The Principle of the Vineyard

THE PARABLES OF JESUS, LESSON 11
THE PRINCIPLE OF THE VINEYARD

EXPOSITION:

I. The Lord of the Vineyard (v. 1).
A. His name: "My Well-Beloved."
B. His possession: "a Vineyard on a Very Fruitful Hill."

II. The Fruit of the Vineyard.
A. Its Meaning (v. 7).
B. Its Preparation (v. 2). Matthew Henry:

1. He "dug it": "He took it under his special protection, kept it night and day under his own eye, lest any should hurt it … . If they had not themselves thrown down their fence, no inroad could have been made upon them, Psa 125:2; Psa 131:1-3:4.
2. He "cleared it of stones," "that, as nothing from without [from the outside] might damage it, so nothing within might obstruct its fruitfulness. He proffered his grace to take away the stony heart."
3. He "planted it with choice vines," that is, he "set up a pure religion among them, gave them a most excellent law, instituted ordinances very proper for the keeping up of their acquaintance with God, Jer 2:21.
4. He "built a watchtower in the midst of it," "either for defense against violence … for the dressers of the vineyard to lodge in; or ... for the owner of the vineyard to sit in, to take a view of the vines ... The temple was this tower, about which the priests lodged, and where God promised to meet his people, and gave them the tokens of his presence among them and pleasure in them."
5. He "hewed out a wine vat in it," that is, He "set up his altar, to which the sacrifices, as the fruits of the vineyard, should be brought."

C. Its fruit (v. 4). Deuteronomy 32:28-35.
D. Its destruction (vv. 5-6).

APPLICATION:
A. Abiding in the Vine, Jn. 15:1-8 (p. 1071).
B. Grafted into the Vine, Rom. 11:1-22.