The vineyard

 The Vineyard

By Richard P. Joseph

10/10/2024

Isaiah 5:1-2  Now let me sing to my Well-beloved
A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard:

My Well-beloved has a vineyard
[a]On a very fruitful hill.

He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also [b]made a winepress in it;
So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,
But it brought forth wild grapes.

Throughout the old testament the prophets used the euphemism of a vineyard to represent Israel.  This was God’s garden that he planted among heathen nations and called it his own. He put his people in to tend it expecting good fruit but it constantly produced rotten fruit.   Vineyards were a very important industry in the ancient world.  It not only brought forth fruit to eat, it also gave the common drink of the day; wine.  Most people are aware of those things but what many people don’t know is that the leaves are also highly sought after for food.  If you go to any Middle Eastern restaurant you will find a dish called “grape leaves”.  Growing up in a Middle Eastern family, grape leaves were a common dish for us.  It usually is ground lamb, pine nuts, spices etc rolled up in a grape leaf.   This is better known today but when I was a child, Middle Eastern cuisine was not as common as it is today.  But I digress.  The new testament stays on task and uses the vineyard scenario in the same way as the old testament prophets used it, except this time it comes with judgment attached.  

One of Jesus’ first open miracles involved wine.  In John chapter 2 we read about the wedding at Cana.  John tells us that “after 3 days” Jesus was at a wedding in Cana, where John also tells us that he revealed his “glory”.  In ancient Hebraic literature, numbers usually have double meanings.  This was the third day since Jesus began gathering some of his disciples but it seems that 3 is an important number as Jonah was 3 days in the belly of the fish, Jesus was three days in the belly of the earth where he showed his glory by his resurrection from the dead.  As the story goes, Jesus’ mother prompted him to perform the act of changing 6 jars of water into wine.  Now we have the number six to deal with.  Six is usually the number of men; or in other words, a number of incompletion.  When they ran out of wine at the wedding, Jesus turned six pots of water into wine.  When they tasted the wine the master of the wedding exclaimed;  And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”   The six pots represent the Law which is now being replaced by Grace.  In other words, the law was being fulfilled right before their eyes and the New Covenant was upon them.  The old covenant was inferior to the new covenant.  The good wine was preserved for last.  The new covenant is the new wine.  

In Matthew chapter 20 we read about Jesus’ parable of the vineyard.  The Jews of that day immediately knew that Jesus was referring to Isaiah chapter 5.  I encourage you all to read that entire chapter.  The reason you need to read it is so you can experience it like the Jews did when they heard it.  Us living 2,000 years later in a different culture and usually a poor understanding of the old testament scriptures, never really get the full effect of what they got.  Many today think “oh what a nice story” and then, by using relative thinking, come up with a myriad of different interpretations that have nothing to do with the original, and true, interpretation.  As soon as Jesus started in with his parable about a vineyard, the Jews knew something bad was coming, and that is because they had most of the old testament memorized, unlike us today..  In this parable, the owner of the vineyard hired workers in the morning, then more throughout the day,even until evening.  He then paid them all the same price.  The workers that were hired first did exactly what we probably would have done and said “hey, we worked all day and got the same pay that those that only worked one hour, what gives?”.  The owner then told them that he gave them exactly what he agreed to give them so he did them no harm but he, as the owner, can give to others whatever he wants.  He then said “ So the last will be first, and the first last. For[d] many are called, but few chosen.”  This represents that those that were called first, the Jews, were now given the same pay as the new gentiles that would be taking over the vineyard.  In order to press this point, Jesus gave two more parables about the vineyard. 

Here is the next parable Jesus gave;

Matthew 21:28 31 28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” 

This parable shows how the one of the sons, those that lie and say they will obey God, are not really following God but those that actually “do” the will of God are those that please God.  Therefore, just because someone is a Jew, doesn’t mean they are doing God’s will.  Then Jesus hits them with yet a third parable.  

Again, I encourage you to read Matthew chapters 20 and 21 to get the full effect.  In this third parable the owner (God) lends his vineyard to workers and goes into a far country.  He sent servants (prophets) to check on the vineyard during that time but the workers mistreated and killed them.  He then sent his son (Jesus) and they killed him because they wanted the vineyard for themselves.  But Jesus himself went into a far country (heaven, then returned in AD70) and punished the evil vinedressers and handed the kingdom over to another nation (the church).  

At the last supper, Jesus initiated this transaction by passing around the cup of wine and told his disciples that this is the cup of the blood of the new covenant.  The entire new testament is really the story  of eschatology.  It is entirely about the old covenant being complete and of the new covenant beginning.  It is the story of completion.  It is the story of a transfer of power.  It is the story of the last being first and the first being last.  But what is my real point in this article?

My point is to help Christians understand the bible the way the original audience saw it.  We need to experience it just like they did.

When Jesus gave the parable of the vineyard, he was really saying “hey priests, Isaiah 5 is being fulfilled right before your eyes”.  In Luke chapter 4 Jesus outright informs them that the scriptures are being fulfilled right at that time. 

 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

When Jesus was on the cross he cried out in a loud voice so all could hear, letting the onlooking priests know that they just fulfilled Psalm 22.  

Mark 15:34  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

So as you read scripture, look back and reference it with the old testament scripture that it most likely originated from.  Put yourself in their shoes and see what they saw.  Know the old (original) testament well so that you can recognize the passages when you see them in the New (fulfilled) testament.  Do not rely on modern methods of relative interpretation.  Find out the original and true interpretation, and the bible will begin to open up like a movie.