“Is That Any Way to Treat Your Landlord?”

Matthew 21: 35-38: “And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” This parable is so shocking, so unbelievable, it’s hard to realize – this really happened, with the chief priests and Pharisees. But in the midst of all the impure motives and actions, we easily miss the most impure behavior of all – these tenants just didn’t love their landlord! And since this landlord represents the King and Lord of all, we had better be sure that we are not guilty of this same impurity!