：
匠人所棄的石頭
已作了房角的頭塊石頭。
11這是主所做的，
在我們眼中看為希奇。
這經你們沒有念過嗎？」 12他們看出這比喻是指着他們說的，就想要捉拿他，只是懼怕百姓，於是離開他走了。
各位平安，今天的故事承接了昨天耶穌的話語。昨天的經文關於耶穌和法利賽人的關係變得越來越尖銳，今天的故事，耶穌直接用一個比喻來講述法利賽人和上帝國度的關係，並談到他自己。
這個比喻對於猶太人來說非常容易理解，因為葡萄園是一個常見的形象。耶穌通常用易於理解的比喻來傳達他的信息。關於比喻，我們應該認真思考其精髓，而不是單單看字面去理解，因此現在讓我們來看看這個故事的一些實際重點。
首先，上帝非常慷慨，他使葡萄園變得非常完整，所有必需的工具都有，例如籬笆、壓酒池和樓房等。這是為了讓工人能夠好好地工作，讓葡萄園生產葡萄和葡萄酒。上帝為我們預備的一切都是非常完整和豐富的，他希望我們能夠好好地工作，就像創世紀中所說的，一切創造都完成了，而上帝託管這個世界給人，要我們修理看守這個世界。
接著，上帝對我們表現出極大的信任。在創造這個世界之後，他放手讓我們自行管理一切。因此，上帝並沒有直接干預我們所做的事情，讓我們能夠發揮自己的能力。這是人類所擁有的一個非常大的恩典，就是擁有自由使用和支配這一切的能力。
此外，上帝表現出極大的忍耐。每次派人來收取他的權益時，這些佃戶都非常兇狠，沒有完成自己的職責，也沒有給上帝應有的回報。甚至發生了殺人的事情，卻沒有立即受到懲罰。上帝一再等待他們的悔改，並履行自己的責任。這些來收租的僕人受到了極大的折磨，有人被打，有人被殺，沒有一個得到應有的待遇。
最後，上帝派遣了他的兒子，也是葡萄園的繼承人，耶穌基督來到這個世界。然而，人們卻想著如果殺了他，就可以奪取這塊土地，成為這片園地的主人。這反映了人類不斷的貪婪和自私之心，卻忽略了上帝的真正意圖。人以為可以逃避上帝的追究。
在這個比喻中，園主的兒子（耶穌）清楚地了解自己來到世上是要受苦並為此而死，但同時也知道他是要來拿回這片土地的。園主也清楚，他的公義必定會伸張，耶穌引用了詩篇118:22-23的經文，講到被匠人棄掉的石頭成為了房角的石頭，這個房角石就是耶穌，他要成為新世界的房角石，從他開始建造整個新的世界和教會。
當我們思考這個事情時，我們必須真正悔改。對於上帝，許多人的態度是首先否認他的存在，認為沒有神（這一切沒有主人），想要自己成為主人。另一些人則認為，即使有上帝，他也根本沒有管理我們，不值得信任。還有一些人認為，反正上帝沒有懲罰，我們不需要擔心什麼，任意而為吧。然而，這些都是自私和自我中心的想法，是罪的開始，就是不把上帝當作上帝，而把自己看作上帝。
上帝的一切忍耐和寬容竟然變成被人攻擊的原因。人竟然質疑他為什麼不執行審判？為什麼不立即懲罰？上帝的寬容竟然成為他們攻擊的藉口。當我們思考上帝時，我們應該存敬畏之心和感恩之情，而不是質疑他，抱持著感恩和悔改的態度。
讓我們理解，今天上帝對我們的忍耐並非他對我們的放任。上帝的救恩也不是無限永恆地給予我們。當我們今天有機會時，應該趕緊回到他的面前，悔改認罪，接受耶穌基督在十架上為我們的救恩。我們不能總是等待，說總有明天，總有未來。我們必須明白，當上帝的公義降臨時，一切都要結束，一切都會受到審判。因此，我們應該趁現在悔改，接受上帝的救恩，而不是拖延。
耶穌這樣子跟法利賽人的關係已經到了一個勢不兩立的對立狀態了，法利賽人非常想要殺了他，但是又不敢，所以他們就暫時得躲開去籌劃要怎麼殺害耶穌的事情了。明天我們繼續聽三個故事，法利賽人和撒督該人一再一再來想要試探耶穌，我們來看耶穌精彩的回應。感謝各位的聆聽。
The Parable of the Tenants
Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.
