Luke 20:9-18 | The Parable of the Wicked Tenants | Pastor Aaron Garza
Aaron Garza   -   April 18, 2025

Pastor Aaron Garza powerfully unpacks the Parable of the Wicked Tenants from Luke 20:9-18 during a Good Friday service, revealing its stark message about rejecting God’s authority and the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. This sermon explores the historical context of the parable and its profound implications for understanding Christ’s crucifixion.

Key themes explored in this sermon:

  • The Historical Context: Setting the scene during Holy Week, likely on Tuesday, in the temple where Jesus faced opposition from religious leaders.
  • The Allegory of the Vineyard: Explaining the symbolism of the vineyard as representing Israel, the owner as God, the servants as the prophets, and the tenants as the leaders of Israel.
  • Rejection of God’s Messengers: Highlighting the historical pattern of Israel’s leaders mistreating and even killing the prophets sent by God.
  • The Sending of the Beloved Son: Emphasizing the significance of the owner sending his beloved son, Jesus, and the tenants’ wicked plot to kill him.
  • Foreshadowing the Crucifixion: Understanding how Jesus, through this parable, boldly predicts his own rejection, crucifixion, and death outside the city.
  • The Cornerstone and Judgment: Explaining the imagery of the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone and the consequences for those who stumble over it or are crushed by it.
  • The Inclusion of the Gentiles: Recognizing Jesus’s missional purpose in bringing in others, including Gentiles, into God’s vineyard.
  • The Cost to the Father: Reflecting on the immense cost to God the Father in sending his beloved Son to die.
  • The Victory of the Cross: Understanding the crucifixion not just as a death, but as a substitutionary sacrifice and a victory over sin and death.
  • “It Is Finished”: Meditating on the profound significance of Jesus’s final words, signifying the complete and perfect atonement for sin.
  • Resting in God’s Grace: Encouraging believers to find comfort and security in the finished work of Christ.

This Good Friday sermon calls listeners to recognize the gravity of rejecting God’s authority and to find profound gratitude and rest in the complete and victorious sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Key verses: Luke 20:9-18.