At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully.
He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.
Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
“ ‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’ ?”
Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
Hello everyone, Today's lesson builds upon Jesus' words from yesterday. Yesterday's scripture regarding the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees became increasingly sharp. In today's story, Jesus directly uses a metaphor to discuss the relationship between the Pharisees and the Kingdom of God, and speaks about himself.
This metaphor is easily understandable for Jewish people, as the vineyard is a common image. Jesus often uses simple metaphors to convey his message. Regarding metaphors, we should seriously consider their essence, rather than just interpreting them literally. So let's now look at some practical key points of this story.
Firstly, God is extremely generous. He makes the vineyard very complete, with all the necessary tools such as fences, winepresses, and buildings. This is to enable the workers to work well and produce grapes and wine. Everything that God has prepared for us is very complete and abundant. He wants us to work well, just as it says in Genesis, where all creation was completed, and God entrusted the world to humans, asking us to take care of it.
Furthermore, God demonstrates immense trust in us. After creating this world, He lets go and allows us to manage everything ourselves. Therefore, God does not directly intervene in what we do, allowing us to exercise our abilities. This is a tremendous grace bestowed upon humanity—to have the freedom to use and govern all things.
Moreover, God exhibits great patience. Every time He sends someone to collect what is rightfully His, these tenants are extremely ruthless. They fail to fulfill their duties and do not give God the proper returns. Even incidents of murder occur, yet immediate punishment is not meted out. Instead, God patiently waits for their repentance and fulfills His responsibilities. These servants sent to collect rent suffer greatly—some are beaten, some are killed, yet none receive the treatment they deserve.
Lastly, God sends His Son, the heir of the vineyard, Jesus Christ, into the world. However, people think that by killing Him, they can seize the land and become masters of the vineyard. This reflects humanity's continuous greed and selfishness, disregarding God's true intentions, thinking they can evade God's pursuit.
In this metaphor, the son of the landowner (Jesus) clearly understands that he has come into the world to suffer and die, yet he also knows he has come to reclaim the land. The landowner also understands that his justice will prevail. Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23, speaking of the stone rejected by the builders becoming the cornerstone. This cornerstone is Jesus, who will become the cornerstone of the new world and church, starting from him to build the entire new world.
When we contemplate this matter, we must truly repent. Regarding God, many people's attitudes are to first deny His existence, thinking there is no God (thus no master), wanting to be their own masters. Others believe that even if there is a God, He does not really govern us and is not trustworthy. Some even think that since God does not punish us, we do not need to worry about anything and can do as we please. However, these are all selfish and self-centered thoughts, the beginning of sin, not acknowledging God as God but seeing oneself as God.
All of God's patience and tolerance have ironically become the reasons for people's attacks. They even question why He doesn't execute judgment, why He doesn't immediately punish. God's patience has unexpectedly become their excuse for attack. When we contemplate God, we should approach Him with reverence and gratitude, rather than questioning Him and holding onto attitudes of blame and expectation.
Let us understand that today, God's patience with us is not tantamount to His indulgence. His salvation is not endlessly and infinitely bestowed upon us. When we have the opportunity today, we should quickly return to His presence, repent, confess our sins, and accept the salvation provided by Jesus Christ on the cross. We cannot always wait, saying there will always be tomorrow, always be a future. We must understand that when God's justice comes, everything will come to an end, and everything will be judged. Therefore, we should repent now, accept God's salvation, and not delay.
The relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees has reached a point of irreconcilable opposition. The Pharisees are eager to kill Him but dare not do so. Hence, they temporarily retreat to plan how to execute Jesus. Tomorrow, we will continue to listen to two stories where the Pharisees and the Sadducees repeatedly try to test Jesus, and we will witness Jesus' brilliant responses. Thank you all for listening.
Comentarios